Da Vinci Code

The Da Vinci Code

One of the things that has been requested in feedback from visitors to this site has been information on the novel - The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. The movie of the book was released in the UK on Friday, 19th May 2006 and it is hard to escape that fact because posters (I photographed the above a few hundred yards from my home) were everywhere. The movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, 17th May where the critics were less than flattering. Do we care? No, we just want to watch a good movie! If it is as good as the book it will be a few quid well spent. I will probably buy it on DVD when it comes out.

To read an initial report from the Cannes Film Festival by the BBC in which the director of the movie Ron Howard warns people not to watch the movie click here or on the previous link.

The film was released on DVD on 16th October in the UK so if you missed it in the cinema, or want to see it again, you can now watch it in the comfort of your own home.

So what does the film, and therefore the book, have to say about Freemasonry? Actually not a lot. Freemasonry is mentioned in connection with Rosslyn Chapel but is cursory and Freemasonry per se is not discussed. The focus is more on Rosslyn Chapel than on Freemasonry but what does appear in the novel is discussed below. Meantime we await with enormous interest Dan Brown's next novel which, so the rumour mill tells us, is all about Freemasonry (see below).

The Rosslyn Hoax? does not specifically discuss The Da Vinci Code and its references to Freemasonry and so the opportunity to do that is taken here. The following discussion assesses The Da Vinci Code from a Masonic perspective.

The first mention of Freemasonry in The Da Vinci Code occurs on page 279 (of my 2004 Corgi paperback edition) and Rosslyn Chapel and Freemasonry do not feature in until page 564. So what is said about Rosslyn Chapel and Freemasonry and is it accurate? Below are quotes from the book on these subjects given in Italic and are followed by my comments as to the accuracy or otherwise of the statement(s).

'Tests like this were extremely common in secret societies. The best known was the Masons', wherein members ascended to higher degrees by proving that they could keep a secret and by performing rituals and various tests of merit over many years. The tasks became progressively harder until they culminated in a successful candidate's induction as a thirty-second degree Mason'. (p.279)

This is the first reference to Freemasonry in The Da Vinci Code and it reveals a lot about the perceptions of Freemasonry and the limits of Dan Brown's knowledge of the Craft. Firstly, The best known [secret society] was the Masons... '. This is a contradiction in terms. If the Masons are a secret society how come Dan Brown knows about them?

'wherein members ascended to higher degrees by proving that they could keep a secret... '. This qualification to progress through various branches of Freemasonry will come as a complete surprise to..... Freemasons!

'... and by performing rituals... ' [in order to ascend]. This is simply incorrect. I know hundreds of Freemasons who do know have the slightest inclination to 'perform' and prefer to enjoy other aspects of Freemasonry.

'... various test of merit... '. Here Brown might actually nearer the truth but as he does not explain what he means by 'test of merit' there is therefore no way of knowing if the author actually understands what this means within Freemasonry.

'The tasks become progressively harder... '. Do they indeed! Like the so called 'test of merit' (see above) Brown does not explain what the so called 'tasks' are and so, yet again, it is not possible to tell if the novelist understands what he is writing about. The suggestion that a 'successful candidate is one that attains the thirty-second degree' shows that he does not.

'Rosslyn Chapel - often called the Cathedral of Codes'. (p. 564)

Rosslyn Chapel was not and never has been a Cathedral. A Cathedral is the principal church of a diocese - where a bishop's throne was or is located. Rosslyn Chapel was a privately owned church and had no function within the church organisation per se. Describing it as a Cathedral of Codes fits well with the themes of the book but is simply wrong and must be considered as artistic licence.

'on the site of an ancient Mithraic Temple'. (p. 564)

There is no evidence that a Mithraic Temple was once located where Rosslyn Chapel now stands. This is a modern suggestion which has been included in the novel as if it were proven fact.

' ...the chapel is engraved [sic] with a mind boggling array of symbols from the Jewish, Christian, Egyptian, Masonic and pagan traditions'. (p. 564)

This is one of the main discussions of The Rosslyn Hoax? What are the 'engraved [sic] symbols' within Rosslyn Chapel. Are they, as the novel claims - Jewish, Christian, Egyptian, Masonic and pagan?

'It is from this hallowed Rose Line that Rosslyn - originally spelled Roslin - takes its name'. (p. 564)

The author has this round the wrong way. Rosslyn is the original spelling of the place. It was Anglicised, like many other Scottish spellings and pronunciations or place names, especially after 1746. Roslin is therefore actually an English spelling of Rosslyn. It is interesting however that although the village of Rosslyn has long been spelt Roslin on maps etc. Rosslyn Chapel has managed to retain its original spelling. The details are explained in The Rosslyn Hoax?

'What was [is] the Rosslyn Trust trying to hide?'. (p. 565)

That Dan Brown asks this question is extremely interesting - it may of course be a 'throw away' comment with no real significance but one must wonder is he has some 'inside information'. However, The Rosslyn Hoax? might well help answer this question (without the accusatory tone adopted by Brown) whether or not he appreciates its significance.

' ... some [visitors] claimed they came to search ... for a hidden entrance to the vault ... '. (p. 565)

The Rosslyn Hoax? explains what the vault is, what is was used for, where the entrance is and the secrets it contains ...

'The Knights Templar had designed Rosslyn Chapel as an exact architectural blueprint of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem'. (p. 566)

This is one of the most important aspects of Rosslyn Chapel and is considered in detail in The Rosslyn Hoax?

'The Knights Templar had designed Rosslyn Chapel... '. (p. 566)

The Knights Templar were officially dissolved by the Roman Church in 1312. Rosslyn Chapel was begun in 1446 - 134 years later. This statement means that, if correct, the Knights Templar continued as an organised body in Scotland until at least that time. This is one of the central claims in popular books about Rosslyn Chapel, the St. Clair family, the Knights Templar etc. It is of fundamental importance to understanding the whole debate surrounding Rosslyn Chapel and Freemasonry etc. and this is one of the core aspects of The Rosslyn Hoax?

Rosslyn Chapel, Freemasonry, Da Vinci, Rosslyn, Roslin Chapel, Roslin, Robert L D Cooper, Rosslyn Hoax, The Rosslyn Hoax 'Rosslyn Chapel was an exact architectural blueprint of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem - complete with a west wall... '. (p. 566)

This statement is most interesting...

What does Rosslyn Chapel represent? (see the ground plan to the left). Does it replicate Solomon's Temple?, or Zerubabble's Temple? or Herod's Temple? There is enormous confusion regarding which, if any, temple Rosslyn Chapel is a replica of...

How do we know what King Solomon's Temple looked like? For that matter how do we know what Zerubabble's Temple or Herod's Temple looked like? How can we compare them with Rosslyn Chapel?

The Rosslyn Hoax? discusses in detail the reasons why Rosslyn Chapel is so compared and examines the validity of those comparisons. Ground plans and drawings are included.

' ... and a subterranean vault [Rosslyn Chapel] like the Holy of Holies [King Solomon's Temple - KST] in which the original nine Knights had first unearthed their priceless treasure'. (p. 566)

If true this means that someone (the nine original Knights?) told of, described, copied, or drew the 'vaults' of Kings Solomon's Temple as allegedly discovered between c.1118 (when the Order of Knights Templar was founded) and c.1130 (when, whatever they discovered 'something' in the vaults made them incredibly powerful and answerable only to the Pope) was somehow transmitted to stonemasons of Scotland 300+ years later who made a copy of the subterranean vaults of KST - Rosslyn Chapel. This is indeed fascinating and The Rosslyn Hoax? discusses this. There is however one flaw in the quote (above) from Dan Brown's novel and that is that the Holy of Holies of KST was above ground.

' ... there existed an intriguing symmetry in the idea of the Templars building a modern Grail repository [Rosslyn Chapel] that echoed the Grail's original hiding place'. (pp 566 -567)

Here we learn what it was that the Knights Templar allegedly found in the Holy of Holies in the subterranean vault of King Solomon's Temple - the Holy Grail. The idea that Knights Templar built 'a modern Grail repository' [Rosslyn Chapel] is fascinating. The Rosslyn Hoax? discusses this in considerable detail but examining such claims and comparing them with what is known about Rosslyn Chapel.

'Every surface of the chapel had been carved with symbols - Christian cruciforms, Jewish stars, Masonic seals, Templar crosses, cornucopias, pyramids, astrological signs, plants, vegetables, pentacles and roses'. (p. 567)

By this description the author conveys to the reader the abundance of carvings within the chapel but he is not accurate when he says that every surface had been carved with symbols. This is one of the central themes of The Rosslyn Hoax? What symbols are, what they mean, what they are used for and how symbolism (including Masonic symbolism) relates to Rosslyn Chapel.

'The Knights Templar had been master stonemasons, erecting Templar churches all over Europe, but Rosslyn was considered their most sublime labour... '. (p. 567)

Dan Brown is stating that, without any trace of doubt, that Knights Templar had been stonemasons (not Freemasons) and that they built churches all over Europe. There is no evidence whatsoever that Knights Templar actually got their hands dirty by building churches. It may be what Brown is alluding to is that the Knights Templar commissioned stonemasons to build their churches for them. By claiming that they built Rosslyn Chapel he also implicitly confirms that they remained in existence as an identifiable body. Identifiable 130 years after the church had dissolved the Order.

'The master masons had left no stone uncarved, Rosslyn Chapel was a shrine to all faith... to all traditions... '. (pp 567 - 568)

This is further confirmation that Knights Templar (as stonemasons) built Rosslyn Chapel. It also makes clear that it was not built as Christian Church at all. These points, including that above, are very important and a whole chapter of the book The Rosslyn Hoax? is devoted to these and other matters relating to Rosslyn Chapel.

'Rosslyn itself is is a copy of Solomon's Temple. Those two pillars are exact replicas of the two pillars that stood at the head of Solomon's Temple. Langdon pointed to the pillar on the left. That's called Boaz - or the Mason's Pillar. The other is called Jachin - or the Apprentice Pillar. In fact virtually every Masonic temple in the world has two pillars like these'. (p. 569)

Dan Brown gets the names of the pillars right but the rest is wrong. Between the two pillars he mentions there is a third. I can only assume that he misses the third pillar out of his description because it does not fit his account of Rosslyn Chapel being being a an exact copy of Solomon's temple together with two pillars not three as in the chapel. His comment that every Masonic temple in the world has two pillars like these (the Mason's pillar and the Apprentice Pillar) is also wrong. Interesting he makes no use of the story of the murdered apprentice, the Apprentice Pillar and the alleged connections with Freemasonry. The Rosslyn Hoax? compares the story as told at Rosslyn Chapel with that contained within Freemasonry.

'Langdon had already explained to her about the Templars' powerful historic ties to the modern Masonic secret societies, whose primary degrees - Apprentice Freemason, Fellowcraft Freemason and Master Mason - harked back to the early Templar days'. (p. 567)

This makes the alleged connection between the Knights Templar and Freemasonry explicit and that the Masonic degrees originated with the Knights Templar. This is truly fascinating but before being able to accept the claim as fact it is necessary to examine the history of Freemasonry and the origin and development of the Masonic rituals. This is something that cannot be done her but it is discussed extensively in the book The Rosslyn Hoax?

This is the last substantial reference to Freemasonry and so this discussion of Freemasonry as referred to in The Da Vinci Code must cease here. We must always bear in mind that this is a novel, that is, a work of fiction. The author does however state that it is based on fact, but it is significant that he does not disclose which facts he uses in the novel. This is something that makes the novel interesting and frustrating in equal measure.

The Da Vinci Code - the book

Not got a copy yet? The novel has been released as a deluxe illustrated edition and is available new from Amazon.co.uk - click on the link below:

The Da Vinci Code - the film

Have you seen the film? Want to see it again? It is now available on DVD as a two disc special edition boxed set. Available from Amazon.co.uk - click on the link below.

Dan Brown's next novel

A final word - the rumour mill (working overtime I expect!) reports that Brown's next novel is to be all about Freemasonry and the founding of the USA. The rumour mill has several possible titles for the book: Sons of the Widow is one and I have heard that it will be American Masters of Solomon's Key. No publication date has been announced but a couple of news papers claimed it would be late spring - as we are we about to enter autumn that out then!