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KNIGHTS TEMPLAR: Legacy in Switzerland, Portugal, and Scotland
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Original Message
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Switzerland has always been a bit of an enigma. It's a loose confederation of various socioeconomic and language groups -- German, French, Italian, and Romansh. It's citizens are required to perform several years of military service and be armed. It's basically a country whose citizens double as a standing militia.
Switzerland is famous for being the seat of international banking (specifically Zurich), it's ferociously neutral, and it's curious flag.
Let's examine the Knights Templar for a minute. The Knights Templar were formed in 1119 A.D. by 9 French knights, whose purpose was, ostensibly, to protect Christian pilgrims on the roads to the Holy Land. Nevermind that that seems an impossible task for merely 9 knights. Looking at a map of Europe, we see that at least some of those roads must've gone through Switzerland. So the Templars were became familiar with that area -- its rugged, mountainous, protected terrain, perfect for taking refuge.
The Swiss flag is interesting. It's color are the exact opposite of the Knights Templar's tunics. The Templars wore white tunics with a red cross on it. The Swiss flag is a red flag with a white cross on it. And the Swiss flag is unique in that it's square, as opposed to the usual rectangular flags of other nations. Remember that the Templar legacy was passed down to the Freemasons. And the wisdom possessed by both esoteric groups harkened back to the building of King Solomon's Temple (by Hiram, the "master mason"). The "square" is a very important metaphoric symbol in western mysticism. It represents half of the symbol of the square and compasses that exists to this day in the fraternity of Freemasonry. Is the Swiss flag a uniquely square shape as a metaphor for the square of Hiram, the builder of King Solomon's Temple, the master mason?
Another unique characteristic of Switzerland is its neutrality. The Knights Templar, too, were a neutral entity, not owing allegiance to any one nation, but rather to the Pope, who dominated the affairs of many nations.
The Knights Templar were the first "international bankers" for lack of a better term. For example, if a Christian pilgrim from, let's say, France, wanted to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but didn't want to take all his money with him on his travels (the roads were filled with bandits), he could go to the local Templar commandary, deposit his money there, receive a bill of credit to accompany him on his travels to the Holy Land. Then once in the Holy Land, he would present his bill of credit to the Templar commandery in the Holy Land, and receive his money there. Switzerland, too, is famous for its international banking and accounts.
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