Craft and Honour

The recently lauched 'Of Craft and Honour and a Templar’s Chronicles' is a dual novel by George G. Buttigieg that combines the Templars with international masonic intrigue. The Malta narrative is set in the summer of 2008, while the other narrative takes place in 1307 with the arrest of the Templars in France:

...Another significant appreciation of the book was made by Prof. Barber, an Emeritus professor of history, who specialised in Templar Studies, medieval heresy and the Crusades. Among his more popularly known books one finds The Trial of the Templars (Cambridge UP, 1978, new ed, 2006).

Prof. Barber explained how Buttigieg’s Templars, in spite of their individual weaknesses, seem a different breed to the Da Vinci’s Templars, and he contrasted and compared the issues of philosophy and religion between the 14th century Templar Chronicles and the modern part of the book. To quote his words, “This book is not simply a detective novel, entertaining as that is, but it is also a vehicle for consideration of fundamental ethical and religious issues, neatly delineated by two interlocking stories set in very different periods of time.”

A present-day approach was taken by Prof. de Marco when he evaluated some of the principles which emanate from the book including tolerance and the elimination of prejudice both in the religious sphere as well as in international politics as exemplified by the Israeli-Palestinian situation which is also drawn into the book. He spoke of the clash of civilisations and explained that civilisations and cultures do not clash but are made to clash by individuals. ..

The author, George G Buttigieg, an obstetrician and gynaecologist by profession, described how writing for him was a form of catharsis where his imagination liberated him from life’s daily problems. He asked readers to delve deeper into the book as many religio-philosophical issues mentioned in the narratives deal with the raw reality of life. He also gave a brief description of the Templar’s history and its alleged metamorphosis into freemasonry and he evaluated this notion between the 16th and 19th century ending with the modern period...

Raw reality of life