ABOUT THE LOST TOMB OF JESUS WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE DA VINCI CODE? IS THE MOVIE AS BAD AS THE BOOK?

HOW DARK THE CON OF MAN: SOME RESPONSES TO THE DA VINCI CODE WHAT DO YOU SAY TO A DA VINCI CODE BELIEVER?

WHAT'S MISSING FROM THE DA VINCI CODE? WHAT'S THE SECRET? THE WITCH KILLING FRENZIES

THE ORIGIN OF THE "HOLY GRAIL" THE SACRED FEMININE

The Origin of the “Holy Grail” Continued

He points out that in the novel the key to unlocking the grail secret lies in a supposed linguistic “error” involving “San Greal,” or Holy Grail, which the novel claims in its most ancient form, should actually be read as “Sang Real,” or Royal Blood. “In fact,” Lacy writes, “that was far from the earliest form. As Arthurians know, the earliest form was simply graal, a common noun referring to a serving dish. The word was first used to indicate a particular (initially mysterious and later specifically holy) object by Chrétien de Troyes in the early thirteenth century.”  The form interpreted as “royal blood” is first used in the 15th century.

Lacy views “the most remarkable aspect of this Grail conspiracy theory,” however, as the “circular reasoning” of Brown’s novel in tandem with his “argumentum ex silentio.” Readers are asked to accept the claim that Christ’s secret lineage was in constant danger of being discovered, and if revealed the exposure would challenge a host of sacrosanct beliefs. In Brown’s novel, Lacy observes, since the supposed marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene “is not known to anyone, the Church must have been successful at keeping it quiet—and therefore it must be true. Thus the very lack of proof constitutes its own proof, demonstrating just how effective the conspiracy of silence has been through the centuries.” Ultimately, he describes Brown’s ideas as “elaborate, fascinating, and wrong.”

Joseph Goering, the University of Toronto historian who wrote The Virgin and the Grail, also sees no evidence that Brown’s grail theory holds up. “In a way Dan Brown is doing what every other grail storyteller has done, which is to tell us why the grail is important, but he does this by throwing out all of the old stories and says they are just misrepresentations,” Goering said. “He sets himself outside of the tradition and says everyone else is wrong.”

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