The Keepers of the Journal is a supposed secret society founded around the year 1000 soon after a failed attempt by a Viking expedition to find Atlantis. Norse sagas say that the Viking team was navigating in the North Atlantic with the aid of the Shepherd's Journal, when their longboat was destroyed and the crew lost expect for one survivor. The survivor vowed to find the Journal, which had been lost in the incident, and restore it to its rightful home in Iceland.
The "Keepers" evolved into a secret order of people, often royalty, military leaders, scholars, scientists and even politicians, that thought that if they could locate the Journal, decipher it and learn of the secrets of Atlantis, they could improve upon or dominate mankind. Although there is no written record of Keepers, most acknowledge that Leif Eriksson, Leonardo da Vinci, Nicolaus Copernicus, Isaac Newton, King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and Benjamin Franklin were among their members.
Members
The following is a list of individuals recognized as Keepers of the Journal.
| Name | Image | Recognition |
|---|---|---|
| Solon | 
|
Studied the Scrolls of Aziz, recognized language written to be Atlantean and not Mesopotamian. |
| Constantine | 
|
Hired a team of scholars to study and "decode" the Scrolls of Aziz. |
| Thorfinn Karlsefni | 
|
Founded Keepers of the Journal, sole survivor of Viking expedition to find Atlantis in 997. |
| Leif Eriksson | 
|
Believed to have found and studied the Shepherd's Journal in Vinland. |
| Snorri Thorfinnsson | 
|
Son of Thorfinn, attempted an expedition to Atlantis, bartered the Shepherd's Journal away to escape conflict with Mayans. |
| Amerigo Vespucci | 
|
Given the Shepherd's Journal from former Mayans in 1499, attempted to study the Journal unsuccessfully before giving it to da Vinci in 1500. |
| Leonardo da Vinci | 
|
Given the Shepherd's Journal from Vespucci in 1500, successfully translates the Journal before it is confiscated by Borgia in 1502. |
| Nicolaus Copernicus | 
|
Believed to have studied the Shepherd's Journal, likely by helping da Vinci decipher the book and learning of the theory that the sun does not move. |
| Philip II | 
|
Drew inspriation from the Shepherd's Journal for the spires of El Escorial. |
| Isaac Newton | 
|
Believed to have studied the Shepherd's Journal while it was at Cambridge University. |
| Benjamin Franklin | 
|
Said to have studied the Shepherd's Journal while at Versailles in 1788. |
| Ludwig II | 
|
Believed to have studied the Shepherd's Journal while it was at the British Museum, drawing inspiration for the designs he commissioned. |
| Ignatius Donnelly | 
|
Returned the Shepherd's Journal to Iceland in 1862, studied Journal for reference in publishing Atlantis: The Antediluvian World in 1882. |