We'll close with a brief examination of The DaVinci Code's assertions regarding these three figures of pivotal significance to its plot.  We begin with perhaps the most famous painter in art history.

Leonardo and his art

Remember that art historians all call him "Leonardo," not "Da Vinci."  Two of his paintings figure especially in the book's narrative. 

First is the Mona Lisa.  Mr. Brown claims that "The painting's well-documented collage of double entendres and playful allusions had been revealed in most art history tomes, and yet, incredibly, the public at large still considered her smile a great mystery" (p. 119).  He has Mr. Langdon, the Harvard art historian, explain the "truth."  Her name comes from Amon (the Egyptian god of masculine fertility) and L'isa (the Egyptian goddess of fertility) (p. 120-1).  The painting actually intends to portray the sacred union of male and female.  With this result: "And that, my friends, is Da Vinci's little secret, and the reason for Mona Lisa's knowing smile" (p. 121).

Actually, the portrait most likely portrays a real woman, Madonna (or Monna) Lisa, wife of Francesco di Bartolomeo del Giocondo.  Thus the name, Mona Lisa.  There are other theories behind the painting's origin as well, all described in art history books.  But in consulting several, I could find no reference to Brown's theory.  This despite the fact that it has "been revealed in most art history tomes."

Second, we must mention briefly The Last Supper.  According to Mr. Brown, the figure painted by Leonardo at Jesus' right hand is none other than his "wife," Mary Magdalene.  The figure is in fact more feminine in portrait than the others at the table.  But nearly all art historians believe this to be John, Jesus' beloved disciple.  John was typically rendered as beardless and youthful.  And if this is not John, where is he in the painting?  We would expect Jesus' closest friend to be at his Last Supper.

Opus Dei

This organization, named "the word of God" in Latin, figures prominently in Mr. Brown's plot.  He mentions the "1934 publication of Josemaria Escriva's spiritual book The Way--999 points of meditation for doing God's Work in one's own life" (p. 29).  The novel states that the pope has placed the founder of Opus Dei on the "fast track" to sainthood (p. 41).  In fact, Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, who died in 1975, was beatified amidst substantial controversy in 1992 and canonized on October 6, 2002 in Rome, Italy.

According to the organization's web site, its stated purpose is to "spread throughout society a profound awareness of the universal call to holiness and apostolate through one's professional work carried out with freedom and personal responsibility."  The movement claims 80,000 members all over the world.

As the novel makes clear, there is also a watchdog organization called "Opus Dei Awareness Network."  I consulted their web site (www.odan.org) in preparing this manuscript.

Opus Dei members are understandably upset with Mr. Brown's characterization of their supposed chauvinism: "Female numeraries were forced to clean the men's residence halls for no pay while the men were at mass; women slept on hardwood floors, while the men had straw mats; and women were forced to endure additional requirements of corporal mortification . . . all as added penance for original sin.  It seemed Eve's bite from the apple of knowledge was a debt women were doomed to pay for eternity" (p. 41; there's the "apple" again).

However, I could find nothing to document this description even on ODAN's web site.  And I could find no record that Opus Dei has ever had any kind of relationship with the Priory of Sion or the issues raised by Mr. Brown's novel.  The organization of course denies any such activity as well.

The Priory of Sion

We close with this organization, so central to the novel.  Langdon calls its members "one of the oldest surviving secret societies on earth (p. 113).  He states as a fact, "The Priory's membership has included some of history's most cultured individuals: men like Botticelli, Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo . . . and, Leonardo da Vinci" (p. 113).

Langdon explains, "The Priory of Sion . . . was founded in Jerusalem in 1099 by a French king named Godefroi de Bouillon, immediately after he had conquered the city" (p. 157).  The Knights Templar were created by the Priory of Sion to find and then preserve the documents leading to the Holy Grail (pp. 158-9).

They were persecuted beginning on Friday, October 13, 1307, making "Friday the 13th" an unlucky day (pp. 159-60).  The Dossiers Secrets is an historical document which "had been authenticated by many specialists and incontrovertibly confirmed what historians had suspected for a long time: Priory Masters included Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Sir Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and, more recently, Jean Cocteau, the famous Parisian artist" (p. 206).  Happily for Mr. Brown's thesis, "The Priory of Sion, to this day, still worships Mary Magdalene as the Goddess, the Holy Grail, the rose, and the Divine Mother" (p. 255).

Let's deal with two simple problems first.  "Friday the 13th" is considered by many to be unlucky, but not because it has anything to do with the Knights Templar.  Rather, an early tradition exists that Jesus was crucified on a Friday the 13th.  Some Christians considered 13 to be unlucky since there were 13 present at the Last Supper.  But the superstition actually goes back to Norse mythology, in which there were 13 present at a banquet in Valhalla when Balder (son of Odin) was slain; this tragedy led to the downfall of the gods.  Around 1000 B.C., Hesiod wrote in Works and Days that the thirteenth day is unlucky for sowing, but favorable for planting.

Next let's note that the Priory of Sion "worships Mary Magdalene as the Goddess."  Given its belief that Jesus was only a mortal, a religious leader and no more, such worship of his "wife" seems odd at best.

Now let's turn to the Priory itself.  There is an actual organization called the Priory of Sion which registered officially with the French government in 1956.  It claimed to have originated after World War II.

Then, in the late 1960s, a set of documents were discovered deep in the French National Library.  These documents made numerous references to this supposed society.  They offered a family tree going back to the Merovingian Kings, monarchs who ruled in the south of France from the 6th to the 8th century.  But historians who have examined these documents do not consider them credible.  With the exception of filmmaker and artist Jean Cocteau (1889-1963), its illustrious list of Grand Masters is not credible historically.

According to Henry Lincoln, co-author of Holy Blood, Holy Grail, these legends say the first king's mother was impregnated by a sea creature.  Since one of the earliest symbols for Jesus and Christianity was a fish, it is alleged that the order can be traced back to Jesus.  This is apparently the only evidence for such a connection.

The Knights Templar were in fact an order that existed in the 12th century, founded in 1118 to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land.  They were rendered redundant after the last Crusader stronghold fell in 1291. The movement existed for 200 years until its members were accused of heresy by King Philip the Fair of France.  They were arrested in 1307; 120 were burned by Inquisition courts for not confessing or retracting a confession.  Sodomy was the principal charge against the order.

In an ABCNews interview, Mr. Brown himself admitted, "Realistically, I doubt we will ever have absolute proof one way or another regarding the Priory's existence."