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The Templars and the Shroud of Christ: A Priceless Relic in the Dawn of the Christian Era and the Men Who Swore to Protect It Kindle Edition

by Barbara Frale (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 152 ratings
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The most powerful military religious order of the Middle Ages and their sacred treasure.

For a certain period in history, the Knights Templar—the most powerful military religious order of the Middle Ages—secretly guarded the Shroud of Turin. Worshipped in a relentlessly secret manner, and known in its intimate nature by only a handful of the order’s officials, the swathe of fabric was kept in the central treasury of the Knights Templar, who were known for their expertise in the field of relics. The precious cloth’s history and whereabouts were known only to the highest dignitaries of the secretive order. In an era of widespread doctrinal confusion in much of the Church, the Templars considered the Shroud to be a powerful antidote against the proliferation of heresies.

Easy to read and thoroughly researched, this book tracks the Templars from their inception as warrior-monks protecting religious pilgrims to the later fascination with their secret rituals and incredible wealth, which ultimately led to their dissolution and the seizing of their assets. Following the Shroud’s pathway through the Middle Ages, Vatican historian Barbara Frale has gone back in time, to the dawn of the Christian era, to provide a new perspective on the controversial relic. The author also includes several photos of the Shroud itself that reveal in startling detail a human face, mysterious writing, and marks of a crucifixion that many have claimed identify it as the true burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth.
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  1. ISBN-13
    978-1634502702
  2. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  3. Publisher
    Skyhorse
  4. Publication date
    October 13, 2015
  5. Language
    English
  6. File size
    6282 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Barbara Frale is a historian on staff at the Vatican Secret Archives. An expert in ancient documents, the Templars, and the Crusades, Frale is the author of several books including The Last Battle of the Templars, The Papacy and the Trial of the Templars, and The Templars. She is also the author of the acclaimed The Templars: The Secret History Revealed. Frale earned her PhD at the University of Venice. She lives in Italy.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B016HBYRUE
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Skyhorse (October 13, 2015)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 13, 2015
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 6282 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 306 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 152 ratings

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Barbara Frale

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
152 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Lee Freeman
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read Book on the Shroud and Its Possible Connection with the Knights Templar
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2012
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Any student of either the Knights Templar or the Shroud of Turin should immediately purchase *The Templars and the Shroud of Christ.* This book is quite possibly the best book I've read this year. In keeping with her earlier work on the Templars, *The Templars and the Shroud of Christ* is a work of sound, balanced scholarship which steers well away from the ridiculous popular conspiracy theories which inevitably wind up being made into documentaries for THC.

Dr. Frale presents a very compelling case that the Shroud of Turin was once in the possession of the Knights Templar and served as the basis for the accusation that the brothers secretly worshiped an idol, a head called "Baphomet." This idol, Frale contends, was actually the Shroud, carefully folded and stored in a reliquary so that only the face showed. In particular, Prof. Frale examines the depositions of several brother Templars who described veneration of an image that sounds suspiciously like the Shroud of Turin. Frale then examines the possibility that the Shroud served as the basis for medieval legends of the Mandylion, the napkin containing Christ's facial image allegedly sent by Christ to King Abgar V of Edessa.

Frale also sets out an important examination of the medieval Church's attitude(s) to icons and relics, including how and why relics like the Shroud in medieval thought served as important, tangible links to an embodied Jesus Christ, as opposed to the disembodied, purely spiritual Christ of the ancient Gnostic and medieval Cathar heretics. She reminds us that not just the unlettered peasantry, but learned intellectuals, of medieval Europe venerated icons and relics and why they did so.

As to the authenticity of the Shroud itself, Frale doesn't argue for its authenticity but simply reviews the consensus of the scientific studies conducted to date, all of which are at a loss to explain the anatomically perfect, historically accurate, three-dimensional image contained on the cloth. While not arguing for the Shroud being the actual burial cloth of Christ, Frale nevertheless does caution us to keep an open mind. She examines in some detail certain details and characteristics peculiar to the image and how these might be further evidence of a link to the Templars.

This book, like Prof. Frale's previous book, *The Templars: The Secret History Revelaled,* represents a landmark in Templar studies and needs to be in every Templar or Shroud student's library, next to the works of Malcolm Barber and Peter Partner. With this work, Prof. Frale has written another important study that I highly recommend. Thank you Dr. Frale, for another excellent book!
29 people found this helpful
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BarneyBM
4.0 out of 5 stars Extremely good
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2016
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This is an extremely interesting historical book. Its appeal depends on how intrigued you are by medievalism and the Templars. But if you are, this is an intriguing and compelling book.

I don't understand the negative comments that this book is "dry." To the contrary, the author seems to have a very good sense of humor and writes in a very captivating, attractive style. This book is translated from the Italian, and the translator produced a text that reads with great ease.
12 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars The translation is adequate but not great. The pictures are terrible
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2015
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The content in interesting. The book is well written. The translation is adequate but not great. The pictures are terrible. The captions the the pictures are all mixed up. One picture is missing but there is a caption for it. No editor caught this? The author didn't catch this? If it is a printing glitch, don't they print a few copies first, check them before they do a whole run. This is very disappointing because the pictures would have greatly enhanced the text.
6 people found this helpful
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Real American Patriot
5.0 out of 5 stars OUTSTANDING!!
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2023
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The amazing work of Barbara Frale establishes, with little doubt, that th Shroud of Turin almost certainly was in the possession of the Knights Templars for a period of time between 1204 and 1314. When I first read Ian Wilson's first book, "The Shroud of Turin The Burial Cloth of Christ?" in 1981, of which I now posess for the second time, I was enthralled with his historical analysis. But Ms. Frale does an oustanding job of filling many, if not all of the blanks. I read this book in just one day!
One person found this helpful
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Loretta
5.0 out of 5 stars A reverent history
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2021
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I have always been intrigued by the images of the Shroud, and through this book now know much of its history through the ages. The author has painstakingly researched the Templars and their connection to the Shroud. This was an amazing account of a relic that has passed through countless hands, has been mishandled, and kept in less than ideal conditions, yet remains intact and visible to us today. As a believer, I'm thankful God has preserved the Shroud as a witness to us.
3 people found this helpful
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Marek K Dobke
4.0 out of 5 stars reads like a suspense book yet it is evidence based essay
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2016
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Well written, reads like a suspense book yet it is evidence based essay. A must for anyone interested in history. Marek Dobke
3 people found this helpful
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C. Gaudiano
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Book!
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2016
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I found this to be an utterly fascinating book, with a lot of insights into the medieval mind. It is startling to realize that recognition of the Shroud of Turin, which I take for granted, was mostly unknown during the Middle Ages. I found this book to be well worth reading, and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to undertake a study of the Knights Templar or of the Shroud of Turin.
3 people found this helpful
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Gil Franke
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating read!!
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2016
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It is well researched in an area often neglected with regard to the Shroud: the paper trail witness to the possession of a shroud-like icon in relationship with the Templars. Barbara Frale's introduction makes distinctions between the Shroud of Turin, the secret relic in the Templars' custody, and its authenticity as the burial cloth of Jesus. In my mind, from this reading it is easy to make that identity, but Dr. Frale cautions further scientific tests need to be performed. Her clarification of the role of an icon in medieval Christian worship was also very helpful to me. I urge anyone interested in the Shroud of Turin to read this book. I look forward to reading volume two: The Shroud of Jesus of Nazareth.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Sergio Victorino
5.0 out of 5 stars Esclarecedor
Reviewed in Brazil on August 26, 2015
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A autora consegue explorar com clareza o assunto e tirou diversos questionamentos que tinha sobre a ordem dos templários. Termino o livro com um interesse maior sobre o assunto.
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T. O'dowd
5.0 out of 5 stars First rate study
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 2, 2013
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Unlike others who have written about the Templars, this book seeks to establish the facts and succeeds in so doing. Readable, although there are a few places where the translation is shaky, it is a well-researched and clearly presented examination of a topic that has long been in need of a work like this. The author is to be congratulated for her work, which I would highly recommend to anyone interested in the subject.
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francisco menchen barba
3.0 out of 5 stars esencial para donocer el periodo templario
Reviewed in Spain on February 14, 2013
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Libro,esencial para conocer el período templario sin embargo es poco fluido recomendable para cualquier estudio histórico de la sabana santa de turin
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C. J. Tyler
4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating but translation needs help
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2013
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I didn't expect much from this book but came away much wiser and challenged to think again about the Turin shroud and what it might mean. There is plenty of interest here - on the Templars and their initiation rites, on medieval Christianity, the crusades, the history and characteristics of the shroud, etc.

Some of the English is horrible and at times impenetrable, which is a pity. A truly fascinating book which deserves a better translation and a wider readership.
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Knights Templar
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 3, 2013
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Hugely researched piece of work and excellent information. But the english translation is not always too good and the text is repetitive and not very well organised. Coud probably have been written in half the number of pages.
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