The Da Vinci Code: Difference between revisions

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{{short description|2003 novel by Dan Brown}}

[[Image:davinci_code.jpg|thumb|200px|'''The Da Vinci Code''' book cover]]

{{About|the novel|the 2006 film|The Da Vinci Code (film)|other uses|The Da Vinci Code (disambiguation)}}

'''''The Da Vinci Code''''' is a [[novel]] written by [[United States|American]] author [[Dan Brown]] and published in [[2003 in literature|2003]] by Random House (ISBN 0385504209). It is a worldwide bestseller with over 44 million copies sold. Combining the [[Detective fiction|detective]] [[thriller]] and [[conspiracy theory]] genres, the novel has helped spur widespread popular interest in certain theories concerning the legend of the [[Holy Grail]] and the role of [[Mary Magdalene]] in the history of [[Christianity]]—theories that Christians typically consider to be [[heresy|heretical]]. It is a [[sequel]] to Brown's [[2000]] novel ''[[Angels and Demons]]''.

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2013}}

{{Infobox book

| name = The Da Vinci Code

| image = DaVinciCode.jpg

| caption = The first U.S. edition

| author = [[Dan Brown]]

| country = United States

| genre = [[Mystery (fiction)|Mystery]], [[detective fiction]], [[conspiracy fiction]], [[Thriller (genre)|thriller]]

| publisher = [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] (US)

| series = [[Robert Langdon]] #2

| release_date = March 18, 2003<ref>{{cite web |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1924489,00.html |title=How Good Is Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol? |date=September 15, 2009 |publisher=Time}}</ref>

| pages = 689 (U.S. hardback)<br />489 (U.S. paperback)

| isbn = 0-385-50420-9

| isbn_note = (US)

| dewey = 813/.54 21

| congress = PS3552.R685434 D3 2003

| oclc = 50920659

| preceded_by = [[Angels & Demons]]

| followed_by = [[The Lost Symbol]]

}}

'''''The Da Vinci Code''''' is a 2003 [[Mystery (fiction)|mystery]] [[Thriller (genre)|thriller novel]] by [[Dan Brown]]. It is “the best-selling American novel of all time.”<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cruz |first=Mimi |date=May 29, 2012 |title=Decoding a Bestseller: English Professor Honored for Article on ‘The Da Vinci Code’

|url= http://calstate.fullerton.edu/news/2012sp/Mexal-Award.asp |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=Cal State University Fullerton (CSUF) News |language=en}}</ref>

Brown's second novel to include the character [[Robert Langdon]]—the first was his 2000 novel ''[[Angels & Demons]]''—''The Da Vinci Code'' follows [[symbologist]] Langdon and [[cryptography|cryptologist]] Sophie Neveu after a murder in the [[Louvre Museum]] in Paris entangles them in a dispute between the [[Priory of Sion]] and [[Opus Dei]] over the possibility of [[Jesus]] and [[Mary Magdalene]] having had a child together.

While the novel claims to contain elements of historical truth within its fictional framework, the book has attracted a large amount of criticism, including at least ten other books written to debunk its various claims.

The novel explores an alternative religious history, whose central plot point is that the [[Merovingian dynasty|Merovingian]] [[List of French monarchs|kings of France]] were descended from [[Jesus bloodline|the bloodline of Jesus Christ]] and [[Mary Magdalene]], ideas derived from Clive Prince's ''[[The Templar Revelation]]'' (1997) and books by [[Margaret Starbird]]. The book also refers to ''[[Holy Blood, Holy Grail]]'' (Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln, 1982), although Brown stated that it was not used as research material.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Suthersanen |first=Uma |date=June 2006 |title=Copyright in the Courts: The Da Vinci Code |url=https://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2006/03/article_0004.html |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=WIPO Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

Random House republished the novel as a "Special Illustrated Edition" in November [[2004 in literature|2004]]. The new edition contains over 160 illustrative images interspersed with the text.

''The Da Vinci Code'' provoked a popular interest in speculation concerning the [[Holy Grail]] legend and Mary Magdalene's role in the [[history of Christianity]]. The book has been extensively denounced by many [[List of Christian denominations|Christian denominations]] as an attack on the [[Catholic Church]], and also consistently criticized by scholars for [[Criticism of The Da Vinci Code|its historical and scientific inaccuracies]]. The novel became a massive worldwide [[List of best-selling books|bestseller]],<ref>Wyat, Edward (November 4, 2005). [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/04/books/04code.html "'Da Vinci Code' Losing Best-Seller Status"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012054731/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/04/books/04code.html |date=October 12, 2013 }}. ''The New York Times''.</ref> selling 80 million copies {{As of|2009|lc=on}},<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.mercurynews.com/celebrities/ci_12530761?nclick_check=1 |title = New novel from Dan Brown due this fall |newspaper = San Jose Mercury News |access-date = 2011-01-04 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110604112734/http://www.mercurynews.com/celebrities/ci_12530761?nclick_check=1 |archive-date = June 4, 2011 |url-status = live |df = mdy-all }}</ref> and has been translated into 44 languages. In November 2004, [[Random House]] published a Special Illustrated Edition with 160 illustrations. In 2006, [[The Da Vinci Code (film)|a film adaptation]] was released by [[Columbia Pictures]].

==Description==

[[Image:Vitruvian.jpg|thumb|''[[Vitruvian Man]]'', by [[Leonardo da Vinci]]. Renowned curator Jacques Saunière is found murdered in the spread-eagle position on the floor of the [[Louvre|Louvre museum]], a cryptic message written in blood across his naked torso.]]

{{spoiler}}

The book concerns the attempts of the protagonist, Dr. [[Robert Langdon]], Professor of Religious Symbology at [[Harvard University]], to solve the murder of renowned curator Jacques Saunière (''see'' [[Bérenger Saunière]]) of the [[Louvre|Louvre Museum]] in [[Paris]]. The title of the novel refers, among other things, to the fact that Saunière's body is found inside the Louvre naked and posed like [[Leonardo da Vinci|Leonardo da Vinci's]] famous drawing, the ''[[Vitruvian Man]]'', with a cryptic message written beside his body and a [[Pentacle]] drawn on his stomach in his own blood. The interpretation of hidden messages inside Da Vinci's famous works, including the ''[[Mona Lisa]]'' and ''[[The Last Supper (Leonardo)|The Last Supper]]'', figure prominently in the solution to the mystery.

==Plot==

The main conflict in the novel revolves around the solution to two mysteries:

[[Louvre]] curator and [[Priory of Sion]] grand master Jacques Saunière is fatally shot one night at the museum by an [[albino]] Catholic monk named Silas, who is working on behalf of someone he knows only as the Teacher, who wishes to discover the ___location of the "keystone", an item crucial in the search for the [[Holy Grail]]. After Saunière's body is discovered in the pose of the ''[[Vitruvian Man]]'' by [[Leonardo da Vinci]], the police summon Harvard professor Robert Langdon, who is in town on business. Police captain Bezu Fache tells him that he was summoned to help the police decode the cryptic message Saunière left during the final minutes of his life. The message includes a [[Fibonacci sequence]] out of order and an anagram: "O, draconian devil! Oh, lame saint!" Langdon explains to Fache that the pentacle Saunière drew on his chest in his own blood represents an allusion to the goddess and not devil worship, as Fache believes.

*What secret was Saunière protecting that led to his murder?

*Who is the mastermind behind his murder?

Sophie Neveu, a police [[cryptographer]], secretly explains to Langdon that she is Saunière's estranged granddaughter and that Fache thinks Langdon is the murderer because the last line in her grandfather's message, which was meant for Neveu, said "P.S. Find Robert Langdon", which Fache had erased prior to Langdon's arrival. However, "P.S." does not refer to "[[postscript]]", but rather to Sophie ''—'' the nickname given to her by her grandfather was "Princess Sophie". She understands that her grandfather intended Langdon to decipher the code, which leads to Leonardo da Vinci's ''[[Mona Lisa]]'', which in turn leads to his painting ''[[Madonna of the Rocks]]''. They find a pendant that holds the address of the Paris branch of the Depository Bank of Zurich.

The novel has several concurrent storylines that follow different characters. Eventually all the storylines are brought together and resolved at the end of the book.

[[Image:Davincicryptex01wiki1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Replica cryptex: prize from [[The Da Vinci Code WebQuests#The Google WebQuest|Google ''Da Vinci Code'' Quest Contest]]]]

The unraveling of the mystery requires the solution to a series of brain-teasers, including anagrams and number puzzles. The solution itself is found to be intimately connected with the possible ___location of the [[Holy Grail]] and to a mysterious society called the [[Priory of Sion]], as well as to the [[Knights Templar]]. The [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] organization [[Opus Dei]] also figures prominently in the plot.

Neveu and Langdon escape from the police and visit the bank. In the safe deposit box, which is unlocked with the Fibonacci sequence, they find a box containing the keystone: a [[Puzzle box|cryptex]], a cylindrical, hand-held vault with five concentric, rotating dials labeled with letters. When they are lined up correctly, they unlock the device, but if the cryptex is forced open, an enclosed vial of vinegar breaks and dissolves the message inside the cryptex, which was written on [[papyrus]]. The box containing the cryptex contains clues to its password.

Langdon and Neveu take the keystone to the home of Langdon's friend, Sir Leigh Teabing, an expert on the Holy Grail, the legend of which is heavily connected to the Priory. There, Teabing explains that the Grail is not a cup but connected to [[Mary Magdalene]], and that she was Jesus Christ's wife and is the person to his right in ''[[The Last Supper (Leonardo)|The Last Supper]]''. The trio then flee the country on Teabing's private plane, on which they conclude that the proper combination of letters spells out Neveu's given name, Sofia. Opening the cryptex, they discover a smaller cryptex inside it, along with another riddle that ultimately leads the group to the tomb of [[Isaac Newton]] in [[Westminster Abbey]].

The novel is the second book by Brown in which [[Robert Langdon]] is the main character. The previous book, ''[[Angels and Demons]]'', took place in [[Rome]] and concerned the [[Illuminati]].

During the flight to Britain, Neveu reveals the source of her estrangement from her grandfather ten years earlier: arriving home unexpectedly from university, Neveu secretly witnessed a spring fertility rite conducted in the secret basement of her grandfather's country estate. From her hiding place, she was shocked to see her grandfather with a woman at the center of a ritual attended by men and women who were wearing masks and chanting praise to the goddess. She fled the house and broke off all contact with Saunière. Langdon explains that what she witnessed was an ancient ceremony known as ''[[hieros gamos]]'' or "sacred marriage".

By the time they arrive at [[Westminster Abbey]], Teabing is revealed to be the Teacher for whom Silas is working. Teabing wishes to use the Holy Grail, which he believes is a series of documents establishing that [[Jesus Christ]] married Mary Magdalene and fathered children, in order to ruin the [[Holy See|Vatican]]. He compels Langdon at gunpoint to solve the second cryptex's password, which Langdon realizes is "apple". Langdon secretly opens the cryptex and removes its contents before tossing the empty cryptex in the air. Teabing is arrested by Fache, who by now realizes that Langdon is innocent. Bishop Aringarosa, head of religious sect [[Opus Dei]] and Silas' mentor, realizing that Silas has been used to murder innocent people, rushes to help the police find him. When the police find Silas hiding in an Opus Dei Center, Silas assumes that they are there to kill him and he rushes out, accidentally shooting Bishop Aringarosa. Bishop Aringarosa survives but is informed that Silas was found dead later from a gunshot wound.

The final message inside the second keystone leads Neveu and Langdon to [[Rosslyn Chapel]], whose docent turns out to be Neveu's long-lost brother, whom Neveu had been told died as a child in the car accident that killed her parents. The guardian of Rosslyn Chapel, Marie Chauvel Saint Clair, is Neveu's long-lost grandmother and Saunière's wife who was the woman who participated with him in the "sacred marriage". It is revealed that Neveu and her brother are descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. The Priory of Sion hid her identity to protect her from possible threats to her life. The real meaning of the last message is that the Grail is buried beneath the small [[pyramid]] directly below ''[[La Pyramide Inversée]]'', the inverted glass pyramid of the Louvre. It also lies beneath the "Rose Line", an allusion to "Rosslyn". Langdon figures out this final piece to the puzzle; he follows the Rose Line ([[prime meridian]]) to ''La Pyramide Inversée'', where he kneels to pray before the hidden sarcophagus of Mary Magdalene, as the [[Knights Templar|Templar knights]] did before.

==Characters==

{{col-begin}}

These are the principal characters that drive the plot of the story. It seems to be Dan Brown's style that many have names that are puns, anagrams or hidden clues:

{{col-2}}

*'''[[Robert Langdon]]''': A professor of symbology at Harvard University and the protagonist of the novel.

*'''Jacques Saunière''': The grandmaster of the Priory of Sion, Curator of Louvre Museum.

*'''Sophie Neveu''': A cryptologist of the French police and granddaughter of Saunière.

*'''Bezu Fache''': A member of Opus Dei and a French police captain.

*'''Silas / The Monk''': A member of Opus Dei who murders Saunière and the secondary antagonist of the novel.

*'''Manuel Aringarosa''': A bishop of the Vatican and member of Opus Dei.

*'''Sister Sandrine''': A Seneschal of the Priory of Sion and nun of St. Sulpice.

{{col-2}}

*'''André Vernet''': A guard of Zurich bank.

*'''Sir Leigh Teabing / The Teacher''': A Grail scholar and British expatriate living in Paris, and the main antagonist of the novel.

*'''Rémy Legaludec''': A servant who assists Teabing.

*'''Jérôme Collet''': A French police lieutenant and Fache's deputy.

*'''Marie Chauvel Saint-Clair''': Sophie's grandmother.

{{col-end}}

==Reaction==

===Sales===

''The Da Vinci Code'' was a major success in 2003, outsold only by [[J. K. Rowling]]'s ''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix]]''.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2003-12-11-da-vinci-code_x.htm | title='Code' deciphers interest in religious history | work=USA Today | first=Bob | last=Minzesheimer | date=December 11, 2003 | access-date=2010-05-25 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100110094551/http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2003-12-11-da-vinci-code_x.htm | archive-date=January 10, 2010 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}</ref> As of 2016, it had sold 80 million copies worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Heller |first1=Karen |title=Meet the elite group of authors who sell 100 million books – or 350 million |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/meet-the-elite-group-of-authors-who-sell-100-million-books-or-350-million-paolo-coelho-stephen-king-a7499096.html |website=Independent |date=December 29, 2016 |access-date=April 25, 2020}}</ref>

===Historical inaccuracies===

{{Main|Criticism of The Da Vinci Code}}

[[File:Davinciprotestor.JPG|thumb|right|A woman protesting against ''The Da Vinci Code'' film outside a movie theater in [[Culver City, California]]. The TFP acronym in the banner stands for the [[American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property]].]]

''The Da Vinci Code'' generated criticism when it was first published for the fictitious description of the core aspects of Christianity and descriptions of [[Western art history|European art]], history, and architecture. The book has received negative reviews mostly from Catholic and other Christian communities. Many critics took issue with the level of research Brown did when writing the story. ''[[The New York Times]]'' writer Laura Miller characterized the novel as "based on a notorious hoax", "rank nonsense", and "bogus", saying the book is heavily based on the fabrications of [[Pierre Plantard]], who is asserted to have created the Priory of Sion in 1956.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Laura |date=2004-02-22 |title=THE LAST WORD; The Da Vinci Con |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/22/books/the-last-word-the-da-vinci-con.html |access-date=2023-12-29 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Critics accuse Brown of distorting and fabricating history. [[Theology|Theological]] author Marcia Ford considered that novels should be judged not on their literary merit, but on their conclusions:

*'''[[Robert Langdon]]''' &ndash; A well-respected professor of Religious Symbology at [[Harvard University]]. At the beginning of the story, he is in [[Paris]] to give a lecture on his work. Having made an appointment to meet Jacques Saunière, the curator of the [[Louvre]], he is startled to find the French police at his hotel room door. They inform him that Saunière has been murdered and they would like his immediate assistance at the Louvre to help them solve the crime. Unbeknownst to Langdon, he is in fact the prime suspect in the murder and has been summoned to the scene of the crime in order that the police may extract a confession from him.

*'''[[Jacques Saunière]]''' &ndash; the curator of the [[Louvre]], secret head of the [[Priory of Sion]], and grandfather of Sophie Neveu. Before being murdered by Silas ("an albino monk") in the museum, he reveals false information to Silas about the Priory's keystone, which supposedly contains information about the true ___location of the [[Holy Grail]]. After being shot in the stomach, he uses the last minutes of his life to arrange a series of clues for his estranged granddaughter Sophie to unravel the mystery of his death and preserve the secret kept by the Priory of Sion. Saunière's name may be based on [[Bérenger Saunière]], a real person who was extensively mentioned in ''[[Holy Blood, Holy Grail]]''.

*'''Sophie Neveu''' &ndash; the granddaughter of Jacques Saunière. She is a French government [[cryptography|cryptographer]], who studied at the elite [[Royal Holloway, University of London]] Information Security Group. She was raised by her grandfather after her parents were killed in an automobile accident when she was a girl. Her grandfather used to call her "Princesse Sophie" (French for Princess Sophie) and trained her to solve complicated word puzzles. As a girl, she accidentally discovered a strange key in her grandfather's room inscribed with the initials "P.S.". Later, as a college student, she made a surprise visit to her grandfather's house in [[Normandy]] and observed him participating in an occult sex ritual. The incident led to her estrangement with her grandfather until the night of his murder.

*'''Bezu Fache''' &ndash; a captain in the DPJF, the French criminal investigation police. Tough, canny, persistent, he is in charge of the investigation of Saunière's murder. From the message left by the dying curator, he is convinced the murderer is [[Robert Langdon]], whom he summons to the [[Louvre]] in order to extract a confession. He is thwarted in his early attempt by Sophie Neveu, who knows Langdon to be innocent and surreptitiously notifies Langdon that he is in fact the prime suspect. He pursues Langdon doggedly throughout the book in the belief that letting him get away would be career suicide. "Bezu" is not a common French personal name, but "le Bezu" is the name of a [[castle]] in [[Rennes-le-Château]] with [[Cathar]] associations. When we first encounter Fache, he is compared to an ox; note that "Bezu" is an anagram (and the [[spoonerism]]) of [[zebu]] (''zébu'' in French), a type of ox. On a related note, ''fâché'' is French for "angry", but "Fache" is also a reasonably common French surname.

*'''Silas''' &ndash; an [[albino]] devotee (erroneously called a "monk") of [[Opus Dei]] who practices severe [[corporal mortification]]. He was orphaned in [[Marseille]] as a young man, fell into a life of crime, and was imprisoned in the [[Pyrenees]] until accidentally freed by an earthquake. He finds refuge with a young Spanish priest named Aringarosa, who gives him the name [[Silas]] and who eventually becomes the head of [[Opus Dei]]. Before the beginning of the events in the novel, Aringarosa puts him in contact with the Teacher and tells him that the mission he will be given is of utmost importance in saving the true Word of God. Under the orders of the Teacher, he murders Jacques Saunière and the other three leaders of the [[Priory of Sion]] in order to extract the ___location of the Priory's "keystone". Discovering later that he has been duped with false information, he chases Langdon and Neveu in order to obtain the actual keystone. He does not know the true identity of the Teacher. He is reluctant to commit murder, knowing that it is a [[sin]], and does so only because he is assured his actions will save the [[Catholic Church|Church]].

*'''Bishop Manuel Aringarosa''' &ndash; the worldwide head of [[Opus Dei]] and the patron of the albino monk Silas. Five months before the start of the narrative, he is summoned by the [[Holy See|Vatican]] to a meeting at an astronomical observatory in the [[Alps|Italian Alps]] and told, to his great surprise, that in six months the [[Pope]] will withdraw his support of [[Opus Dei]]. Since he believes that Opus Dei is the force keeping the Church from disintegrating into the corruption of the modern era, he believes his faith demands that he take action to save Opus Dei. Shortly after the meeting with the Vatican officials, he is contacted by a shadowy figure calling himself "The Teacher", who has learned somehow of the secret meeting. The Teacher informs him that he can deliver an artifact to Aringarosa so valuable to the Church that it will give Opus Dei extreme leverage over the Vatican. The name "Aringarosa" seems to be the (approximate) literal Italian translation of "red herring" ("aringa rossa"; "aringa rosa" means, literally, "pink herring"), although this is not the expression used in Italian for "red herring" in its figurative sense.

*'''The Teacher''' &ndash; a shadowy figure who drives the plot of the story. He has learned not only about the plight of [[Opus Dei]], but also the identities of the four leaders of the [[Priory of Sion]], who in turn know the ___location of the keystone. He contacts Aringarosa and agrees to supply him with a fantastic artifact that will give Opus Dei great power, namely documents that, if released, would destroy the Church. Aringarosa, acting out of self interest and piety, agrees to his offer in order to save both Opus Dei and the Church. The Teacher uses Silas, Aringarosa's protectee, to carry out his plans.

*'''André Vernet''' &ndash; president of the [[Paris]] branch of the [[Depository Bank of Zurich]]. He is surprised when Neveu and Langdon arrive at the bank and inform him that Jacques Saunière, a longtime account holder at the bank, has died and that Neveu now possesses the depository key to the account. His suspicions are aroused when Neveu and Langdon, after accessing the bank with the key, do not know the account number, indicating that they have no legitimate business being in the bank. When he sees a news report that Neveu and Langdon are fugitives suspected in Saunière's murder, he returns to where he left them, but he finds that they have indeed entered the correct account number and retrieved the contents of Saunière's deposit box. Realizing they are legitimate clients according to the strict rules of the bank, he feels duty-bound to help them escape. Acting as a bank driver, he bluffs his way past the police in one of the bank's trucks with Langdon and Neveu concealed in the back of the truck. He later changes his mind and attempts to turn them in, but is thwarted by Langdon, who steals the truck and escapes with Neveu to the nearby château of his friend, Sir Leigh Teabing.

*'''Sir Leigh Teabing''' &ndash; British Royal Historian, a [[British honours system|Knight of the Realm]], [[Holy Grail|Grail]] scholar, and friend of [[Robert Langdon]]. Independently wealthy, he lives outside Paris in a [[château]], where Langdon and Neveu take refuge after escaping from the Depository Bank of Zurich with the [[rosewood]] box containing the keystone. He reveals the "real" interpretation of the Grail to Neveu (see below). After they are discovered at his home simultaneously by Silas and the French police, the three of them flee with his chauffeur Rémy, flying to [[England]] in his private jet. After Neveu solves the combination lock of the keystone, he interprets the enclosed riddle as meaning they should go to the [[Temple Church]] in [[London]] to find the next hidden clue that will let them unlock the second combination lock of the keystone. Note that Sir Leigh's name appears to be an [[anagram]] of the names of Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh &mdash; authors of ''[[The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail]]'', a book which espouses very similar beliefs to Sir Leigh's.

*'''Rémy Legaludec''' &ndash; chauffeur to Leigh Teabing. After flying with Teabing, Langdon, and Neveu to England, he drives them to the [[Temple Church]] in London. Unbeknownst to the others, he is in fact working for the Teacher. While they are inside the Temple Church, he meets with Silas, who was tipped off by the Teacher to meet Rémy there. Armed with a pistol, he enters the church before the others can locate and solve the riddle supposedly hidden there. He takes Teabing hostage and demands the keystone from Langdon. When Langdon gives him the keystone, he and Silas flee in his car with Teabing as hostage. [[Rémy Martin]] is a famous brand of [[cognac]], and cognac plays a role in Rémy's fate.

*'''The [[docent]] at Rosslyn Chapel''' &ndash; he is giving a guided tour of [[Rosslyn Chapel]] to Langdon and Neveu when he sees the [[rosewood]] box they are carrying and realizes that it seems to be an exact duplicate of a box owned by his grandmother, who is the head of the trust that oversees the chapel.

*'''Guardian of the Rosslyn Trust''' &ndash; she is, in fact, the wife of Jacques Saunière and Sophie Neveu's grandmother. The docent is Sophie's brother. Believing that they had been targeted for assassination by the Church for knowing the powerful secret of the [[Priory of Sion]], she and Saunière agreed that she and Sophie's brother should live secretly in [[Scotland]]. Only Sophie's parents were in the car at the time even though the whole family was supposed to be there. Saunière told the authorities that Sophie's grandmother and her brother were in the car. She tells Neveu and Langdon that although the [[Holy Grail]] and the secret documents were once buried in the vault of [[Rosslyn Chapel]], they were removed to France by the Priory of Sion only several years ago. Reading the parchment inside the second keystone, she realizes where the Grail is now hidden, but refuses to tell Langdon, saying he will figure it out eventually on his own. According to her, the Priory of Sion never intended to reveal the secret of the Grail according to any set timetable. She believes that such a revelation is unnecessary anyway, since the true nature and spiritual power of the Grail is emerging into the world without the ___location of the actual artifact being revealed. She also informs Sophie Neveu of her true identity through her bloodline.

{{Blockquote |Regardless of whether you agree with Brown's conclusions, it's clear that his history is largely fanciful, which means he and his publisher have violated a long-held if unspoken agreement with the reader: Fiction that purports to present historical facts should be researched as carefully as a nonfiction book would be.<ref name="faithfulreader1">{{cite web|url= http://www.faithfulreader.com/features/0405-da_vinci_debunkers.asp |title=Da Vinci Debunkers: Spawns of Dan Brown's Bestseller | first = Marcia | last = Ford |publisher=FaithfulReader |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040527122442/http://faithfulreader.com/features/0405-da_vinci_debunkers.asp |archive-date=2004-05-27 |access-date=2015-04-29 |url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

==Summary of spoilers==

* Jacques Saunière was the head of the [[Priory of Sion]] and therefore possessed the knowledge of the "keystone", which in turn reveals the ___location of the [[Holy Grail]], as well as documents which would shake the foundation of [[Christianity]] and the [[Catholic Church|Church]]. He was killed in order to extract this information from him and eliminate the members of the Priory of Sion.

* The reason that Sophie Neveu broke off contact with her grandfather is that she witnessed him participating in a pagan sex ritual ([[Hieros Gamos]]) at his home in [[Normandy]], when she made a surprise visit there during a break from college.

* The message Saunière wrote with a black-light pen on the floor before dying contained the extra line "P.S. Find [[Robert Langdon]]". This was the reason Bezu Fache suspected Langdon of being the murderer. Fache had erased this line before Langdon arrived so that Langdon would not be aware that the police suspected him. Sophie Neveu saw the entire text of the message by accident when it was [[fax]]ed to her office by the police. Sophie realized immediately that the message was meant for her, since her grandfather used to call her "Princesse Sophie" (i.e. "P.S.") when she was a girl. From this she also knew Langdon to be innocent. She informs him of this secretly when they are in the [[Louvre]] by telling him to call her personal [[voicemail]] box and listen to the message that she had left there for him.

* The other three lines of Saunière's blood message are [[anagram]]s. The first line are the digits of the [[Fibonacci number|Fibonacci sequence]] out of order. The second and third lines ("O, draconian devil!" and "Oh, lame saint!") are anagrams respectively for "Leonardo da Vinci" and "The ''Mona Lisa''" (in English). These clues were meant to lead to a second set of clues. On the glass over the [[Mona Lisa]], Saunière wrote the message "So dark the con of Man" with a curator's pen that can only be read in [[black light]]. The second clue is an anagram for ''[[The Virgin of the Rocks|Madonna of the Rocks]]'', another Da Vinci painting hanging nearby. Behind this painting, Saunière hid a key. On the key, written with the curator's pen, is an address.

* The key opens a safe deposit box at the Paris branch of the [[Depository Bank of Zurich]]. Saunière's account number at the bank is the [[Fibonacci numbers|Fibonacci sequence]] digits, arranged in the correct order.

* The instructions that Saunière revealed to Silas at gunpoint are actually a well-rehearsed lie, namely that the keystone is buried in the Church of [[Saint-Sulpice]] beneath an [[obelisk]] that lies exactly along the ancient "Rose Line" (the former [[Prime Meridian]] which passed through Paris before it was redefined to pass through [[Greenwich]]). In reality, the message beneath the obelisk simply contains a reference to a passage in the [[Book of Job]] which reads "Hitherto shalt thou go and no further". When Silas reads this, he realizes he has been duped.

* The keystone is a actually a [[cryptex]], a cylindrical device invented by [[Leonardo Da Vinci]] for transporting secure messages. In order to open it, the combination of rotating components must be arranged in the correct order. If forced open, an enclosed vial of vinegar will rupture and dissolve the message, which was written on [[papyrus]]. The [[rosewood]] box containing the cryptex contains clues to the combination of the cryptex, written in backwards script in the same manner as Leonardo's journals. While fleeing to [[England]] aboard Teabing's plane, Langdon solves the riddle and finds the combination to be "S-O-F-I-A", the ancient [[Greek language|Greek]] form of Sophie's name, also meaning wisdom.

* The keystone cryptex actually contains a second smaller cryptex with a second riddle that reveals its combination. The riddle, which says to seek the orb above a tomb of "a knight a pope interred", refers not to a medieval knight, but rather to the tomb of [[Isaac Newton|Sir Isaac Newton]], who was buried in [[Westminster Abbey]], and was eulogized by [[Alexander Pope]] (A. Pope). The orb refers to the apple observed by Newton which led to his discovery of the [[Law of universal gravitation]], and thus the combination to the second cryptex is "A-P-P-L-E".

* The Teacher is actually Sir Leigh Teabing. He learned of the identities of the leaders of the [[Priory of Sion]] and bugged their offices. Rémy is his collaborator. It is Teabing who contacts Bishop Aringarosa using a phony French accent to hide his identity and dupes him into financing the plan to find the Grail. He never intended to hand the Grail over to Aringarosa but was simply taking advantage of [[Opus Dei]]'s resolve to find it. Instead he believed that the Priory of Sion intended to renege on its vow to reveal the secret of the Grail to the world at the appointed time, and thus he was planning to steal the Grail documents and reveal them to the world himself. It is he who informed Silas that Langdon and Sophie Neveu were at his chateau. He did not seize the keystone from them himself because he did not want to reveal his identity to them. His plan to have Silas break into his house and seize the keystone was thwarted when the police raided the house, having followed the [[GPS]] device in the truck Langdon had stolen and having heard Silas' gunshot. Teabing leads Neveu and Langdon to the [[Temple Church]] in London knowing full well that it was a blind alley. Rather he wanted to stage the hostage scene with Rémy in order to obtain the keystone without revealing his real plot to Langdon and Neveu. The call Silas receives while riding in the limousine with Rémy is in fact Teabing, surreptitiously calling from the back of the limousine.

* In order to erase all knowledge of his work, Teabing kills Rémy by giving him [[cognac]] laced with [[peanut]] powder, knowing Rémy has a deadly allergy to peanuts. Teabing also anonymously tells the police that Silas is hiding in the London headquarters of [[Opus Dei]].

* In [[Westminster Abbey]], in the showdown with Teabing, Langdon secretly opens the second cryptex and removes its contents before destroying it in front of Teabing. Teabing is arrested and led away while fruitlessly begging Langdon to tell him the contents of the second cryptex and the secret ___location of the Grail.

* Bishop Aringarosa and Silas believed they were saving the [[Catholic Church|Church]], not destroying it.

* Bezu Fache figures out that Neveu and Langdon are innocent after discovering the bugging equipment in Teabing's barn.

* Silas accidentally shoots Aringarosa outside the London headquarters of [[Opus Dei]] while fleeing from the police. Having realized his terrible error and that he has been duped, Aringarosa tells Bezu Fache to give the [[bearer bond]]s in his brief case to the families of the murdered leaders of the Priory of Sion. Silas dies of fatal wounds.

* The final message inside the second keystone actually does not refer to [[Rosslyn Chapel]], although the Grail was indeed once buried there, below the [[Star of David]] on the floor (the two interlocking triangles are the "blade" and "chalice", i.e., male and female symbols).

* The docent in Rosslyn Chapel is Sophie's long-lost brother.

* The guardian of Rosslyn Chapel is Sophie's long-lost grandmother, and the wife of Jacques Saunière.

* Even though all four of the leaders of the [[Priory of Sion]] were killed, the secret is not lost, since there is still a contingency plan (never revealed) which will keep the organization and its secret alive.

* The real meaning of the last message is that the [[Holy Grail|Grail]] is buried beneath the small [[pyramid]] (i.e., the "blade", a male symbol) directly below the ''inverted'' glass pyramid of the [[Louvre]] (i.e., the "chalice", a female symbol, which Langdon and Sophie ironically almost crash into while making their original escape from Bezu Fache). See [[La Pyramide Inversée]] for further discussion.

* At the end of the book, [[Robert Langdon]] and Sophie Neveu fall in love. They arrange to meet in [[Florence, Italy|Florence]].

[[Richard Abanes]] wrote:

== Secret of the Holy Grail ==

{{Blockquote|The most flagrant aspect{{nbsp}}... is not that Dan Brown disagrees with Christianity but that he utterly warps it in order to disagree with it{{nbsp}}... to the point of completely rewriting a vast number of historical events. And making the matter worse has been Brown's willingness to pass off his distortions as 'facts' with which innumerable scholars and historians agree.<ref name="faithfulreader1" />}}

Much of the controversy generated by ''The Da Vinci Code'' was due to the fact that the book was marketed as being historically accurate; the novel opens with a "fact" page that states that "The Priory of Sion—a French [[secret society]] founded in 1099—is a real organization", which is disputed. <ref name="lepoint">"Affaire Pelat: Le Rapport du Juge", ''Le Point'', no. 1112 (8–14 January 1994), p. 11.</ref> The fact page itself is part of the novel as a fictional piece, but is not presented as such. The page also states that "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents{{nbsp}}... and secret rituals in this novel are accurate", a claim disputed by numerous academic scholars and experts in numerous areas.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.historyversusthedavincicode.com/ |title = History vs The Da Vinci Code |access-date = 2009-02-03}}</ref>

[[Image:Da Vinci The last supper detail Da Vinci code.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Detail of ''[[The Last Supper (Leonardo)|The Last Supper]]'' by [[Leonardo da Vinci]]. As explained by Leigh Teabing to Sophie Neveu, the figure at the right hand of [[Jesus]] is supposedly not the [[John the Apostle|apostle John]], but [[Mary Magdalene]], who was (according to the book) his wife and pregnant with his child. The absence of a chalice in the painting indicates that Da Vinci knew that Mary Magdalene was actually the [[Holy Grail]] (the bearer of Jesus' blood). This is reinforced by the letter "M" that is created with the bodily positions of Jesus, Mary, and the male apostle ([[Saint Peter]]) upon who she is leaning. This interpretation would mean that the work was missing an important apostle.]]

Brown addressed the idea of some of the more controversial aspects being fact on his website, stating that the page at the beginning of the novel mentions only "documents, rituals, organization, artwork and architecture" but not any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters, stating that "Interpreting those ideas is left to the reader". Brown also says, "It is my belief that some of the theories discussed by these characters may have merit" and "the secret behind ''The Da Vinci Code'' was too well documented and significant for me to dismiss."<ref>{{cite web | first1 = Ken | last1 = Kelleher | first2 = Carolyn | last2 = Kelleher|url=http://www.danbrown.com/#/davinciCode/questions|title= The Da Vinci Code | type = FAQs | publisher = Dan Brown |date=April 24, 2006 |access-date=2009-02-03 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080325062025/http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/faqs.html |archive-date = 2008-03-25}}</ref>

According to the novel, the secrets of the [[Holy Grail]], as kept by the [[Priory of Sion]], are as follows:

In 2003, while promoting the novel, Brown was asked in interviews what parts of the history in his novel actually happened. He replied "Absolutely all of it."<ref>{{cite web|date=June 3, 2003|work=NBC Today|url=http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk/danbrown/interview.htm|title=NBC Today Interview|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928001540/http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk/danbrown/interview.htm|archive-date=September 28, 2007|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In a 2003 interview with CNN's [[Martin Savidge]] he was again asked how much of the historical background was true. He replied, "99% is true... the background is all true".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0305/25/sm.21.html|title= Interview With Dan Brown|date=May 25, 2003|publisher=[[CNN]]|work=[[CNN Sunday Morning]]}}</ref> Asked by [[Elizabeth Vargas]] in an [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] special if the book would have been different if he had written it as non-fiction he replied, "I don't think it would have."<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.historyversusthedavincicode.com/fiction.htm|title = Fiction|access-date = 2009-02-03|website = History vs The Da Vinci Code}}</ref>

* The Holy Grail is not a physical [[chalice]], but a woman, namely [[Mary Magdalene]], who carried the bloodline of Christ.

* The Old French expression for the Holy Grail, ''San gréal'', actually is a play on ''Sang réal'', which literally means "royal blood" in Old French.

* The Grail relics consist of the documents that testify to the bloodline, as well as the actual bones of [[Mary Magdalene]].

* The Church has suppressed the truth about Mary Magdalene and Jesus' bloodline for 2000 years. This is principally because they fear the power of the [[goddess|sacred feminine]], which they have demonized as [[Satanism|Satanic]].

* [[Mary Magdalene]] was of royal descent (through the Jewish [[Benjamin|House of Benjamin]]) and was the wife of [[Jesus]], of the [[David|House of David]]. That she was a [[prostitution|prostitute]] was a [[slander]] invented by the [[Catholic Church|Church]] to obscure their true relationship. At the time of the [[Crucifixion]], she was pregnant. After the Crucifixion, she fled to [[Gaul]], where she was sheltered by the [[Jew]]s of [[Marseilles]]. She gave birth to a daughter, named [[Saint Sarah|Sarah]]. The bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene became the [[Merovingian]] dynasty of [[France]].

* Sophie Neveu and her brother are descendants of the original bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene (their last name was changed to Neveu, "nephew," to hide their ancestry).

* The existence of the bloodline was the secret that was contained in the documents discovered by the [[Crusades|Crusaders]] after they conquered [[Jerusalem]] in [[1099]] (see [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]]). The [[Priory of Sion]] and the [[Knights Templar]] were organized to keep the secret.

In 2005, UK TV personality [[Tony Robinson]] edited and narrated a detailed rebuttal of the main arguments of Brown and those of [[Michael Baigent]], [[Richard Leigh (author)|Richard Leigh]] and [[Henry Lincoln]], who authored the book ''[[The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail|Holy Blood, Holy Grail]]'', in the program ''The Real Da Vinci Code'', shown on [[British television|British TV]] [[Channel 4]]. The program featured lengthy interviews with many of the main protagonists cited by Brown as "absolute fact" in ''The Da Vinci Code''. Arnaud de Sède, son of [[Gérard de Sède]], stated categorically that his father and Plantard had made up the existence of the [[Prieuré de Sion]], the cornerstone of the [[Jesus bloodline]] theory: "frankly, it was piffle",<ref>{{cite AV media|title=The Real Da Vinci Code|publisher=[[Channel 4]]}}</ref> noting that the concept of a descendant of Jesus was also an element of the 1999 [[Kevin Smith]] film ''[[Dogma (film)|Dogma]]''.

The secrets of the Grail are connected to [[Leonardo da Vinci|Leonardo Da Vinci's]] work as follows:

The earliest appearance of this theory is due to the 13th-century [[Cistercian]] monk and chronicler [[Peter of Vaux de Cernay]] who reported that [[Catharism|Cathars]] believed that the 'evil' and 'earthly' Jesus Christ had a relationship with Mary Magdalene, described as his [[concubinage|concubine]] (and that the 'good Christ' was incorporeal and existed spiritually in the body of Paul).<ref>{{Citation | first1 = WA | last1 = Sibly | first2 = MD | last2 = Sibly | title = The History of the Albigensian Crusade: Peter of les Vaux-de-Cernay's "Historia Albigensis" | publisher = Boydell | year = 1998 | isbn = 0-85115-658-4 | quote = Further, in their secret meetings they said that the Christ who was born in the earthly and visible Bethlehem and crucified at Jerusalem was 'evil', and that Mary Magdalene was his concubine – and that she was the woman taken in adultery who is referred to in the Scriptures; the 'good' Christ, they said, neither ate nor drank nor assumed the true flesh and was never in this world, except spiritually in the body of Paul. I have used the term 'the earthly and visible Bethlehem' because the heretics believed there is a different and invisible earth in which – according to some of them – the 'good' Christ was born and crucified.}}</ref> The program ''The Real Da Vinci Code'' also cast doubt on the Rosslyn Chapel association with the Grail and on other related stories, such as the alleged landing of Mary Magdalene in France.

* Da Vinci was a member of the Priory of Sion and knew the secret of the Grail. The secret is in fact revealed in ''[[The Last Supper]]'', in which no actual [[chalice]] is present at the table. The figure seated next to [[Christ]] is not a man, but a woman, his wife [[Mary Magdalene]]. Most reproductions of the work are from a later alteration that obscured her obvious female characteristics.

* The ''[[Mona Lisa]]'' is actually a self-portrait by Leonardo as a woman. The androgyny reflects the sacred union of male and female which is implied in the holy union of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Such parity between the cosmic forces of masculine and feminine has long been a deep threat to the established power of the Church. The name ''Mona Lisa'' is actually an anagram for "Amon L'Isa", referring to the father and mother gods of [[Ancient Egypt]] (namely [[Amon]] and [[Isis]]).

According to ''The Da Vinci Code'', the Roman Emperor [[Constantine I]] suppressed [[Gnosticism]] because it portrayed Jesus as purely human.<ref>{{Citation|first = Tim|last = O'Neill|chapter-url = http://www.historyversusthedavincicode.com/chapterfiftyfive.htm#christpower|chapter = 55. Early Christianity and Political Power|title = History versus the Da Vinci Code|year = 2006|access-date = February 16, 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090515112028/http://www.historyversusthedavincicode.com/chapterfiftyfive.htm#christpower|archive-date = May 15, 2009|url-status = live|df = mdy-all}}.</ref> The novel portrays Constantine as wanting Christianity to act as a unifying religion for the [[Roman Empire]], thinking that Christianity would appeal to [[Paganism|pagan]]s only if it featured a [[demigod]] similar to pagan heroes. According to the [[Gnostic Gospels]], Jesus was merely a human prophet, not a demigod. Therefore, to change Jesus' image, Constantine destroyed the Gnostic Gospels and promoted the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which portray Jesus as divine or semi-divine; however, most scholars agree that all Gnostic writings depict Christ as purely divine, his human body being a mere illusion ([[docetism]]).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title = Docetae | volume = 5 | encyclopedia = Catholic Encyclopedia | ___location = New York | publisher = Robert Appleton | year = 1913 | first = John Peter | last = Arendzen | quote = The idea of the unreality of Christ's human nature was held by the oldest Gnostic sects{{nbsp}}... Docetism, as far as at present known, [was] always an accompaniment of Gnosticism or later of [[Manichaeism]].}}</ref> Gnostic sects saw Christ this way because they regarded matter as evil, and therefore believed that a divine spirit would never have taken on a material body.<ref name="chapterfiftyfive">{{cite book|last=O'Neill |first=Tim |title=History versus the Da Vinci Code |df=mdy-all |year=2006 |access-date=February 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090515112028/http://www.historyversusthedavincicode.com/chapterfiftyfive.htm#nagdss |url-status=live |chapter=55. Nag Hammadi and the Dead Sea Scrolls |chapter-url=http://www.historyversusthedavincicode.com/chapterfiftyfive.htm#nagdss |archive-date=May 15, 2009}}</ref>

==The mystery within the mystery==

===Literary reception===

Part of the advertising campaign for the novel was that the book itself held four [[cipher|codes]], and that the reader who solved them would be given a prize. Several thousand people actually solved the codes, and one name was randomly chosen to be the winner. The prize was a trip to Paris.

The book received both positive and negative reviews from critics, and it has been the subject of negative appraisals concerning its portrayal of history. Its writing and historical accuracy were reviewed negatively by ''[[The New Yorker]]'',<ref name="NewYorker">Lane, Anthony (May 29, 2006). [https://newyorker.com/archive/2006/05/29/060529crci_cinema?currentPage=all "Heaven Can Wait"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012034806/http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/05/29/060529crci_cinema?currentPage=all |date=October 12, 2013 }}. ''[[The New Yorker]]''.</ref> [[Salon.com]],<ref>Miller, Laura (December 29, 2004). [http://dir.salon.com/story/books/feature/2004/12/29/da_vinci_code/ "The Da Vinci crock"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918112741/http://dir.salon.com/story/books/feature/2004/12/29/da_vinci_code/ |date=September 18, 2011 }}. Salon.com. Retrieved 2009-05-15.</ref> and ''[[Maclean's]]''.<ref>Steyn, Mark (May 10, 2006) [http://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/article.jsp?content=20060515_126652_126652 "The Da Vinci Code: bad writing for Biblical illiterates"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611235940/http://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/article.jsp?content=20060515_126652_126652 |date=June 11, 2013 }}. ''[[Maclean's]]''.</ref>

====Positive====

The solution to the mystery involved discovering that the book jacket conceals [[latitude]] and [[longitude]] coordinates, written in reverse. Adding one degree to the latitude coordinates gives the coordinates of the headquarters of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] in northern [[Virginia]], which is the ___location of a mysterious statue called ''[[Kryptos]]'', which will supposedly figure prominently in [[Dan Brown]]'s next novel.

[[Janet Maslin]] of ''The New York Times'' said that one word "concisely conveys the kind of extreme enthusiasm with which this riddle-filled, code-breaking, exhilaratingly brainy thriller can be recommended. That word is wow. The author is Dan Brown (a name you will want to remember). In this gleefully erudite suspense novel, Mr. Brown takes the format he has been developing through three earlier novels and fine-tunes it to blockbuster perfection."<ref>[[Janet Maslin|Maslin, Janet]] (March 17, 2003). [https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/17/books/books-of-the-times-spinning-a-thriller-from-a-gallery-at-the-louvre.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm "Spinning a Thriller From a Gallery at the Louvre"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408050458/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/17/books/books-of-the-times-spinning-a-thriller-from-a-gallery-at-the-louvre.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |date=April 8, 2016 }}.</ref> David Lazarus of ''[[The San Francisco Chronicle]]'' said, "This story has so many twists—all satisfying, most unexpected—that it would be a sin to reveal too much of the plot in advance. Let's just say that if this novel doesn't get your pulse racing, you need to check your meds."<ref>Lazarus, David (April 6, 2003). [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/04/06/RV140483.DTL {{"'}}Da Vinci Code' a heart-racing thriller"]. ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''.</ref> The book appeared at number 43 on a 2010 list of 101 best books ever written, which was derived from a survey of more than 15,000 Australian readers.<ref>{{Citation | last = Yeoman | first = William | date = June 30, 2010 | url =https://thewest.com.au/news/australia/vampires-trump-wizards-as-readers-pick-their-best-ng-ya-207095 | title = Vampires trump wizards as readers pick their best | newspaper = [[The West Australian]] | access-date = March 24, 2011 }}{{citation | url = http://l.yimg.com/ea/doc/-/100629/the_top_100_list-162jebm.pdf |title=List |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110804161548/http://l.yimg.com/ea/doc/-/100629/the_top_100_list-162jebm.pdf | archive-date = August 4, 2011 | df = mdy-all }}.</ref>

====Disparaging====

==Inspiration and influences==

[[Stephen King]] likened Brown's work to "Jokes for the John", calling such literature the "intellectual equivalent of [[Kraft Dinner|Kraft Macaroni and Cheese]]".<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.stephenking.com/com_address/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013011628/http://www.stephenking.com/com_address/ | archive-date = 2007-10-13 |title= Stephen King address, University of Maine |publisher= Archive |access-date=2011-01-04}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] described it as a "potboiler written with little grace and style", although he added it did "supply an intriguing plot".<ref name="Ebert1">{{citation|title=Veni, Vidi, Da Vinci|last=Ebert|first=Roger|work=RogerEbert.com|date=May 18, 2006|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-da-vinci-code-2006}}</ref> In his review of the film ''[[National Treasure (film)|National Treasure]]'', whose plot also involves ancient conspiracies and treasure hunts, he wrote: "I should read a potboiler like ''The Da Vinci Code'' every once in a while, just to remind myself that life is too short to read books like ''The Da Vinci Code''."<ref name="Ebert2">{{citation|title=Clueless caper just fool's gold|last=Ebert|first=Roger|work=RogerEbert.com|date=November 18, 2004|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/national-treasure-2004}}</ref> While interviewing [[Umberto Eco]] in a 2008 issue of ''[[The Paris Review]]'', [[Lila Azam Zanganeh]] characterized ''The Da Vinci Code'' as "a bizarre little offshoot" of Eco's novel, ''[[Foucault's Pendulum]]''. In response, Eco remarked, "Dan Brown is a character from ''Foucault's Pendulum!'' I invented him. He shares my characters' fascinations—the world conspiracy of [[Rosicrucianism|Rosicrucians]], [[Freemasonry|Masons]], and [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]]. The role of the Knights Templar. The [[Hermeticism|hermetic secret]]. The principle that everything is connected. I suspect Dan Brown might not even exist."<ref>Zanganeh, Lila Azam. [http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5856/the-art-of-fiction-no-197-pauleacute-baacutertoacuten "Umberto Eco, The Art of Fiction No. 197"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006141852/http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/5856/the-art-of-fiction-no-197-pauleacute-baacutertoacuten |date=October 6, 2016 }}. ''The Paris Review''. Summer 2008, Number 185. Retrieved 2012-04-27.</ref>

====Negative====

The novel is part of the late [[20th century|twentieth century]] revival of interest in [[Gnosticism]]. Its emphasis on the role of Mary Magdalene in early Christianity comes straight from Gnostic scriptures, as does much of its portrayal of [[fertility rite|fertility rites]] and [[mystery religion|mystery cults]] in the practices of the ancient church. The later ecclesiastical history described in Langdon and Teabing's lengthy soliloquies is largely adapted from modern interpretations of the relationship between Gnosticism and Christianity; the most influential of these is probably [[1982]] pseudo-[[documentary]] book ''[[Holy Blood, Holy Grail]]'' (which is explicitly named, among several others, on page 253.) It has been claimed that ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a romanised version of this work, which was itself based on a series of short films that ran on the [[BBC]] in the late [[1970s]]. Similarities include Mary Magdalene as the living Holy Grail, the divine origin of the French royal dynasty, occultism, ancient Egyptian wisdom, [[papal]] [[conspiracy]], and the use of [[steganography]]. In the book, the noted French painter [[Poussin]] with his "Et in Arcadia ego" canvas, plays the same role which Brown later assigned to Leonardo da Vinci. Years later one of the authors openly admitted to the press that the entire story had been invented. In reference to Baigent, Brown named the villain of his story "Teabing".

[[Salman Rushdie]] said during a lecture, "Do not start me on ''The Da Vinci Code''. A novel so bad that it gives bad novels a bad name."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/oct/07/famed_author_takes_kansas/?city_local |title=Famed author takes on Kansas |newspaper=LJWorld |date=October 7, 2005 |access-date=2011-01-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090830024742/http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/oct/07/famed_author_takes_kansas/?city_local |archive-date=August 30, 2009 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> [[Stephen Fry]] has referred to Brown's writings as "complete loose stool-water" and "arse gravy of the worst kind".<ref>{{Citation | contribution-url = http://www.qitranscripts.com/transcripts/3x12 | contribution = 3x12 | type = episode transcript | title = [[QI]] }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref> In a live chat on June 14, 2006, he clarified, "I just loathe all those book[s] about the [[Holy Grail]] and Masons and Catholic conspiracies and all that botty-dribble. I mean, there's so much more that's interesting and exciting in art and in history. It plays to the worst and laziest in humanity, the desire to think the worst of the past and the desire to feel superior to it in some fatuous way."<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.douglasadams.se/forum/viewtopic.php?p=175185#175185 | title= Interview with Douglas Adams Continuum | publisher= Douglas Adams | place= [[Sweden|SE]] | access-date= 2011-01-04 | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110519064736/http://www.douglasadams.se/forum/viewtopic.php?p=175185#175185 | archive-date= May 19, 2011 | df= mdy-all }}</ref> [[A. O. Scott]], reviewing the movie based on the book for ''[[The New York Times]]'', called the book "Dan Brown's best-selling primer on how not to write an English sentence".<ref name="NewYorkTimes">{{cite news|last=Scott |first=A.O. |url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/05/18/movies/18code.html |title = Movie Review: A 'Da Vinci Code' That Takes Longer to Watch Than Read|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date= May 18, 2006 |access-date=2011-01-04}}</ref> ''[[The New Yorker]]'' reviewer [[Anthony Lane]] refers to it as "unmitigated junk" and decries "the crumbling coarseness of the style".<ref name="NewYorker" /> Linguist [[Geoffrey Pullum]] and others posted several entries critical of Brown's writing, at [[Language Log]], calling Brown one of the "worst prose stylists in the history of literature" and saying Brown's "writing is not just bad; it is staggeringly, clumsily, thoughtlessly, almost ingeniously bad".<ref>{{Citation | title = [[Language Log]] | contribution-url = http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000844.html | contribution = The Dan Brown code | publisher = University of Pennsylvania}} (also follow other links at the bottom of that page)</ref>

===Lawsuits===

Lewis Perdue has sued Dan Brown, claiming that ''The Da Vinci Code'' was largely based on plagiarism of his own earlier book, ''The Da Vinci Legacy''. Mr. Perdue has set up [http://www.davincilegacy.com/Infringement/ a webpage listing some of the alleged similarities between the two works].

Author [[Lewis Perdue]] alleged that Brown plagiarized two of his novels, ''The Da Vinci Legacy'', originally published in 1983, and ''Daughter of God'', originally published in 2000. He sought to block distribution of the book and film. However, [[George B. Daniels|Judge George Daniels]] of the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York|US District Court in New York]] ruled against Perdue in 2005, saying that "A reasonable average lay observer would not conclude that ''The Da Vinci Code'' is substantially similar to ''Daughter of God''" and that "Any slightly similar elements are on the level of generalized or otherwise unprotectable ideas."<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4126710.stm "Author Brown 'did not plagiarise'"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128175257/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4126710.stm |date=November 28, 2016 }}, [[BBC News]], August 6, 2005</ref> Perdue appealed; the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the original decision, saying Mr. Perdue's arguments were "without merit".<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4929550.stm "Delays to latest Dan Brown novel"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406233626/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4929550.stm |date=April 6, 2016 }}, [[BBC News]], April 21, 2006</ref>

In early 2006, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh filed suit against Brown's publisher, Random House. They alleged that significant portions of ''The Da Vinci Code'' were plagiarized from ''[[The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail]]'', violating their copyright.<ref name=TrialBBC>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4949488.stm |title=Judge creates own Da Vinci code |work=BBC News |date=April 27, 2006 |access-date=2009-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070905211028/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4949488.stm |archive-date=September 5, 2007 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Brown confirmed during the court case that he named the principal Grail expert of his story Leigh Teabing, an anagram of "Baigent Leigh", after the two plaintiffs. In reply to the suggestion that [[Henry Lincoln]] was also referred to in the book, since he has medical problems resulting in a severe limp, like the character of Leigh Teabing, Brown stated he was unaware of Lincoln's illness and the correspondence was a coincidence.<ref name=TrialWashPost>{{Cite web|url=http://nyakornel.blogspot.com/2007/05/pros-and-cons-of-da-vinci-code-to.html|title= Authors who lost 'Da Vinci Code' copying case to mount legal appeal|access-date=July 12, 2006}}</ref> Since Baigent and Leigh had presented their conclusions as historical research, not as fiction, [[Peter Smith (judge)|Mr Justice Peter Smith]], who presided over the trial, deemed that a novelist must be free to use these ideas in a fictional context, and ruled against Baigent and Leigh. Smith also hid [[Smithy code|his own secret code]] in his written judgment, in the form of seemingly random italicized letters in the 71-page document, which apparently spell out a message. Smith indicated he would confirm the code if someone broke it.<ref name=TrialMSNBC>{{cite web | url = https://www.today.com/popculture/judge-rejects-claims-da-vinci-suit-wbna12202180 | title = Judge rejects claims in 'Da Vinci' suit | work = Today.com | publisher = MSN | date = April 7, 2006 | access-date = 2009-02-03 | df = mdy-all }}</ref> After losing before the [[High Court of Justice|High Court]] on July 12, 2006, Baigent and Leigh appealed to the [[Court of Appeal (England and Wales)|Court of Appeal]], unsuccessfully.<ref name="TrialWashPost"/><ref name="TrialMSNBC"/>

[[Umberto Eco]]'s earlier ''[[Foucault's Pendulum (book)|Foucault's Pendulum]]'' also deals with conspiracies, including the Holy Blood theme and the Temple.

In April 2006 Mikhail Anikin, a Russian scientist and art historian working as a senior researcher at the [[Hermitage Museum]] in St Petersburg, stated the intention to bring a lawsuit against Brown, maintaining that he was the one who coined the phrase used as the book's title and one of the ideas regarding the ''Mona Lisa'' used in its plot. Anikin interprets the ''Mona Lisa'' to be a Christian allegory consisting of two images, one of Jesus Christ that comprises the image's right half, and one of the Virgin Mary that forms its left half. According to Anikin, he expressed this idea to a group of experts from the Museum of Houston during a 1988 [[René Magritte]] exhibit at the Hermitage, and when one of the Americans requested permission to pass it along to a friend Anikin granted the request on condition that he be credited in any book using his interpretation. Anikin eventually compiled his research into ''Leonardo da Vinci or Theology on Canvas'', a book published in 2000, but ''The Da Vinci Code'', published three years later, makes no mention of Anikin and instead asserts that the idea in question is a "well-known opinion of a number of scientists".<ref>Page, Jeremy. "Now Russian sues Brown over his Da Vinski Code", ''[[The Sunday Times]]'', April 12, 2006</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Grachev | first = Guerman | url = http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/13-04-2006/79125-danbrown-0/ | title = Russian scientist to sue best-selling author Dan Brown over 'Da Vinci Code' plagiarism | date = 13 April 2006 | newspaper = Pravda | place = [[Russia|RU]] | access-date = May 13, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121007082243/http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/13-04-2006/79125-danbrown-0/ | archive-date = October 7, 2012 | url-status = live | df = mdy-all }}.</ref>

==Criticisms==

Because of the book's opening claim:

:"Fact: (...) All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate."

many have viewed ''The Da Vinci Code'' as a genuine exposé of [[orthodox]] Christianity's past. As a result, the book has attracted a generally negative response from the Christian, Jewish and Italian communities, as well as from historians dismayed by the way Brown has, in their view, distorted &ndash; and in some cases fabricated &ndash; history, and other readers complaining of sloppy research.

Brown has been sued twice in U.S. Federal courts by the author Jack Dunn who claims Brown copied a huge part of his book ''The Vatican Boys'' to write ''The Da Vinci Code'' and ''Angels & Demons''. Neither lawsuit was allowed to go to a jury trial. In 2017, in London, another claim was begun against Brown by Jack Dunn who claimed that justice was not served in the U.S. lawsuits.<ref name="Dunn">{{Cite web |last=Teodorczuk |first=Tom |date=2017-12-14 |title=Dan Brown faces possible new plagiarism lawsuit over 'The Da Vinci Code' |url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dan-brown-faces-possible-new-plagiarism-lawsuit-over-the-da-vinci-code-2017-10-18 |access-date=2022-03-20 |website=MarketWatch}}</ref> Possibly the largest reaction occurred in [[Kolkata]], India, where a group of around 25 protesters "stormed" Crossword bookstore, pulled copies of the book from the racks, and threw them to the ground. On the same day, a group of 50–60 protesters successfully made the [[Oxford Bookstore]] on Park Street decide to stop selling the book "until the controversy sparked by the film's release was resolved".<ref>{{Cite web|url =http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060518/asp/calcutta/story_6236447.asp |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160827001915/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1060518/asp/calcutta/story_6236447.asp |url-status =dead |archive-date =August 27, 2016 |title = Novel earns vandal wrath - Code controversy deepens with warning from protesters |date =May 18, 2006 |work =The Telegraph|___location=India }}</ref> Thus in 2006, seven [[states and territories of India|Indian states]] ([[Nagaland]], [[Punjab(India)|Punjab]], [[Goa]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Andhra Pradesh]]) banned the release or exhibition of the [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] movie ''[[The Da Vinci Code (film)|The Da Vinci Code]]'' (as well as the book).<ref>"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5043934.stm India extends Da Vinci Code ban]" on the ground that it outraged the religious feeling of Christians. Roman Catholic Bishop Marampudi Joji, based in Andhra Pradesh's capital Hyderabad, welcomed the ban. ''BBC News'', 3 June 2006. Retrieved 3 June 2006.</ref> Later, two states, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, lifted the ban under high court order.<ref>{{Cite web |agency=TNN|date=Jun 22, 2006 |title=HC quashes ban on Da Vinci Code {{!}} Hyderabad News - Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/hc-quashes-ban-on-da-vinci-code/articleshow/1669485.cms |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=HC allows Da Vinci Code screening in TN |url=https://www.rediff.com/news/2006/jul/08tn.htm |access-date=2022-07-11 |website=www.rediff.com}}</ref>

Criticisms include:

==Release details==

* The claim that, prior to AD [[325]], Christ was considered no more than a "mortal prophet" by his followers, and that it was only as a consequence of Emperor [[Constantine I (emperor)|Constantine]]'s politicking and a close vote at the [[First Council of Nicaea]] that Christianity came to view him as divine: This has been debunked with extensive reference by various authors to the [[Bible]] and [[Church Fathers]], sources that pre-date the First Council of Nicea. (See [http://www.envoymagazine.com/PlanetEnvoy/Review-DaVinci-part2-Full.htm#Full this example], or Olson and Meisel (2004), who refer to ''The Church in Crisis: A History of the General Councils, 325&ndash;1870'' (1964) by Philip Hughes.) At the Council, the central question was if Christ and God were one, or whether instead Christ was the first created being, inferior to the Father, but still superior to all other creatures (see [[Arianism]]).

The book has been translated into over 44 languages, primarily hardcover.<ref>{{Citation | title = Secrets | url = http://www.danbrown.com/secrets/foreign.html | contribution = World editions of The Da Vinci Code | type = official site | publisher = Dan Brown | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060127001617/http://www.danbrown.com/secrets/foreign.html | archive-date = January 27, 2006 | df = mdy-all }}.</ref> Major English-language (hardcover) editions include:

* The claim that Mary Magdalene was of the tribe of [[Benjamin]] (Chapter 58): This is unsupported by any historical evidence. The fact that [[Magdala]] was located in northern Israel, whereas the tribe of Benjamin resided in the south, weighs against it.

* {{Citation |place=US |title=The Da Vinci Code |date=April 2003 |edition=1st |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=0-385-50420-9 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/davincicodenove00brow}}.

* The idea that the purported marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene would create a "potent political union with the potential of making a legitimate claim to the throne" ([http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0385504209/102-0892591-1122560?v=search-inside&keywords=legitimate Chapter 58]): According to the Gospels, Jesus clearly stated that his kingdom "is not of this world"; if, on the other hand, Jesus was merely a "mortal prophet" seeking to establish only a political kingdom, he failed.

* {{Citation | title = The Da Vinci Code | edition = spec illustr | date = November 2, 2004 | publisher = Doubleday | isbn = 0-385-51375-5 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/davincicode00brow_0 }} (as of January 2006, has sold 576,000 copies).

* The assertion that "the sacred feminine" has been suppressed by Christianity: In [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]], for example, [[Mary the mother of Jesus|Mary]] (of Nazareth), the mother of Jesus, is specially venerated as the "Mother of God," the "Queen of Heaven," the spiritual mother of all mankind, and is believed to be [[Immaculate Conception|free of sin]]. (It is hypothesized that Mary's Virginal nature does not accord with Brown's ideals.)

* {{Citation | place = UK | title = The Da Vinci Code | date = April 2004 | publisher = Corgi Adult | isbn = 0-552-14951-9 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/davincicode00danb }}.

* The allegation that "the Church burned at the stake an astounding five ''million'' women" as [[witches]] ([http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0385504209/?v=search-inside&keywords=astounding Chapter 28]): Olson and Miesel (2004), referring to [http://www.gendercide.org/case_witchhunts.html information at Gendercide.org], state that the most reliable current estimates &ndash; including those not executed at the Church's recommendation, not killed by burning, and not female &ndash; range from 30,000 to 50,000.

* {{Citation | place = UK | title = The Da Vinci Code | edition = illustr | date = October 2, 2004 | publisher = Bantam | isbn = 0-593-05425-3}}.

* The assertion that the original [[Olympics]] were held "as a tribute to the magic of Venus" (Chapter 6), i. e. apparently [[Aphrodite]]: actually, they were celebrated for [[Zeus]] Olympias.

* {{Citation | place = US/[[Canada|CA]] | title = The Da Vinci Code | type = trade paperback |date=March 2006 | publisher = Anchor}}.

* The theory that [[Gothic architecture]] was designed by the Templars to record the secret of the sacred feminine: historians note that Templars were not involved with [[list of cathedrals|cathedrals]] of the time, which were generally commissioned by European bishops.

* {{Citation | date = March 28, 2006 | title = The da Vinci code | publisher = Anchor | type = paperback}}, 5 million copies.

* The depiction of the Templars as builders, [[guild]]-founders and secret-bearers: Templar historians point to abundant evidence that Templars did not themselves engage in building projects or found guilds for masons, and that they were largely illiterate men unlikely to know "[[sacred geometry]]," purportedly handed down from the pyramids' builders.

* {{Citation | date = March 28, 2006 | title = The da Vinci code | publisher = Broadway | edition = special illustrated | type = paperback}}, released 200,000 copies.

* The portrayal of the Priory of Sion as an ancient organization: While the Priory is a genuine organization claiming to have been the Templars' driving force, most historians suspect it originated in the aftermath of [[World War II]], on the grounds that it was registered with the French government in [[1956]], and only became widely-known in [[1962]] (see [[Pierre Plantard]]). However, according to official sources of the Priory, it was founded in 1090.

* {{Citation | date = May 19, 2006 | publisher = Doubleday, Broadway | title = The Da Vinci Code Illustrated Screenplay: Behind the Scenes of the Major Motion Picture | first = Akiva | last = Goldsman | author-link = Akiva Goldsman | others = Howard, Ron; Brown, Dan introd}}, the day of the film's release. Including film stills, behind-the-scenes photos and the full script. 25,000 copies of the hardcover, and 200,000 of the paperback version.<ref>{{Citation | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071013104154/http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/01/09/best-sellers-potter.html | archive-date=2007-10-13| url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/harry-potter-still-magic-for-book-sales-1.587812 | contribution = Harry Potter still magic for book sales | publisher = [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] | title = Arts | url-status = live | date = January 9, 2006}}.</ref>

* The suggestion that all churches used by the Templars were built round, and that roundness was considered an insult by the Church: Some churches used by the Templars were not round, and those that were round were so in tribute to the [[Church of the Holy Sepulchre]].

* The contention that the [[Mona Lisa]] was painted by Leonardo da Vinci as a self-portrait: Art historians are almost unanimous in holding the painting to be of a real woman, Madonna Lisa, wife of Francesco di Bartolomeo del Giocondo. However, other researchers have concluded, using "morphing" techniques, that the resemblance to Leonardo is striking (Lillian Swartz of the Bell Labs and Digby Quested of the Maudsley Hospital in London).

* The depiction of [[Opus Dei]] as a monastic order. In fact, it is a [[personal prelature]] with primarily lay membership. There are no monks in Opus Dei, (although members of Opus Dei do practice [[mortification of the flesh]]).

* Mary Magdalene is said to have been labelled a whore by the Church ([http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0385504209/102-0892591-1122560?v=search-inside&keywords=whore Chapters 58 and 60]); in fact, there is no Biblical correlation whatsoever between the whore that Christ saves from being stoned to death and Magdalene . This common misunderstanding was initiated by Pope [[Gregory I]], who proclamed this, based on a false analysis of Luke 7 and 8. He "integrated" three different women into one. (See [[Pericope Adulteræ]].)

* The suggestion that the [[Tetragrammaton]] is "an androgynous physical union between the masculine ''Jah'' and the pre-[[Hebraic]] name of [[Eve]], ''Havah''" ([http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0385504209/?v=search-inside&keywords=jah Chapter 74]). It is generally believed that the four Hebrew letters that form the Tetragrammaton (Yud, Hay, Vav, Hay) represent the tenses of the Hebrew word for ''to be'' -- Quoting [[Exodus]] 3:14-15, "And God said to Moses, "[[I am that I am|I am who I am]] [...]". Actually, the phrase in Hebrew is "eh-yeh asher eh-yeh", which in English translation would really be, "I will be who (or what or that) I will be." Therefore, ''The Verb'' emphasizes God's absolute being.

* [[Venus_(planet)|Venus]] is depicted as visible in the east shortly after sunset (Chapter 105) which is an astronomical impossibility. ''This was corrected to "west" in some later editions, like 28th printing of British paperback, ISBN 0552149519 and apparently current printing of the US hardback too - [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0385504209/?v=search-inside&keywords=single%20point%20of%20light].''

* The book repeats various debunked claims about the [[golden ratio]].

* Brown characterized the cycle of Venus as "trac[ing] a perfect pentacle across the ecliptic sky every four years", and from there claimed this as the basis for four-year Olympic period (Chapter 6). The fact is, Venus completes five cycles in ''eight'' years [http://www.vt-2004.org/Education/edu1app5.html] [http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/anti-masonry/venus.html], a fact well known to the ancient Greeks and Mayans. This eight-year cycle is one of the factors in predicting the [[transit of Venus]]. ''This was changed to "eight years" in some later editions such as the British paperback and at least the April 2003 printing of the US hardback - [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0385504209/?v=search-inside&keywords=ecliptic].''

==Film==

In view of its popularity and widespread acceptance as being factually correct, some have held the novel's historical defects to be so serious and numerous as to warrant separate works debunking its claims. Among others, this includes Carl Olson and [[Sandra Miesel]]'s ''[[The Da Vinci Hoax]]'' .

{{Main article |The Da Vinci Code (film)}}

[[Columbia Pictures]] adapted the novel to film, with a screenplay written by [[Akiva Goldsman]], and [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] winner [[Ron Howard]] directing. The film was released on May 19, 2006, and stars [[Tom Hanks]] as [[Robert Langdon]], [[Audrey Tautou]] as Sophie Neveu, and Sir [[Ian McKellen]] as Sir Leigh Teabing. During its opening weekend, moviegoers spent an estimated $77&nbsp;million in America, and $224&nbsp;million worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=davincicode.htm |title=The Da Vinci Code (2006) |publisher=Box Office Mojo |access-date=2006-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513152758/http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=davincicode.htm |archive-date=May 13, 2013 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

The movie received mixed reviews. Roger Ebert in its review wrote that "Ron Howard is a better filmmaker than Dan Brown is a novelist; he follows Brown's formula (exotic ___location, startling revelation, desperate chase scene, repeat as needed) and elevates it into a superior entertainment, with Tom Hanks as a theo-intellectual Indiana Jones... it's involving, intriguing and constantly seems on the edge of startling revelations."<ref name="Ebert1"/>

On [[March 15]], [[2005]], [[Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone]], Archbishop of [[Genoa]] and former second-in-command of the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] (and seen by many as a potential successor to [[Pope John Paul II]]), castigated the book and those who sell it because of his claims of anti-Catholic bias. "This seems like a throwback to the old anti-clerical pamphlets of the 1800s," he said. It is a "gross and absurd" distortion of history full of "cheap lies." He also made a strong defense of [[Opus Dei]], the Catholic organization which is a major antagonist of the book.

The film received two sequels: ''[[Angels & Demons (film)|Angels & Demons]]'', released in 2009, and [[Inferno (2016 film)|''Inferno'']], released in 2016. Ron Howard returned to direct both sequels.

==Facts and mythology behind the book==

*[[Leonardo Da Vinci]], Italian artist

*[[The Last Supper (Leonardo)|The Last Supper]], The Painting

*[[Louvre]], Paris art gallery

*[[Mary Magdalene]]

*[[Opus Dei]], [[prelate|Personal Prelature]] of the [[Catholic Church]]

*[[Knights Templar]]

*[[Priory of Sion]] - [[Nautonnier]]

*[[The Virgin of the Rocks]]

==See also==

==Motion picture adaptation==

{{Portal|Novels|Religion}}

Sony's [[Columbia Pictures]] is adapting the novel to [[film]]. Filming is scheduled to start in May [[2006]]; the [[Louvre]] has granted permission for filming on the premises. The film rights had been purchased for [[United States dollar|USD]] 6 million.

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{{div col|colwidth=20em|small=no}}

* {{Annotated link |Bible conspiracy theory}}

* {{Annotated link |Constantinian shift}}

* [[Cultural references to Leonardo da Vinci]]

* {{Annotated link |Desposyni}}

* {{Annotated link |List of best-selling books}}

* {{Annotated link |List of books banned in India}}

* {{Annotated link |Smithy code}}

* {{Annotated link |The Jesus Scroll|''The Jesus Scroll''}}

* {{Annotated link |Mona Lisa replicas and reinterpretations|''Mona Lisa'' replicas and reinterpretations}}

* {{Annotated link |The Rozabal Line|''The Rozabal Line''}}

* {{Annotated link |The Doomsday Conspiracy|''The Doomsday Conspiracy''}}

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==References==

*[[Ron Howard (American director)|Ron Howard]] has been signed on as [[film director|director]] with [[Akiva Goldsman]] as [[screenwriter]].

{{Reflist}}

*[[Tom Hanks]] has been signed on to star as Robert Langdon.

*[[Audrey Tautou]] is cast as [[Sophie Neveu]].

*[[Jean Reno]] has been cast as Bezu Fache.

*[[James Horner]] will compose original music.

==Further reading==

* Bock, Darrell L. ''Breaking the da Vinci code: Answers to the questions everyone's asking'' (Thomas Nelson, 2004).

* Amy Welborn, ''De-Coding Da Vinci'' (Our Sunday Visitor, 2004). ISBN 1592761011

* CarlEhrman, OlsonBart D. ''Truth and Sandrafiction Miesel,in ''The Da Vinci HoaxCode: a historian reveals what we really know about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Constantine'' (IgnatiusOxford University Press, 2004). ISBN 1586170341

* Steve KellmeyerEasley, ''FactMichael J., and FictionJohn inAnkerberg. ''The Da Vinci Code Controversy: 10 Facts You Should Know'' (BridegroomMoody PressPublishers, 20042006). ISBN 0971812861

* Gale, Cengage Learning. ''A Study Guide for Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code'' (Gale, Cengage Learning, 2015).

* Ben Witherington III, ''The Gospel Code'' (InterVarsity Press, 2004). ISBN 083083267X

* Hawel, Zeineb Sami. "Did Dan Brown Break or Repair the Taboos in the Da Vinci Code? An Analytical Study of His Dialectical Style." ''International Journal of Linguistics and Literature'' (IJLL) 7.4: 5-24. [https://www.academia.edu/download/56909080/2._IJLL_-_Did_Dan_Brown_Break_or_Repair_the_Taboos_in_The_Da_Vinci_Code__An_Analytical_Study_of_His_Dialectical_Style__1_.pdf online]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

* [[Umberto Eco]], ''[[Foucault's Pendulum (book)|Foucault's Pendulum]]'' (Ballantine Press, 1990). ISBN 0345368754

* Kennedy, Tammie M. "Mary Magdalene and the Politics of Public Memory: Interrogating" The Da Vinci Code"." ''Feminist Formations'' (2012): 120-139. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23275107 online]

* Richard Abanes, ''The Truth Behind the Da Vinci Code'' (Harvest House Publishers, 2004). ISBN 0736914390

* Mexal, Stephen J. "Realism, Narrative History, and the Production of the Bestseller: The Da Vinci Code and the Virtual Public Sphere." ''Journal of Popular Culture'' 44.5 (2011): 1085–1101. [https://www.academia.edu/download/31321937/Realism__Narrative_History__and_the_Production_of_the_Bestseller.pdf online]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

* Margaret Starbird, ''The Goddess in the Gospels'' (Bear & Company, 1998). ISBN 187918155X

* Newheiser, Anna-Kaisa, Miguel Farias, and Nicole Tausch. "The functional nature of conspiracy beliefs: Examining the underpinnings of belief in the Da Vinci Code conspiracy." ''Personality and Individual Differences'' 51.8 (2011): 1007–1011. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Miguel_Farias2/publication/232388066_The_functional_nature_of_conspiracy_beliefs_Examining_the_underpinnings_of_belief_in_the_Da_Vinci_Code_conspiracy/links/5e87156092851c2f52783957/The-functional-nature-of-conspiracy-beliefs-Examining-the-underpinnings-of-belief-in-the-Da-Vinci-Code-conspiracy.pdf online]

* Margaret Starbird, ''The Woman with the Alabaster Jar'' (Bear & Company, 1993). ISBN 1879181037

* HankOlson, HanegraaffCarl E., and PaulSandra Maier,Miesel. ''DaThe da Vinci Codehoax: FactExposing orthe Fiction?errors in The da Vinci code'' (TyndaleIgnatius House PublishersPress, 2004). ISBN 1414302797

* Propp, William H. C. "Is The Da Vinci Code True?." ''Journal of Religion and Popular Culture'' 25.1 (2013): 34–48.

* Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, &amp; Henry Lincoln, ''[[The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail]]'' (Dell, 1983). ISBN 0440136482

* [[Geoffrey K. Pullum|Pullum, Geoffrey K.]] "[http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/000844.html The Dan Brown code]." (2004)

* Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, &amp; Henry Lincoln, ''The Messianic Legacy'' (Dell, 1989). ISBN 0440203198

* Schneider-Mayerson, Matthew. "The Dan Brown phenomenon: conspiracism in post-9/11 popular fiction." ''Radical History Review'' 2011.111 (2011): 194–201. [https://www.academia.edu/download/36434569/Schneider-Mayerson__The_Dan_Brown_Phenomenon.pdf online]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

* Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince, ''[[The Templar Revelation]]'' (Touchstone, 1998). ISBN 0684848910

* Walsh, Richard G. "Passover Plots: From Modern Fictions to Mark and Back Again." ''Postscripts: The Journal of Sacred Texts, Cultural Histories, and Contemporary Contexts'' 3.2-3 (2007): 201–222. [https://journal.equinoxpub.com/POST/article/view/10901 online]

* Darrell Bock and Francis Moloney, ''Breaking the Da Vinci Code'' (Nelson Books, 2004). ISBN 0785260463

* Dan Burstein (ed), ''Secrets of the Code'' (CDS Books, 2004). ISBN 1593150229

==External links==

{{wikiquote}}

* [http://www.theprioryslegacy.tk/ The Priory's Legacy]: Unofficial discussion forum about the Da Vinci Code, and other Dan Brown Novels.

* [{{Citation | url = http://www.ignatiusdanbrown.com/books/davincihoax/newsthe-davinci-code/ News/Articles| ontype the= Anti-Catholicofficial website | title = The "Da Vinci Code] (Ignatiuspress.com)| date = January 5, 2013 | publisher = Dan Brown}}

* {{Citation | url = http://www.danbrownofficial.co.uk/danbrownbooks_thedavincicode.asp | type = official website | title = The Da Vinci Code | date = September 19, 2023 | publisher = Dan Brown | place = UK}}

*[http://altreligion.about.com/library/bl_davincicode.htm DaVinci Code Research Guide] From About.com

* {{Citation | url = https://sites.google.com/site/mysteriesofrenneslechateau/ | title = Mysteries of Rennes-le-Château | access-date = January 13, 2014 | archive-date = April 14, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150414192610/https://sites.google.com/site/mysteriesofrenneslechateau/ | url-status = dead }}

*[http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,1005690,00.html Signs for the Times] (''Guardian'' review)

* {{Citation | url = http://www.rochesterbible.org/video/davinci/davinci.html | title = The Da Vinci Code and Textual Criticism: A Video Response to the Novel | publisher = Rochester Bible | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101212103730/http://www.rochesterbible.org/video/davinci/davinci.html | archive-date = December 12, 2010 | df = mdy-all }}

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/22/books/review/22MILLERT.html?pagewanted=all&position= The Da Vinci Con] (''New York Times'' review)

* {{Citation | url = http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/may2006/dvc-m25.shtml | contribution = The Da Vinci Code, novel and film, and 'countercultural' myth | title = WSWS | type = review | first = David | last = Walsh |date=May 2006}}

* [http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/2003/nov7.html Breaking ''The Da Vinci Code''] (''Christianity Today'' response)

{{The Da Vinci Code}}

* [http://www.crisismagazine.com/september2003/feature1.htm Dismantling ''The Da Vinci Code''] (''Crisis Magazine'' response)

{{Dan Brown}}

* [http://www.themovieinsider.com/movies/mid/796/Da_Vinci_Code,_The Information About ''Da Vinci Code'' Movie]

{{Opus Dei}}

* [http://www.envoymagazine.com/planetenvoy/Review-DaVinci-Part1.htm Cracking the Anti-Catholic Code - Part One], [http://www.envoymagazine.com/PlanetEnvoy/Review-DaVinci-part2-Full.htm Part Two] (''Envoy'' response)

* [http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=7017 ''The Da Vinci Code'', the Catholic Church and Opus Dei] (Official Opus Dei response)

* [http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2005/jan/050114a.html The Da Vinci Code: Hoodwinking the World] (''LifeSite'' response)

* [http://www.davincilegacy.com/Infringement/ Dueling Da Vincis: ''Legacy'' vs. ''Code''] (Allegations of plagiarism)

* [http://priory-of-sion.com/dvc/ ''The Da Vinci Code'' debunking articles at priory-of-sion.com]

* [http://www-user.uni-bremen.de/~wie/Rennes/ Codex Bezae and the Da Vinci Code: A textcritical look at the Rennes-le-Chateau hoax] Parchment 1 of the Rennes-le-Chateau parchments has been copied from Codex Bezae

* [http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/ Book reviews on Dan Brown's website]

* [http://salon.com/books/feature/2004/12/29/da_vinci_code/index.html The Da Vinci crock] Salon.com article disputing legitimacy of this work

* [http://www.storycode.com/lcompare.php?r=201 StoryCode] lists books similar to The Da Vinci Code

* [http://p098.ezboard.com/bthedavincicodefactandfiction The Da Vinci Code: Fact and Fiction] : Discussion of the history behind the claims made in the Da Vinci Code - generally sceptical of Dan Brown's credibility.

* [http://www.religioustolerance.org/davinci.htm The Da Vinci Code: Separating the book's historical facts from speculation and fantasy] by ReligiousTolerance.org

{{Authority control}}

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