Someone said something like this: "I just read The Maltese Falcon, in which the title object was made by the Hospitallers. Benet's, though, said it was made by the Templars. I'd originally passed that off as just one of those mistakes to which reference works are prone, but is it possible the movie changed it from the Hospitallers to the better-known Templars? (Which would be kind of stupid, since the Templars were never on Malta, and basically bit the dust following the persecution under Philip the Fair.)" Wow... Something to make me pop out of the hobbit hole! What the hell, I just finished and passed and everything, so here goes: Wouldn't surprise me. The Hospitallers (AKA the knights of St. John) still exist here in the UK in bowlderized form as St. John's Ambulance (which is a Red Cross-esque voluntary organization). But they're not really big anywhere else, and not anywhere near as well-known as the Templars. The Hospitallers were, as far as I know (which ain't very) stationed on Malta, but the Templars weren't. But, the Templars are more famous and generally more dramatic, what with the accusations of buggery and devil worship and all that Dramatic licence gone too far, I'd say. BTW, I believe there's still a bowlderdized version of the Templars active in Scotland; the papal bull dissolving the Temple (damn you, Philippe le Bel!) was never proclaimed or enforced there. Hope this helps, Patty
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