The Temple and the Lodge

The Temple and the Lodge (UK ISBN 0-552-13596-8) is a book co-written by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh that claims to trace a link between the suppressed Knights Templar and modern day Freemasonry.

The thesis of the book is that after the Knights Templar were suppressed for heresy at the bequest of the King of France some elements found refuge in Scotland where they helped the Scots in their fight for independence from the English.

It also makes the case that many of the people behind the American Revolution were Freemasons, as were some of the less succesful British commanders such as Howe and Cornwallis.