Earl of Orkney

[morningstar]

I was doing some research recently on the history of the Mi'Kmaw (Micmac) - a Native tribe from Eastern Canada/US - when I stumbled upon an interesting theory/lengend/connection that involves the Knights Templar. Some believe that Henry Sinclair (St.Clair) sailed to present day Nova Scotia in 1398 and made contact with the Micmac tribe who resided there. Here is just one link I uncovered in my searches:

Most intriguing to me are the “Indian corn” (maize) motifs around one window in the south aisle. Maize is an American plant, unknown in 15th-century Britain, so is there truth in the story that Henry, first Prince of Orkney, sailed to Nova Scotia in 1398 with Antonio Zeno, the Venetian navigator, as claimed by Zeno’s great-great-great grandson in 1558? According to the younger Zeno’s book, Prince Henry and his comrades spent a winter with the Micmac Indians before setting sail again and being blown by storms to the Massachusetts shore.

A Micmac legend of the man-god Glooscap, who came from the east in a ship and taught them to fish with nets, is still current (present-day Micmac make pilgrimages to Rosslyn Chapel). There are two curious pieces of corroborating physical evidence to support it: a canon, identified as 14th-century Venetian, dredged up in 1849 from Louisburg harbour on Cape Breton island, Nova Scotia; and a rock carving at Westford, Massachusetts, accurately depicting a 14th-century armoured knight - whose shield device matches that of Prince Henry’s shipmate, Sir James Gunn of Clyth, who allegedly died there.

from: templars.wordpress.com/category/scotland/

Have any of you who are well versed in this topic ever encountered this theory...and, if so - what are your feelings on this? I am rather curious, as this came as a surprise to me.
It would be interesting to hear some of your opinions on this subject.

Thanks,
Morningstar

[Frater G]

I think the theory is plausible. Archaeological finds are good evidence. How fascinating though that the Micmac are still telling the tale at present. It would be interesting to read a little deeper what the Micmac tale was.

[morningstar]

From what I've gathered so far, this theory is based a great deal on speculation...however, that does not mean for certain that it does not hold some truth. It would seem that those who believe it would do so with an element of faith...as it can't be proved or disproved.

It would be interesting to read a little deeper what the Micmac tale was.

I've read some of the stories of Glooscap that are available online. There is nothing concrete to suggest that they were written about or inspired by Henry Sinclair. Some Native people take insult to the connection being drawn between the legendary Glooscap and Sinclair...but that is only one perspective I've found so far.

The question remains - does the "Zeno Narrative" hold any truth - is it possible that Sinclair did land on the shores of North America in 1398? Many historians have labeled this as bunk...but, again, not completely disproved the theory either...interesting stuff, nonetheless.

I hope to look into this a bit further. One aspect to consider is that if Sinclair did make contact with the people of the "New World" - but did so without pillaging and exploitation, but just respectively passed through at that time - it may not ever be possible to prove this one way or the other...

[vajramukti]

morningstar said:

The question remains - does the "Zeno Narrative" hold any truth - is it possible that Sinclair did land on the shores of North America in 1398? Many historians have labeled this as bunk...but, again, not completely disproved the theory either...interesting stuff, nonetheless.

Rosslyn Chapel, built in Scotland by the Sinclair Family in 1446 and completed in 1450, has corn (maize) and aloe plants cut into the stonework. These plants are indigenous to America and therefore should have been unknown in Scotland 42 years BEFORE Columbus "discovered" America...

But, apparently Sinclair knew of them.

[Frater G]

vajramukti said:

morningstar said:

The question remains - does the "Zeno Narrative" hold any truth - is it possible that Sinclair did land on the shores of North America in 1398? Many historians have labeled this as bunk...but, again, not completely disproved the theory either...interesting stuff, nonetheless.

Rosslyn Chapel, built in Scotland by the Sinclair Family in 1446 and completed in 1450, has corn (maize) and aloe plants cut into the stonework. These plants are indigenous to America and therefore should have been unknown in Scotland 42 years BEFORE Columbus "discovered" America...

But, apparently Sinclair knew of them.

That right there is the most puzzling evidence. Why anyways would Maize be put into the stonework? That must have had some kind of significance. What if Prince Henry noticed the similarities between Native American (Micmac) beliefs and the beliefs of eastern mysticism which the Knights Templar embraced. That would have been enlightening in a comparative sense. That would have also explained why they carved it in stone. A philosophy carved in stone.

[morningstar]

Rosslyn Chapel, built in Scotland by the Sinclair Family in 1446 and completed in 1450, has corn (maize) and aloe plants cut into the stonework. These plants are indigenous to America and therefore should have been unknown in Scotland 42 years BEFORE Columbus "discovered" America...

But, apparently Sinclair knew of them.

Yes - this seems to be some of the more compelling evidence.
Wasn't Rosslyn Chapel built by Henry Sinclair's son? Interesting.

Here are some additional sites of interest:

www.mystae.com/restricted/streams/masons/glooscap.html

Glooscap, the legendary cultural hero of the Mi'kmaqs, is in a number of tales and had always been believed by scholars to be European - but always assumed to be after Columbus. Pohl found no less than 17 places where the Mi'kmaq legend was identical with that of Prince Henry Sinclair, as some of Pohl's comparisons show:

The visiting hero was a 'prince'. He was a 'king', who had often sailed the seas. His home was in a 'large town' on an island, and he came with many men and soldiers. He came across the ocean via Newfoundland and first met the Mi'kmaqs at Pictou. His principal weapon was 'a sword of sharpness'. He had three daughters. His character was unusual, and was precisely that which biographical study of Sinclair reveals. He explored Nova Scotia extensively. He slept for six months in the wigwam of a giant named winter. He remained in the country only from the sailing season to the next sailing season.

Beatrice M. Hay in the December 30, 1927 edition of Canadian National Railways Magazine said of the Mi'kmaqs:

Their missionaries believe that they had learned something of Christianity before the arrival of the first French priest, and that they acquired this knowledge from Norsemen who are known to have visited the shores of North America long before.

Hay continued, stating that in historian N.E. Dionne's 1891 biography of 17th century French explorer Samuel de Champlain, Dionne writes how Champlain, during one of his forays along an inlet north of Cape Forchu, Nova Scotia, discovered the remains of a moss-covered decayed cross. Other historian have recorded that the Mi'kmaqs were extremely devoted to the cross equating the object with their earlier legends.

Although the Mi'kmaq legends of the Glooscap and the Zeno Narrative account of the expedition of Sir Henry Sinclair correspond, the question still remains: "Is there archaeological evidence to support the accounts?" It is the Scottish account that describes how the Sinclair expedition spent their winter teaching the natives various Scottish games and dance. The Mi'kmaqs would later claim to have knowledge of Shinny for hundreds of years and given that Shinny was a popular pastime of the Scots, this strongly implies that Shinny was one of the games introduced to the Mi'kmaqs at the time of the Henry Sinclair expedition to Nova Scotia. Furthermore, in 1883, a burial stone marker was discovered near present day Westford, Massachusetts, depicting a 14th century knight with a sword and shield. An oval-shaped "boat stone," measuring about 2 feet in diameter was found in the 1940's by a farmer who had kept it in his barn for approximately twenty years before deeding it to the J. V. Fletcher Library, in Westford. On the stone is a carved image of a 14th century ship, an arrow, and the numbers 184, presumably carved at the same time as the Westford Knight burial stone marker.

The above quote is taken from the following:

www.sonahhr.com/sonahhr/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.history&chapter=5

Connections...connections...they are endless at times...

[vajramukti]

admin said:

vajramukti said:

Rosslyn Chapel, built in Scotland by the Sinclair Family in 1446 and completed in 1450, has corn (maize) and aloe plants cut into the stonework. These plants are indigenous to America and therefore should have been unknown in Scotland 42 years BEFORE Columbus "discovered" America...

But, apparently Sinclair knew of them.

That right there is the most puzzling evidence. Why anyways would Maize be put into the stonework? That must have had some kind of significance. What if Prince Henry noticed the similarities between Native American (Micmac) beliefs and the beliefs of eastern mysticism which the Knights Templar embraced. That would have been enlightening in a comparative sense. That would have also explained why they carved it in stone. A philosophy carved in stone.

There is a legend that the Andaeans of southern Iraq tell of the "promised" land to the west, which was lost, called "Merika." They have been telling this legend for several thousand years.

I don't recall specifically, perhaps George III can fill in here, but there is either a masonic or templar question: What do you seek? The answer is, "That which was lost." And there is something in there about looking towards the west.

My opinion is that America was well known in certain circles way before Columbus. And the treasure he set out to find was not gold in the Indies, but rather the Templar treasure that left the shores of Europe in early 1308.

You ever wonder if the first pirates were actually bandits and looters, or really Templars protecting the western route that their treasure took following the events of October 13, 1307? Much of their symbology was adopted from Templar rites, such as the skull and crossbones. The templars would bury their dead and leave the skull and two crossed arms visible to pick up later for a proper funeral. So, a skull and crossbones was the sign of a dead templar. When the order "died" in 1307, and the Templar Fleet set sail from England with the treasure 3 months later, we suddenly have ships in the Atlantic bearing the sign of Dead Templars attacking anything that wanders too far off-shore.

I find that very compelling.

I think that the route to America was well traveled by the Sinclair family and others, and protected by Pirates. After all, it was not unusual for the Templars to protect routes of travel.