THE HEAD OF GOD: THE LOST TREASURE OF THE TEMPLARS.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/NFINE.Neat,black ink,previous owner name+date to ffe.Bright,crisp,clean dw/dj with gilt embossed letters,and black ink lettering; with negligible shelf-wear to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Head+foot of spine/ backstrip of dw/dj,minimally bumped with reciprocal creasing and some minimal creasing to rear,top edge.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight and near pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - possibly an unread copy? Bright, clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original,plain charcoal black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate speckled pale grey endpapers.There is a production fault wrinkle and creases(2) to lower edge of rear board towards spine/backstrip edge.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,v-xpp+1-326pp [paginated] includes contents list/table,acknowledgements, illustrations list/ table,19 chapters,16pp b/w contemporary illus and b/w photographs,between pp150/1,appendices (2),notes,a bibliography,an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages. At dawn on Friday 13th October 1307,under orders from King Philip le Bel,armed men broke into the properties of the Knights Templar across the whole of France and arrested every Templar they could find.The knights were tortured and many of them burnt to death as heretics; the Order was dissolved,and the Poor Knights of the Temple of Solomon,the grandest of the crusading orders of warrior-knights,disappear from the mainstream historical record. But it is clear that some of the knights escaped,along with their treasure and their records.Most tantalisingly,all sign of a series of 'heads',whose existence is widely testified in the records of the Inquisition,where they are described as 'idols',disappeared with them; in particular one that was clearly of greatest importance to the Templars,a head known as Baphomet ('Father of Wisdom'). This intriguing historical footnote provides the starting point for Keith Laidler's extraordinary quest through Europe's history to discover the truth about the Templar heads and their significance. His investigations take him back to the Egypt of the Pharoaohs,the Israel of Samson,David,Solomom and Jesus himself,then on to the medieval Cathar heretics,tracing a hidden tradition of the worship of the severed head to the heyday of the Templars.Laidler also follows the subsequent travels of Baphomet to its eventual resting place beneath a small chapel outside Rosslyn Castle in the West of Scotland,where it lies to this day,the conclusion of the story of his stunning identification of the Baphomet as the embalmed head of Jesus Christ, the very 'head of God'. Laidler's quest takes him into the heart of many of history's most fascinating mysteries,the true identities of Moses and Joseph,the Scottish Stone of Destiny (otherwise known as the Stone of Scone), the Holy Grail and the religion of the Druids.Laidler's thesis may be shocking to many,but it is impossible not to be impressed and gripped by the extraordinary weight of evidence that he brings to bear on it in this fascinating and important book. Please contact seller,because of the weight of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.