October 11, 2007

What I want for Christmas

Much MUCH cooler than a Red Ryder BB Gun:

The Knights Templar, the medieval Christian military order accused of heresy and sexual misconduct, will soon be partly rehabilitated when the Vatican publishes trial documents it had closely guarded for 700 years.

A reproduction of the minutes of trials against the Templars, "'Processus Contra Templarios -- Papal Inquiry into the Trial of the Templars'" is a massive work and much more than a book -- with a 5,900 euros ($8,333) price tag.

"This is a milestone because it is the first time that these documents are being released by the Vatican, which gives a stamp of authority to the entire project," said Professor Barbara Frale, a medievalist at the Vatican's Secret Archives.


"Nothing before this offered scholars original documents of the trials of the Templars," she told Reuters in a telephone interview ahead of the official presentation of the work on October 25.

The epic comes in a soft leather case that includes a large-format book including scholarly commentary, reproductions of original parchments in Latin, and -- to tantalize Templar buffs -- replicas of the wax seals used by 14th-century inquisitors.

Reuters was given an advance preview of the work, of which only 799 numbered copies have been made.

One parchment measuring about half a meter wide by some two meters long is so detailed that it includes reproductions of stains and imperfections seen on the originals.

Of course, I'd shoot my eye out.

Posted by Steve-O at October 11, 2007 11:14 PM | TrackBack
Comments

I'll wait for the paperback.

I will have it, though. I just love that kind of stuff. Been a Templar buff for decades.

Hope Peter Jackson secures the movie rights.

Posted by: Hucbald at October 12, 2007 01:53 PM

You need to get out more.

Posted by: LB Buddy at October 15, 2007 10:43 AM