Looking Down the Barrel of a Brand New Day - COMPLETED

Part Two - Chapter Twelve

Sunday, January 20, 2019

Jack

As you know, the Bektashi are the cool kids of the Muslim world. They are enlightened, well-educated, tolerant, creative, "mystical", known for their sense of humor, and flexible on rituals and proper dress.

The Bektashi enjoyed a dominant following among the Janissary Corps, the Turkish Sultan's elite infantry. In 1095 A.D., the Turks' advance on the Byzantine Empire sparked Pope Urban II to call on European Christians to march east to reinforce the Byzantines and recover the Holy Lands in Jerusalem. Eight waves of Crusaders, over 200 years, won the Holy Lands, then lost everything by 1291.

Later, the Ottoman Turks, lead by the Janissary Corps, overran Constantinople in 1453, bringing more than fourteen centuries of the Roman Empire to a close. Further west, the Ottomans fought for more than 25 years before their conquest of Albania was complete in 1479. The region would remain under Ottoman control for the next five hundred years, until 1912. Throughout those centuries, many talented Albanians were recruited into the ranks of the Janissary and the leadership of the Ottoman Empire. Forty-two Grand Viziers were native Albanians, including Muhammad Ali (1769-1849), the ruler of Egypt. Many Albanians also entered the Sufi Order of the Bektashi.

Your ancestors were among them.

Nearly 2000 miles to the west, and exactly 900 years ago, the Knights of the Templar were founded in France in 1119 A.D. Their original mission was to protect European pilgrims visiting the Holy Lands, and to fight in the Crusades.

The Templars were warrior monks, but somewhat progressive. They accepted Knights from the middle and lower classes, as well as women in non-combat roles. They also firmly committed themselves by oath to chivalry, poverty, modesty (heroes never brag), honor through death in battle, and celibacy (sex, kissing, and even talking about sex were all forbidden).

The Knights were brave, honorable, and fierce in battle. They distinguished themselves by charging forward on horseback, in tight formation, to break through enemy lines and insure victory or suicide. As a result of their bravery, they were constantly chosen to battle the Turks and other Muslim forces (Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; see also Brooks, Robin Hood: Men in Tights).

After losing the Holy Lands at the end of the 13th Century, the Knights Templar returned to France defeated. However, due to their honor and integrity, they found themselves entrusted with the transfer of riches between European kingdoms, creating the first international banking system.

King Philip IV of France, who was destitute and indebted to the Templars, grew jealous and  hateful. On October 13, 1307 (the original Friday the 13th), King Philip ordered mass arrests of the Knights. He falsely charged them with denying Jesus, spitting on the cross, and making new recruits kiss the older knights on the ass.

The Templars were tortured until they confessed or died. Those that confessed were burned alive. As many as 30 to 40 knights where executed at a time. The Pope, a relative of King Philip, turned a blind eye to the atrocities. Jacques de Molay, the Knights' Grand Master, was burned in Paris on a small island in the Seine. From the flames he screamed a vow that God would seek revenge.

The Pope died a month later. Seven months after that, the King was dead.

However, as the fires of the purge continued to burn through the ranks of the Knights, some escaped into hiding while their homes and temples were destroyed.

"One of the only chapels officially attributed to the Knights Templar that still remains in France is La Chapelle Des Templiers, Charentes."  The chapel is located in the Charentes district.

The Templars were headquartered in the Champagne Region, but when hunted down by the King, many took refuge in Charentes,  which was a small maritime and farming region on the Atlantic coast of France. The people of Charentes were, and continue to be, defiantly loyal to the Knights Templar.

In all of France, Charentes is the top producer of oysters and cognac, which is made from champagne. It is also the home of my family. In 1589, fresh grape juice was inadvertently mixed with cognac. The product was delicious and named "Pineau". Pineau has been bottled and sold by more than a hundred distilleries for nearly 500 years. The people of Charentes produced more than 14,000,000 liters of Pineau in 2018.

You and I have shared the sacrament of oysters and champagne. My ancestors have been doing the same while protecting the last of the Knights Templar since 1307. Over seven centuries, they have also co-mingled, and passed on some Templar DNA.

In the last five years, molecular biologists have confirmed that some phobias are genetically inherited. Professor William Clark, Scientific American, "Fear can be selectively bred into succeeding generations, suggesting a strong genetic component." The fear of spiders may be rooted in a traumatic venomous bite hundreds or thousands of years in the past. It is passed down from generation to generation, leaving the current offspring vessels to an ancient terror. Whether there is also a genetic link between a powerful desire and a past encounter with the sublime remains an unstudied mystery.

Combining all we know and using it to seek the truth, there is only one conclusion.  A young French Knight was in the Holy Land. He is ennobled by a vow of chivalry. He is starved by an oath to poverty. He is chastened by a promise of celibacy. In a garden, or a town, or a palace, he sees your green eyes. And the passion burns a memory across nine centuries to where we are now.

Well?

[⭐Vote. ❤️ CeciandJack]

Photo 1: Eyes Green by AdinaVoicu, 2015 (Pixabay #755863).

Photos 2-4: Taken and owned by the authors, 2019.