First of all, there are all kinds of historical and other little blunders throughout the book. Let me just mention a few of them. And by the way, you don’t have to take my word for it, you can easily check these out for yourself.
1. The “Fact” page begins by saying: “The Priory of Sion—a European secret society founded in 1099—is a real organization. In 1975 Paris’s Bibliotheque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci.”
Well, these documents really do exist, but the evidence shows that they were planted there by a man named Pierre Plantard (1920-2000) in this last century. As Wikipedia says, the Priory of Sion “ultimately, has been shown to be a hoax created in 1956 by Pierre Plantard, a pretender to the French throne. The evidence presented in support of its historical existence has not been considered authentic or persuasive by established historians, academics, and universities, and the evidence was later discovered to have been forged and then planted in various locations around France by Plantard and his associates.”
Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Pierre Plantard created a series of documents “proving” the existence of a bloodline descending from Mary Magdalene, through the Merovingian kings of France, down to the present day to include Pierre Plantard of course. This was really promoted by the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail.
From what I understand, one of his friends latter admitted to participating in this hoax, and in 1993 Plantard himself admitted under oath that he made the whole thing up. This hoax was exposed in a series of French books and a BBC documentary in 1996. Some scholars think Dan Brown just didn’t know this.
2. In chapter 3, it says that it would take a visitor an estimated five weeks to properly appreciate the 65,300 pieces of art in the Louvre. But, the Louvre museum official website says that there are only 35,000 works of art on display.
3. The Da Vinci Code says in chapter 4 that there are “exactly 666 panes of glass” in the Louvre pyramid. This is an urban legend that originated in the 1980s; there are actually 673 (603 diamonds and 70 triangles).
4. We also read in the book that during three hundred years of witch hunts, the Church burned at the stake five million women (chapter 28). But Sandra Miesel (a medieval historian) says, “The latest figures for deaths during the European witch craze are between 30,000 to 50,000 victims. Not all were executed by the Church, not all were women, and not all were burned.”
5. Leonardo Da Vinci’s Madonna of the Rocks is said to be a “five-foot-tall canvas” in chapter 30. It’s actually six and a half feet tall.
6. There are two quotes from Leonardo Da Vinci in chapter 55: “Many have made a trade of delusions and false miracles, deceiving the stupid multitude.” And, “Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!” After reading this it says, “Sophie felt a little chill. ‘Da Vinci is talking about the Bible?’ Teabing nodded.” Well, these are quite easy to look up and as Richard Abanes said, “His first comment, in context, is about alchemists who claimed that they could change lead into gold. His second comment, in context, refers to the foolishness of what he called men’s “own opinions”, “lascivious joys”, and “vain splendour”. Brown completely misrepresented Leonardo’s writings to make it seem as if the great artist detested the Bible.”
7. We are told in chapter 55 that the word “heretic” was used for the first time when Constantine created a divine Christ and a new Bible and called everyone who didn’t accept this a heretic, and then the Latin form of the word is mentioned. Well, the word ultimately comes from the ancient Greek (αἵρεσις, hairesis) which actually dates back several centuries before Constantine, and was even used before the time of Christ.
8. The book says that the Merovingian Kings founded Paris in chapter 60, but historians tell us that Paris was founded by the Gauls centuries before the Merovingians.
9. In chapter 104, the Knights Templar are said to have built Rosslyn Chapel, designed it as an exact architectural blueprint of Solomon’s Temple, and worn into the floor is a large star of David. It was actually founded by Sir William St. Clair so that Mass could be said for the souls of his family, it was built upon a blueprint of St. Giles Cathedral, and there is no star of David worn into the floor (I watched a show where they lifted up the red carpet to prove it).
And you can go on and on and on detailing all the little flaws like this. At first I thought it was just Christians attacking it, but there have been plenty of secular articles and documentaries as well. It is attacked by experts in history, art, ancient documents, and many others. Dr Paul Maier (professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University) said, “If a student of mine had written something like this, I would flunk him.”
The Da Vinci Code is based on theory that has been out there for literally hundreds of years - that there is an actual "Sangrael" or bloodline of Jesus through Mary Magdeline. Yes, I believe that part is true. There are nearly 30 years of Jesus' life that are missing from the Bible. We have no idea where he went during those years or what he did. We are simply NOT told - most likely thanks to the Nicean Council when the Emperor Constantine got together with the council of Bishops and weeded out what would be in the Bible and what would not be. He basically molded Christianity to his liking. The Gnostic Christians (and I am one) have long believed in the other Gospels - including the Gospel of Mary Magdelene which was a part of the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as the Gospel of Judas which was in a bank vault about 10 minutes from where I live for like 20 years. Yes, I believe the bloodline of Jesus continues to this day through his daughter Sarah who was brought to France by her mother Mary Magdelene and who founded the Mergovian dynasty of Kings in France. I have seen nothing in the Bible that states otherwise. I also believe that Jesus and Mary Magdelene both descended from King David through different channels of the family tree as did Mary and Joseph. Since the Bible offers no explanation for most of Jesus' adult life, there is nothing to prove otherwise.
No, it isn't true. Facets of the story are true- the existence of the Knights Templar, for example, and there has always been a debate about Mary Magdalene- but the overarching story is fiction. Which is why it's in "fiction" in your book store.
Below is a link detailing the numerous criticisms leveled against the novel in response to a flood of questions like yours.
It's a work of fiction based on facts. What parts are fact and what parts are fiction is a matter of great debate, the same situation as discussing the bible.
Comments
First of all, there are all kinds of historical and other little blunders throughout the book. Let me just mention a few of them. And by the way, you don’t have to take my word for it, you can easily check these out for yourself.
1. The “Fact” page begins by saying: “The Priory of Sion—a European secret society founded in 1099—is a real organization. In 1975 Paris’s Bibliotheque Nationale discovered parchments known as Les Dossiers Secrets, identifying numerous members of the Priory of Sion, including Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci.”
Well, these documents really do exist, but the evidence shows that they were planted there by a man named Pierre Plantard (1920-2000) in this last century. As Wikipedia says, the Priory of Sion “ultimately, has been shown to be a hoax created in 1956 by Pierre Plantard, a pretender to the French throne. The evidence presented in support of its historical existence has not been considered authentic or persuasive by established historians, academics, and universities, and the evidence was later discovered to have been forged and then planted in various locations around France by Plantard and his associates.”
Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Pierre Plantard created a series of documents “proving” the existence of a bloodline descending from Mary Magdalene, through the Merovingian kings of France, down to the present day to include Pierre Plantard of course. This was really promoted by the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail.
From what I understand, one of his friends latter admitted to participating in this hoax, and in 1993 Plantard himself admitted under oath that he made the whole thing up. This hoax was exposed in a series of French books and a BBC documentary in 1996. Some scholars think Dan Brown just didn’t know this.
2. In chapter 3, it says that it would take a visitor an estimated five weeks to properly appreciate the 65,300 pieces of art in the Louvre. But, the Louvre museum official website says that there are only 35,000 works of art on display.
3. The Da Vinci Code says in chapter 4 that there are “exactly 666 panes of glass” in the Louvre pyramid. This is an urban legend that originated in the 1980s; there are actually 673 (603 diamonds and 70 triangles).
4. We also read in the book that during three hundred years of witch hunts, the Church burned at the stake five million women (chapter 28). But Sandra Miesel (a medieval historian) says, “The latest figures for deaths during the European witch craze are between 30,000 to 50,000 victims. Not all were executed by the Church, not all were women, and not all were burned.”
5. Leonardo Da Vinci’s Madonna of the Rocks is said to be a “five-foot-tall canvas” in chapter 30. It’s actually six and a half feet tall.
6. There are two quotes from Leonardo Da Vinci in chapter 55: “Many have made a trade of delusions and false miracles, deceiving the stupid multitude.” And, “Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!” After reading this it says, “Sophie felt a little chill. ‘Da Vinci is talking about the Bible?’ Teabing nodded.” Well, these are quite easy to look up and as Richard Abanes said, “His first comment, in context, is about alchemists who claimed that they could change lead into gold. His second comment, in context, refers to the foolishness of what he called men’s “own opinions”, “lascivious joys”, and “vain splendour”. Brown completely misrepresented Leonardo’s writings to make it seem as if the great artist detested the Bible.”
7. We are told in chapter 55 that the word “heretic” was used for the first time when Constantine created a divine Christ and a new Bible and called everyone who didn’t accept this a heretic, and then the Latin form of the word is mentioned. Well, the word ultimately comes from the ancient Greek (αἵρεσις, hairesis) which actually dates back several centuries before Constantine, and was even used before the time of Christ.
8. The book says that the Merovingian Kings founded Paris in chapter 60, but historians tell us that Paris was founded by the Gauls centuries before the Merovingians.
9. In chapter 104, the Knights Templar are said to have built Rosslyn Chapel, designed it as an exact architectural blueprint of Solomon’s Temple, and worn into the floor is a large star of David. It was actually founded by Sir William St. Clair so that Mass could be said for the souls of his family, it was built upon a blueprint of St. Giles Cathedral, and there is no star of David worn into the floor (I watched a show where they lifted up the red carpet to prove it).
And you can go on and on and on detailing all the little flaws like this. At first I thought it was just Christians attacking it, but there have been plenty of secular articles and documentaries as well. It is attacked by experts in history, art, ancient documents, and many others. Dr Paul Maier (professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University) said, “If a student of mine had written something like this, I would flunk him.”
The Da Vinci Code is based on theory that has been out there for literally hundreds of years - that there is an actual "Sangrael" or bloodline of Jesus through Mary Magdeline. Yes, I believe that part is true. There are nearly 30 years of Jesus' life that are missing from the Bible. We have no idea where he went during those years or what he did. We are simply NOT told - most likely thanks to the Nicean Council when the Emperor Constantine got together with the council of Bishops and weeded out what would be in the Bible and what would not be. He basically molded Christianity to his liking. The Gnostic Christians (and I am one) have long believed in the other Gospels - including the Gospel of Mary Magdelene which was a part of the Dead Sea Scrolls as well as the Gospel of Judas which was in a bank vault about 10 minutes from where I live for like 20 years. Yes, I believe the bloodline of Jesus continues to this day through his daughter Sarah who was brought to France by her mother Mary Magdelene and who founded the Mergovian dynasty of Kings in France. I have seen nothing in the Bible that states otherwise. I also believe that Jesus and Mary Magdelene both descended from King David through different channels of the family tree as did Mary and Joseph. Since the Bible offers no explanation for most of Jesus' adult life, there is nothing to prove otherwise.
No, it isn't true. Facets of the story are true- the existence of the Knights Templar, for example, and there has always been a debate about Mary Magdalene- but the overarching story is fiction. Which is why it's in "fiction" in your book store.
Below is a link detailing the numerous criticisms leveled against the novel in response to a flood of questions like yours.
It's a work of fiction based on facts. What parts are fact and what parts are fiction is a matter of great debate, the same situation as discussing the bible.
No, it's fiction and not just fiction book , is a bad fiction book as the rest of Dan Brown books
it's fiction, though they were based on real places and symbols. there are some inconsistencies with history, if you really nitpick the story.
it's a good fiction book, dan brown could weave a perfect scene with words.
A thumping good story but pure fiction.
no, i'ts a work of fiction. I think it's a great form of entertainment. But it's just that...nothing more.
it categorized as a historical fiction so i think it is a fictional but based on known facts...
If it were true, why is it listed as Fiction?