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{{infobox Book| name = The Da Vinci Code| orig title =| translator =| image = | author = Dan Brown| language = [English language| series =| classification = fiction, [Thriller (genre), Crime novel, Fiction, Mystery novel (U.S.) & [Bantam Books (UK)| release_date = 18 March 2003 (U.S.) & 1 July 2003 (UK)] & Paperback) also Audio book]| followed_by = The Solomon Key-->The Da Vinci Code is a mystery fiction/detective fiction novel by United States author Dan Brown, published in 2003 in literature by Doubleday.

Though a work of fiction, the novel has provoked popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and the role of Mary Magdalene in the history of Christianity. According to the premise of the novel, the Holy See knows it is perpetuating a lie about Jesus' bloodline and the role of women in church, but continues to do so to keep itself in power.

Dan Brown's novel was a major success in 2004 and at times it was only outsold by the highly popular Harry Potter series. 'Code' deciphers interest in religious history It spawned a number of offspring books and drew glowing reviews from the New York Times, People Magazine and the Washington Post. Reviews of The Da Vinci Code, Official site of Dan Brown It also re-ignited interest in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. As well as re-invigorating interest in the Church, The Da Vinci Code, itself preceded by other Grail books such as The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Michael Baigent and others, and Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, has inspired a number of novels very similar to it, including Raymond Khoury's The Last Templar, and The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry.

It is a worldwide bestseller which had printed 60.5 million copies by May 2006 and has been translated into 44 languages. It is thought to be the fourteenth List of best-selling books book of all time. Combining the Detective fiction, Thriller (genre) and conspiracy fiction genres, the book is the second book by Dan Brown to include the character Robert Langdon, the first being his 2000 novel Angels and Demons. In November 2004 in literature Random House published a "Special Illustrated Edition" with 160 illustrations.

In 2006, a film adaptation, The Da Vinci Code (film), was released by Columbia Pictures.

Plot summary The book describes the attempts of Robert Langdon, Professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard University, to solve the murder of renowned curator Jacques Saunière (see Bérenger Saunière) of the Louvre in Paris. The title of the novel refers, among other things, to the fact that Saunière's body is found in the Denon Wing of the Louvre naked and posed like Leonardo da Vinci famous drawing, the Vitruvian Man, with a cryptic message written beside his body and a Pentacle drawn on his stomach in his own blood.

, by Leonardo da Vinci.The interpretation of hidden messages in Leonardo's famous works, (which relate to the concept of the Sacred feminine) including the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper (Leonardo), figure prominently in the solution to the mystery.

The novel has several concurrent subplots interweaving the lives of different characters. Eventually all the characters are brought together and the subplots resolved in the denouement.The unraveling of the mystery requires the solution to a series of brain-teasers, including anagrams and number puzzles. The ultimate solution 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 story also involves the Roman Catholic organization Opus Dei.

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. Although Angels and Demons is centered on the same character the plots are not dependent upon each other. The next book is tentatively scheduled for release in 2008. Its title is The Solomon Key, and it is understood to concern Freemasonry.

Characters and their involvement in The Da Vinci Code These are the principal characters that drive the plot of the story. Some have names that are puns, anagrams or hidden clues:





Secret of the Holy Grail by Leonardo da Vinci

As explained by Sir Leigh Teabing to Sophie Neveu, the figure at the right hand of Jesus is supposedly not the John the Apostle, but Mary Magdalene. According to the book Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus Christ and was in fact pregnant with his child when Jesus was crucified. The absence of a Chalice (cup) in the painting supposedly indicates that Leonardo knew that Maria Magdalene was actually the Holy Grail (the bearer of Jesus' blood). This is said to be reinforced by the letter "V" that is created with the bodily positions of Jesus and Mary, as "V" is the symbol for the sacred feminine. The apparent absence of the "Apostle John", under this interpretation, is explained by identifying John as "Disciple whom Jesus loved", allegedly Gospel of Philip Mary Magdalene for Mary Magdalene#Assertions about Mary Magdalene (see also Second Apocalypse of James). The book also notes that the color scheme of their garments are inverted: Jesus wears a red blouse with royal blue cape; John/Mary wears a royal blue blouse with red cape — perhaps symbolizing two bonded halves of marriage. Also, if you move John/Mary to right of Jesus, you will see his head fits perfectly onto Jesus' shoulder as if to lay her head on his shoulder.

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















The secrets of the Grail are connected, according to the novel, to Leonardo da Vinci work as follows:





A number of different authors also speculate about the possibility of Jesus becoming a father. There are at least three children attributed to him, a daughter Tamar, born before the Crucifixion, and two sons Jesus (the Jesus Justus from the New Testament) and Josephes, both born after the Resurrection. Although their names are now part of the common culture of conspiracy writers, only two decades ago, when The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail was written, the names were not mentioned. The royal descents that lie at the heart of The Da Vinci Code mystery centre on the family of Josephes, who is supposed to be the grandfather of Aminadab del Graal, first of the "Fisher Kings". However the genealogies that are quoted in Grail lore appear to record too few generations, with children regularly being born to fathers in their 40s.

The mystery within the mystery Part of the advertising campaign for the novel was that the artwork in the American version of the bookjacket held various cipher, and that the reader who solved them via the author's website would be given a prize. Several thousand people actually solved the codes, and one name was randomly chosen to be the winner, with the name announced on live television, Good Morning America, in early 2004. The prize was a trip to Paris.

The five hidden puzzles reveal











Brown, both via his website and in person, has stated that the puzzles in the bookjacket give hints about the subject of his next novel, The Solomon Key. This repeats a theme from his earlier novels. For example, Deception Point had an encrypted message which, when solved, said, "The Da Vinci Code will surface".

In the simplified Chinese version of The Da Vinci Code, the cover has a secret text; however, this text can be easily seen. It reads:"13-3-2-1-1-8-5O, Draconian devil!Oh, Lame Saint!P.S. Find Robert Langdon."This is the multiply encrypted clue written in invisible ink next to the dead body in the museum which kicks off the plot of the entire novel.

Inspiration and influences Direct inspiration The novel is part of the exploration of alternative religious history. Its principal source book is listed as per the court case, Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince's The Templar Revelation, as well as the books by Margaret Starbird. Holy Blood, Holy Grail (which is explicitly named, among several others, at the beginning of chapter 60), was stated by Dan Brown not to be amongst his primary research material for the book.It has been claimed that The Da Vinci Code is a romanticised version of this work, which was itself based on a series of documentaries that ran on the BBC in the 1970s, all written and/or directed by Henry Lincoln. The main similarity includes the idea that the Merovingian kings of France were descendants from the bloodline of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene.In reference to Richard Leigh and Michael Baigent (two of the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail), Brown named the principal Grail expert of his story "Leigh Teabing" (an anagram of "Baigent Leigh"). Brown confirmed this during the court case. In reply to the suggestion that Lincoln was also referenced, as 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. After losing before the High Court of Justice in July 12, 2006, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh appealed, unsuccessfully, to the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. "Authors who lost 'Da Vinci Code' copying case to mount legal appeal", Associated Press, July 12, 2006http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12202180/Following the trial, it was found that the publicity had actually significantly boosted UK sales of Holy Blood, Holy Grailhttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-2077840,00

Brown has reworked themes and characters from his own earlier novel Angels and Demons, specifically the main character, Robert Langdon.

European readers and critics noted some striking similarities between the "Da Vinci Code" and a Norwegian novel, "Sirkelens ende" ("Circle's End") by Tom Egeland, published in 2001 (two years before the Da Vinci code). Like the "Da Vinci Code", "Circle's End" involves an ancient mystery and a worldwide conspiracy, the discovery that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and an albino as one of the central characters. In both novels, the main female character turns out to be the last living descendant of Christ and Mary Magdalene, and the daughter/granddaughter of the last grand master of a secret order. Many European readers have speculated that Dan Brown had plagiarized Tom Egeland's book. Since the Norwegian novel has not been translated into English, it is generally assumed today that the similarities between the two books, although striking, are coincidental. The author himself, Tom Egeland, has in numerous interviews in European media dismissed the claim of Brown's novel plagiarizing his own novel, stating that the similarities just show that he and Brown more or less have done the same research and found the same sources.

Indirect inspiration Umberto Eco's earlier Foucault's Pendulum (book) also deals with conspiracies, codes, a chase around the monuments of Paris, including the Holy Blood conundrum (which is mentioned in passing) and the Knights Templar, but does so in a more critical fashion — it is in fact a satire about the futility of conspiracy theories and the people who believe them. Foucault's Pendulum has since been dubbed "the thinking man's The Da Vinci Code".

Foucault's Pendulum itself is reminiscent in plot, theme and structure to the earlier The Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, published 13 years earlier.

Opus Dei was then cast in the role of the "evil opposition", used to destroy the bloodline. As the bloodline has never proven to be real, but merely a theory proposed in "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail", there is no direct inspiration for this. It is believed Opus Dei's alleged controversial past allowed Brown to weave the organisation into his novel. On a symbolic level, the Priory of Sion (male and female membership and leadership, "good") and the Opus Dei (male-only leaders, "bad") are at opposite sides of the scale. The latter is thus depicted as the attack dog of the Catholic Church, seeking to destroy the former and maintain the status quo. According to the novel, man needs woman for wholeness and, in fact, for experiencing the divine by means of sex (see the Hieros Gamos ritual)--for example, in one's orgasm, there is a short period of time when a person's mind is completely empty, when one makes contact with God.

Literary and historical criticism The book generated criticism when it was first published, due to speculations and misrepresentations of core aspects of Christianity, the history of the Catholic Church, and descriptions of European art, history, and architecture. The book has received mostly negative reviews from Catholic and other Christian communities, as well as historians.

On February 22, 2004, an article titled "The Last Word: The Da Vinci Con" appeared in the New York Times by writer Laura Millerhttp://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E0DD103AF931A15751C0A9629C8B63. Miller attacks the Da Vinci Code on multiple levels referring to it as "based on a notorious hoax", "rank nonsense", and "bogus", as she points out how heavily the book rests on the fabrications of Pierre Plantard (including the Priory of Sion which didn't exist until Plantard created it) who in 1953 was arrested and convicted for just such frauds.

Critics accuse Brown of distorting and fabricating history. For example, Marcia Ford wrote:

Richard Abanes wrote:

The book opens with the claim by Dan Brown that "The Priory of Sion- A European secret society founded in 1099- is a real organization" and that "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate"; but this claim is disputed by almost all academic scholars in the fields the book discusses http://www.historyvsthedavincicode.com. The Priory of Sion itself was not a real secret society established in 1099 but actually a hoax created in 1956 by a Mr. Pierre Plantard.

As widely noted in the media, there has been substantial confusion among readers about whether the book is factual. Numerous works have been published that explain in detail why any claim to accuracy is difficult to substantiate, while two lawsuits have been brought alleging plagiarism in The Da Vinci Code. The second, by the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail claiming textual infringement of copyright, was found in Dan Brown's favor.

Dan Brown himself dilutes the suggestion of some of the more controversial aspects being fact on his web site: "The "FACT" page makes no statement whatsoever about any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters. Interpreting those ideas is left to the reader." http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/faqs.html. However, it also says that "these real elements are interpreted and debated by fictional characters", "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." It is therefore entirely understandable why there would continue to be confusion as to what is the factual content of the book.

Brown's earlier statements about the accuracy of the historical information in his book, however, were far more strident. In 2003, while promoting his novel, he was asked in interviews what parts of the history in his novel actually happened. He replied "Absolutely all of it." In a 2003 interview with CNN's Martin Savidge he was again asked how much of the historical background was true. He replied, "99 percent is true ... the background is all true". Asked by Elizabeth Vargas in an 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." http://www.historyvsthedavincicode.com/fiction.htm More recently Brown has avoided interviews and has been rather more circumspect about the accuracy of his claims in his few public statements. He has also, however, never retracted any of his earlier assertions that the history in the novel is accurate, despite substantial academic criticism of his claims.

In 2005, UK TV personality Tony Robinson edited and narrated a detailed rebuttal of the main arguments of Dan Brown and those of Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln, "The Real Da Vinci Code", shown on 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 - to quote Arnaud de Sede in the program, "frankly, it was piffle". The program also cast severe doubt on the Rosslyn Chapel association with the Grail and on other related stories like the alleged landing of Mary Magdalene in France.

US Catholic bishops launched a website Jesus decoded rebutting the key claims in the novel. The bishops are concerned about serious mis-statements in The Da Vinci Code.

Portrayal of Gnostic Christianity According to The Da Vinci Code, the Roman Emperor Constantine I suppressed Gnostic Christianity because it portrayed Jesus as purely human. The novel's argument is as follows. Constantine wanted Christianity to act as a unifying religion for the Roman Empire. He thought Christianity would appeal to pagans only if it featured a demigod similar to pagan heroes. According to the Gnostic Gospels, Jesus was a merely 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 semidivine.http://www.historyvsthedavincicode.com/chapterfiftyfive.htm#christpower

Historically, however, Gnostic Christianity did not portray Jesus as merely human. While orthodox Christianity generally considered Christ to be both divine and human, and while some Gnostic writings depict Jesus interacting with his disciples in a wholly human way, one example being the Gospel of Mary, the Gnostic despiction of Jesus is much less clear-cut than this; other writings despict Christ as purely divine, his human body being a mere illusion (see Docetism). It should be remarked that the category of 'gnosticism' includes a wide variety of beliefs and practices, and generalising about them can therefore be misleading; indeed, early Christianity itself, even outside of Gnosticism, was a highly innovative and varying movement. However, several Gnostic sects saw matter as evil, and therefore believed that a divine spirit would never have taken on a material body.http://www.historyvsthedavincicode.com/chapterfiftyfive.htm#nagdss

Parodies The book was parodied in the South Park episode Fantastic Easter Special in which a secret society of Easter Bunnies protect the secret that St Peter was a rabbit. During the course of the episode it is revealed that Da Vinci was a member of "The Hare Club for Men" and hid the truth about Peter in his painting of the Last Supper. The Vatican attempts to cover up this secret and is only stopped by Jesus, the first time the character has returned since dying in Iraq in Red Sleigh Down.

In 2006 the BBC program Dead Ringers parodied the Da Vinci Code, calling it the Da Rolf Harris Code.

In 2007 a parody of the book was included in the film Epic Movie.

In 2005 the book was parodied by Roberts] with The Va Dinci Cod.

The book and film are the subject of parody with the Norman Rockwell Code Movie.

In the Family Guy episode Peter's Got Woods, Lois says that the chapters are short so one would feel really smart getting through a chapter quickly.

In 2006 popular South African political cartoonist Zapiro published a book collection of his strips entitled Da Zuma Code which parodies the former deputy president Jacob Zuma.

While not a parody, the book received a mention on the BBC quiz show QI, in which Stephen Fry declared the book to be 'complete loose stool water.'

Release details The book has been translated into over 40 languages, primarily in hardcover. World editions of The Da Vinci Code, Official site of Dan Brown Alternate formats include audio cassette, CD, and e-book. Most recently, a Trade Paperback edition was released March 2006 in conjunction with the film.

Major English-language (hardcover) editions include:



Film Sony's Columbia Pictures has adapted the novel to film, with a screenplay written by Akiva Goldsman, and Academy Awards 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 Leigh Teabing. The film had an opening weekend gross of $77,073,388. By the end of 2006, it had grossed about $244 million in the U.S. alone and has done very well in other markets, grossing over $700,000,000 worldwide, making it the second highest grossing movie of 2006. On November 14, 2006 the movie was released on DVD.

See also

Notes

Bibliography This is a bibliography of works about or related to The Da Vinci Code. A partial bibliography by Dan Brown can be found here.

Further reading Non-fiction

Fiction

Parodies

Books

Other

{{infobox Book| name = The Da Vinci Code| orig title =| translator =| image = | author = Dan Brown| language = [English language| series =| classification = fiction, [Thriller (genre), Crime novel, Fiction, Mystery novel (U.S.) & [Bantam Books (UK)| release_date = 18 March 2003 (U.S.) & 1 July 2003 (UK)] & Paperback) also Audio book]| followed_by = The Solomon Key-->The Da Vinci Code is a mystery fiction/detective fiction novel by United States author Dan Brown, published in 2003 in literature by Doubleday.

Though a work of fiction, the novel has provoked popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and the role of Mary Magdalene in the history of Christianity. According to the premise of the novel, the Holy See knows it is perpetuating a lie about Jesus' bloodline and the role of women in church, but continues to do so to keep itself in power.

Dan Brown's novel was a major success in 2004 and at times it was only outsold by the highly popular Harry Potter series. 'Code' deciphers interest in religious history It spawned a number of offspring books and drew glowing reviews from the New York Times, People Magazine and the Washington Post. Reviews of The Da Vinci Code, Official site of Dan Brown It also re-ignited interest in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. As well as re-invigorating interest in the Church, The Da Vinci Code, itself preceded by other Grail books such as The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Michael Baigent and others, and Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, has inspired a number of novels very similar to it, including Raymond Khoury's The Last Templar, and The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry.

It is a worldwide bestseller which had printed 60.5 million copies by May 2006 and has been translated into 44 languages. It is thought to be the fourteenth List of best-selling books book of all time. Combining the Detective fiction, Thriller (genre) and conspiracy fiction genres, the book is the second book by Dan Brown to include the character Robert Langdon, the first being his 2000 novel Angels and Demons. In November 2004 in literature Random House published a "Special Illustrated Edition" with 160 illustrations.

In 2006, a film adaptation, The Da Vinci Code (film), was released by Columbia Pictures.

Plot summary The book describes the attempts of Robert Langdon, Professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard University, to solve the murder of renowned curator Jacques Saunière (see Bérenger Saunière) of the Louvre in Paris. The title of the novel refers, among other things, to the fact that Saunière's body is found in the Denon Wing of the Louvre naked and posed like Leonardo da Vinci famous drawing, the Vitruvian Man, with a cryptic message written beside his body and a Pentacle drawn on his stomach in his own blood.

, by Leonardo da Vinci.The interpretation of hidden messages in Leonardo's famous works, (which relate to the concept of the Sacred feminine) including the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper (Leonardo), figure prominently in the solution to the mystery.

The novel has several concurrent subplots interweaving the lives of different characters. Eventually all the characters are brought together and the subplots resolved in the denouement.The unraveling of the mystery requires the solution to a series of brain-teasers, including anagrams and number puzzles. The ultimate solution 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 story also involves the Roman Catholic organization Opus Dei.

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. Although Angels and Demons is centered on the same character the plots are not dependent upon each other. The next book is tentatively scheduled for release in 2008. Its title is The Solomon Key, and it is understood to concern Freemasonry.

Characters and their involvement in The Da Vinci Code These are the principal characters that drive the plot of the story. Some have names that are puns, anagrams or hidden clues:





Secret of the Holy Grail by Leonardo da Vinci

As explained by Sir Leigh Teabing to Sophie Neveu, the figure at the right hand of Jesus is supposedly not the John the Apostle, but Mary Magdalene. According to the book Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus Christ and was in fact pregnant with his child when Jesus was crucified. The absence of a Chalice (cup) in the painting supposedly indicates that Leonardo knew that Maria Magdalene was actually the Holy Grail (the bearer of Jesus' blood). This is said to be reinforced by the letter "V" that is created with the bodily positions of Jesus and Mary, as "V" is the symbol for the sacred feminine. The apparent absence of the "Apostle John", under this interpretation, is explained by identifying John as "Disciple whom Jesus loved", allegedly Gospel of Philip Mary Magdalene for Mary Magdalene#Assertions about Mary Magdalene (see also Second Apocalypse of James). The book also notes that the color scheme of their garments are inverted: Jesus wears a red blouse with royal blue cape; John/Mary wears a royal blue blouse with red cape — perhaps symbolizing two bonded halves of marriage. Also, if you move John/Mary to right of Jesus, you will see his head fits perfectly onto Jesus' shoulder as if to lay her head on his shoulder.

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















The secrets of the Grail are connected, according to the novel, to Leonardo da Vinci work as follows:





A number of different authors also speculate about the possibility of Jesus becoming a father. There are at least three children attributed to him, a daughter Tamar, born before the Crucifixion, and two sons Jesus (the Jesus Justus from the New Testament) and Josephes, both born after the Resurrection. Although their names are now part of the common culture of conspiracy writers, only two decades ago, when The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail was written, the names were not mentioned. The royal descents that lie at the heart of The Da Vinci Code mystery centre on the family of Josephes, who is supposed to be the grandfather of Aminadab del Graal, first of the "Fisher Kings". However the genealogies that are quoted in Grail lore appear to record too few generations, with children regularly being born to fathers in their 40s.

The mystery within the mystery Part of the advertising campaign for the novel was that the artwork in the American version of the bookjacket held various cipher, and that the reader who solved them via the author's website would be given a prize. Several thousand people actually solved the codes, and one name was randomly chosen to be the winner, with the name announced on live television, Good Morning America, in early 2004. The prize was a trip to Paris.

The five hidden puzzles reveal











Brown, both via his website and in person, has stated that the puzzles in the bookjacket give hints about the subject of his next novel, The Solomon Key. This repeats a theme from his earlier novels. For example, Deception Point had an encrypted message which, when solved, said, "The Da Vinci Code will surface".

In the simplified Chinese version of The Da Vinci Code, the cover has a secret text; however, this text can be easily seen. It reads:"13-3-2-1-1-8-5O, Draconian devil!Oh, Lame Saint!P.S. Find Robert Langdon."This is the multiply encrypted clue written in invisible ink next to the dead body in the museum which kicks off the plot of the entire novel.

Inspiration and influences Direct inspiration The novel is part of the exploration of alternative religious history. Its principal source book is listed as per the court case, Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince's The Templar Revelation, as well as the books by Margaret Starbird. Holy Blood, Holy Grail (which is explicitly named, among several others, at the beginning of chapter 60), was stated by Dan Brown not to be amongst his primary research material for the book.It has been claimed that The Da Vinci Code is a romanticised version of this work, which was itself based on a series of documentaries that ran on the BBC in the 1970s, all written and/or directed by Henry Lincoln. The main similarity includes the idea that the Merovingian kings of France were descendants from the bloodline of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene.In reference to Richard Leigh and Michael Baigent (two of the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail), Brown named the principal Grail expert of his story "Leigh Teabing" (an anagram of "Baigent Leigh"). Brown confirmed this during the court case. In reply to the suggestion that Lincoln was also referenced, as 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. After losing before the High Court of Justice in July 12, 2006, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh appealed, unsuccessfully, to the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. "Authors who lost 'Da Vinci Code' copying case to mount legal appeal", Associated Press, July 12, 2006http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12202180/Following the trial, it was found that the publicity had actually significantly boosted UK sales of Holy Blood, Holy Grailhttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-2077840,00

Brown has reworked themes and characters from his own earlier novel Angels and Demons, specifically the main character, Robert Langdon.

European readers and critics noted some striking similarities between the "Da Vinci Code" and a Norwegian novel, "Sirkelens ende" ("Circle's End") by Tom Egeland, published in 2001 (two years before the Da Vinci code). Like the "Da Vinci Code", "Circle's End" involves an ancient mystery and a worldwide conspiracy, the discovery that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and an albino as one of the central characters. In both novels, the main female character turns out to be the last living descendant of Christ and Mary Magdalene, and the daughter/granddaughter of the last grand master of a secret order. Many European readers have speculated that Dan Brown had plagiarized Tom Egeland's book. Since the Norwegian novel has not been translated into English, it is generally assumed today that the similarities between the two books, although striking, are coincidental. The author himself, Tom Egeland, has in numerous interviews in European media dismissed the claim of Brown's novel plagiarizing his own novel, stating that the similarities just show that he and Brown more or less have done the same research and found the same sources.

Indirect inspiration Umberto Eco's earlier Foucault's Pendulum (book) also deals with conspiracies, codes, a chase around the monuments of Paris, including the Holy Blood conundrum (which is mentioned in passing) and the Knights Templar, but does so in a more critical fashion — it is in fact a satire about the futility of conspiracy theories and the people who believe them. Foucault's Pendulum has since been dubbed "the thinking man's The Da Vinci Code".

Foucault's Pendulum itself is reminiscent in plot, theme and structure to the earlier The Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, published 13 years earlier.

Opus Dei was then cast in the role of the "evil opposition", used to destroy the bloodline. As the bloodline has never proven to be real, but merely a theory proposed in "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail", there is no direct inspiration for this. It is believed Opus Dei's alleged controversial past allowed Brown to weave the organisation into his novel. On a symbolic level, the Priory of Sion (male and female membership and leadership, "good") and the Opus Dei (male-only leaders, "bad") are at opposite sides of the scale. The latter is thus depicted as the attack dog of the Catholic Church, seeking to destroy the former and maintain the status quo. According to the novel, man needs woman for wholeness and, in fact, for experiencing the divine by means of sex (see the Hieros Gamos ritual)--for example, in one's orgasm, there is a short period of time when a person's mind is completely empty, when one makes contact with God.

Literary and historical criticism The book generated criticism when it was first published, due to speculations and misrepresentations of core aspects of Christianity, the history of the Catholic Church, and descriptions of European art, history, and architecture. The book has received mostly negative reviews from Catholic and other Christian communities, as well as historians.

On February 22, 2004, an article titled "The Last Word: The Da Vinci Con" appeared in the New York Times by writer Laura Millerhttp://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E0DD103AF931A15751C0A9629C8B63. Miller attacks the Da Vinci Code on multiple levels referring to it as "based on a notorious hoax", "rank nonsense", and "bogus", as she points out how heavily the book rests on the fabrications of Pierre Plantard (including the Priory of Sion which didn't exist until Plantard created it) who in 1953 was arrested and convicted for just such frauds.

Critics accuse Brown of distorting and fabricating history. For example, Marcia Ford wrote:

Richard Abanes wrote:

The book opens with the claim by Dan Brown that "The Priory of Sion- A European secret society founded in 1099- is a real organization" and that "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate"; but this claim is disputed by almost all academic scholars in the fields the book discusses http://www.historyvsthedavincicode.com. The Priory of Sion itself was not a real secret society established in 1099 but actually a hoax created in 1956 by a Mr. Pierre Plantard.

As widely noted in the media, there has been substantial confusion among readers about whether the book is factual. Numerous works have been published that explain in detail why any claim to accuracy is difficult to substantiate, while two lawsuits have been brought alleging plagiarism in The Da Vinci Code. The second, by the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail claiming textual infringement of copyright, was found in Dan Brown's favor.

Dan Brown himself dilutes the suggestion of some of the more controversial aspects being fact on his web site: "The "FACT" page makes no statement whatsoever about any of the ancient theories discussed by fictional characters. Interpreting those ideas is left to the reader." http://www.danbrown.com/novels/davinci_code/faqs.html. However, it also says that "these real elements are interpreted and debated by fictional characters", "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." It is therefore entirely understandable why there would continue to be confusion as to what is the factual content of the book.

Brown's earlier statements about the accuracy of the historical information in his book, however, were far more strident. In 2003, while promoting his novel, he was asked in interviews what parts of the history in his novel actually happened. He replied "Absolutely all of it." In a 2003 interview with CNN's Martin Savidge he was again asked how much of the historical background was true. He replied, "99 percent is true ... the background is all true". Asked by Elizabeth Vargas in an 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." http://www.historyvsthedavincicode.com/fiction.htm More recently Brown has avoided interviews and has been rather more circumspect about the accuracy of his claims in his few public statements. He has also, however, never retracted any of his earlier assertions that the history in the novel is accurate, despite substantial academic criticism of his claims.

In 2005, UK TV personality Tony Robinson edited and narrated a detailed rebuttal of the main arguments of Dan Brown and those of Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln, "The Real Da Vinci Code", shown on 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 - to quote Arnaud de Sede in the program, "frankly, it was piffle". The program also cast severe doubt on the Rosslyn Chapel association with the Grail and on other related stories like the alleged landing of Mary Magdalene in France.

US Catholic bishops launched a website Jesus decoded rebutting the key claims in the novel. The bishops are concerned about serious mis-statements in The Da Vinci Code.

Portrayal of Gnostic Christianity According to The Da Vinci Code, the Roman Emperor Constantine I suppressed Gnostic Christianity because it portrayed Jesus as purely human. The novel's argument is as follows. Constantine wanted Christianity to act as a unifying religion for the Roman Empire. He thought Christianity would appeal to pagans only if it featured a demigod similar to pagan heroes. According to the Gnostic Gospels, Jesus was a merely 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 semidivine.http://www.historyvsthedavincicode.com/chapterfiftyfive.htm#christpower

Historically, however, Gnostic Christianity did not portray Jesus as merely human. While orthodox Christianity generally considered Christ to be both divine and human, and while some Gnostic writings depict Jesus interacting with his disciples in a wholly human way, one example being the Gospel of Mary, the Gnostic despiction of Jesus is much less clear-cut than this; other writings despict Christ as purely divine, his human body being a mere illusion (see Docetism). It should be remarked that the category of 'gnosticism' includes a wide variety of beliefs and practices, and generalising about them can therefore be misleading; indeed, early Christianity itself, even outside of Gnosticism, was a highly innovative and varying movement. However, several Gnostic sects saw matter as evil, and therefore believed that a divine spirit would never have taken on a material body.http://www.historyvsthedavincicode.com/chapterfiftyfive.htm#nagdss

Parodies The book was parodied in the South Park episode Fantastic Easter Special in which a secret society of Easter Bunnies protect the secret that St Peter was a rabbit. During the course of the episode it is revealed that Da Vinci was a member of "The Hare Club for Men" and hid the truth about Peter in his painting of the Last Supper. The Vatican attempts to cover up this secret and is only stopped by Jesus, the first time the character has returned since dying in Iraq in Red Sleigh Down.

In 2006 the BBC program Dead Ringers parodied the Da Vinci Code, calling it the Da Rolf Harris Code.

In 2007 a parody of the book was included in the film Epic Movie.

In 2005 the book was parodied by Roberts] with The Va Dinci Cod.

The book and film are the subject of parody with the Norman Rockwell Code Movie.

In the Family Guy episode Peter's Got Woods, Lois says that the chapters are short so one would feel really smart getting through a chapter quickly.

In 2006 popular South African political cartoonist Zapiro published a book collection of his strips entitled Da Zuma Code which parodies the former deputy president Jacob Zuma.

While not a parody, the book received a mention on the BBC quiz show QI, in which Stephen Fry declared the book to be 'complete loose stool water.'

Release details The book has been translated into over 40 languages, primarily in hardcover. World editions of The Da Vinci Code, Official site of Dan Brown Alternate formats include audio cassette, CD, and e-book. Most recently, a Trade Paperback edition was released March 2006 in conjunction with the film.

Major English-language (hardcover) editions include:



Film Sony's Columbia Pictures has adapted the novel to film, with a screenplay written by Akiva Goldsman, and Academy Awards 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 Leigh Teabing. The film had an opening weekend gross of $77,073,388. By the end of 2006, it had grossed about $244 million in the U.S. alone and has done very well in other markets, grossing over $700,000,000 worldwide, making it the second highest grossing movie of 2006. On November 14, 2006 the movie was released on DVD.

See also

Notes

Bibliography This is a bibliography of works about or related to The Da Vinci Code. A partial bibliography by Dan Brown can be found here.

Further reading Non-fiction

Fiction

Parodies

Books

Other



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