History is full of controversial myths, ranging from the involvement of the Free Masons in the founding of the United States, to as recently as the culprits in the bombings of the twin towers in Myths that cannot be proven or disproven with the documents available to historians, and therefore must be left to speculation.
As has been previously stated, the Da Vinci Code is centered on the existence, as well as the methodology of the Priory of Sion. If Dan Brown is correct, The Priory was founded in during the First Crusade by the Knights Templar, and has existed to the present protecting the Holy Grail, or more correctly, the bloodline of Christ [2]. However, historical evidence proves that Pierre Plantard forged and planted documents around France to fake the existence of the priory [3].
These fake documents were discovered and disproven in [4] , causing the notion of the priory to be dismissed by all but a few select conspiracy theorists.
As this is the case, it is hard to substantiate the so-called facts produced by Dan Brown as facts, which is why the novel was classified as fictitious. Dan Brown is renowned for bringing these obscure theories to light, also doing so in his best sellers Angels and Demons and The Lost Symbol. Brown pieces together a few select facts and weaves them into an entertaining storyline.
While researching for this piece, I came across many such theories. Due to the controversial nature of The Da Vinci Code , it is difficult to separate fact from fiction, as certain historical occurrences are twisted by Brown to suit narratorial purposes. The first association between the Templar and the Holy Grail can be traced back to German writer Wolfram von Eschenbach, and his Arthurian epic poem, Parzival. Moreover, there is no historical evidence that The Knights Templar discovered the Grail and were annihilated due to the knowledge of the same.
The existence of The Priory of Sion was indeed real, as it was a fraternal organization founded by Pierre Plantard in While this is not true, the historical Priory of Sion did present a series of documents to prove the existence of a bloodline descending from Jesus and Mary Magdalene, which was later exposed as an elaborate hoax in the form of an esoteric puzzle.
This is overwhelmingly false, as the Louvre states that the number of glass panes used is Brown also claims that the Louvre houses 65, pieces of art when in reality, it houses close to 35, to date.
Brown also delves deep into the paintings featured in the Grand Gallery, including the Mona Lisa , claiming that Da Vinci meant to symbolize an androgynous whole through his work, which is contested by various art historians. This is majorly refuted by art historians, who posit that Da Vinci painted John with a feminine touch to distinguish him as the youngest apostle. Brown also describes the new headquarters of Opus Dei in New York with great accuracy and touches upon the controversies the organization is often embroiled in.
David Nolta, art historian: He was one of most mysterious people in the history of Western civilization. When people think of the renaissance man, they often think of Leonardo Da Vinci. He considers Leonardo a genius whose work still evokes a deep sense of awe and mystery. His paintings, abundant drawings, and notes, many of which are written backwards , seem full of secrets and fantasies. Leonardo was an architect, musician, anatomist, and engineer. Nolta: Right. The novel turns conventional wisdom on its head with this declaration that "The Last Supper" doesn't depict 13 men, but 12 men and a woman.
Could that be true? For answers, the novel instructs us to take a closer look at the figure to Jesus' right. We asked Nolta to help us demystify the meaning of the painting. Could it be that the beardless apostle, always believed to be St. John, is really a woman? And if so, who is she?
Phillips: This figure does appear to be more feminine than any other figure in the painting. Nolta: I totally agree, most feminine. If that's true, what could the painting be telling us? The book points to another clue. The "M" evoked by the outline of the central figures could actually be a secret code that stands for Mary Magdalene. Or the book says it could stand for something far more provocative, like matrimonio or marriage.
Could Mary Magdalene and Jesus have been husband and wife? To find out if there's any truth to this radical claim, we must travel back 2, years. Mary and Jesus are thought to have come from Galilee. Mary, some believe, was from a prosperous fishing family and Jesus was a Jewish preacher with a reputation for performing miracles. The New Testament says they came together when Jesus cast out Mary's "seven demons," spirits once thought to represent her wayward past.
But today, it is widely seen as a metaphor for illness, perhaps epilepsy. Soon, the Bible says that Mary was traveling the countryside with Jesus and even contributing money to his ministry.
She was with him during his final days in Jerusalem, one of the few followers to remain by his side at his moment of death. Phillips: How significant a figure was Mary Magdalene in Jesus' life? Karen King, Harvard divinity school professor: Mary Magdalene had to be the most important woman in Jesus' life, perhaps other than his mother.
He surrounded himself by a group that followed him. Jesus loved her more than the others. The question is, why? Margaret Starbird, author: I think they were a couple. I think he found her irresistible. All you have to do, she says, is read the New Testament. It's right there in the Book of John. Starbird: When Mary Magdalene comes to the garden to mourn for Jesus and to anoint him for his final anointing and finds him resurrected in the garden, she is overjoyed.
Before Jesus ascends to heaven, Mary reaches out to him and he tells her "do not touch me. Starbird: He's saying "I can't stay with you now" and she's trying to hold on. It's not just a touch. It's an embrace. If she weren't married to him, she wouldn't have dreamed of touching him. Most scholars and of course the Catholic Church refute the notion that the scene in the garden suggests anything intimate between Jesus and Mary.
But Starbird says that outside of the Bible, in those unrecognized gospels found in the Egyptian desert, there are more clues, like phrases from the Gospel of Phillip that say Mary Magdalene "always walked with the Lord" and is "the one who was called his companion. Phillips: Would the word "companion" translate to "spouse"? King: It can mean spouse as well as companion.
Others say "companion" might simply mean a spiritual companion or fellow traveler. It reads, "Christ loved her more than all the other disciples and used to kiss her often on her mouth.
And so there are places where the words don't come through. And so what it says is that Jesus loved blank. And frequently blank kiss blank on the blank. So it looks like Jesus is kissing Mary Magdalene somewhere on her body but we don't know where. Phillips: That's all we've got. Ehrman: That's all we got. Phillips: Literally holes in the story. So the picture is incomplete. But wherever Jesus kissed Mary, other scholars add, it doesn't tell us anything more about their relationship.
Phillips: Are there other instances of Jesus kissing other disciples? And of course, you have the famous one that's in the reverse where Judas kisses Jesus to identify him when he's betrayed. What we know about early Jewish culture is that this was the traditional greeting.
And, as for the book's claim that a married Jesus makes infinitely more sense than our view of Jesus as a bachelor, scholarly opinion is mixed. Elaine Pagels: It's certainly true that most Jewish men got married.
Rabbis in particular. And it could well be that Jesus was married. Witherington: It was the norm and it was normal that Jews got married.
Were there a lot of notable exceptions? Absolutely there were. And Jesus could be one. But one thing scholars agree on is this: nowhere in the New Testament or in any other Christian teachings does it spell out whether or not Jesus was married. That's because it never happened.
But for others, that silence is rich with possibility. King: If there were any definitive piece of evidence that Jesus and Mary were married, it would have been told many times.
Phillips: That's a secret that would not have kept. King: What we really have is silence, and silence is pregnant with many kinds of meaning. For centuries she was dismissed as a reformed prostitute, but Dan Rrown re-imagines her as a powerful figure who not only followed—but married—Jesus of Nazareth.
Again, the novel says the answer is hidden all around us. There is a legend there that is said to reveal the truth about Jesus and Mary Magdalene. It is the place where an oarless boat full of refugees from the Holy Land washed ashore not long after Jesus was crucified. Among those onboard was Mary Magdalene, who, the legend says, settled there and raised a daughter named Sarah.
And so the timing is right in the legend. She exists and her lineage is the most astonishing revelation of the story. Sarah, the novel proclaims, is the daughter of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. This, the book says, is the true secret of the Holy Grail: That Jesus' marriage to Mary Magdalene produced a child, a little girl, who grew up in the South of France.
According to the legend, Sarah bore children of her own, carrying on her father's bloodline. It flowed through generations, eventually reaching the French royal family, and from there, the rest of the world.
There is, of course, no birth certificate, or entry in some ancient ledger telling of Sarah's arrival or who her parents might have been.
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