Wow! I hadn't realized that there were other branches of Knights who used similar symbols as the Knights of St John. Very interesting tie-in. I've wondered about the so-called Maltese Cross for quite some time and that brings clarity. Thanks, Jim, your knowledge on the subject seems extensive! (and this with half your library tucked away!). On a totally unrelated subject (well, perhaps not TOTALLY), I read with fascination about the end of the Knights due to Napoleon's trickery. It was said that all of the treasures of the knights, spanning back to the earliest Crusade with the Templars, was placed on the flagship L'Orient. Shortly thereafter, the British fleet arrived and sent the flaming ship to her doom. Now there's a great spin on a conspiracy theory ala Ron Brown if you ask me. What secrets and knowledge did the Maltese Knights have, like their Templar brethren, that was lost that day?
Hey, I better get started writing this book!
