The Da Vinci Code

[poliphilo]

They say the Da Vinci Code is badly written. That's enough to put me off. Life is too short.

But what really gets me is that people are reacting as if this stuff about The Priory of Sion and Mary Magdalen and Rennes Le Chateau were new and shocking. It isn't. It's all there in the 1982 non-fiction best-seller The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, which is still in print. Also it's all over the Net. What sheltered lives some people must lead!

Also, if Brown had researched properly- instead of just reading The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail- he'd have known that the Priory of Sion has long since been revealed as a hoax. I'll admit I didn't know that myself before last night (when Channel 4 revealed all) but if I'd been proposing to put the Priory at the centre of a novel I'd have made damn sure I found out all I could about it before I went ahead and committed myself.

Comments

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

When I read "The DaVinci Code", it was like deja vu all over again. "Where have I read about this stuff?" I asked myself- and the answer was on my bookshelf- a first edition copy of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail".

Like everyone else here, I thought it was a good 'what if' sort of romp, but in my explorations of the Grail legends, there was always that sense of fiction underlying all of it. Even when I visited Glastonbury and the alleged place of King Arthur, I couldn't shake that sense that it was all a fairy tale.

It was, but it was still fun. And so was Glastonbury- it struck me as sort of like Santa Cruz CA without the beach. :-)

Sunfell

(PS: My friend [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] turned me onto your LJ, just in case you're wondering where I came from. She highly recommended you.)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Glastonbury used to be my favourite place in all the world. It's been about ten years since I was last there.

I'm afraid to go back in case I find the magic has gone.

I'm glad you found me. I was looking at your journal last night- and I like your style.:)

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

I found Tintagel more magical than Glastonbury.

And dammit! King Arthur is not a fairytale! stomps foot :)

[pickwick.livejournal.com]

Oooh - I haven't been to Glastonbury, but Tintagel is amazing.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I haven't been to Tintagel. But it looks beautiful in the photographs.

Yeah, Arthur is real- but was he ever at either Tintagel or Glastonbury? The smart money seems to be on Cadbury Castle as his home base.

I've not been there either.

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

You simply must go!!

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

:blush: Thanks. I do Cranky Curmudgeon quite well, I think.

Glastonbury has a 'place' magick- the geomantic placement makes for some interesting energies there. The people are the icing on the cake. It's definitely a New Agey/Hippie kind of place, but with a lot of warmth, too. That whole area- Glastonbury/Avebury/Silbury etc. had a wonderful 'feel' to it, and I enjoyed exploring it. If there is a Holy Land- that is it. The only other place I have been to with a similar feel is Hot Springs AR, because of its history as a place of peace and healing for the former inhabitants. There's a bit of an angsty overlay to it now, but in a way HS and Glastonbury could be kindred cities.

Sunfell

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

We did the grand tour of Glastonbury, Avebury and Silbury on our honeymoon.

For me the magical place at Glastonbury is the Tor. Dion Fortune writes about the air on top being full of dancing sparkles of light (I'm quoting from memory)- and I know just what she means.