TEMPLARS IN AMERICA: FROM THE CRUSADES TO THE NEW WORLD Tim Wallace-Murphy and Marilyn Hopkins, Weiser, Boston (Mass), 2004. Paperback, 276 pages, £12.99. ISBN 1-57863-317-6. UK distributor: Airlift Books

The biggest mystery about this book is its title since the book has nothing to do with any Knights Templar in America - which is a big point in its favour. Its main concern is the voyage by Henry St. Clair from his base in the Orkneys to the New World around 1398. Along the way, just in case we might think otherwise, the authors usefully make the point that Henry could not have been a Templar because the Order had ceased to exist 75 years before. This too is in its favour. But then the authors regrettably abandon restraint by stating that Henry was a member of one of the ‘Rex Deus’ families ‘descended from the high priests of the Temple of Jerusalem, and, through them, from the ancient initiates of Egypt.’ Furthermore, it confidently states, these families ‘nominated one of their number from each generation as the Fisher King, the true heir to the throne of Jerusalem.’ Really?
    The book assumes a pre-existing interest in its subject and so makes little attempt to draw the reader in by means of interesting prose; it contains little new research, contenting itself more as a compendium of the work of others; and - oblivious to the warning of Umberto Eco - every time it mentions the Templars it goes off the rails.
    But it is not completely disastrous: its reviews of the Westford Knight grave-slab, the Newport Tower and the Zeno narrative are worth reading. And there are fragments of interesting matter which cry out for further research. The present Zeno heir reports that his family’s archive in Venice is ‘extensive, uncatalogued, and chaotic’ but the authors have made no attempt to take a look at it despite their suspicion that the original Zeno letters may still exist.
    The authors also report that when the Viking settlers first landed on Greenland they found earlier houses which excavation, the authors claim, has ‘shown conclusively’ were Celtic structures. Unforgivably, neither references nor discussion is offered in support of this fascinating assertion.
    The story of Sir Henry Sinclair’s voyage to the New World is dramatic and, I believe, true; unfortunately the authors have produced a rather pedestrian account.
    Michael Baigent