Heh. I've been doing some side reading on the Crusades, as I mentioned a few days ago, and I was just googling a reference or two when I found a blog citing the recent publication of archivist Barbara Frale's recent 2009 book on the
Knights Templar,
The Templars: The Secret History Revealed. Frale is an historian in the employ of the dramatically-named
Vatican Secret Archives, and appears to be a
very accomplished medievalist. What caught my eye was this comment in the blog entry:The brief foreword by
Umberto Eco has the following priceless remarks: "No other subject has ever inspired more hacks from more countries throughout time than the Templars. . . The only way to determine if a book on the Templars is serious is to check if it ends in 1314..."
Nice!