Larmenius Charter
Coded Latin manuscript
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The Larmenius Charter or Carta Transmissionis (transl. Charter of Transmission) is a coded Latin manuscript purportedly created by Johannes Marcus Larmenius (Fr.: Jean-Marc Larmenius) in February 1324, detailing the transfer of leadership of the Knights Templar to Larmenius after the death of Jacques de Molay.[1]
| Larmenius Charter (Carta Transmissionis trans: Charter of Transmission) | |
|---|---|
| |
| Created | February 1324 (claimed), 1804 (first appeared) |
| Location | Mark Masons Hall, London |
| Author | Johannes Marcus Larmenius (claimed) |
| Media type | Vellum document |
| Purpose | Detailing the transfer of leadership of the Knights Templar to Jean Marc Larmenius after the death of Jacques de Molay |
It also has appended to it a list of 22 successive grand masters of the Knights Templar after de Molay, ending in 1804, the name of Bernard-Raymond Fabré-Palaprat appearing last on the list. The document is written in a supposed devised ancient Knights Templar codex.[1] The document first appeared publicly in 1804.[1]
The document is widely agreed by modern scholars to be a forgery,[2][1][3][4] though a number of specular occultist writers have disputed this.[1] There is no evidence that the Knights Templar survived their suppression.[1] John Walker noted that, "there is no evidence that the Templars in the Middle Ages used any form of Latin cipher; the standard of the Latin translation is modern rather than medieval; the grammar is too consistent for a medieval charter; and (perhaps most tellingly) there is absolutely no evidence that a person named John Mark Larmenius ever existed."[1] Some scholars have argued it was created by a doctor named Ledru, who may have made the forgery without Fabré-Palaprat knowing.[1]
Despite it being a forgery, it was widely used as proof of a connection between revivalist neo-Templar groups, Templar freemasons, and the original Knights Templar, by members of these occultist groups. Some of these groups reject the authenticity of the manuscript.[1]