Rare documents have now been uncovered that shed light on how the Order of the Temple, the fabled keepers of the Holy Grail and the “secret” that the descendants of Christ lived, acquired their enormous wealth.

The “deeds of gift”, dating from the 13th century, chronicle the generous parcels of land bestowed on the first military order by rich English landowners for the “salvation of their souls and those of their families”.

An archive in the form of nearly 30 deeds has surfaced in a private collection and is expected to fetch up to £60,000 at auction next month.

Felix Pryor, the manuscripts consultant to Bonhams, the auctioneers, said yesterday that he had never come across anything relating to the Knights Templar before.

He said: “They are are terribly, terribly rare. The order was suppressed in 1308 so you’re not exactly tripping over things relating to them. These documents uncover some of their secrets. They took vows of chastity, poverty and obedience but ended up extraordinarily rich.

Posted: 05|26|06 at 3:01 pm. Filed under: UK News.