What happened to the Time Monk team?

Hi,

Does anyone know what happened to the Time Monk team? Did they end up carrying on with their RLC research?

Thanks

If you are talking about the Time Monk/ Maranatha Et in Arcadia Ego, or the Priory Publications team, they are no longer active. After Priory Publications had folded, the puzzle was closed and nothing else is expected to be forthcoming.  

But you can follow Duncan Burden's current site (he was the publicly credited author of Maranatha), HumbleMason.com, wherein he speaks about some of the issues that were central to Maranatha.  However, Duncan's new site is focused on Freemasonry and Maranatha is not a part of this new focus.


http://humblemason.com/

But I should add that there is some discussion about RLC on his new site, with some new and very interesting perspectives.

Thanks for the link. I will have a read.

So do you have any theories on who the Priory Pub's team was? Do you think it was people "in the know" who used it as a method to share the information in the public.
And who do you think these people were?

From the research I did it looked like they were based in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk? Cambridge University is close to all these places which made me wonder of perhaps some academics in this part of England were involved?

As to whom the specific individuals were, I have no idea.  The information I am aware of was public information either spoken by Duncan or material released in relation to the promotion of the book.  

The team consisted of 9 individuals.  One of them, as it was claimed, was a Catholic Priest and another was an Anglican Priest.  

It was said that some members of the team received threats in response to the book's publication and that they have since turned away from the project and are no longer interested in bringing up further discussion about it.

I believe another poster elsewhere wrote about a connection to Cambridge, but not sure about it.  The fact that a Catholic and Anglican Priest were both involved sort of implies that it wasn't strictly an academic group though.  

Where they those "in the know" before the book was published?  My personal opinion is that they were not.
From discussions Duncan has given, it was described more as a group of people that were each individually interested in the topics surrounding the mystique and the mystery of RLC.  I believe things probably took a turn when they started to realize the implications of what they had "discovered", and what it meant to each of their personal backgrounds and beliefs.  For example, the implications for Duncan, it would seem, hold deep meaning and significance in terms of Freemasonry.  In addition, it was claimed by Duncan that two of the members of the group (it might be assumed that it was the two Priests, but who knows) recanted their faith.  

So I would say that it was probably this, the realization of their discovery, that was the motivation to create the puzzle and "release" the information.  
 
But in addition, I've seen Duncan write that the Key pertains to things pointed at within Masonic rituals.  Certain rituals that are currently in (potential) danger of losing their impact or meaning due to an official move to change the wording in this particular ritual.  Meaning, that the information could potentially be lost.  

About the team being an 'inner group', I could be wrong, but I don't see the Priory team as a selected group of custodians given the task of "re-forging" the key, I think they came to the discovery of it on their own.  The reason being that, if they had come from "the inside", I doubt they would have considered the discovery to have widespread public interest, due to the fact that the information contained within the discovery would have rested within an understanding by those who were in the inner circle anyway.  

Unless.... those who really got into the book went all out and founded an "inner" understanding of their own.  Then, the discovery the team made might be understood.

HaywardG wrote:
Unless.... those who really got into the book went all out and founded an "inner" understanding of their own.  Then, the discovery the team made might be understood.

Thus, I would argue, an emphasis towards the investigation of historic sources (such as in the Companion Book, and through the Monthly Clues) so as to build this understanding.

As even Duncan was quoted as stating that his preferred approach to the subject was historical.
Its all been laid out by others in the past.

Thanks. I think you make some great points there. It would make sense that a group of Academics (and the Priests could of course been teaching theology) would have come together out of interest and investigated the Rennes Le Chateau story.

They would also have the resources to start doing some digging through archives that are harder for the public to access.

My curiosity on the background of the group was sparked by some discussions I came across online. For example somebody pointed out that the printers used for the book had links with the Clowes family. This name popped up in the Messianic Legacy book by the Holy Blood trio.

It would also appear that at some point Canon Alfred Lilly's personal papers were stored in Cambridge before being moved to St Andrew's University.
Alfred Lilly was the individual mentioned by the Holy Blood trio who was supposed to have seen Sauniere's parchments in St Sulpice.

You can find the above info on Andrew Gough's website.

The thing about threats is interesting. I wonder who could have wanted to threaten them?

I think you're right, they could have been theologians.  Which might make even more sense; that they might have had an interest and a background to approach the subject from an objective standpoint.  A university setting would also certainly seem to support a cross-disciplinary collaboration into an investigation about the subject.  

Regarding the familial connection with the book publishers.  It wouldn't surprise me that someone on the team may have had some connection to someone involved with publishing the Holy Blood books.  Or, another way to think of it,  it would make sense that the team might have approached a publisher to whom an already well-worn path to the subject was established.  

Duncan had mentioned that the publisher really loved the original work, but then soon after had become disengaged due to the Chief Editor's passing.  This, as well as several other surprising turns during the course of the book's release and distribution.  

The one issue that bothers me about the alleged threats is that, even though no one publicly knows who the rest of the team are, someone did.  
The real question might be, "who were the threats coming from?

Do you happen to know who the Chief Editor was?
Clowes was supposed to have been one of the individuals who was involved in importing the Sauniere parchments to England.

Yes I agree on the the fact somebody must have known who they were. The fact this group was 'looking' must have reached the ears of those who were less than happy.

I suppose as well a theologian is more likely to have stumbled across Cannon Lilley and maybe found evidence he went to France, to St Sulpice?

No idea who the Chief Editor was.  

Are you referring to  Major Hugh Murchison Clowes as being listed as one of the 3 owners of the parchments in 1955?  I see that there was talk bout how the parchments may have been in a safe deposit box in England in Lloyd's Bank, London at one point.  

If I remember correctly, it was stated that the team was inspired to research RLC based on a rising public interest in RLC and how popular the subject had become and that their goal was to get to the bottom of the enigma, or something to that effect.  

I believe the timeline for the Maranatha team was that they began in the 90s? Many of the materials would have been pretty well known at that point and access to reproductions of the parchments as well as to images of the artwork allegedly being referred to by the Parchment text.  

Yes Major Hugh Murchison Clowes. His surname being the same as the printing firm in Suffolk. It is worth investigating if there was a family link there.