The Da Vinci Code – Fact Check

When Dan Brown published The Da Vinci Code in 2003, it became an international phenomenon almost overnight. Central to its plot was a centuries-old secret society called the Priory of Sion, allegedly founded in 1099 and led by grand masters including Leonardo da Vinci and Isaac Newton. The novel even opened with a page titled “Facts,” lending an air of historical authority to these claims. Millions of readers took them at face value. But what do historians and archivists actually have to say? It is time for a thorough fact-check. The Origin: Not Medieval, but Twentieth Century The real history of the Priory of Sion does not begin in 1099. It begins in 1956. That year, a Frenchman named Pierre Plantard registered an organization called the Prieuré de Sion with the French registry of associations. According to the official filing, its purpose was remarkably modest: a local civic group focused on housing improvement in the Annemasse region. There was no mention of crusaders, Knights Templar, or guardians of a sacred bloodline. Plantard himself turned out to be a figure with a deeply troubled past. French researchers have established that during the 1940s he was involved with antisemitic organizations under the […]