Dan Brown's conspiracy theories

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/6198574/The-Last-Symbol-author-Dan-Browns-conspiracy-theories-six-of-the-best.html

The Last Symbol author Dan Brown's conspiracy theories: six of the best
Dan Brown’s novels The Lost Symbol, The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons are filled with conspiracy. But how much of it is based on fact?
By Tom Chivers
16 Sep 2009

The Lost Symbol, the new book by Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons author Dan Brown, takes us once again into a world of shadowy cabals, hidden messages and secret conspiracies.

They are works of fiction, but Brown tells us they are based on fact: "All organisations in this novel exist,” says a foreword to The Last Symbol, "including the Freemasons, the Invisible College, the Office of Security, the SMSC, and the Institute of Noetic Sciences”. Similarly, at the beginning of The Da Vinci Code, we learn that The Priory of Sion is a real secret society founded in 1099.

Da Vinci Code sequel criticised by Catholics But how much of Brown's work is fact, and how much is fiction? We take a look at six of his most prominent claims and see how closely they fit reality.

The Freemasons (from The Lost Symbol, 2009)

What Brown says

A secret society, the Freemasons, secretly run America, and the Founding Fathers have concealed a secret portal under Washington where the terrifying Secrets of the Universe are hidden.

In reality:

Rumours that Freemasons control society are widespread. They often overlap with conspiracy theories about the New World Order and the Illuminati.

Apparent Masonic symbols do appear regularly in American culture – most notably the pyramid and eye on the Great Seal of the United States, which appears on the dollar bill and is said to be the Eye of Providence. Furthermore, at least one member of the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, was a Mason.

However, the Eye of Providence was not commonly used as a Masonic symbol until 1797, some years after the Great Seal was designed.

1733 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington (from The Lost Symbol, 2009)

What Brown says:

Known as the House of the Temple, this Washington building is a replica of a pre-Christian temple to King Mausolus, and the world headquarters of Freemasonry

In reality:

Designed by John Russell Pope and finished in 1915, the House of the Temple is indeed a model of the Mausoleum of Mausolos. It holds the remains of the Confederate general Albert Pike, author of the 1871 book Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. It is home to the Supreme Council of Freemasonry.

The Priory of Sion (from The Da Vinci Code, 2003)

What Brown says:

An brotherhood founded in 1099, whose members have included Sir Isaac Newton, Botticelli, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci, and who are the only ones who know that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and has a surviving heir. Mary Magdalene and her descendents are the real Holy Grail.

In reality:

The Priory of Sion was indeed said to be a monastic order formed in 1099. In 1982 Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln's book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail set forth the claim that it protected the knowledge of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. However, the existence of the Priory is now believed to be a hoax created in the 1950s by a Frenchman named Pierre Plantard.

Opus Dei (from The Da Vinci Code, 2003)

What Brown says:

A Vatican-sanctioned Catholic sect that plots to find the Priory's secret and kill the heir/Grail. They carry out a practice of self-flagellation called "corporal mortification". A major villain in the book is the Opus Dei monk Silas, who murders a Priory member.

In reality:

Opus Dei is a real Catholic organisation; the Labour Minister Ruth Kelly is one of its estimated 87,000 members worldwide. But none of those members are monks.

There is no evidence that it hopes to find the Holy Grail in any form. Its stated goal (on its website, www.opusdei.us) is "to spread the message that work and the circumstances of everyday life are occasions for growing closer to God, for serving others, and for improving society."

Rosslyn Chapel (from The Da Vinci Code, 2003)

What Brown says:

Rosslyn Chapel, near Edinburgh, was built by the Knights Templar as a perfect copy of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, complete with a subterranean vault which holds the secret of the Holy Grail. A message written in secret code on its ceiling reveals the entrance to the vault.

In reality:

While the Chapel was built 150 years after the dissolution of the Knights Templar, it does have some Templar and Masonic symbols. Links with the Knights and the alleged bloodline of Jesus and the Priory of Sion were put forward by the historian Andrew Sinclair. However, the Priory has now been shown to be a mid-20th century hoax.

The Illuminati (from Angels and Demons, 2000)

What Brown says:

A shadowy secret society sworn to bring down the Catholic Church in revenge for their crimes against scientists like Copernicus, "murdered by the church for revealing scientific truths," and Galileo, convicted of heresy for claiming the Earth moved around the Sun. The Illuminati are described as"a secret society dedicated to scientific truth" and "the most powerful underground organisation ever to walk the earth".

In reality:

The Illuminati were a real organisation. They were founded in 1776 in Bavaria, sworn to ideals of free-thinking and rationalism.

Nicolaus Copernicus was never attacked by the Church. On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres was dedicated to Pope Paul III, and the Church used his theories in their revising of the calendar. He died of a stroke in 1543 at the age of 70; there is no reason to believe that he was murdered.

Galileo Galilei certainly was mistreated – he was subjected to lifelong house arrest following the publication of his 1633 work Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, which argued that the Earth moved round the Sun, although he was only suspected of heresy, never convicted. He died in 1642. The Bavarian Illuminati were dissolved in 1785, although various other groups have used their name since.