WOW! The Divinci Code fans are gonna LOVE this!

But why, pray tell am I bringing this to the attention of my loyal blog readers?
Well. I’m glad you asked

This Blog is about Marketing and about News.
I’d have to say this is pretty BIG news, wouldn’t you agree??
And as far as marketing goes, this has GOT to be the most incredible example of capitalizing on a most unique niche that I’ve ever seen!

They limited quantities to 799 copies (giving the first one to the Pope - a curious move to me as he already has access to the original documents, but one of respect I guess) and they laid a substantial price tag on it (about $8,333) meaning that this marketing endeavor is going to Net the Vatican about $6.5 Million dollars.

From a marketing standpoint - SWEET!

Now, On to the News!

MistrTim
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Knights Templar win heresy reprieve after 700 years
Fri Oct 12, 2007 4:10am EDT

By Philip Pullella; Reuters

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Knights Templar, the medieval Christian
military order accused of heresy and sexual misconduct, will soon be
partly rehabilitated when the Vatican publishes trial documents it had
closely guarded for 700 years.

A reproduction of the minutes of trials against the Templars,
“‘Processus Contra Templarios — Papal Inquiry into the Trial of the
Templars‘” is a massive work and much more than a book — with a 5,900
euros ($8,333) price tag.

“This is a milestone because it is the first time that these documents
are being released by the Vatican, which gives a stamp of authority to
the entire project,” said Professor Barbara Frale, a medievalist at
the Vatican’s Secret Archives.

“Nothing before this offered scholars original documents of the trials
of the Templars,” she told Reuters in a telephone interview ahead of
the official presentation of the work on October 25.

The epic comes in a soft leather case that includes a large-format
book including scholarly commentary, reproductions of original
parchments in Latin, and — to tantalize Templar buffs — replicas of
the wax seals used by 14th-century inquisitors.

Reuters was given an advance preview of the work, of which only 799
numbered copies have been made.

One parchment measuring about half a meter wide by some two meters
long is so detailed that it includes reproductions of stains and
imperfections seen on the originals.

Pope Benedict will be given the first set of the work, published by
the Vatican Secret Archives in collaboration with Italy’s Scrinium
cultural foundation, which acted as curator and will have exclusive
world distribution rights.

The Templars, whose full name was “Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and
of the Temple of Solomon”, were founded in 1119 by knights sworn to
protecting Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land after the
Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099.

They amassed enormous wealth and helped finance wars of some European
monarchs. Legends of their hidden treasures, secret rituals and power
have figured over the years in films and bestsellers such as “The Da
Vinci Code”.

The Knights have also been portrayed as guardians of the legendary
Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper before his
crucifixion.

The Vatican expects most copies of the work to be bought up by
specialized libraries at top universities and by leading medieval
scholars.

BURNED AT THE STAKE

The Templars went into decline after Muslims re-conquered the Holy
Land at the end of the 13th century and were accused of heresy by King
Philip IV of France, their foremost persecutor. Their alleged offences
included denying Christ and secretly worshipping idols.

The most titillating part of the documents is the so-called Chinon
Parchment, which contains phrases in which Pope Clement V absolves the
Templars of charges of heresy, which had been the backbone of King
Philip’s attempts to eliminate them.

Templars were burned at the stake for heresy by King Philip’s agents
after they made confessions that most historians believe were given
under duress.

The parchment, also known as the Chinon Chart, was “misplaced” in the
Vatican archives until 2001, when Frale stumbled across it.

“The parchment was catalogued incorrectly at some point in history. At
first I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was incredulous,” she said.

“This was the document that a lot of historians were looking for,” the
37-year-old scholar said.

Philip was heavily indebted to the Templars, who had helped him
finance his wars, and getting rid of them was a convenient way of
cancelling his debts, some historians say.

Frale said Pope Clement was convinced that while the Templars had
committed some grave sins, they were not heretics.

SPITTING ON THE CROSS

Their initiation ceremony is believed to have included spitting on the
cross, but Frale said they justified this as a ritual of obedience in
preparation for possible capture by Muslims. They were also said to
have practiced sodomy.

“Simply put, the pope recognized that they were not heretics but
guilty of many other minor crimes — such as abuses, violence and
sinful acts within the order,” she said. “But that is not the same as
heresy.”

Despite his conviction that the Templars were not guilty of heresy, in
1312 Pope Clement ordered the Templars disbanded for what Frale called
“the good of the Church” following his repeated clashes with the
French king.

Frale depicted the trials against the Templars between 1307 and 1312
as a battle of political wills between Clement and Philip, and said
the document means Clement’s position has to be reappraised by historians.

“This will allow anyone to see what is actually in documents like
these and deflate legends that are in vogue these days,” she said.

Rosi Fontana, who has helped the Vatican coordinate the project, said:
“The most incredible thing is that 700 years have passed and people
are still fascinated by all of this.”

“The precise reproduction of the parchments will allow scholars to
study them, touch them, admire them as if they were dealing with the
real thing,” Fontana said.

“But even better, it means the originals will not deteriorate as fast
as they would if they were constantly being viewed,” she said.

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