The Official Graham Phillips Website
The Real Da Vinci Code
"We can do better than this." Tony Robinson was not inspired by the tiny cup found at Hawkstone Park.
(Photograph: Debbie Benstead)
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Detail from Leonardo’s Last Supper which may be a code referring to Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail.
Tony Robinson and Graham Phillips discussing the dubious palatability of an on-location snack in the caves at Hawkstone Park. (Photograph: Debbie Benstead) |
Graham and the story of his discovery of the cup found at Hawkstone Park (see The Chalice of Magdalene) featured in a special two-hour documentary entitled The Real Da Vinci Code which was first shown on Britain's Channel 4 last year. Hosted by presenter Tony Robinson, the program set out to investigate the truth behind The Da Vinci Code.
The program, produced by Wildfire Television, was made in response to the phenomenally successful novel The Da Vinci Code by author Dan Brown. Brown's plot has Leonardo's paintings include secret codes to link the Grail story with Mary Magdalene - an idea first proposed by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince in their book The Templar Revelation. Brown's novel also presents the Grail story as an analogy for the bloodline of Jesus through a secret marriage to Mary Magdalene - an idea originally proposed in Holy Blood, Holy Grail co-authored by Michael Baigent.
In the program Tony Robinson concluded that there was no truth in story of Jesus' bloodline and spent a great deal of time interviewing Richard Baigent and discrediting his theories about Rennes-le-Chateau and the Priory of Sion - the mysterious society that supposedly preserved the secret of Christ's bloodline. Strangely, the Leonardo mystery - whether or not his paintings did contain secret codes - featured only briefly in program and Lynn and Clive did not appear at all. It's a pity that the producers did not include more about this: it was the one aspect of the story that really seemed to intrigue Tony and excite him and his crew.
Graham's research was not relevant to The Da Vinci Code and he appeared at the beginning of the program where Tony Robinson was investigating whether or not the Grail was a chalice. Tony decided that the cup found a Hawkstone Park was probably a Victorian hoax and doubted that such a small and plain looking vessel could have inspired the Grail legends in any case. "We can do better than this," he said, holding the cup, and then moved on to examine a chalice in Valencia.
See also> The Marian Chalice and the Pope |
A selection of reviews and items concerning The Real Da Vinci Code.
Liked it> here
Arguments> here
Tony - careful and fair minded> here
Tony's conclusion is itself extraordinary> here
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Click on the image to ordered the DVD> |
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