Can anyone tell me the origins of The Three Musketeers?
550917
The Three Musketeers (Les Trois Mousquetaires) is a novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It recounts the adventures of a young man called d'Artagnan after he leaves home to become a musketeer. D'Artagnan is not one of the musketeers of the title; those are his friends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.\n\nThe story of d'Artagnan is continued in Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne. Those three novels by Dumas are together known as d'Artagnan Romances.\n\nThe Three Musketeers was first published in serial form in the magazine Le Siècle between March and July 1844. Dumas claimed it was based on manuscripts he had discovered in the Bibliothèque Nationale. It was later proven that Dumas had based his work on the book Mémoires de Monsieur d'Artagnan, capitaine lieutenant de la première compagnie des Mousquetaires du Roi (Memories of Mister d'Artagnan, Lieutenant Captain of the first company of the King's Musketeers) by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras (Cologne, 1700). The book was borrowed from the Marseille public library, and the card-index remains to this day; Dumas kept the book when he went back to Paris.\n\nDumas' version of the story covers the adventures of d'Artagnan and his friends from 1626 to 1628, as they are involved in intrigues involving the weak King Louis XIII of France, his powerful and cunning advisor Cardinal Richelieu, the beautiful Queen Anne of Austria, her English lover, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, and the siege of the rebellious Huguenot city of La Rochelle. Adding to the intrigue are the mysterious Milady de Winter, and Richelieu's right-hand man, Comte de Rochefort.
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In Matthew, the only book of the Bible  where they are mentioned, there number is not specified. Three gifts are mentioned and so, the assumption was, that there were three wise men. However, this is clearly not logically necessary. \n\nThere is some good information in the Wikipedia which says that tradition asserts their names to be: Casper, Melchior and Balthazar.
820239
If you want to know more about the history, you should read "Zero: Biography of a dangerous idea" by Charles Seife.  On the back cover it says "The Babylonians invented [zero], the Greeks banned it, the Hindus worshiped it and the Church used it to fend of heretics."  I've only gotten halfway through it, but so far its an interesting read.
232054
Here is a really good website for you:\n\nhttp://www.doublegv.com/ggv/battles/Monmouth.html\n\nThat tells a lot of information in it! I hope you find what you are looking for!!!
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Hope this answers your question.\n\nPRACTICE OF FIRING THREE RIFLE  \nVOLLEYS OVER THE GRAVE: \n\nThis practice originated in the old custom of halting the fighting to remove the dead from the battlefield. Once each army had cleared its dead, it would fire three volleys to indicate that the dead had been cared for and that they were ready to go back to the fight. The fact that the firing party consists of seven riflemen, firing three volleys does not constitute a 21-gun salute. \n\n21-GUN SALUTE: \n\nAll personal salutes may be traced to the prevailing use in earlier days to ensure that the saluter placed himself in an unarmed position. Salute by gunfire is a most-ancient ceremony. The British for years compelled weaker nations to make the first salute, but in time international practice compelled "Gun for Gun" in the principle of an equality of nations. \n\nIn the earliest days, seven guns was a recognized British National Salute. Those early regulations stated that, although a ship could fire only seven guns, the forts could fire for honors three shots to one shot afloat. In that day powder of sodium nitrate was easier to keep on shore than at sea. In time, when the quality of gun powder improved by the use of potassium nitrate, the sea salute was made equal to the shore salute -- 21 guns as the highest national honor. Although for a period of time, monarchies received more guns than republics, eventually republics claimed equality. \n\nThere was much confusion caused by the varying customs of maritime states, but finally the British government proposed to the United States a regulation that provided for "Salute to be Returned Gun for Gun." The British at that time officially considered the international salute to be 21 guns and the United States adopted the 21-gun and "Gun for Gun Return" August 17, 1875. Previous to that time, our national salute was one gun for each state. The practice was also a result of usage -- John Paul Jones saluted France with 13 guns (one for each state) at Quiberon Bay when the Stars and Stripes received its first salute. This practice was not authorized until 1810. \n\nBy the admission of states to the Union, the salute reached 21 guns by 1818. In 1841, the national salute was reduced to 21 guns. In fact, the 1875 adoption of the British suggestion because a formal announcement that the United States recognized 21 guns as an international salute.
562550
THE LEGEND\n \nTHE PAST\nAfter the 500 year civil war, on the ancient world of Archon, Lord Zaroff and his followers were banished to the worlds they had conquered earlier. Without the protection of the home-world's filtered sun, large numbers of Archonians depended on the blood of their conquered masses to survive. Lord Drocer of Archon became concerned that the banished Archonians had turned into nothing more than soulless killers. An army of Archonian women, mighty in battle, were sent to the conquered worlds to seek out and destroy the soulless monsters that had moved to the darkness of the underworld. These mighty warriors were known as Slayers of the doomed. After many millennia, the Slayers accomplished their mission. Only one was left on each world to Slay any of the doomed that might remain. Their female decendents will continue the hunt for the doomed.\n\nTHE PRESENT\nIn every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.
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http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/681_1221.asp. This link was very informative.I hope it helps you.
891011
The whole story of Mary Magdelaine and the Priory of Sion was created in 1956 by a Frenchmen named Pierre Plantard and some friends. It was actually constructed to be a piece of "Theater of the Absurd." The perpetrators simply wanted to see how far they could take it.\n\nIt has been well researched by French journalists and found to be a hoax. It would have died like all hoaxes until two British writers found out about it and resurrected it. Their book inspired Dan Brown, and the rest, as they say, is history.\n\nThough serious historians have proven time and again that this is fictional nonsense, some people refuse to believe, just as some people refuse to believe that people actually landed on the moon.\n\nIt's total rubbish. Please dismiss it.
1131757
You specifically asked about the Knights Templar as portrayed in the book and the movie DaVinci Code.  The only bit of unproven information mentioned about the Knights Templar was their connection with the Priory of Sion.  All of the rest of the story of the Knights tends to be correct.  Founded in Jerusalem at the close of the first crusade and given the ruin of the Temple of Solomon for their headquarters.  Given carte blanche by the Pope to raise money and gained tremendous power throughout the time of the later crusades.\n\nThe Priory of Sion, however, was exposed as a hoax at least as it comes down to the modern era.  If there was such an organization that started the Knights Templar it is yet to be proven to me a Modern Knight Templar in good standing.
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http://wip.warnerbros.com/marchofthepenguins/
366899
http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/beasts.html
181298
Jaques Cartier was the first... I don't remember the others, there was also Samuel De Champlain... and the others was some misionairy like Père Marquette... lol I should listen more in history class I learn this this year... well hope you are satisfied by the answer^^
732589
A few got it right:\n\nThe Order of the Poor Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon (Knights Templar) were owed a lot of money by Philip le bel (King Philip IV of France) and he was nearly broke so he had the Pope murdered and the successor murdered, then moved the papacy to France and had his own man installed as Pope (Clement III). He then had the Pope issue an edict condeming the Templars for heresy and ordering their arrest. The edict was kept secret until all of the Senchals were in place on Friday the 13th of October, 1307 when the enevlopes were opend and the Templars were rounded up.\n\nThe Grand Master of the Templars, Jacques de Molay was arrested and brutally tortured in order to force him to reveal the location of the vast Templar fortune that the King wanted to steal, but Molay did not break. It's said that he was tortured in the maner of Christ in that he was nailed to a door frame with nails through his wrists and his ankles, he was scouraged with a whip, he was stabbed in the side and a crown of thorns was forced onto his head. They stopped short of killing him, and wrapped him in a shroud. It's said that Molay's body was in such pain and exuding large amounts of lactic acid from the beating that he actually etched his image in the shroud. Yes, that's right, it's now known as the Shroud of Turin (remember that carbon dating placed it in the 14th Century)\n\nAnyway, Philip was unsuccessful in capturing the Templar treasure. 18 Templar gallys set sail from the South of France proudly flying the battle flag of the Knight Templar Order, a black flag bearing the image of a skull and two crossed bones. They sailed to the West Coast of Ireland, then on to Scotland where the Templars fought on the side of Robert the Bruce against the English King Edward, but some of the Templar gallys sailed farther West and there have been Templar graves discovered in Nova Scotia. They were in America 150 years before Columbus.\n\nGiven the flag they were flying, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them headed for the Carribbean. As for the treasure, have you ever heard on the Money Pit on Oak Island in Nova Scotia?\n\nCoincidence, I don't think so.
668531
All three of them will be the villians. I know the basic plot of the movie but I don't want to ruin it for anyone so only ask me if you really want to know.
578640
I heard that the story was from east of France, possibly even as far as Russia. It's a very old story. I'm sure that it had some basis in truth.
855023
If you can give more clues it might be helpful - any particular historical event or time period??  Right now I am drawing a blank on all of them - I will check back to see if you can add any info.
379185
It came from Greek/Roman mythology.  Charon was the ferryman that took people across the river Styx to Hades.  They had to pay him to cross.  This is where the Grim Reaper came from also the coins on the eyes when someone died, those were to be used to pay Charon.