The Knights in Shining Armor

One of the really interesting things so far in Mumbo Jumbo is the Wallflower Order, and specifically its relation to the Knights Templar. Now, the Knights Templar (Not to be confused with the Teutons) was a monastic order established in the early 12th century. They were based on a mountain above what was believed to eb the ruins of the Temple of Solomon and were originally founded to protect Christians who were making pilgrimages through the Holy Land. They later became the force spearheading many of the crusades, and also developed an early form of banking. They became an organization which used early forms of checks and would retain the wealth of nobles while they were on crusades, and also took control of many cities and businesses, becoming a major part of European lifestyle at the time. By the 14th century they had become extremely wealthy and powerful, almost to the point where they could do anything they wanted to. Then suddenly they were disbanded by the Pope and many of their members were arrested. Over the course of a few years, they went from being one of the most powerful societies in Europe at the time, to being nonexistent. This change went by so quickly that many people believed, and still believe, that the Knights Templar still exist in hiding, and are running things from behind the scenes. Also, just to give you an idea of what the Knights Templar were like, just imagine every fairytale knight in shining armor, and the Knights Templar were the real-world base for them. Now the question is, how does all this relate to the book? From what we know so far, Hinckle Von Vampton was one of the original members of the Knights Templar, and the Knights Templar still exist to this very day and have a hand in many political institutions. They basically run the Wallflower Order, and by extension they run almost everything related to atonism. It is also implied that Hinckle has some mysterious masters who are probably also part of the Knights Templar, which could mean that this is a worldwide association similar to the Illuminati. I wonder why Reed put the Knights Templar specifically into the book. If he wanted a secret society, he could have easily gone with something like the Stonemasons while still being able to use them to enforce Protestant ideals. It’s just a really interesting idea, and I’m curious if he’s going to play off of the idea of Knights in shining armor at all, or mainly focus on the whole crusading and political aspects. Anyways, I hope I was able to provide a bit more context as to who the Knights Templar actually were and what they did, I have a feeling that it’ll be important to understand that later in the book.  

Comments

  1. KatieFebruary 8, 2020 at 3:00 PM

    This summary was very helpful. I think that it is good to know about their sudden end and why that then makes people believe they could still exist. Knowing these things could come in handy later in the book. If nothing else, it makes sense to why the book has the Knights Templar still existing.

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  2. Grace JuhnFebruary 8, 2020 at 4:31 PM

    Woah.. It never came across my mind that Reed would refer to the long history of the Knights Templar, but also it makes sense that Reed would put this into his book in hopes that someone would know the background history and draw connections with ancient history to the society present in the book. Thanks for the summary, I think this cleared up most of the confusion I had while reading about Knights Templar and the connection with the Wallflower order. This summary really let me appreciate how much depth Reed put into this story.

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  3. NikaFebruary 9, 2020 at 11:02 AM

    This is so fascinating, and it makes so much of Reeds early decisions clearer! If Mumbo Jumbo is (so far) a critique of white history and monotheism, then it makes perfect sense to give the villains of the story this connection to the Knights Templar. Not only is there the traditional image of a "knight" as a dashing white hero that's undercut, but the Knights Templar were literally involved in the crusades that tried to spread Christianity and suppressed pagans and polytheists. By connecting it to the present day (of the novel), it sends a clear message.

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  4. Alex HynesFebruary 9, 2020 at 11:50 AM

    I find it interesting that Reed has this whole ancient origin story. As Sasha wrote in his post, Reed also connects the Wallflower Order and atonism to Egypt, specifically the god Aten and Akhenaten. I find this to be an interesting contrast to Ragtime, where Doctorow gives deep historical context of the current era and gives a creates a deep realistic world. In Mumbo Jumbo, Reed focuses on the factors in history leading up to this time period. It's also interesting that Reed not just talks about the Wallflower order as the Christian Templars, but as a monotheistic "empire" starting in ancient Egypt and in a snowball effect adding in all of these other monotheistic groups, such as the Templars who seek to convert everyone to Christianity (or kill them).

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  5. Steven BlankeFebruary 9, 2020 at 3:15 PM

    This is so interesting and it makes some of the decisions made in the novel so much clearer. I had no idea that the Knights Templar were as much of a big deal as the were, and clearly Reed is sending a historic message here.

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  6. Nicholas PFebruary 9, 2020 at 3:17 PM

    It's interesting how both Reed and Doctorow put secret orders in their books. With Doctorow, it's just a fun plot point. He makes up a meeting between Ford and Morgan and says that they founded a little secret society. He says that they funded egyptologists, but we'll never know because it was a secret society. On the other hand, Reed creates the Wallflower order. Supposedly descended from the Teutonic knights. They're like the Illuminati, controlling American politics and culture. I think it shows how different the styles of these two books are.

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  7. Nil PatelFebruary 10, 2020 at 4:58 PM

    While reading this book, I had no idea how the Knights Templar fit in to anything and this blog helps clear it up. Maybe the Knights Templar and the crusades could be somehow be connected to ancient Egypt?? I'm excited to see how Reed will piece all of this together and might make me wonder about if some controlling secret society exist in present day.

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  8. MitchellFebruary 11, 2020 at 11:00 AM

    While rereading _The Scarlet Letter_ for my freshman classes, I was shocked to come across a passing reference to the Knights Templar--the "military" section of the procession at the end of the novel, when Dimmesdale is about to deliver his big Election sermon, is directly compared to the Knights Templar in terms of the impressive effect of their costumes. Which, yeah, that all checks out--what are the New England Puritans if not a bunch of Atonists insisting on "the one" and carving out their "civilization" as separate and distinct from the "savages" all around them?

    Once you start wearing "Ishmael Reed glasses," you start seeing this stuff all over the place! The conspiracy is real, folks.

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  9. Elizabeth TFebruary 26, 2020 at 6:53 PM

    You know, when I think “knight in shining armor,” Hinkle Von Vampton – 4th Horseman of the Apocalypse, eye-patch, beard down to his waist, cackling like a lunatic – is not at all what comes to mind. Probably, that’s what Reed is trying to get at – that maybe our cultural memory of the Knights Templar – a group of white Christian men with unlimited money and political power – as a group of pure, chivalrous knights fighting for the virtues of our good Christian society – isn’t entirely accurate. Probably a lot of people did see the Knights Templar as villains like Hinkle – but they weren’t the ones writing the history books.

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