The Head of God: The Lost Treasure of the Templars

by Keith Laidler

Dust jacket "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 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 Pharaohs, the Israel of Samson, David, Solomon 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...."

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Religion

326 pages, Hardcover

First published August 10, 1998

Reviews

[Mark Glover · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this when I was going through a stage of working my way through the theological(or I guess fringe theology) section at the local Library and really found it a fascinating read, especially as it was years before the Da Vinci Code came out. While having subsequently read further on the subject matter and established that their interpretation of Rosslyn is at best an entertaining fiction, it did stir an interest in the subject matter. Having subsequently visited the Chapel on a number of occasions whilst living in Edinburgh, its easy to see how this fantastic building can stir theories both outrageous and sublime in any who have visited. Beyond their take on the Da Vinci(or should that be Pre Vinci angle) the book does give quite a fascinating insight into many aspects of early religion and is worth reading for these alone.

[Taylor Mayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book follows the dramatic unfolding of ancient secrets as Laidler pursues his research, curiosity, and intuition. Gripping in much the way of a Dan Brown novel or Graham Hancock’s “Fingerprints Of The Gods,” yet meeting a far more compelling end than either. I am left feeling included in a global secret linking vast stretches of past civilizations, ideas, and cultures from at least the time of the Egyptians to the Present. You will find in this book the adventure of a mystery novel, without the dramatic fluff that detracts from it’s historical value and claims. Good enough for me to finish in 2 days :)

[coffee for wolves · Rating 3 out of 5]

This entire book needs to be taken with a handful of salt - I believe it is the only way you can enjoy it, hence my somewhat non-committal rating.  

If you enjoyed the DaVinci Code and did not treat it as a completely historically accurate record of events and just a mystery book that was well-researched on some level, you will also enjoy this. 

The book leans heavily into circumstantial evidence at best and easily debunked theories at worst - sometimes a simple Google search will show this (The Priory of Sion being a prime example, a "secret, mysterious group" which has been debunked as a hoax based on fraud, that the author seems to take very seriously and often speaks in awe of), but it is fun to follow this journey threaded through the eyelets of (sometimes) accurate historical evidence. 

You will find passages referring to the author's secret Masonic rituals and other occult things he's seen he cannot discuss which not only suddenly shifts the tone of the book into one that reeks of conspiracy but also vividly brought to life the image of a man in a tinfoil hat in my head. 

I found myself down some rabbit holes while reading the book as I was often researching the events or places mentioned and those rabbit holes either led me to actual papers written by archaeologists and researchers esteemed in their own field either to books and other topics I found engaging and plan on reading more on in the future - so for that alone, I found reading the book entertaining. 

If you start the book with a skeptical mind and don't take it too seriously, you'll have fun but if you are after any hard evidence, I wouldn't recommend you read it - this is the book of a man desperate to believe, and should be treated as such a read.

[Jen Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the book is poorly written with meandering sentences and some seriously dubious logical chains of reasoning, it was really fun to read and imagine all the implications.

[Snakeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

stunning combination of historical detective work and considered analysis of the physical evidence with persuasive account of a convincing conclusion
brave words... with chapters like..moses of the Pharaohs,
Jesus the son of Ra...and numerous others why people are obsessed with the cult of heads...?
it is cent red round the(Roslyn chapel in Scotland)
"but of course"

[Annalee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was published before The Da Vinci Code but would be of interest to fans of the genre. It covers the Knights Templar, the Cathars, alternative histories of Jesus and Moses and lots more. I loved it.

[Hywel Owen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hokum, but enjoyable nonetheless. A reasonable Christmas read, if you will!

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing. Sits on too many chairs at the same time