Knights Templar legends

Discoverers of the New World
Though the Knights Templar were officially disbanded in the early 1300s, some believe that the Templars, who are claimed to have possessed a sizable fleet of ships (though there is no trace of their existence in any historical record), may have fled to the New World by following old Viking routes, making one of the pre-Columbian voyages to America.[14] In Portugal, the Knights Templar did not disband, but simply changed their name to Knights of Christ. In 1492, this group is alleged to have provided the navigators for Christopher Columbus' journey, and the Order's cross was featured prominently on the sails of his ships, however there is no actual evidence to support this.
[edit] Legendary associations with other Orders
/wiki/File:Regaleira.JPG /wiki/File:Regaleira.JPG
/wiki/File:Regaleira.JPG /wiki/File:Regaleira.JPG'Well of Initiation': architecture based in Templar, Rosicrucian and Masonic symbolism at the "Quinta da Regaleira" (1892-1910), Sintra, Portugal.
Further speculation revolves around the Templar's association with other Orders. This matter is additionally confused because some Orders, such as the Freemasons, started adopting Templar symbols and traditions in the 1700s. (See: Knights Templar (Freemasonry)) Another modern (but much smaller) order that claims Templar ancestry is the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem.