Assignment: The New Literature

byAsha Dhedhi - 0 Comments

Amalgamation of Fact and Fiction in Dan Brown's Masterpiece: The Da Vinci Code


 Abstract


Literature has long had a fascination with esoteric knowledge, secret societies and conspiracies – from Euripides’ Bacchae to Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. 

(Peter Knight)


'The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown is a mystery thriller book also considered as a Conspiracy Theory against the 2000 year long tradition of Christian Church. This book is an amalgamation of Fact of Fiction with the great Creative Imagination of the writer. And if we consider it as Conspiracy Narrative as many critics believe then it is a good Conspiracy which leaves no traces of questions. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is a retelling of historical facts with some fictional touch and fantasies. It also includes some scientific elements which make the novel absolutely true or accurate. But the novel is more in the realm of Speculative Fiction because what is shown here absolutely might not be 100% true. Certain aspects like What is Holy Grail- A cup or person? Question on the existence of the Priory of Sion and Knights Templars? Is it true or false that  Leonardo Da Vinci's paintings are full of hidden codes? Were Da Vinci and Isaac Newton members of the Priory of Sion? Is it true that Mary Magdalene is the wife of Jesus Christ? Is it true that the lady-like figure beside Jesus Christ in 'The Last Supper' painting is Mary Magdalene instead of his disciple John? Is Mary Magdalene's Sarcophagus beneath the glass pyramid of the Louvre Museum?  So, These are some of the elements which are shown as accurate or factual in the novel. But whether they are truths of history or fabricated truths of history remains open for discussion or debate. And this will be the central topic in this article.


Keywords: Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, History, Fabricated Truths, Fact or Fiction


Introduction


How far do you think one good Literary piece can affect two thousand years long belief of people? Is it possible to shake their faith just by producing a single piece of novel? The answer might be Yes, After reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, which is much more in debate since its publication which has sold 80 Million copies worldwide.


A book revolves around Robert Langdon a professor of Symbologist and Code cracker heroine named Sophie Neveu are in a search of Holy Grail comes along some shocking truths about Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Christianity and Secret Society in Christian Church which create an alternative religious history of Christian religion which is opposite to the authentic history of Christianity which is created and written in Bible and old religious scriptures and followed by Christian people from 2000 years.


Now the work 'The Da Vinci Code' is obviously a work of fiction but the author Dan Brown claims that the events and background which are represented in the novel are based on facts and truths. In the words of Dan Brown himself…


"all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate."

(Dan Brown)


According to Dan Brown this novel is written after confirming every fact and it's foundation is based on deep research. But Is it really true? Because many critics are defining it as Brown's Conspiracy Narrative against Christian Church and its History. One critic also states the same statement...


Brown constructs a Conspiracy Theory narrative that “presents and constructs knowledge; it promotes questions, and counters specific 

constructions of reality” 


So, There are two controversial points of view revolving around in Dan Brown's most celebrated novel 'The Da Vinci Code' which are..


  • Is this a Conspiracy Theory of Brown against Christian Church or
  • Maybe Dan Brown presents fabricated inaccuracies so convincingly that it seems like these are facts?

So, In this article we will see what are the elements which Brown suggests in his are historically true and whether they are actually true or not according to scholars. Dan Brown presents every event in the novel so convincingly that for readers it becomes hard to separate fact from fiction. Real and fake are intertwined here but the writer will try to differentiate between what is real and what is fake. At the end we will also discuss Why Historical accuracy matters. And What if History itself is inaccurate?


Mary Magdalene and Her Bloodline


In the novel Robert Langdon explains to Sophie Neveu about Mary Magdalene's bloodline and descendents. Langdon claims here that Mary Magdalene is descended from the Tribe of Benjamin which is historically wrong to make her royal blood. 


But critics say that Brown is mythifying here. Because the name of Mary Magdalene itself suggests that she belongs from Magdala. Sandra Miesel and Carl E. Olson also wrote in their 2004 book titled 'The Da Vinci Hoax' that the Magdala was located in northern Israel, whereas the tribe of Benjamin resides in the south. And these two places are opposite to each other. So, Mary Magdalene is a descendant of the Tribe of Benjamin is an acclaimed falsehood. Another depiction of Mary Magdalene in the novel is as a prostitute.


"Magdalene was recast as a whore in order to erase evidence of her 

powerful family ties."

(The Da Vinci Code, pg:210)


(Jesus at the table in the house of the Pharisee, receiving the visit of Mary Magdalene, depicted as a prostitute bowing at Jesus's feet)


This is again a very controversial fact which almost remains in ambiguity. Mary is represented sometimes as a companion of Jesus, As a wife of Jesus or sometimes as a sinner who repented and later on was saved by Christ. The Bible also represents Mary as a woman who has witnessed the Crucifixion and knows about Resurrection. These are the representations of Mary Magdalene which have no end of truth. 


(Mary Magdalene witnessing Crucifixion of Jesus Christ)


Holy Grail: That never Was


Back then Holy Grail contained only one meaning which was a chalice or Cup used by Jesus Christ in The Last Supper to drink wine. But Now it is represented that the Holy Grail is not a cup but the Holy bloodline of Jesus Christ which was carried by Mary Magdalene in her womb. So, This also suggests Jesus Christ's marriage with Mary Magdalene. And this idea was supposed to be taken by Dan Brown from Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh in 'The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.' which is again a very controversial book.


"The legend of the Holy Grail is a legend about royal blood. When Grail legend speaks of 'the chalice that held the blood of Christ'... it speaks, in fact, of Mary Magdalene—the female womb that carried Jesus' royal bloodline." 

(The Da Vinci Code, pg:210)


This fabricated truth is again broken by Darell Bock in his 2004 work 'Breaking The Da Vinci Code: Answers to the Questions Everybody's Asking.' Here the author argues that the woman in gospels can be identified by the designation attached with their in the end. For example There is Mary-the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary-the mother of James and Joses, Mary-the mother of James, Mary-the wife of Cleopas" and Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. So, If Mary Magdalene had a relationship with Christ then her name might be as "Mary-The Wife of Jesus" instead of Mary Magdalene a descendent of Magdala.


So, many critics also demythify this fictitious truth of Dan Brown that Holy Grail is not a Cup but a person by presenting the medieval legend about the Cup of Christ in The Last Supper. Critics say that the phrase Holy Grail first came into existence by the publication of Chretien de Troyes' verse name 'Perceval, the Story of the Grail' which is originally written in Old French. So, When Dan Brown says that the Holy Grail is Mary Magdalene he tries to create another legend by denying the existing legend of 'The Holy Grail' and bringing forth his altered history as Real.

Norris Lacy has written a very interesting article titled as 'Dan Brown and Holy Grail: That Never Was.' And this essay denies both the explanation for Holy Grail which are Holy Grail as Cup and Holy Grail as a Person. The writers deny Leigh Teabing's explanation for Grail as "Sang Real" meaning Royal Blood and say it is a linguistic error and the original word is San Greal which means Holy Grail.  So, these are the different explanations for Grail and it's real meanings from which again it is becoming harder to trace the right meaning of Grail.




Existence of Knights Templar and Priory of Sion


The existence of these two organizations is not fake at all. But the way they represented and the representation work with which they connected is fabricated. 


Dan Brown says in his novel that Holy Grail is not a cup which is used in The Last Supper but Holy Grail is Mary Magdalene herself and this secret is protected by Knights Templars and The Priory of Sion. The novel represents..


"A common misconception. The idea of protection of pilgrims was the guise under which the Templars ran their mission. Their true goal in the Holy Land was to retrieve the documents from beneath the ruins of the temple."

(The Da Vinci Code, Pg. 133)


According to History Knights Templars or The Order of Solomon's Temple  is Catholic Military Arm which was founded in 1119 to protect the Cristian Pilgrimage. But the novel deliberately says that their true goal was to protect the documents which are secret. 



(The Flag used by Knights Templars)


(The first headquarters of the Knights Templar, on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Crusaders called it "the Temple of Solomon")


The existence of the Priory of Sion is also factual but the way it works is very different from what Brown suggests in his novel.  The title Priory of Sion is used three different times throughout history. It was first a monastic order founded in Jerusalem in 1100 that was absorbed into the Jesuits in 1617.


The second and third Priory of Sion organization is founded under the leadership of Pierre Plantard (1920–2000), an anti-Semitic Frenchman who went to jail in 1953 for fraud. In 1954, Plantard formed a group called the Priory of Sion to help those who are in need of low-cost housing. The group ended in 1957. Then in the 1960s and 70s he created a series of  documents to prove the existence of a bloodline descending from Jesus and Mary through the kings of France. He and his associates called themselves the Priory of Sion and spread these documents in libraries all over France, including the National Library.


In 1993, however, Plantard admitted to a French judge that he had fabricated all the documents relating to the Priory of Sion. The judge issued several warnings against him and dismissed him as harmless. 


(The official emblem of the Priory of Sion is partly based on the fleur-de-lis, which was a symbol particularly associated with the French monarchy.)


Leonardo Da Vinci: The Last Supper painting


Paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci always remain an attraction for many people because they are hard to interpret. And the more you stare, the more meanings pop up out of those paintings. Many Critics with reference to The Da Vinci Code argue that Dan Brown is misrepresenting Leonardo's paintings in the novel. And Brown's statement that Leonardo Paintings are full of codes is also a question of debate.


"You will be shocked to learn what anomalies Da Vinci included here that most scholars either do not see or simply choose to ignore. This fresco, in fact, is the entire key to the Holy Grail mystery. Da Vinci lays it all out in the open in The Last Supper"

(The Da Vinci Code, Pg:199)



Brown reverted the interpretation of The Last Supper painting by claiming that the person sitting beside Jesus in red hair is Mary Magdalene. And they both sit in such a way which creates a symbol of 'V' which is an icon for male "A rudimentary phallus", and Landon draws another symbol 'Opposite V' which resembles Chalice. So, It symbolises a cup or vessel and moreover it also looks like a woman's womb so it symbolizes femininity. This is how Langdon proves that the actual Holy Grail is not a cup but a Mary Magdalene. This interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci's painting was criticised by many critics claiming that the person beside Jesus is not Mary Magdalene but a he is Jesus's favourite disciple Jones who represented as clean shaved, red hair with some feminine characteristics.


Conclusion


So, To conclude it can be said that Whatever Dan Brown has written in his novel The Da Vinci Code has created a debate between Christian Church. People who believe in Dan Brown's theory are urging for the truthful answers from the Christian Church and Many people who know the truth are challenging Dan Brown's narrative by claiming it as fake. Dan Brown speaks in favour of a book that..


"The book is meticulously researched and very accurate and I think people know that."

(Dan Brown)


But Many Readers do not agree with What Dan Brown depicts as real. And argues that he has created an alternate history of Christian Beliefs. People are claiming him as a conspirator who has created different knowledge which people are accepting as well. But as David G. Robertson has said in his work named “The Hidden Hand: Why Religious Studies Need to Take Conspiracy Theories Seriously,” 


“Conspiracy theory, like religion, is difficult to define. You can point to specific features, essential ideas, or common functions, but there will be significant exceptions”

(David G. Robertson)


So, as David Robertson suggests, Conspiracy Theory is hard to define because it's created in a way that it looks real and authentic. As Dan Brown himself suggested in a novel that 'Everyone Loves a Conspiracy' and his novel had proved this statement very well because the novel has gained more popularity. 


To conclude it can be said that Da Vinci is work of Fiction and if questions it's authenticity and truthfulness then one should also ask about the accuracy of History itself. In the words of Dan Brown…


“Many historians believe (as I do) that in gauging the historical accuracy of a given concept, we should first ask ourselves a deeper question: How historically accurate is history itself?” 

(Brown, The Official Website of Dan Brown)



References
Thank you...

Asha Dhedhi

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