Authors
Books about Freemasonry, Rosslyn Chapel etc.
The requests for information about books that cover Freemasonry, Rosslyn Chapel, the Knights Templar, the St. Clair family etc., etc. are numerous and were published frequently (more on this later). One of the common questions the Rosslyn Templars are asked is whether, or not, the writer of a particular book is a Freemason or not. Or, arguably more importantly, whether the authors are (were) Scottish Freemasons. This is due to the fact that Scottish Freemasonry is substantially different to that of other countries including England. Answering these questions has become repetitive and to try and save time we have produced a list of the most popular books on the above mentioned subjects together with details of whether or not the author(s) are (Scottish) Freemasons. There are likely to be several books which have not been included in this list but we expect to add these, and others, in due course.
Book Title | Author(s) | Year of Publication | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail | Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh & Henry Lincoln | 1982 | Not Freemasons* |
The Origins of Freemasonry | Prof. David Stevenson | 1988 | Not a Freemason |
The Temple and The Lodge | Michael Baigent & Richard Leigh | 1988 | Not Freemasons* |
The First Freemasons | Prof. David Stevenson | 1988 | Not a Freemason |
Born in Blood | John J. Robinson | 1989 | Not a Scottish Freemason* |
An Illustrated Guide Book to Rosslyn Chapel | Tim Wallace-Murphy | 1993 | Not a Scottish Freemason* |
The Sword and the Grail | Andrew Sinclair | 1993 | Not a Freemason |
Rosslyn – A History of the Guilds The Masons and the Rosy Cross | Robert Brydon | 1994 | Not a Freemason |
The Templar Legacy & The Masonic Inheritance within Rosslyn Chapel | Tim Wallace-Murphy | 1994 | Not a Freemason* |
Bloodline of the Holy Grail | Laurence Gardner | 1996 | Not a Freemason |
The Hiram Key | Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas | 1996 | Not Scottish Freemasons* |
Who's Afraid of Freemasons? | Prof. Alexander M. Pi︠a︡tigorskiĭ | 1997 | Not a Freemason |
Rosslyn Chapel | Earl of Rosslyn | 1997 | Not Freemason |
The Templar Revelation | Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince | 1997 | Not Freemasons |
The Second Messiah | Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas | 1997 | Not Scottish Freemasons* |
The Holy Grail | Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas | 1997 | Not Scottish Freemasons* |
The Discovery of the Grail | Andrew Sinclair | 1998 | Not a Freemason |
The Head of God | Keith Laidler | 1998 | Not a Freemason |
The Second Messiah | Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas | 1998 | Not Scottish Freemasons* |
The Forgotten Monarchy of Scotland | HRH Prince Michael of Albany | 1998 | Not a Freemason* |
Blood on the Mountain | Richard Andrews | 1999 | Not a Freemason |
Rosslyn – Guardian of the Secrets of the Holy Grail | Tim Wallace-Murphy & Marilyn Hopkins | 1999 | Not Freemasons* |
The Tutankhamun Prophecies | Maurice Cotterell | 1999 | Not a Freemason |
The Divine Deception | Keith Laidler | 2000 | Not a Freemason |
Web of Gold | Guy Patton & Robin Mackness | 2001 | Not Freemasons |
The Secret Scroll | Andrew Sinclair | 2001 | Not a Freemason |
Genealogie of the Sainteclaires of Rosslyn | Robert L D Cooper | 2002 | A Scottish Freemason |
The New Jerusalem – Rebuilding London | Adrian Gilbert | 2002 | Not a Freemason |
The Da Vinci Code | Dan Brown | 2003 | Not a Freemason |
The Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar | Gordon Napier | 2003 | Not a Freemason |
The Book Of Hiram | Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas | 2004 | Not Scottish Freemasons* |
The story of Rosslyn Chapel and the true story behind the Da Vinci code | Andrew Sinclair | 2005 | Not a Freemason |
The Shadow of Solomon – The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry Revealed | Laurence Gardner | 2005 | Not a Freemason |
Rosslyn: Guardian of the Secrets of the Holy Grail | Tim Wallace-Murphy and Marilyn Hopkins | 2005 | Not Freemasons |
Rosslyn and the Grail | Ian Robertson* and Mark Oxbrow | 2005 | One a Freemason, one not see below |
Cracking the Freemason’s Code | Robert L. D. Cooper | 2006 | Scottish Freemason |
Rosslyn Revealed | Alan Butler | 2006 | Not a Freemason |
The secrets of Rosslyn | Roddy Martine | 2006 | Nat a Freemason |
The Secrets of Rosslyn | Roddy Martine | 2006 | Not a Freemason |
The Rosslyn Hoax | Robert L D Cooper | 2006 | Scottish Freemason |
Cracking the Freemasons' Code | Robert L D Cooper | 2006 | Scottish Freemason |
Understanding More about the Knight Templar & Malta Degrees | Rev. Neville Barker Cryer -Deceased | 2008 | An English Freemason |
The Templars: History and Myth: From Solomon's Temple to the Freemasons | Michael Haag | 2009 | Not a Freemason |
The New Knighthood: A History of the Order of the Temple | Malcolm Barber | 2012 | Not a Freemason |
The Knights Templar and Scotland | Robert Ferguson | 2013 | Not a Freemason? |
Rosslyn Chapel Decoded: New Interpretations of a Gothic Enigma | Alan Butler and John Ritchie | 2013 | Not Freemasons? |
Secrets of the Knights Templar: The Hidden History of the World's Most Powerful Order | Susie J. Hodge | 2014 | Not a Freemason |
The Templars: The Rise and Fall of God´s Holy Warriors | Dan Jones | 2018 | Not a Freemason |
The Craft | Prof. John Dickie | 2021 | Not a Freemason |
The Enigmatic History of Knight Templars in Scotland | Marc Ferrari | 2023 | Not a Freemason |
Stop Press
Please note that the co-author of Rosslyn and the Grail (see above) Ian Robertson* is a Scottish Freemason (although his co-author is not). We were informed of this some time ago and apologise for the long delay in correcting this error. The book ‘Rosslyn and the Grail’ is highly recommended by the way, and we hope to post a review of the book on this site in the near future
About the above list
Preparing this list has been interesting. It is, for example, noticeable that the flood of popular books linking Freemasonry with the Knights Templar and Rosslyn Chapel commenced 1988 with the publication of The Temple and the Lodge by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh. Previously there had been books about Rosslyn Chapel but they were not of the pseudo-history type. Until Baigent and Leigh's 1988 book was published material was not of the sensationalist type. Indeed, Rosslyn Chapel was selling a ‘non-sensational’ guidebook: The Illustrated Guide to Rosslyn Chapel, Hawthornden &c. until that time. It appears
that a decision was taken to drop verifiable history in favour of 'pop' history. Coincidentally The Illustrated Guide ceased to be available soon after The Temple and the Lodge was published. This seems to have set the standard which all subsequent books on Rosslyn Chapel were expected to follow. Although initially off to a slow start (six years) the number of books of this genre exploded after the publication of The Temple and The Lodge in 1988 but slowed as writers became repetitive or their content so sensational that they were no longer credible. The two books that started this 'cottage industry,' The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail and The Temple and the Lodge, metamorphosed into The Da Vinci Code published in 2003. Intriguingly, very intriguingly, none of these books (above) focusing as they do on Freemasonry and alleged connections with Rosslyn Chapel, are written by Freemasons! Interesting. (Except one – The Rosslyn Hoax?)
Some of these book have already been reviewed on this site but many have not. Once we have caught up we shall discuss the whole Rosslyn publishing ‘industry’ here at a later time.
This is a chronological account and so it may be, for example, that an author writing about Freemasonry did not become a Freemason (or did not become a Scottish Freemason) until after his/her book was published. In that case this above list is correct in describing the Masonic status of the author(s) at the date of publication of their book(s). Where such examples are known with certainty that the author was not a Freemason, or not a Scottish Freemason, at the time their work was published, this is indicated by the use of an asterisk (*).
An Account of the Chapel of Roslin – 1778
Readers might wish to know that the Grand Lodge of Scotland has published An Account of the Chapel of Roslin
A Winter With Robert Burns
There was one thing that Burns never compromised over and that was being a Freemason.
New Orkney Antiquarian Journal. Volume 2.
This is obviously not a book as such it is rather an occasional scholarly publication issued by the Orkney Heritage
Harlequin
The sub-title of this book is: The Grail Quest (the main reason for buying the book) but unfortunately The Grail does not feature hardly at all in this book.
Tales of the Knights Templar
This book, we are told, is a little gem. It contains ten papers or essays on the Knights Templar by a variety of authors. The Chapters headings are:
The Origins and History of the Order of Free Gardeners
One of the curious aspects of scholarly investigations in these islands is a palpable reluctance to investigate topics such as Freemasonry: the subject is studiously avoided by many, most supposedly dispassionate historians whinnying with fright at the mere mention of it. Serious scholars, uninterested in the usual conspiracy-theories or the universal sport of bashing the Craft, have long realised that Freemasonry is of major importance, especially in considerations of the 18th-century European Enlightenment.
Temple Church – London
The Church of the Knights Templars in London
A description of the fabric and its contents with a short history of the Order
Rosslyn County of Painter and Poet
This lavishly illustrated book was published to accompany the Exhibition by the same title held at the National Gallery
The Black Douglases
If you are interested in Scottish history and the 14th and 15th centuries in particular then this is a ‘must buy’ book.
Music
Alright, we confess – we have not been able, yet to find any Knight Templar music – which is hardly surprising given their vows.
Cracking the Freemason’s Code
The author is probably best known for his recently published book: The Rosslyn Hoax ?
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Most people in Britain will know of the Monty Python team of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle,
The Forgotten Monarchy of Scotland
It is not every day that one is privileged to review a book written by the chief of a royal house who is also the head of a church.
The Genealogie of the Saintclaires of Rosslyn
No one could suggest that this is light reading. For a start it has no beginning,
The Orkneyinga Saga
First published in 1873 the front cover of The Orkneyinga Saga carries the apparent sub-title:
Freemasonry Today
We, the Rosslyn Templars, had not anticipated reviewing magazines but when we saw that front cover of Freemasonry
The Royal Myth of the Da Vinci Code
Ordinarily, reviewing fiction doesn’t come under the purview of Skeptic Magazine. However, like The Exorcist in the 1970s,
Freemasonry, Anti-Masonry and Illuminism in The United States, 1734-1850, A Bibliography
Below is the publishers ‘review’ of this book. We are reliably informed that this book is an important addition...
The Tutankhamun Prophesies
This is the most appalling book I have ever read that mentions Freemasonry. It contains the most cock-eyed, convoluted, and mixture of old and debunked ideas about Freemasonry and ancient civilizations tossed in for effect.
The Illustrated Guide to Rosslyn Chapel, Hawthornden &c.
This book, long out of print, is a treasure chest of information written by a Priest who had intimate knowledge of the chapel.
The New Knighthood
The Order of the Temple, founded in 1119 to protect pilgrims around Jerusalem, developed into one of the most influential corporations in the medieval world.
The Last Templar
As you might imagine following the success of the novel The Da Vinci Code a large number of people jumped on the bandwagon
The Provincial Priory of Cheshire 1850 – 2000
I thoroughly enjoy these local histories for they nearly always manage to pack in details that simply cannot be included...
The Rosslyn Hoax
A great deal of discussion has taken place in a number of blogs and chat rooms about this book
Les Bijoux Rose Croix
The author has used the Jewels of the Rose Croix ceremony, which originated in France some time after the Oration
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Memorials of the Haughfoot Lodge
The late Brother Carr (1900 – 1983) was an erudite and prolific author on matters relating to Freemasonry.
The Secret Scroll
The first thing that we noticed about this slim book was the price. When published three years ago 218 pages, even as a hardback...
The Rosslyn Hoax?
I has recently been announced that the book: The Rosslyn Hoax? has sold out in hardback and indeed such is the demand...
Symbols of Freemasonry
What a superb book this is, measuring 30cm X 23 cm (a little larger than A4) it is a Coffee Table book
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The Templar Legacy & The Masonic Inheritance within Rosslyn Chapel.
This is an interesting little book (63 pages, paperback). Profusely illustrated it is an excellent ‘pictorial guide’...
The Ashlar Magazine
Since The Ashlar was first published in February 1997 it has attracted a devoted following of several thousands.
Understanding the Templar and Malta Degrees
Whatever does the word 'Bauseant' mean? Why does the Malta Cross have eight points? Whatever is a Turcopolier and why do knights have an Admiral? Over the last 25 years, whilst becoming Provincial Prior in two areas, the late Revd Neville Barker Cryer has produced shorter booklets providing some of the answers to these and other similar questions.
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry
Freemasons are themselves, for the first time in a very long time, publishing books about Freemasonry
The First Freemasons
Scotland's Early Lodges and their Members.
The First Freemasons. The earliest known Lodges are those in Scotland estanblished by William Schaw.
Freemasonry originated in Scotland.
Although not a Freemason, Dr David Stevenson has been driven, by curiosity, to write a most authoritative book on early Scottish Freemasonry.
[NOTE In assocoiation with the Masonic Authros' Guild Internation (MAGI) we have provided link books reviewed by them. Why two reveiws of the same book one might ask. MAGI's book reviews are provided as podcasts which one may listen to online or download to listen to at one's liesure. To go to MAGI's podcast page (on Patreon) click on the book title above of this link: https://bit.ly/3W8nrNn
The Grand Lodge of Scotland Year Book
The Grand Lodge of Scotland (GLoS) publishes an annual Year Book. The first edition was in 1952 and has been published in each subsequent year.
