Dan Brown's bestseller and film of the same name have been read and watched by millions of people. The theory expressed by the writer has found legions of supporters and as many opponents. However, for some reason no one paid attention to the obvious fact that destroys all the logical constructions of the author.
You probably remember the key part of the detective story when Lee Teabing, who has dedicated his life to studying the history of the Holy Grail (the Cup of Christ), enthusiastically and passionately reveals to Professor Robert Langdon and his companion Sophie Neve, the secret of Leonardo da Vinci's fresco "The Last Supper". He informs the stunned guests that the Grail is not a cup at all, but a woman and her name is Mary Magdalene, who in fact was the wife and beloved disciple of Jesus Christ. And supposedly it is she who is depicted in the fresco. Let us cite here a fragment of the novel:
Looking closely at this figure, Sophie agrees with Teabing's version, and Teabing is in a hurry to draw the guests' attention to additional clues "encrypted" in the image. For example, the letter "M", which is formed by the silhouettes of Christ and the alleged Magdalene, as well as other secret symbols. Finally, he enunciates his conclusion:
Here is such a coherent and convincing theory. They tried to refute it more than once, and many even succeeded, relying on the historical context, as well as on the canon, according to which the Last Supper was depicted in the Middle Ages and at the dawn of the Renaissance.
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But, what is most funny, in order to destroy the theory of Brown and his character - Teabing, you do not need to plunge into the jungle of history and symbolism. It is enough to ponder over one obvious fact. This is elementary, and for some reason no one paid attention to it (in any case, we have not come across such an argument).
So. Thirteen people are depicted in the Leonardo fresco. According to the canonical version, these are Christ and the twelve apostles. Looking from left to right, the figures are arranged in the following sequence: Bartholomew, Jacob the Younger, Andrew, Judas, Peter, John, Christ, Thomas, James the Elder, Philip, Matthew, Thaddeus and Simon Zealot.
Now, attention: if John is really Mary Magdalene, then where did the twelfth apostle go? Absent? The absence of the apostle is not explained in any way in the text. They just forgot about him. All attention is focused on intrigue. We must pay tribute to the skill of the author. Nobody noticed the substitution. John, who, according to the canon established in the Middle Ages, was portrayed as young and feminine, finally changed his sex. That's all. Bravo, Dan Brown.