Da Vinci Code True Story: What’s Real & What’s Fake

Dan Brown’s most controversial work, The Da Vinci Code, contains various factual inaccuracies. Here’s what’s real and what’s fake, explained.

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What’s real and what’s fake in Dan Brown’s controversial mystery thriller, The Da Vinci Code? Adapted by Ron Howard in 2006 as the first film in the Robert Langdon series, The Da Vinci Code chronicles the tale of Harvard religious symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) and cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), who get embroiled in a quest that involves a host of covert historical societies and the Holy Grail.

The Da Vinci Code, both in book and film form, has been subject to extreme criticism, owing to the fact that a sizable number of claims made by the author, Dan Brown, are rooted in religious, historical, and scientific inaccuracies. Apart from this, the depiction of European art, history, and culture tread muddied waters, to say the least, wherein The New York Times pointed out that key plot points were based on the fabrications and unsubstantial claims of Pierre Plantard. Despite these drawbacks, The Da Vinci Code was a major success, selling 80 million copies worldwide, being outsold only by J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Due to the controversial nature of The Da Vinci Code, it is difficult to separate fact from fiction, as certain historical occurrences are twisted by Brown to suit narratorial purposes. Within this context, ‘real’ and ‘fake’ become inexplicably intertwined, as one needs to consider the Rashomon Effect, which highlights the unreliable and wildly interpretative nature of eyewitnesses and the nature of reality. Here’s the true story behind The Da Vinci Code, along with the major aspects of the work that are mostly real and fake.

Mostly Real – Existence of The Knights Templar and The Priory of Sion

Per Dan Brown, the legendary Holy Grail is not the literal chalice used in The Last Supper, but in fact, Mary Magdalene, a secret protected by The Knights Templar. Historically, The Knight’s Templar or The Order of Solomon’s Temple was a Catholic military order founded in 1119, who were closely tied with the Crusades, as they were protectors of Christian pilgrims. The first association between the Templar and the Holy Grail can be traced back to German writer Wolfram von Eschenbach, and his Arthurian epic poem, Parzival. This poem presents the Grail as a mysterious, live-restoring cup, which is used as a reference point by Brown, who then alters the premise into claims about Jesus and Mary’s sacred bloodline. Moreover, there is no historical evidence that The Knights Templar discovered the Grail and were annihilated due to the knowledge of the same.

The existence of The Priory of Sion was indeed real, as it was a fraternal organization founded by Pierre Plantard in 1956. However, the nature of the group differs wildly from Brown’s portrayal, who claims that the Priory boasted members like Leonardo Da Vinci and Victor Hugo. While this is not true, the historical Priory of Sion did present a series of documents to prove the existence of a bloodline descending from Jesus and Mary Magdalene, which was later exposed as an elaborate hoax in the form of an esoteric puzzle. This failed attempt by Plantard has been exhaustively debunked by scholars and journalists alike, but Brown chose to base his claims on Plantard’s forged documents.

Mostly Fake – Facts About The Louvre Museum And Its Paintings

The Louvre Museum is a key narrative choice made by Brown, as the murder of museum curator Jacques Saunière takes place within this space, and Langdon’s quest for the Grail ends here as well. However, Brown makes a series of claims about the world-renowned museum, especially the Louvre Pyramid, which, per him, was made of 666 panes of glass, at the behest of architect François Mitterrand. This is overwhelmingly false, as the Louvre states that the number of glass panes used is 673. Brown also claims that the Louvre houses 65,300 pieces of art when in reality, it houses close to 35,000 to date. Brown also delves deep into the paintings featured in the Grand Gallery, including the Mona Lisa, claiming that Da Vinci meant to symbolize an androgynous whole through his work, which is contested by various art historians. Apart from this, the most glaring inaccuracy is Leigh Teabing’s (Sir Ian McKellen) interpretation of The Last Supper, in which, he claims that Da Vinci slipped in the depiction of Mary Magdalene. This is majorly refuted by art historians, who posit that Da Vinci painted John with a feminine touch to distinguish him as the youngest apostle.

Mostly Real – Certain Inner Workings Of Opus Dei

Opus Dei was founded in Spain in 1928 by Catholic saint Josemaría Escrivá and remains controversial to date. Brown incorporates the inner workings of the organization in order to add layers to the character of Silas (the MCU’s Vision, Paul Bettany), the main antagonist who resorts to murder on being spurred by “The Teacher.” Brown portrays some of the inner workings of Opus Dei in a fairly accurate light, such as when he shows Silas using a spiked belt to carry out corporal mortification, which is in keeping with the organization’s actual practices. The teachings of Escrivá, including the mantra repeated by Silas, “pain is good”, is a loose exaction, but accurate nonetheless. Brown also describes the new headquarters of Opus Dei in New York with great accuracy and touches upon the controversies the organization is often embroiled in. On the other hand, there are gross inaccuracies when it comes to certain historical facts in relation to Opus Dei. Both Langdon and Neveu refer to Silas as a “monk”, which is inaccurate, although this might be deliberate to highlight the utter lack of knowledge when it comes to secretive societies.

Mostly Fake – Certain Claims About Leonardo Da Vinci

Tom Hank’s Langdon, Neveu, and Teabing are presented as expert cryptographers, who hold the ability to decipher cryptic symbols and ancient texts. These characters discuss Leonardo Da Vinci’s reverse text, which was indeed used by him to cloak some of his progressive theories on astronomy, geology, and archaeology. However, Brown greatly exaggerates this fact by suggesting that Da Vinci left clues in his artwork about secret religious beliefs, which is untrue, as per art critics and historians. Brown also claims that Da Vinci created elixirs of immortality, along with torture instruments – this is almost entirely false, as suggested by the utter lack of historical evidence. Apart from this, Langdon’s claim that Da Vinci’s diary contained intricate designs of the cryptex is also untrue.

Mostly Real – Key Facts About Pagan History And Traditions

The dubious portrayal of primordial traditions, historical events, and religious practices pervade through all Dan Brown novels, such as the inaccurate and oversimplified accounts of the Renaissance and the Black Death in Inferno. However, The Da Vinci Code does get the basics of pagan history mostly right, tracing back to the root word, which originally meant “country-dweller.” The pentacle is deemed as one of the most ancient symbols on earth, which is also true, but Brown’s claim that paganism only represents the “sacred feminine” is flawed at best, as the symbolism embedded within this symbol is more nuanced and comprehensive. Nonetheless, there is much truth to the claim that pagan symbols and deities were demonized by dominant religious structures, and that Christianity borrowed heavily from pagan traditions. For instance, Brown is mostly right when he states that December 25 was also considered the birth date of Mithras, Osiris, Adonis, and Dionysus, which is mostly due to the fact that the end of December is closest to the winter solstice, a historically significant time to celebrate miracles and rebirth. But, Brown falsely claims that the gnomon in Saint-Sulpice is a pagan astronomical device, as in reality, it is an astronomical instrument, whose brass strip is not called the Rose Line.

Mostly Fake – Certain Claims About Jesus And Mary Magdalene

One of the most controversial claims made by Brown in The Da Vinci Code was the union of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, and the bloodline that existed due to the same. While explaining this to Neveu, Langdon starts off by claiming that Magdalene descended from the tribe of Benjamin, much like the first king of Israel, Saul, hence making the bloodline royal in nature. The problem with this claim is the lack of historical evidence, and the fact that “Magdalene” meant “from Magdala”, hinting she did not hail from the tribe of Benjamin. Besides, textual evidence in the canonical Gnostic gospels, and the New Testament, which is the source of Brown’s claims, do not support his interpretation. Furthermore, the falsity of this claim can be traced back to Plantard’s ideas, which have already been exposed as an elaborate fabrication.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/da-vinci-code-movie-true-story-real-fake/