The Sword & the Grail: The Story of the Grail, the Templars & the True Discovery of America

by Andrew Sinclair

The discovery of a tombstone built by his ancestors set Andrew Sinclair on a trail that was to lead to major reassessments, not only of our understanding of the discovery of America, but also of the origins of the Freemasons and their role in world history. Based on stunning new archaeological evidence, both in the US and in the UK, The Sword and the Grail details the part played by the Order of the Knights of the Templar-here proved to be the true antecedents of the Freemasons-in the discovery of America. As they fled the authorities who wished them destroyed, some of the outlawed Templars carried their treasure to St. Clair Castle, where the knights' relics are still buried. The tomb of their St. Clair Grand Master, with the grail carved on his stone, lies in Rosslyn, the core chapel of the Masonic movement. With the help of the sea skills and wealth of the Templars, the St. Clair Grand Master tried to found a new Jerusalem in the New World, landing with 300 colonists, first in what is now Nova Scotia and then in New England, more than 90 years before Columbus.

Genres: History, Religion

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Andrew Sinclair was born in Oxford in 1935 and was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. After earning a Ph.D. in American History from Cambridge, he pursued an academic career in the United States and England. His first two novels, written while he was still at Cambridge, were both published in 1959: The Breaking of Bumbo (based on his own experience in the Coldstream Guards, and later adapted for a 1970 film written and directed by Sinclair) and My Friend Judas. Other early novels included The Project (1960), The Hallelujah Bum (1963), and The Raker (1964). The latter, also available from Valancourt, is a clever mix of Gothic fantasy and macabre comedy and was inspired by Sinclair’s relationship with Derek Lindsay, the pseudonymous author of the acclaimed novel The Rack (1958). Sinclair’s best-known novel, Gog (1967), a highly imaginative, picaresque account of the adventures of a seven-foot-tall man who washes ashore on the Scottish coast, naked and suffering from amnesia, has been named one of the top 100 modern fantasy novels. As the first in the ‘Albion Triptych’, it was followed by Magog (1972) and King Ludd (1988).

Sinclair’s varied and prolific career has also included work in film and a large output of nonfiction. As a director, he is best known for Under Milk Wood (1972), adapted from a Dylan Thomas play and starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Sinclair’s nonfiction includes works on American history (including The Better Half: The Emancipation of the American Woman, which won the 1967 Somerset Maugham Award), books on Dylan Thomas, Jack London, Che Guevara, and Francis Bacon, and, more recently, works on the Knights Templar and the Freemasons.

Sinclair was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1972. He lives in London.

Reviews

[Kelli George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrew Sinclair really does not know much about the 1398 voyage of Prince Henry Sinclair and the Zeno brothers from Venice. He calls islands which were proven to have existed "mythical" and makes unsubstantiated claims about the voyage and denies the fact that the colonists which were brought over survived.

[Bettina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Facinating account of the story of the Templars, the Holy Grail and the true discovery of America. Andrew Sinclair has put together an awesome historical account of the legend and legacy of the Knights Templar the discovery of American, and the origins of the Freemasons and their role in world history.

[Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muito interessante pensar na possibilidade de britânicos descobrindo a América antes de Colombo.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spettacolare.

[Benedicto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stupendo pensare di un'altra possibilità della scoperta dell'America.