UNDERSTANDING MORE ABOUT THE KNIGHT TEMPLAR AND MALTA DEGREES. Revd. Neville Barker Cryer Lewis Masonic, Hersham, 2008, Paperback, 64 pages, £9.99. ISBN 978 085318 299 3

The Reverend Neville Barker Cryer is Past Grand Chaplain of The United Grand Lodge of England, was Prestonian Lecturer in 1974, Batham Lecturer 1996-1998 and is a well-known and widely appreciated writer on Masonic topics. Anyone familiar with his previous publications will know already that he is always worth reading. This is true scholarship, combining knowledge with wisdom – for they are two quite different things – and wit. The author describes his work as ‘this modest book’ because he is a modest man, but crammed between the covers of this slender volume is a mass of information and insight. This has been gradually expanded over a quarter of a century, during which time the Revd. Barker Cryer held the office of Provincial Prior in Essex and in the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire. Twenty-five topics are covered, ranging from explanations of the the meanings of passwords to the significance of Officers like the Turcopolier and the origin of Knightly Garments and headgear! I particularly enjoyed the discussion of the Templar battle cry, which incorporates a most unexpected but completely relevant quotation from Robbie Burns!
     Be warned, or reassured: this is not yet another ‘expose’ of the motives and agenda, real or imaginary, of the first Knights Templar. The final chapter of the book does, to be fair, deal with the question of a whether or not a direct link may exist between the original Order and the modern Masonic degree. It is a handbook produced with the intention of ‘…enabling Freemasons to understand and execute ceremonies of the various degrees and orders.’ It succeeds admirably. Barker Cryer doesn’t make everything simple because it isn’t. It is his ability to involve the reader in the delicious complexity of the topics that he deals with that makes reading him so rewarding. The title, ‘Understanding More…’ is typically generous. I am sure that many members of the Orders concerned would freely confess to understanding just about nowt! Those proposing brethren into ‘K.T.’ might be well advised to procure a copy of this excellent work to present to the Candidate on his installation, in order that he may have his loins girt about with truth…

Andrew Montgomery