The Fraternal Timeline: 
Claimants to Templarism

by George Smart

Chapter 1:  1500-1600

A complete guide to what came after the Knights Templar, year by year, often month by month.

 

 

Key: Books, Articles, and Papers Documentaries, Movies, and DVD’s

 Vatican News    Key Events

Items in yellow are questionable and need additional verification. 
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1500

 

 

People begin to view time more linearly and less as a repetition of cycles.  This concept of linear time scares people into thinking there is only one chance to find God -- in contrast to earlier traditions, which allow one to choose to learn and grow many times.

The world population is approximately 400 million.

1501

Pope Alexander VI orders the burning of any books against the authority of the Catholic Church.  His papacy is rife with controversy, including many mistresses (including Rosa Vanozza d'Catanei, with whom he will have four children).

1502

On June 11, The Shroud or Turin moves to the chapel in Chambery Castle.

Venetian printer Aldus Manutius starts the Venice Academy.

1506

 

Hermeticist and monk Trithemius (1462-1516) publishes Stenographia, a book about telepathy, cryptography, and other advanced applications.

Pope Julius II (1453-1513) begins plans for a new St. Peter’s Basilica and sells papal indulgences (lifetime forgiveness of sins, or guaranteed entry into heaven) to the rich to fund construction.

1507

Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim (1486-1535) meets Trithemius and begins a career in alchemy, astrology, Hermeticism, and Kabbalistic studies. Agrippa, quite a showman, plays up the magus role and just plain lies to increase his image and power in the eyes of the uninitiated.

1508

Spanish crusaders attach the Canary Islands.

1510

 

According to Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Leonardo da Vinci becomes Grand Master of the Prieuré de Sion. 

1512 thru 1517

5th Lateran Council (18th Ecumenical) meets under Pope Julius II, Pope Leo X, and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I.   The Council plans a new crusade against the Turks, which never materializes, and forbids the printing of books without Catholic approval. 

1513

 

 

Ascension of Pope Leo X (1475-1521), highly educated and well-traveled student of Marsilio Ficino.  A big spender, he also is an excellent fund-raiser, collecting enough revenue to continue construction on St. Peters, wage a war and a crusade, and lavishly support the arts. "What profit has not that fable of Christ brought us!"

“God has given us the papacy.  Now let us enjoy it.”-- Pope Leo X
 

1516

The Ottoman Empire conquers Egypt.

1517

 





“The church says the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the church.”  -- Ferdinand Magellan

Coffee reaches Europe, making graduate school possible.

  On October 31, Martin Luther (1483-1546) starts a reformation in protest against Catholic abuses of power such as selling indulgences for fundraising.  Luther rebels against Rome but is not extremely tolerant of other faiths.  Luther believes "Jews" should be exiled from "Christian" lands and their homes and synagogues burned.  He dismisses the veneration of Mary and feminine qualities as a threat to the worship of God and an indicator of honoring the devil.  Creating the path for future Protestants, his beliefs include   salvation from sin comes from faith in God; that the Bible is the only source of faith; that  only faith leads to salvation; that God not man is responsible for all things good and bad; that direct individual access to the Bible is better than through priests. 

"Get you a wife and then your mind, however fussy it is, will become straight as a ribbon; it will be reduced to one idea: do and think as she wishes."  -- Martin Luther in Table Talk

“An earthly kingdom cannot exist without some inequality of persons.  Some must be free, some serfs, some rulers, some subjects.”  --  Martin Luther, Werke, Volume XVIII.

Sultan Suleiman I of Turkey conquers Jerusalem and folds it into the Ottoman Empire.

1519

According to Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Connetable de Bourbon becomes Grand Master of the Prieuré de Sion.

1520

Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms.  Luther goes to prison and begins a German translation of the Bible.  

The Kings of England and France prepare for a new crusade.

1522

Martin Luther gets out of prison and publishes his German Bible. The Teutonic Knights repudiate their Catholic allegiance and give him their support. 

Huldreich Zwingli (1484-1531) preaches a movement consistent with Martin Luther but also attacks celibacy, fasting, relic worship, transubstantiation, and papal authority.

The University of Alcala publishes the Polyglot Bible in Latin, Greekxe "Greek", Hebrew, and Aramaic).

Sultan Suleiman I of Turkey successfully attacks Rhodes.  The Knights of Rhodes retreat in 1523 to Malta.  The Grand Master of the order becomes ruler of that island, making Malta a true Catholic principality.

1524

Italian explorer Giovanni Verrazano lands on Nova Scotia and names it Arcadia. 

1525

Matteo Bassi founds the Capuchin Order of monks, based on the Franciscans.

Martin Luther, former monk, marries Katharina von Bora (born 1499), former Cistercian nun, whom he comes to love more than the "Kingdom of France and the treasures of Venice".  (TWC)

William Tyndale (1494~1536) publishes the first English version of the Bible.

1527

 

 

Swiss-born Paracelsus (a.k.a. Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, 1493-1541), one of the world’s most well educated and traveled Renaissance men, settles at Basle as teaching magic, alchemy, surgery, and medicine.  A former student of Tritethemius and Rufus Mutianus, Paracelsus believes imagination is the beginning point of transformation for both the body and the spirit.  Although brilliant, especially about blood circulation and anesthesia, he is soon fired for outrageous behavior, including publicly burning the works of scholars with whom he disagreed.  "Resolute imagination is the beginning of all magical operations" -- Paracelsus

According to Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Ferdinand de Gonzague becomes Grand Master of the Prieuré de Sion. 

1529

Ottomans attack Vienna.

1530

Orval, one of the Cistercian abbeys created under Bernard, is home for Michel de Notredame, (a.k.a. Nostradamus, 1503-1566), French prophet, physician, and astrologer.

The Knights of Rhodes change their name to the Knights of Malta.

King of Sicily Charles V gives the Hospitallers the island of Malta and the city of Tripoli in Libya.

1532

John Calvin (1509-1564) leads the Protestant Reformation in France, his Calvinists eventually becoming the Presbyterians.

A Catholic Council influences the Waldensians and Swiss Protestants to merge into the Vaudois. 

On December 4, a fire in Chambery Castle damages the Shroud. of Turin.

1533

On January 25, the very married King Henry VIII (1491-1547) secretly marries his mistress of six years, Anne Boleyn (1507-1536) who is already pregnant with Elizabeth I. 

1534

King Henry VIII severs ties with Catholicism because Rome will not grant him an annulment from his first wife Catherine of Aragon. 

In turn, Pope Paul III (1468-1549) excommunicates King Henry VIII.

King Henry VIII closes England's convents and other schools for girls, forcing parents to send them out of the country or educate them in secret.

1535

Angela Merici founds an order of nuns, the Ursulines.

1536

On May 19, King Henry VIII executes Anne Boleyn for not bearing him a son and marries her lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour (1509-1537) the next day. 

King Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell (born 1485, beheaded by Henry VIII in 1540) begin the Dissolution – closing all the Catholic monasteries and seizing their property. 

King Henry VIII persecutes William Tyndale as a heretic for his publication of the English New Testament.

Death of John of Leyden (born 1505), Anabaptist zealot who publicly beheaded one of his own wives in 1535.  John and his followers are tortured then executed in Munster, Germany, where his remains are suspended from the rafters of the church well into the 20th century.

1539

Thomas Cromwell puts together the Great Bible, authorized by King Henry VIII for public use in Anglican churches. 

Death of Guru Nanak (born 1469), founder of Sikhism as a combination of Islam and Hinduism.  Sikhs believe one’s life should be devoted to the name of God -- the Satguru.  Rebelling against the orthodox priesthood as well as India’s caste system, Nanak believes in a compassionate, loving, powerful God that is present everywhere.

Dominican monk Inigo Lopez de Loyola (1491-1556) starts the Societas Jesu (a.k.a. Society of Jesus, Jesuits) with six original members.  With a missionxe "Jesus" to combat Protestants and other Catholic theological adversaries, Jesuits become known for their honesty, high standards, formidable intellect and persistence, teaching ability, missionary work, fanatical loyalty to the Pope, and as confessors to royalty, high-ranking clergy, and statesmen.  From their special relationship to the Pope, Jesuits are independent and not particularly deferential to monarchs -- who perceive them as threats.   The Jesuits’ zeal evolves gains them nothing but enmity from rulers, the public, and eventually the Papacy itself.

1540

Pope Paul III officially recognizes the Jesuits.

King Henry VIII outlaws the studies of Greek, Hebrew, divinity, civil law, and physics at Oxford and Cambridge.

John Knox (1514-1572), follower of John Calvin, starts the Scotch Presbyterians (Church of Scotland) out of a disagreement with Lutherans over sacraments and church government.  He condemns all other religions and is especially scornful of the opinions of women.   He believes the material world to be evil (a Cathari sentiment, ironically), and condemns pleasure, especially sexual or even sensual pleasure (i.e., beautiful things).   No longer, he believes, is the physical world the work of God -- it is the work of the devil.

1541

Appointment of Henry Sinclair, Bishop of Ross and grandson of Oliver Sinclair, as Abbot of Kilwinning.

1542

 

 

Pope Paul III renames the Inquisition to the Congregation of the Inquisition, enlarges their jurisdiction to cover all Catholic countries, and gives them a new focus on witches.  Out of fear for woman as a representative of Satan, Catholics re-cast the crime of witchcraft as a plot to establish a Satanic kingdom on earth with an objective to emasculate men (and therefore God).  Witches are considered carnal sources of all evil by the Papacy -- especially older women who achieved a level of life wisdom (the crone archetype) and tend to be healers, herbalists, and, most importantly, less deferential to men. Contrary to what had always been enforced before, it became heresy not to believe in the existence of witches.

1543

First Protestants burn at the stake during the Spanish Inquisition.

Nikolaus Copernicus (born 1473) dies shortly after publishing his book, On the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres, in which he proves that the Earth rotates around the Sun and not the other way around. 

1545 to

1563

 

 

Pope Paul III convenes the Council of Trent (19th Ecumenical) which kicks off the Counter-Reformation, the Catholic response to Protestant reforms.  The Council calls for moral reform among the clergy, re-affirms transubstantiation; sets up seminaries for training of the clergy, condemns the Protestants as heretics, tightens Catholic bureaucracy, and again recognizes the absolute authority of the Papacy.  For the first time, Catholics are told that faith alone is not sufficient for salvation – one must also include “good works.”  The final edition of the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are approved at this Council, nearly 1500 years after they were originally written.

1546

According to an original letter in the National Library in Edinburgh, Queen Regent Mary of Guise writes to Lord William St. Clair at Rosslyn Castle in deep gratitude for having been shown “a great secret” within Rosslyn. 

1549

Publication of the First Book of Common Prayer in England by Thomas Cranmer that standardizes Anglican services.

1551

On August 14, Ottoman Turks take over Tripoli from the Hospitallers.

1552

Publication of the Second Book of Common Prayer, also by Cranmer.

1553

On October 27, Michael Servetus (born 1511), Spanish theologian and physician, discoverer of pulmonary circulation, and author of Christianismi Restitutio (Christianityxe "Christianity" Restored), burn at the stake.  Fleeing from Catholic authorities in France, he seeks refuge in Protestant Geneva, Switzerland, only to have John Calvin turn him in for execution.   Servetus teaches a Unitarian rather than Trinitarian system: God is a whole entity, not three.

1555

Return of England to Catholicism by Queen Mary Tudor (dies 1558).  300 Protestants burn at the stake, including Archbishop Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556), Hugh Latimer (1485-1555), John Hooper (1495-1555), and Nicholas Ridley (1500-1555) on October 16.

The Scottish Parliament bans the annual production of Robin Hood and Little John at Roslin Castle.

1557

Pope Paul IV, former head of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, authorizes publication of the Catholic Index of Prohibited Books.

1558

 

Publication of Zohar (Book of Splendor), a massive Kabbalistic work first written in Spain around 1290 by Jewish Spanish mystic Moses de Leon (1240-1305).  The Zohar is the third most important Jewish book behind the Bible and the Talmud.

1560

Beginning of Puritanism in England which will later become the Congregational Church.

Beginning of battles between Catholics and French Huegenots (Protestants).

1562

 

Catholic King Philip II of Spain starts construction on El Escorial, an enormous library, monastery, church, and palace northwest of Madrid.  Built to honor San Lorenzo (St. Lawrence) after having defeated the French five years earlier.  Using sacred geometry, architects Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Herrera (1530-1597) create one of world's most impressive structures.

Creation of the Order of Santo Stefano.

1564

John Dee (1527-1608), Queen Elizabeth I’s astrologer and owner of the greatest personal library in England, publishes Monas hieroglyphia, a synthesis of Agrippa's works and a cornerstone work of Rosicrucianism.

1565

Catholics introduce the private confession box which takes the place of public confession.

Muslim Sultan Suleiman II of Turkey again attacks Malta unsuccessfully.  The Knights of Malta hold out against a siege long enough for Spanish forces to come to the rescue.

1570

French Protestants (a.k.a. Huegenots) get limited freedom of worship.

Pope Pius IV (1499-1565) excommunicates English Queen Elizabeth I and causes a backlash in England against Catholics.

1571

Death of Isaak Luria (born 1533), Kabbalist mystic and new interpreter of the Zohar (Book of Splendor). Luria believes God made the world by creating a space out of himself in which the world would exist.  He believes evil is part of God’s plan, not outside of it, and that free will exists and is made possible through the ability to choose between good and evil.  Admirers John Dee and Giordano Bruno bring Luria's ideas to Europe.

Turks under Sultan Suleiman II takes Cyprus from the Venetians.

The Holy League (Spain, Austria, and Italy) decidedly defeats Sultan Suleiman II's Turkish fleet at the Battle of Lepanto, reversing Arabic domination for the first time since 1453 and rescuing the Knights of Malta from Turkish attacks.

1572

On August 23 and 24, Catholic King Charles IX and his mother Catherine de Medici kill over 10,000 French Protestants.

Merger of the Orders of Saint Lazarus and Saint Maurice.

1573

On March 7, Venice makes peace with the Turks through payment of protection money.

1575

Philip Neri founds the Congregation of the Oratory, a new religious order.

Louis de Nevers becomes Grand Master of the Prieuré de Sion.  (HBHG)

1576

The French prohibit Protestantism.

1578

On September 4, the Duke of Savoy moves the Shroud to the Royal Chapel in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist at Turin, Italy.

1579

British explorer Drake lands on the California coast.

1582

Pope Gregory XIII (1502-1585) adjusts the calendar to align the length of the year with the solar cycle. 

1585

20th-century carbon dating of the wood found in the main shaft on Oak Island in Nova Scotia places it at this year, plus or minus 85 years.

1587

150 English settlers land in North America at Roanoke Island.  Arriving too late to plant crops, their leader John White goes back to England for supplies but upon his return to Roanoke finds the settlement abandoned.

1588

Date of oldest recorded Masonic lodge meeting at St. Mary’s Chapel in Scotland. Masonry offers an arena for intellectual and freethinking dialogue, a network for communications; and a perspective for unity that, at least according to Catholics makes the Church irrelevant.  Much like a United Nations, the Masons attract those who appreciate freedom of thought and conversation, the special jazz of belonging to a secret society, and the group’s success at creating understanding across belief systems.

1592

In August, Protestants force the removal of altars in Rosslyn Chapel.

1595

According to Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Robert Fludd (1574-1637) becomes Grand Master of the Prieuré de Sion. 

1598

The Edict of Nantes grants French Huguenots (Protestants) freedom of worship equal to Catholics.

1600

 

 “It is with greater fear that ye pass this sentence upon me than I receive it.” -- Giordano Bruno at his execution

After eight years of imprisonment and torture, Pope Clement VIII (1536-1605) and the Holy Inquisition burn mystic writer, memory expert, former Dominican monk, and genius Giordano Bruno (born 1548).  Bruno believed in an infinite Universe in which God dwells everywhere and sought a unifying synthesis of philosophy, science, and world religion.  He rejected the Trinity; believed in necromancy; believed that humans can purify themselves to become one with God; and supported the Copernican theory the Earth revolves around the Sun.  Bruno inspired many secret societies including the Giordanisti.

Sir Walter Raleigh goes exploring for Templar treasure in the Herdewyke area of England.

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