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PRODID:-//Essex Book Festival - ECPv4.0.4//NONSGML v1.0//EN
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X-WR-CALNAME:Essex Book Festival
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DTSTART;TZID="Europe/London":20260628T120000
DTEND;TZID="Europe/London":20260628T130000
DTSTAMP:20260518T164510
CREATED:20260326T090056
LAST-MODIFIED:20260327T191835
UID:11449-1782648000-1782651600@35.176.91.154
SUMMARY:Downfall of the Templars
DESCRIPTION:Tony McMahon\nDownfall of the Templars\nSunday 28 June 2026\, 12.00pm\nLayer Marney Tower\, Layer Marney\, Near Colchester\, Essex\, CO5 9US\nWhy were the Knights Templar brutally crushed after years of courageous service in the Crusades? Were they framed for being heretics\, sorcerers and traitors? Do the Templars still exist today? Broadcaster and author Tony McMahon investigates the links between the trials of the Templars and the witch hunt mania that was about to grip Europe.\n\nTickets: £14 (includes entrance to Layer Marney Tower and gardens)\nOr all 3 events for £36\nBox Office: essexbookfestival.org.uk or Mercury Theatre 01206 573948\n\n \n\nThe History Books Ticket Deal\n\n\nMake an afternoon of it with our History Books ticket deal - £14 per event or all 3 events for £36\nDiscount automatically applied at checkout when tickets for all 3 events are booked:\n\n12.00pm – Tony McMahon\, Downfall of the Templars\n2.00pm - Emily Hauser\, Mythica\n4.00pm – Jonathan Freedland\, The Traitor's Circle\n\n\nThe History Books at Layer Marney Tower\, Sunday 28 June.\n\nEvent Information\n💬 The event will include an audience Q&A session.\n📚 Copies of the book will be available to purchase on the day.\n🖊️ After the event there will be an opportunity to get the book signed by the author.\n🪑 Seats are unallocated.\n📸 We will be filming and taking photos at this event.\n🚗 There is free parking at the venue\n♿ The venue is wheelchair accessible. There are disabled facilities on site.\n\n \n\n\n\n\nTony McMahon\n\n\n[caption id="attachment_11450" align="alignnone" width="225"] Photo of Tony McMahon © Tony McMahon[/caption]\n\n\n\nThe author\, Tony McMahon\, is a regular face on history and science documentaries on TV. He is one of four Truthseekers on History’s very successful three season series as well as Secrets of the Royal Palaces on Channel 5\, William Shatner’s The UnXplained\, Forbidden History\, Strange Evidence\, and many other shows.\n\nTony McMahon appeared with Tony Robinson and Steve Tibble at the Battle of Evesham Festival in August 2025 to talk about his trilogy of books on the Templars. Downfall of the Templars is the second book. The third\, focusing on the Freemason/Templar link\, will be published in late 2026.\n\nYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tonymcmahon_historybear\nThe Templar Knight blog: https://thetemplarknight.com/\nSubstack: https://tonymcmahon.substack.com/\nTony McMahon on TV: https://tony-mcmahon.com/\n\n\nDownfall of the Templars: Guilty of Diabolic Magic?\n\n\nThe Knights Templar - Europe’s first Witches?\n\nNew evidence from TV historian Tony McMahon proves that the trials of the Knights Templar between 1307 and 1312 foreshadowed the witch trials about to engulf Europe for over 300 years. Many of the alleged crimes of the Templars mirror the charges brought against thousands of witches. Illicit kisses\, demon worshipping\, and desecrating the crucifix.\n\nTony McMahon explains:\n“It’s been overlooked that when the Knights Templar were being tortured and executed\, the king of France was also burning a group of women called the Beguines. He accused a bishop of murdering the queen using magic potions. And he was trying to put a dead pope on trial for diabolism. Something was happening in medieval society. This was the beginning of the notorious witch trials.”\n\nPlus\, while the Templars were on trial – others were being accused of sorcery including a bishop and a dead pope. This was part of a new elite obsession with sorcery and necromancy. The disturbing late medieval trend that would claim the lives of so many is investigated by TV historian Tony McMahon in Downfall of the Templars: Guilty of Diabolic Magic? (Pen & Sword publishers).\n\nMost historians assume the Templars were destroyed by the King of France\, Philip IV\, eager to grab their fabled riches. But author and historian Tony McMahon shows that the Templar trials between 1307 and 1312 were part of a new and sinister wave of prosecutions against alleged sorcerers and necromancers.\n\nSociety was sliding into superstition and darkness. The Templars fell victim to this trend. As our own time sees an onslaught on science and reason\, the terrible fate of these knights is an object lesson we all need to learn. And with increased interest in witchcraft\, this is a timely book set to provoke widespread interest.\n\nDownfall of the Templars also investigates whether the knights really did have enormous treasure that they successfully hid away. And it sheds light on organisations today that claim to be modern Templars.\n\nOrder a copy of the book from bookshop.org.\n\n\n\n\n
URL:http://35.176.91.154/event/downfall-of-the-templars/
LOCATION:Layer Marney\, CO5 9US
CATEGORIES:History,The History Books
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