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Interviews with the Author
KNIGHTS, TEMPLARS AND FREEMASONS
INTERVIEW by NORBERT ELLUL VINCENTI, The Sunday Times of Malta. BOOKS Section. April 23, 2006
GEORGE GREGORY BUTTIGIEG: Of Craft and Honour and A Templar’s Chronicles. Miller Distrobutors Ltd, 338 pages, ISBN 99932-86 -02-8, hardback.
No book comes off the press to cower in dark silence, of course, but Of Craft and Honour plops on your desk with the volume raised and the motor screeching on all cylinders. The cover informs you that this is also "a Templar's Chronicles" and that it tells of "Templar lore and freemasonry betrayed meet[ing] in Catholic Malta".
James Sciberras's cover picture shows a chess board with St John's co-Cathedral for background as ominous clouds curl menacingly behind one belfry and numinous rays of light bark behind the other – and set pieces from Catholicism, Free Masonry and Chivalry jostle for attention.
A forward by Professor Peter Serracino Inglott notes its varied parts for which the author has the appropriate language. The author then adds a prologue, noting that he is well-intentioned, and means neither to defend nor to attack any of the parties involved, but to offer to the general reader something that has given him pleasure to research and write in his "spare" time. A glossary of terms, names and places, precedes the opening of the tale.
It is a "modern" story that involves Free Masonry, while at the same time curiously following a document written about the last days of the Templars, by one of the few survivors. Different strands are followed, marked by different paper and different colour. The two strands however meet. In geometry parallels meet only with difficulty, if I know my Einstein, but in literature, parallels and meetings have always been sociable bedfellows.
Interviewing the author, I first asked him if he was guilty of gilding the lily.
"I chose neither genre nor a specific style. In all honesty I wrote as the spirit moved me. I always and inevitably do. I simply put myself in the atmosphere I wish to write about, and the rest goes on automatically. I use the same technique to fall asleep – I will myself to be in certain periods of history on mountains or under the sea - lady imagination does the rest."With regard to the paper being different for the chronicles – this was a brilliant idea conceived by Alex Farrugia – a real asset of Agenda Publishers. He wanted to create the vague effect of parchment and chose different styles and different paper for the new story and the 14th century chronicles. If that is gilding the lily then yes, we did so."
Then I asked him, “Who is GGB(George Gregory Buttigieg)?
His reply: GGB is an overworked 53 year old Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, married to Annabelle and father to two grown girls. His family is the apple of his eye, he discloses, but unfortunately, with his immersion in Hospital work, his teaching at the University and his SMOM Commitments, he has "little time to appreciate it". Typically, he readily pleads guilty to his wife's complaint that "it is her time I use when I do sit down to put pen to paper".
"The creative aspect of my writing goes on ceaselessly as I drive from home to work and during my work. Sitting down to write them is the easy and pleasant part – it is like giving birth – you need to do it." After all, what is a gynaecologist for, if not facilitating birth?
The novel really contains two stories, or two different strands, told in parallel. How does this work out?
"It was Professor Peter Serracino Inglott who first spoke of the parallelism of the two stories. In fact he quoted Aldo Moro in speaking of two parallels which meet. But, there is indeed a parallelism – parallelism of religious doubt/heresy ( Fra Anjelito de Montoja/ Fr. Rafel Duca); betrayal of essentially upright men (Grand master Jacques de Molay/ Professor Henry Tonna Black); of ruthless manipulators ( Guillaume le Nogaret or even Philippe le Bel/ Malik); of human weakness and breaking of vows be they of celibacy of a religious order or marriage,…and so on. They are the stories of mankind and mankind is the same be it in the 14th as in the 21st century.
"And there is the meeting of the parallels – for me this happens at two points : on the 26th July 1887 when Professor Tonna Black's ancestor purchases the scrolls at the auction in Valletta; and again when Frederick Tonna Black tells the modern tale and publishes his father's edited scrolls – both of which he reads to his colleague "legionnaires" of the group Suffrance Internationale in the thick of the Palestinian conflict. The location itself is part of the parallelism as Federick says 'where it all began' and if I may add, where the telling of the story unfolds in the present."
The story takes in both the Templars and the Hospitallers. About the first we know quite a good deal, but about the Templars, a web of intrigue and mysterious underhand doings has been spun by bad tongues and itchy ears. GGB has researched the matter a great deal, which is evident as he answers a question about their true identities.
"There are two tiers to this answer. Historically: Both were monastic military orders - warrior monks. The Hospitallers founded in the end of the 11th century were primarily carers of the sick and destitute pilgrims in the Holy land, attaining a military arm in the 12th century under the rule of Raymond Du Puy, second master after Blessed Gerard. Their military might was equal to and, at times, surpassed that of the Templars, who were ab initio, a military order of monks purely set up for military defence (and attack) in the Holy land. They were suppressed by papal decree in 1312 as you will find told in my book which respects recorded history."
"The Hospitallers," he continues, "are still around and doing well as SMOM – purely dedicated to humanitarian works of charity – supranational and giving care irrespective of colour creed or politics. They have retained their Sovereignty and hence have diplomatic status with nearly 100 countries. The Templars are no more, irrespective of who calls himself a Templar BUT the concept of Templarism or as I term it – speculative neo-Templarism – still survives, mostly in the higher echelons of freemasonry. A very small number of non-masonic orders also call themselves Templars. I consider this concept of SNT as very important, naturally within this sphere of discussion and I coined it, after much reflection and delving into the subject and trying to encapsulate the conclusions of my observations."
It was inevitable that I should ask about the facts of the sad case of the Templars and their suppression. He is wary of describing them as good or bad.
"They are human with their good and bad. Especially by the beginning of the 14th century, after the loss of Acres, in the Cyprus period, the Templars were probably at their lowest ebb. I describe individual weaknesses – lust, pride, simony, heresy….. But I reject outright organized heresy, idolatry, desecration of the Crucifix, adoration of baphomet, heads….and there is absolutely no historical evidence of this at all. That is if you exclude confessions under torture which would make anyone confess to anything. Professor Malcolm Barber distinguishes between Dan Brown's Templars and George Buttigieg's Templars – rightly so. Not only is there not a scratch of evidence that the Templars had secret knowledge that Christ was married and had a blood line, but we know from recorded history that even while Templars were being tortured and made to confess to abjuration in France, there were still Templars undergoing horrible deaths at the hands of the Mamelukes in Egypt."
In view of the recent and not so recent bad press regarding the Knights Hospitallers, did he, as a member of the Order, intend to correct false assumptions, as a hidden agenda?
"It is true that I am a very active member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta – however, in my book, I do not in any way, make any case in defence of the Knights Hospitallers. Furthermore the puerile and pathetic bad press against SMOM came only recently, long after the book was completed. The Hospitallers are involved in this book, but this is not their story. That may come in the future. The Order of the Hospitallers here only serves as a vehicle by which the Templar scrolls reach Malta after the Hospitallers are ejected from Rhodes. Furthermore, the Templar Chronicles themselves are neither for nor against the Templars, but describe the desperate attempt at survival of a remaining batch of individuals in the face of a mortal hunt by Philippe le Bel's men. Incidentally to answer many readers' queries the chronicles are purely my invention – however historically correct their basis is."
He has more to say of the way the Templars have been treated.
"If anything, in this book I make an attack on the abuse of Templar history which is pervading the minds of the masses thanks to this rubbish being spun about Templar secrets and occult knowledge. My attack is inspired both by a respect for recorded history as well as loathing of the subtle tantalizing of man's inherent love of conspiracy theories to attack the Church's teaching on Jesus. This is also where my book also makes the plea to Speculative Neo-Templarism, to rid itself of the speculations serving as cheap attacks on the Church. This is a serious point by which I stand, clearly and loudly."
How about the role of Freemasonry in the book?
"Freemasonry and the Catholic Church may not be the best of buddies although attempts at rapprochement have occurred from time to time. I will not be drawn into this argument. But I sincerely believe that if we are saying that Speculative Neo-Templarism is mostly the property of the higher Masonic orders, then it would, in my very humble opinion, be to everyone's credit not to let the modern mumbo jumbo assumptions about Templars denigrate truly historical traditions, dating from the 18th century. And I am not saying that freemasonry is behind the modern attacks on the historical Christ, but I am saying that Speculative Neo-Templarism deserves better advertising than that garnered through the current hocus pocus which everyone seems to be spouting at street corners. For readers of the book – Professor Henry Tonna Black – a paragon of the perfect freemason – makes these very arguments in the epilogue of the Chronicles."
It seems that Dan Brown's literary success has inspired a small spate of novels and secret codes. Where you in any way inspired or motivated by the Da Vinci Code or by the film, "The Kingdom of heaven"?
"Of Craft and Honour and a Templar's Chronicles was finished – although far from published – much before Da Vinci Code made its appearance. Dan Brown's book is a masterly written novel which, regarding pseudo Templar secret lore, reveals nothing new. These concepts of secret knowledge held by certain groups of people – including the Templars -- and challenging Christianity, annoyed me so much when I originally met them many years ago, that I resolved to make time to write about the end of the Templars as found in reliable history. This came at a time in my life where I was delving deeply into Templar history and I had to wade carefully into what was factual and scientifically recorded and not the myriad crap books about Templar secrets.
"On the other hand the assumption of Templarism into Freemasonry, originating in the 18th century, was a different matter. A recorded lore arising from the 18th century is still historical in its own right and this is an important concept which I felt lacked descriptive terminology . Hence Speculative Neo-Templarism.
"We need much more space and time to discuss this, but this lore is existent and factual. In my book, I appeal for this phenomenon to wean itself off all fantasy and become an object of academic scrutiny. But we are not talking a 14th century origin, and any attempts to link it so, automatically derails any serious attempt at serious evaluation. "The Kingdom of Heaven is a film I only saw very recently in DVD format at home and I loved every minute of it. It describes the Templars rather inaccurately in some instances – but, I thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it was too late to inspire my book.
I think I will read the book again and savour its historical and fictional ramifications.
The hard backed edition may be sold out from Agenda but there might still be a few copies in individual shops – it is selling for Lm9.99. The paper-back is definitely still available and is selling at Lm5.99. It is available from Agenda Bookstores and other leading bookshops.
Interviewed on 10/09/2006 by: Martin Micallef Communications Officer, Maltese Association - Order of Malta
This
novel, which according to Professor Peter Serracino Inglott
defies orthodox novel nomenclature is a fascinating interfusion of the 14th
and the 21st century. Specifically the fourteenth century part
centers around the final destruction of the Templars and the survival of a
few members of the Order. The modern part is specifically set in 2007 and
it is the Island of Malta, that the author George G. Buttigieg, focuses on.
Yet, Buttigieg goes for an atypical Maltese theme – freemasonry – which is a taboo subject in the Catholic Island. The author writes with at times uncanny insight of the freemasonic mind, although he states that he himself is not of the Brotherhood. I asked him if the word ‘empathy’ for the Craft as used by Professor Serracino Inglott’s incisive analysis of the book was accurate. Buttigieg gave me his enigmatic smile and although definitely in love with the history of the Craft, my impression is that his Roman Catholic Faith will forever keep him out of it. His massive collection of books on the subject of freemasonry is however witness to a serious academic interest.
In Of Craft and Honour Buttigieg hones in on a Maltese Free and Accepted Masonic Lodge and creates a thrilling scenario which is purposefully built to echo the Propaganda Due situation of Italy which toppled the government of Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani. The constant theme in the background is the base betrayal of the Worshipful Master of the Lodge –Professor Henry Tonna Black (A university professor of law)– by lesser brethren. Tonna Black, a man of honour and integrity if one ever lived, sees his beloved lodge which was to be a “paragon of freemasonry in this country…” turned into an irregular and outrightly criminal gathering of men who bring freemasonry into disrepute in an island, already much prejudiced against the Craft.
How are the Templar Chronicles entwined in all of this? Well on the 26th July 1887, an ancestor of Henry Tonna Black, an old sea captain purchases a “load of junk” in a trunk for a trifling sum at an auction in Valletta. This lies uncared for in the family’s possessions till Henry as a young man delves into their significance and discovers the unbelievable treasure lying dormant in his family’s lap. Recorded originally by Templar Jean Jacques de St Georges, past Commander of St Jean d’Acres these….scrolls have come down the ages….and now are revealed in this book.
I asked George Buttigieg how he manages to find time to write. George is a fellow knight, an active member of the Maltese Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta – in fact he is currently Vice-President. He is also a busy Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaeceologist and because, people felt he was lazing around too much, he was also appointed the Republic of Malta’s Ambassador to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta!
His answer: “Martin, I live for those few moments when I can create my own world in writing. I feel positively excited when I realize tomorrow or the next day I will have a few hours of my own to write. Imagination is not a problem…it is putting my imaginary works on paper…I write or rather create various themes in various periods of history in my mind….so when I do sit down to work I simply spill it out….as if an invisible writer is dictating…sounds corny…but it’s true. My now deceased uncle Louis Buttigieg, my father’s brother, used to write in the same fashion. In fact he was more gifted because he would write operettas and compose the music for them using his mandolin for inspiration”.
Downloads:
The following publications by the same author are available for download:
Of Craft and Honour - The first 15 chapters (PDF version)
Other related downloads:
The Hospitaller Component of the standing army of the Latin Kingdom 1099 - 1291.pdf
Celebrating nine centuries of survival
The Order of the Hospital and Feudal Duties
The Passagium Particulare of 1309
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