The Da Vinci Code, the famous novel by Dan Brown, has received a lot of criticism since its publication in 2003. Art critics have accused Brown of inaccurately describing European art, history, architecture, and geography in the book. Here is a list of the biggest inaccuracies made by the author in the book.
1. Da Vinci's Last Supper
The assertion that Mary Magdalene is depicted sitting next to Jesus in Leonardo's famous "Last Supper" is disputed by almost all art critics. There are twelve disciples (including Judas).
Therefore, if we assume that Mary Magdalena was present at the evening, it means that one of the students was absent. The figure to the right of Christ, dressed in green and red, is usually identified as John the Apostle, who was usually depicted during the Renaissance as a beardless, often "effeminate" youth with very long hair. The "femininity" of the figure can be explained by Leonardo's training in the workshop of the Florentine school of painting, where there was a tradition of portraying young men as cute, handsome, rather "effeminate" characters.
2. Priory of Zion
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The notion of the Priory of Sion as an ancient organization associated with goddess worship is incorrect: the actual Priory of Sion was founded in 1956 by Pierre Plantard, André Bonhom and others, not in 1099, as the book claims. The Priory was named after a mountain in France, not the biblical Mount Zion. Les Dossiers Secrets was a forgery created by Philippe de Cherisey for Plantard. Plantard eventually admitted under oath that it was all fabricated.
3. Opus Dei
The description of Opus Dei as a monastic order that is a "personal charm" of the Pope is inaccurate. In fact, there are no monks in Opus Dei, mainly laymen who do not adhere to the vow of celibacy in life. In addition, Opus Dei encourages its lay people to avoid practices that are perceived to be fundamentalist in relation to the outside world. Silas, the assassin monk from Opus Day, uses chains to mortify the flesh. Some Opus Dei members practice voluntary mortification of the flesh, as was the case in the Christian tradition at least during the time of Saint Anthony in the 3rd century, and was also practiced by Mother Teresa, Padre Pio and the assassinated Archbishop Oscar Romero. Critics accuse Brown of sensationalizing the practice of mortification and exaggerating its prevalence.
4. Rosslyn Chapel
The chapel is described in detail in the last part of the novel, but at the same time the author made many factual errors. For example, Brown's book states that the chapel was built by the Templars and contains a six-pointed Star of David laid out on a stone floor. In reality, such a star has never existed. Many sources say that Dan Brown never visited the chapel before the publication of his book The Da Vinci Code, and most of his material was taken from previously open sources. Another inaccuracy is that the name "Rosslyn" is a form of the phrase "line of the Rose", and that a line starting in France also runs through the chapel. In fact, the name Rosslyn comes from two Celtic words: ros, meaning a cape or point, and lin, meaning a waterfall. As for the "secret code," which Brown says isexists in the chapel, more recently scientists Thomas and Stuart Mitchell showed that this is most likely a piece of music. They transcribed the music and you can hear it here. I wonder if Dan Brown has any plans to give them the reward he offered for transcribing?
5. Description of Paris
Claims are being made against Dan Brown about the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. Although there is indeed a copper line running through the church from north to south, it is not part of the Paris meridian, which is located about 100 meters east of it. The line is more of a gnomon or sundial / calendar intended to represent the solstices and equinoxes. In addition, there is no evidence that the temple of Isis ever was on this site. The reference that Paris was founded by the Merovingians (chap. 55) is false; in fact the city was inhabited by Gauls by the 3rd century BC. The Romans, who knew him as Lutetia, captured him in 52 BC. under Julius Caesar and left significant ruins in the city, including an amphitheater and public baths. The Merovingians did not rule in France until the 6th century AD,when Paris was at least 800 years old. The novel states that the summit of the Pompidou Center can be seen from the Arc du Carousel (chapter 3). This is not true. The book mistakenly places Versailles to the northwest of Paris, when in fact it is about 25 kilometers west-southwest of the city center.
6. Vatican
This story repeatedly states that the Vatican was the center of power in the early Catholic Church, including a reference to the "Vatican" suppressing Gnostic writings in the 4th century. Until the early Renaissance, the papal palace was located in various places, from the Cathedral of St. John Lateran to Anagni and Avignon. Only in the 15th century did something like official power appear in the vicinity of the Vatican Hill in Rome. In the 4th century, the Vatican was little more than a church and cemetery on the side of the road. In addition, St. Peter's Cathedral is referred to as a cathedral; technically a church. St. Peter's Church is the second largest church in the world and covers 5.7 acres
7. Mary Magdalene
Historians dispute the claim that Mary Magdalene was from the tribe of Benjamin. There is no mention of this either in the Bible or in other ancient sources. The fact that Magdala was in the north of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin lived in the south, testifies against this. In addition, Paul was a Benjamite, but did not mention this alleged inheritance. Mary Magdalene is revered as a saint in France; a cave in the Saint-Baume mountains in Provence, where she is believed to have lived, is a popular pilgrimage site. She is believed to have died and is buried there.
8. Gnosticism
The book argues that the Gnostic Gospels (such as the Gospels of Thomas, Philip, Mary Magdalene, and the newly discovered Gospel of Judas) are much older, less distorted, and more accurate than the four included in the Bible. With the exception of the Gospel of Thomas, the other Gospels date from the 2nd century and the 4th century, while the canonical four are believed by most scholars to date from the 1st century or early 2nd century. In this story, the character claims that the label "heretic" was only used after the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) to persecute the Gnostics. In fact, Saint Irenaeus used the term heresy to refer to the Gnostic teachings in the second century, long before the Church had any political power to persecute anyone.
9. Geography
The book's storyline of being arrested in France, imprisoned in Andorra, and fled to Spain, the book's storyline demonstrates a lack of fundamental knowledge that could be gleaned from a quick glance at a map or guidebook. It is unlikely that someone arrested off the coast of France will be imprisoned in another country (in this case Andorra, which has a different jurisdiction and is several hundred kilometers away in the Pyrenees Mountains). After the scene in Temple Church, London, the heroes of the story ride the tube from Temple Station to King's College. In fact, King's College is closer to the Temple Church than to Temple Station, and any subway trip would take them further away from King's College. At the beginning of Chapter 104 (Rosslyn Chapel), Brown states:"The geographic coordinates of the chapel are precisely on the north-south meridian that runs through Glastonbury." This statement is incorrect: Rosslyn Chapel lies at 3:07:13 longitude in the west and Glastonbury Tor at 2:42:05 in the west. Brown seems to have confused geographic north for magnetic north.
10. Miscellaneous errors
Albinos usually have very poor eyesight; in fact, many of them are actually blind. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the albino Silas will ever become a skilled marksman or even be able to drive a car.
The Dead Sea Scrolls are said to have been discovered in the "1950s," when in fact the original discovery was made in 1947 and additional documents were found until 1956.
In the novel, Brown says that the Gnostic gospels found in Nag Hammadi, Egypt in 1945 were "scrolls." They were actually codecs - individual pages tied together like books.
Obviously, I would not recommend reading this book - after that you will be less smart. However, if you want to read an excellent book that covers all the topics covered in The Da Vinci Code and others, and does it extremely well, I highly recommend you read Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco.
