Place Names
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Melrose Abbey – Cistercian abbey in the Eastern Borders region of Scotland, was founded 1136 as the mother church of Scotland — implemented new agricultural innovations and marketing of wool.
Dryburgh Abbey – Premonstratensian abbey of canons established in 1152 Â located several miles from Melrose abbey.
Holyrood Abbey –Â once situated in the hunting grounds near Edinburgh castle, it was also the meeting place of the parliament of Scottish kings council of bishops and earls, with guest houses, royal church and cloisters.
Emona Isle – Presently known in 21st century as Inchcomb island, lies off the coast of Edinburgh in the estuary of the Forth River, with the ruins of a medieval Augustinian Abbey dedicated to Saint Columba.
Roxburgh castle – Roxburgh was one of the four most important castle towns in Scotland during the middle ages. It was located along a promontory between the Rivers Tweed and Teviot and at the junction of two major roads. Below the Castle lay a great place to ford the River Tweed. But now the town has vanished, stone by stone. Today, all but a few wall ruins are left of the castle and town.
Kelso Abbey -Barely two miles up river from Roxburgh castle stands the Tironensian monastery of Kelsae, situated on the north side, across the river. It shared partnership in keeping watch over the waterway confluence of the rivers Teviot and Tweed.
Lindesfarne Priory – Located in Northumberland on the northeastern coast of England, LIndesfarne was an important center of early Celtic Christianity and home of the illuminated manuscripts known as the Lindesfarne Gospels.
Bamburgh Castle – Across the bay from Lindesfarne Priory along England’s northeastern coast and only a few miles south of the Scottish border, Bamburgh castle was one of Northumberland’s most formidable strong holds, dating back to the iron age.
Alexandria, Egypt – During the Crusades and throughout the Middle Ages, Alexandria situated at the mouth of the Nile River. From Egypt’s earliest days, a great lighthouse stood as an iconic landmark of the harbor, a beacon gateway to Africa and a crossroads of many cultures. It was home of great commerce and a center of learning, which amassed a great library of antiquities. During the Crusades, it was a military stronghold of the Kings of Jerusalem. The Templars and other military orders occupied the lighthouse and protected the city as one of the five Patriarchies of Christianity.
Dunwich – Once the burgeoning capital of East Anglia, Dunwich was a royal port, second only to London. Dunwich was not only home to many churches and monasteries, but Templars and Hospitallers, to England’s ship-building industry and sea trade from early times. At its height in the 13th century, population grew to 5000, with 800 households. Then during the final decade of the 13th century, a series of storms destroyed hundreds of homes along the shore. Soon the harbor deteriorated and the bluff, upon which the town was built, slipped yard by yard, into the sea. Today, the village of Dunwich continues to succumb to the ravages of the North Sea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunwich
Kelon Castle – Fictional castle located a few miles south of Edinburgh , belonging to Lord Lair Eagan’s family which houses a Library and scriptorium (manuscript manufactory).
Exeter – A cathedral city in Devon on the mouth of Exe river, dating back to Roman Era.
Stonehenge – A complex of ancient burial monuments and standing stones in Wiltshire construction dating back as far as 3,000 bc.
Soutra Aisle – Historic Augustinian Hospital located twenty miles south of Edinburgh. Medieval ruins still stand on the wide hilltop, along with wonderful explanations and markers. Name taken from the Sous -terrain subterranean cells built into the hillsides.
Balantrodoch – Once the Templar headquarters for Scotland, located seven miles south of Edinburgh.
Dál Riata – Ancient Gaelic kingdom that once ruled western Scotland
Castle Syven — Fictional castle positioned along the Kintyre Coast near Kilmory.
Dalymple Wood—Fictional manor estate in eastern Scotland Ayrshire. In the vicinity of the present village of Dalrymple.
Isle of Kerrera — located the bay near Oban where Judith de Dalrymple escapes English invasion.
Pillars of Hercules – the Strait of Gibraltar is the gateway to the Mediterranean Sea.
Ventimiglia – A port on the Ligurian coast of current day Italy with history closely associated with Provence and the principality of Seborga.
Seborga РThe principality of Seborga has held its independence from before the earliest Crusades. Their legends tell of Templars, Bernard of Clairvaux, Cistercians, Cathars and inquisitions! Less well known is its affiliations with the monks of L̬rins, who came under the mantle of the Cistercians.
Pisa – Once a powerfully innovative city-state port along the Arno River, Pisa was also likely occupied by Templars in the thirteenth century.
Lèrins Abbey—Mystic contemplatives of the Hermetic tradition who came to Provence in the 5th century and spread throughout Provence and the wilds of the Mediterranean. The monks of Lerins were eventually melded with Cistercians, but seemed to hold fast to their mystic ways. Parallel to the monastic traditions coming to the wilds of Provence are the legends of Mary Magdalene’s arrival on those same shores and the ties to the desert father traditions of Egypt, which many purport Mary Magdalene practiced.
Moustiers Sainte Marie — the village once known in medieval times as Monasterio de Lérins remains nestled in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence of Southeastern France and has kept the mystic traditions of the monks of Lèrins alive through the centuries.
Lake Issyk Kul — located in the eastern region of Kyrgyzstan is one of the earth’s deepest lakes and home to possibly one of the Templar Order’s furthest outposts near Mongolia. Archeologists have discovered rare Scythian artifacts from burial sites and submerged metropolis beneath the surface of the lake, suggesting the presence of a lost civilization.
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