Masonic-Based literature, and the DaVinci Code 

by: Michael Kovacs 

      I was at Chapters bookstore one Sunday, and was browsing the “Bargain Books” section as per usual, when I stumbled across two books which had a masonic theme. My first feeling was one of excitement – the fact that there were two masonic books which I hadn't seen before was astonishing. 

      My next thought was “wow, there are a tonne of books on freemasonry out now!”. That got me thinking; was there always this interest in masonic-based literature? My answer came quickly, but more on that in due time. 

      It is only proper to begin discussion on masonic-based literature with the most famous, and arguably the most important, book - The DaVinci Code. To be more precise, the book was about the Holy Grail, which author Dan Brown claims has been hidden by the far-reaching hands of the “Priory of Sion”, descendants of the Knights Templar of the Middle Ages. He further draws a direct link between the Templars and modern Freemasons, and uses such evidence as the inscriptions found throughout Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. He makes allusions to important Templar symbolism being hidden within the three degrees of a craft lodge.  

      The book itself, though not technically advanced, is without question interesting, lively, and fantastical. It brings the reader along for the ride of his life, as he follows symbologist Robert Langdon and accomplice Sophie Neveu on their modern-day quest for the holy grail.  

      The book's importance to the recent surge in interest in masonic literature cannot be questioned. Countless books examining The DaVinci Code have sprung up at an incredible rate. There have been film documentaries, newspaper specials, magazine articles, radio interviews, television serials and a seemingly inexhaustible number of Internet articles all examining the book and the possibility of its message being factual. I'll save that message for you to explore on your own. If that weren't enough proof, there are even courses offered in some leading universities that examine the DaVinci Code for an entire semester. Where was that class when I was at McMaster?!  

      The DaVinci Code's popularity has undoubtedly sparked an entire genre of books. Bookstores have been stocking masonic-based novels at an incredible rate. A simple search of Amazon.com's website for “Freemasons”, yields 8,715 results! After seeing this I asked myself what would prove to be an important question – how many of the 8,715 books were written after The DaVinci Code? 

      Rather then examining the copyright dates of all 8,715 books, I decided to examine the dates of the first 50 odd-numbered books on the website. My results were as I expected. Out of 50 books, an incredible 43 were written in the three short years since The DaVinci Code was first published! Imagine if I was to check all the books on Amazon.com?  

      I think I have established the importance of The DaVinci Code, but another question then arises; what was being written before?  

      The most important book written prior to The DaVinci Code could be Holy Blood, Holy Grail. The book was written by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln in 1982. It is argued by many that Dan Brown was heavily influenced by Holy Blood, Holy Grail because he borrowed many ideas and used them in his own book. The Priory of Sion, for instance, was discussed at length, as was the mention of the royal bloodline of Jesus Christ, both important to Dan Brown's novel. Brown went so far as to name one his characters after an author of Holy Blood, Holy Grail! If you take Richard Leigh's last name, and Michael Baigent's last name, Scramble the latter's letters around, you end up with Leigh Teabing-an important character in The DaVinci Code! Coincidence? Obviously not. Further, the book examines the history of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled much of Europe in the fifth through ninth centuries. The same was discussed in Dan Brown's novel. The comparisons are both obvious and numerous.  

      If this book had virtually the same content, why then was it not the runaway hit that The DaVinci Code is? I have two thoughts that I feel are equally possible. 

      First, there is no doubt that religion in much of the Western world is becoming obsolete, for countless reasons that I won't offer an opinion on. Almost every branch of Christianity is seeing a falloff in their respective congregations each year. With that in mind, I argue that the content of The DaVinci Code is much less offensive to a greater number of people then if it had been published 24 years ago when Holy Blood, Holy Grail was published. Therefore, a wider number of people are exposed to it.  

      Another possibility which I feel is a strong candidate is the media itself. Television, newspaper and magazines were all around 24 years ago, however, the most accessible news outlet in the world was not – the Internet. If you type “The DaVinci Code” into the popular search engine “Google”, you will yield around 41,300,000 results! That means there are 41,300,000 websites that have included information about the DaVinci Code in only three years! That's quite a disadvantage for 1982's Holy Blood, Holy Grail! Further, television has seen the addition of many new channels such as The Discovery Channel, History Television, and The Learning Channel, all of which have broadcasted specials on the DaVinci Code and/or the quest for the holy grail, in the last month alone.  

      To sum up my findings, it is fair to say that there has always been people interested in masonic-literature. Holy Blood, Holy Grail was a remarkable book, and sold many copies, however, the situations of the day limited its mass appeal. Oppositely, with the rise of the Internet, and ever-expanding media outlets, the DaVinci Code has been thrust into the spotlight for over three years. It has been a best seller around the world since its first publication. Its popularity has started a new genre of literature.