| Larmenius Charter (Carta Transmissionis trans: Charter of Transmission) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created | February 1324 (claimed), 1804 (first appeared) |
| Location | Mark Masons Hall, London |
| Author | Johannes Marcus Larmenius (claimed) |
| Media type | Vellum document |
| Purpose | Detailing the transfer of leadership of the Knights Templar to Jean Marc Larmenius after the death of Jacques de Molay |
The Larmenius Charter or Carta Transmissionis (transl. Charter of Transmission) is a coded Latin manuscript purportedly created by Johannes Marcus Larmenius (Fr.: Jean-Marc Larmenius) in February 1324, detailing the transfer of leadership of the Knights Templar to Larmenius after the death of Jacques de Molay.[1]
It also has appended to it a list of 22 successive grand masters of the Knights Templar after de Molay, ending in 1804, the name of Bernard-Raymond Fabré-Palaprat appearing last on the list. The document is written in a supposed devised ancient Knights Templar codex.[1] The document first appeared publicly in 1804.[1]
The document is widely agreed by modern scholars to be a forgery,[2][1][3][4] though a number of specular occultist writers have disputed this.[1] There is no evidence that the Knights Templar survived their suppression.[1] John Walker noted that, "there is no evidence that the Templars in the Middle Ages used any form of Latin cipher; the standard of the Latin translation is modern rather than medieval; the grammar is too consistent for a medieval charter; and (perhaps most tellingly) there is absolutely no evidence that a person named John Mark Larmenius ever existed."[1] Some scholars have argued it was created by a doctor named Ledru, who may have made the forgery without Fabré-Palaprat knowing.[1]
Despite it being a forgery, it was widely used as proof of a connection between revivalist neo-Templar groups, Templar freemasons, and the original Knights Templar, by members of these occultist groups. Some of these groups reject the authenticity of the manuscript.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Borchardt, Karl; Döring, Karoline Dominika; Josserand, Philippe; Nicholson, Helen J., eds. (2017). The Templars and their sources. London ; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 978-1-138-20190-3.
- ↑ Caillet, Serge (1997). L'Ordre rénové du Temple: Aux racines du Temple solaire (in French). Paris: Dervy. p. 28. ISBN 978-2-85076-924-5.
- ↑ Emmons, Paul; Feuerstein, Marcia F.; Dayer, Carolina (19 December 2016). Confabulations : Storytelling in Architecture. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-16227-8.
- ↑ Barber, Malcolm; Mallia-Milanes, Victor; Nicholson, Helen J. (1 January 2008). The Military Orders: History and heritage. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7546-6290-7.