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Stories of the biblical King Solomon and his Jerusalem Temple reside at the heart of modern Freemasonry. But, in earlier times, the traditional connection to the Royal House of Judah rested with the Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, commonly known as the Knights Templars. Did the masonic movement take its lead from the Templars? If so, how does a modern-day charitable fraternity reconcile with a medieval Order of warrior monks?
Freemasonry is described as 'a peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols'. It is associated with the funding of schools, hospitals and care centres - but it is also reckoned to be the guardian of certain ancient secrets. The fact is, however, that Freemasons are not at any stage taught what those secrets are. The reason for this was given in 1723, when it was announced that “The secrets have been lost”.
It is hoped that these will be found by constant and repetitive performances of certain scripted rituals, but such attempts have failed for nearly 300 years. In The Shadow of Solomon, an approach of ancient archival research is taken, with the result that the primary lost secret of Freemasonry is revealed.
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