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Human beings have had myths and legends throughout their history. Before man learned to write, he would paint images on cave walls that told of great hunts or great disasters. Later, he wrote down the tales that had been passed down from generation to generation. We have the classical myths, Beowulf, The Bible, King Arthur, the Odyssey and The Iliad, to show that man has always been a storyteller. For the most part, there has always been a germ of truth in the story. The details were embellished by passing through many mouths, and many hands, over the years, but we can still find the place where the great flood occurred, where the walls of Jericho fell, and even the site of Troy. Historian and novelist Sharan Newman has written a companion volume to the popular historical thriller, THE DA VINCI CODE. As she read the book, she took notes, separating fact from fiction, and thus, THE REAL HISTORY . . . was born. She also travelled to France and England to double-check the locations. By going through the points raised in the novel, and some just peripheral to understanding it, Newman informs and entertains, showing that we are not alone in having trouble figuring out what is true in a novel or a chanson. Newman's conclusion is that there is nothing wrong with what Brown has done. He's writing fiction, just don't take it as gospel. However, he is somewhat directionally challenged. THE REAL HISTORY BEHIND THE DA VINCI CODE is arranged alphabetically, by topic, from Apocrypha through to Wren, Christopher. It is written in a flowing colloquial good-humored style with some evenhanded criticism scattered throughout. Re: The Council of Nicaea: "The wings were represented by two priests, Arius and Athanasius. Neither one of them was a bishop, and therefore they were not allowed to vote, but they knew how to make their positions heard. Both of them came from Egypt, which leads me to wonder what was in the water of the Nile in those days." Re: Jesus' birth date: "Early Christian authors did try to fix the date to satisfy curiosity. One decided that it must be the same day as God created the sun. Since, by his reckoning, the first day of creation was the vernal equinox, March 25, Jesus must have been born on March 28. This didn't catch on, perhaps because some smart alec pointed out that you couldn't have an equinox until after the sun had been created. There's one in every crowd." On Heresy: "The Christians were Jewish heretics." On Christmas: "There were pagan festivals around the winter solstice, therefore the early Christians decided to capitalize on those (and perhaps throw a damper on the revelries) and set Christ's birthday on December 25." Even the footnotes can be amusing: (On The Louvre) "Catherine also laid out gardens for the Louvre and brought ballet and zabaglione to France. There are people who feel this outweighs a little massacre and are quite fond of her." Even if you haven't yet read THE DA VINCI CODE, you can read THE REAL HISTORY BEHIND THE DA VINCI CODE. It is complete with bibliography and footnotes. It will be a great help in reading books like Newman's own Catherine LaVendeur series, as well as the John the Eunuch series by Reed and Mayer and other series set during the medieval period. I know it kept me up reading well into the night.
Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, January 2005
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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