The Trail of the Holy Grail
A look at the controversy of the Da Vinci Code

Ashleigh Rogers

The year 2006 brought about one of the most controversial films that stemmed from one of the most talked about theories in the history of time: “The Da Vinci Code.” The film is based on author Dan Brown’s best selling mystery/detective novel with the same title. Not only is the novel guaranteed to be on bestseller lists for years to come, its central theme has been the main attraction of readers both young and old. 

Though the novel is a work of fiction, author Dan Brown claims that the central theme is not fiction, but fact. That fact is based on one of the greatest secrets known to man: the secret theory that Jesus Christ was at some time in his life married to Mary Magdalene and their descendants are residing in France today.  There is also a proclaimed secret society in Europe known as the Priory of Sion, which is said to be the protector of these descendants. Is this bloodline fact or is it merely as fictitious as the novel?
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On April 30, 2006 CBS’s own Ed Bradley managed to get the answers to some of these questions by talking with a British scriptwriter, Henry Lincoln, who now gives tours of France’s Rennes Le Chateau. The story goes to say that a small village of the French Pyrenees known as the Rennes Le Chateau was the birthplace of the historical society known as the Priory of Sion. 

It was said that at this location, the Priory had an undeniable influence on a local village priest named Berenger Sauniere. After building himself an estate, the Rennes Le Chateau, the mystery of his wealth erupted a huge stream of gossip and set others to search for his alleged treasure in Le Chateau. One of those treasure hunters was Henry Lincoln himself. Lincoln’s interest in the history of the Priory was sparked when he stumbled across a book that contained two parchments that each held two Gospels that were said to contain a secret message. 

It was within both the film and the book that such a discovery was made as well, including the alleged P.S. at the end of one of the passages, which was said to stand for the Priory of Sion. Going by his own logic, Lincoln determined that the P.S. stood for such, and the role of the organization was simply to protect the descendants of Christ. His theory goes on to say that Mary Magdalene was married to Jesus Christ, and the Holy Grail was not the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper, but the child that she and Jesus had together. It is this particular theory that lies at the heart of “The Da Vinci Code.”

 “I can’t say that it’s a fact because it isn’t,” Lincoln said to CBS. “But it fits the facts that we have.” Though such a theory has been speculated for years, there are still some questions that have still not been answered. For instance, was the alleged Priory of Sion an actual organization? 

On the first page of Dan Brown’s novel, he states that the Priory of Sion is an actual organization. He goes on to say that the proof can be found at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, which is translated as The French National Library. It is said that the proof is found in documents known as the Dossiers Secrets or Secret Files. 

One document gives the history of the Priory dating all the way back to the 12th century. Lists of Grand Masters, included names such as Sir Isaac Newton and Leonardo Da Vinci, were mentioned. However, soon there was talk about the accuracy of these Secret Files that were placed into the Library in the 1960s. One of the most talked about theories was the alleged Grand Master of today’s Priory known as Pierre Plantard. 

Former professor of ecclesiastical history of Cambridge University, Jonathan Riley-Smith says that Plantard is to be taken as anything but serious. “He is a young man whose mind – as we say in French – is cloudy,” stated Smith to CBS. Plantard was said to have fantasies of such organizations, and such ideas only appeared on paper, not in reality. 

But one must wonder, if the Priory was simply an idea from Plantard’s imagination, how is it that the Sion is mentioned in the scripts found in Le Chateau? Author Bill Putnam stated that there was a Latin version of the Bible that was used to write one of the found scripts. It was not published until 1889, and these scripts were said to have been discovered by Sauniere long before that time period.
 
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While that particular question will continue to be discussed for generations to come, another question was raised in the film. The discussion of Da Vinci’s portrait of The Last Supperhas been one of the most intriguing discussions related to the film. The question raised is whether or not the feminine figure sitting just to the right of Christ is indeed the apostle John or Mary Magdalene. 

Several studies have been done to help answer this question and several results have been conflicting for quite some time. However, author Steve Singleton, in his frustration, began to “paint” the actual picture of this historical portrait and manage to dictate, once and for all, that the feminine figure in the portrait is indeed the apostle John.

He states that Da Vinci’s portrait is his own perspective of how the disciples reacted after Jesus announced that one of them was going to betray him. In the book of John 13:21-26, Jesus announces such and the disciples began to stare at one another. Afterward, Simon Peter asks the disciple sitting next to Jesus which one it is and then leans back against Jesus and asks, “Lord, who is it?” It is then that Jesus states that it is the one that he will give a piece of bread dipped in the dish to. 

Sure enough, the one receiving the bread was Judas Isacariot, the son of Simon. When one takes a look at the portrait, one can see that the disciples are indeed involved in a discussion amongst themselves. But how does this explain the feminine figure just to the right of Christ?

Scholars have agreed that several passages in the Bible have referred to the Apostle John as “The Beloved Disciple.” This was not seen as a claim out of the apostle’s ego, but an expression of exaltation due to the fact that he was showered with Christ’s love. There were also other references in the Bible that spoke of “another disciple.” Could this disciple have been Mary Magdalene?  Singleton noted that if this was indeed Mary Magdalene, “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” then John 20:1-18 would not have been accurate. Within that particular passage verses 10-11a state: “Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying.” Singleton states that Mary could not of course have gone and stayed simultaneously. 

Since this alleged “beloved disciple” is not a woman, why is the figure in the portrait so feminine in features? Based on John 21:20-24, it is stated that John outlived Simon Peter by many years, which explains that John had to have been considerable younger than Peter and possibly all the other disciples as well. Because of this, the figure in the photo shows features of a relatively young man of that time. For instance, he has fair features, aslight body and no facial hair. 

Singleton notes that in several other Da Vinci portraits, the same features can be found in young men. Though the feminine figure is supposedly John, son of Zebedee, Mary Magdalene’s place in history is very prominent. Singleton notes that Mary was indeed the first to witness the resurrection of Christ and has served, as one scholar put it, as “the apostle to the apostles.” 
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Scholars can go on for years to come about the mysterious and proclaimed descendants of Christ, if there really indeed are any. However, one cannot deny that some secrets are just meant to be secrets. Perhaps such a mystery is simply a way that Christ intends for His people to test their faith. Perhaps this is a particular secret that man cannot explain. 

What if there really is no secret code? What if Mary Magdalene was simply just a follower of Christ and nothing more? If that is indeed the case, all followers of Christ even today play a purpose in the legacy of Christianity. All in the end are the descendents of Christ. It is merely up to the individuals of today whether they will make Christ their leader and they will be His beloved followers. 

Questions? Comments? Contact Ashleigh Rogers at roger125@msu.edu

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