Sangreal... Sang Real... San Greal... Royal Blood... Holy Grail.
It was all intertwined.
The Holy Grail is Mary Magdalene... the mother of the royal bloodline of Jesus Christ. Sophie felta new wave of disorientation as she stood in the silence of the ballroom and stared at RobertLangdon. The more pieces Langdon and Teabing laid on the table tonight, the more unpredictablethis puzzle became.
As you can see, my dear," Teabing said, hobbling toward a bookshelf, "Leonardo is not the onlyone who has been trying to tell the world the truth about the Holy Grail. The royal bloodline ofJesus Christ has been chronicled in exhaustive detail by scores of historians." He ran a finger downa row of several dozen books.
Sophie tilted her head and scanned the list of titles
THE TEMPLAR REVELATION
Secret Guardians of the True Identity of ChristTHE WOMAN WITH THE ALABASTER JAR
Mary Magdalene and the Holy GrailTHE GODDESS IN THE GOSPELSReclaiming the Sacred Feminine"Here is perhaps the best-known tome," Teabing said, pulling a tattered hardcover from the stackand handing it to her. The cover read
HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAILThe Acclaimed International BestsellerSophie glanced up. "An international bestseller? I've never heard of it.""You were young. This caused quite a stir back in the nineteen eighties. To my taste, the authorsmade some dubious leaps of faith in their analysis, but their fundamental premise is sound, and totheir credit, they finally brought the idea of Christ's bloodline into the mainstream.""What was the Church's reaction to the book?""Outrage, of course. But that was to be expected. After all, this was a secret the Vatican had tried tobury in the fourth century. That's part of what the Crusades were about. Gathering and destroyinginformation. The threat Mary Magdalene posed to the men of the early Church was potentiallyruinous. Not only was she the woman to whom Jesus had assigned the task of founding the Church,but she also had physical proof that the Church's newly proclaimed deity had spawned a mortalbloodline. The Church, in order to defend itself against the Magdalene's power, perpetuated herimage as a whore and buried evidence of Christ's marriage to her, thereby defusing any potentialclaims that Christ had a surviving bloodline and was a mortal prophet."Sophie glanced at Langdon, who nodded. "Sophie, the historical evidence supporting this issubstantial.""I admit," Teabing said, "the assertions are dire, but you must understand the Church's powerfulmotivations to conduct such a cover-up. They could never have survived public knowledge of abloodline. A child of Jesus would undermine the critical notion of Christ's divinity and thereforethe Christian Church, which declared itself the sole vessel through which humanity could accessthe divine and gain entrance to the kingdom of heaven.""The five-petal rose," Sophie said, pointing suddenly to the spine of one of Teabing's books. Thesame exact design inlaid on the rosewood box.
Teabing glanced at Langdon and grinned. "She has a good eye." He turned back to Sophie. "That isthe Priory symbol for the Grail. Mary Magdalene. Because her name was forbidden by the Church,Mary Magdalene became secretly known by many pseudonyms—the Chalice, the Holy Grail, andthe Rose." He paused. "The Rose has ties to the five-pointed pentacle of Venus and the guidingCompass Rose. By the way, the word rose is identical in English, French, German, and many otherlanguages.""Rose," Langdon added, "is also an anagram of Eros, the Greek god of sexual love."Sophie gave him a surprised look as Teabing plowed on.
The Rose has always been the premiere symbol of female sexuality. In primitive goddess cults,the five petals represented the five stations of female life—birth, menstruation, motherhood,menopause, and death. And in modern times, the flowering rose's ties to womanhood areconsidered more visual." He glanced at Robert. "Perhaps the symbologist could explain?"Robert hesitated. A moment too long.
Oh, heavens!" Teabing huffed. "You Americans are such prudes." He looked back at Sophie.
What Robert is fumbling with is the fact that the blossoming flower resembles the femalegenitalia, the sublime blossom from which all mankind enters the world. And if you've ever seenany paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe, you'll know exactly what I mean.""The point here," Langdon said, motioning back to the bookshelf, "is that all of these bookssubstantiate the same historical claim.""That Jesus was a father." Sophie was still uncertain.
Yes," Teabing said. "And that Mary Magdalene was the womb that carried His royal lineage. ThePriory of Sion, to this day, still worships Mary Magdalene as the Goddess, the Holy Grail, theRose, and the Divine Mother."Sophie again flashed on the ritual in the basement.
According to the Priory," Teabing continued, "Mary Magdalene was pregnant at the time of thecrucifixion. For the safety of Christ's unborn child, she had no choice but to flee the Holy Land.
With the help of Jesus' trusted uncle, Joseph of Arimathea, Mary Magdalene secretly traveled toFrance, then known as Gaul. There she found safe refuge in the Jewish community. It was here inFrance that she gave birth to a daughter. Her name was Sarah."Sophie glanced up. "They actually know the child's name?""Far more than that. Magdalene's and Sarah's lives were scrutinously chronicled by their Jewishprotectors. Remember that Magdalene's child belonged to the lineage of Jewish kings—David andSolomon. For this reason, the Jews in France considered Magdalene sacred royalty and revered heras the progenitor of the royal line of kings. Countless scholars of that era chronicled MaryMagdalene's days in France, including the birth of Sarah and the subsequent family tree."Sophie was startled. "There exists a family tree of Jesus Christ?""Indeed. And it is purportedly one of the cornerstones of the Sangreal documents. A completegenealogy of the early descendants of Christ.""But what good is a documented genealogy of Christ's bloodline?" Sophie asked. "It's not proof.
Historians could not possibly confirm its authenticity."Teabing chuckled. "No more so than they can confirm the authenticity of the Bible.""Meaning?""Meaning that history is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser isobliterated, and the winner writes the history books—books which glorify their own cause anddisparage the conquered foe. As Napoleon once said, 'What is history, but a fable agreed upon?' "He smiled. "By its very nature, history is always a one-sided account."Sophie had never thought of it that way.
The Sangreal documents simply tell the other side of the Christ story. In the end, which side of thestory you believe becomes a matter of faith and personal exploration, but at least the informationhas survived. The Sangreal documents include tens of thousands of pages of information.
Eyewitness accounts of the Sangreal treasure describe it as being carried in four enormous trunks.
In those trunks are reputed to be the Purist Documents—thousands of pages of unaltered, pre-Constantine documents, written by the early followers of Jesus, revering Him as a wholly humanteacher and prophet. Also rumored to be part of the treasure is the legendary "Q" Document—amanuscript that even the Vatican admits they believe exists. Allegedly, it is a book of Jesus
teachings, possibly written in His own hand.""Writings by Christ Himself?""Of course," Teabing said. "Why wouldn't Jesus have kept a chronicle of His ministry? Mostpeople did in those days. Another explosive document believed to be in the treasure is a manuscriptcalled The Magdalene Diaries—Mary Magdalene's personal account of her relationship withChrist, His crucifixion, and her time in France."Sophie was silent for a long moment. "And these four chests of documents were the treasure thatthe Knights Templar found under Solomon's Temple?""Exactly. The documents that made the Knights so powerful. The documents that have been theobject of countless Grail quests throughout history.""But you said the Holy Grail was Mary Magdalene. If people are searching for documents, whywould you call it a search for the Holy Grail?"Teabing eyed her, his expression softening. "Because the hiding place of the Holy Grail includes asarcophagus."Outside, the wind howled in the trees.
Teabing spoke more quietly now. "The quest for the Holy Grail is literally the quest to kneel beforethe bones of Mary Magdalene. A journey to pray at the feet of the outcast one, the lost sacredfeminine."Sophie felt an unexpected wonder. "The hiding place of the Holy Grail is actually... a tomb?"Teabing's hazel eyes got misty. "It is. A tomb containing the body of Mary Magdalene and thedocuments that tell the true story of her life. At its heart, the quest for the Holy Grail has alwaysbeen a quest for the Magdalene—the wronged Queen, entombed with proof of her family's rightfulclaim to power."Sophie waited a moment as Teabing gathered himself. So much about her grandfather was still notmaking sense. "Members of the Priory," she finally said, "all these years have answered the chargeof protecting the Sangreal documents and the tomb of Mary Magdalene?""Yes, but the brotherhood had another, more important duty as well—to protect the bloodline itself.
Christ's lineage was in perpetual danger. The early Church feared that if the lineage were permittedto grow, the secret of Jesus and Magdalene would eventually surface and challenge thefundamental Catholic doctrine—that of a divine Messiah who did not consort with women orengage in sexual union." He paused. "Nonetheless, Christ's line grew quietly under cover in Franceuntil making a bold move in the fifth century, when it intermarried with French royal blood andcreated a lineage known as the Merovingian bloodline."This news surprised Sophie. Merovingian was a term learned by every student in France. "TheMerovingians founded Paris.""Yes. That's one of the reasons the Grail legend is so rich in France. Many of the Vatican's Grailquests here were in fact stealth missions to erase members of the royal bloodline. Have you heardof King Dagobert?"Sophie vaguely recalled the name from a grisly tale in history class. "Dagobert was a Merovingianking, wasn't he? Stabbed in the eye while sleeping?""Exactly. Assassinated by the Vatican in collusion with Pepin d'Heristal. Late seventh century.
With Dagobert's murder, the Merovingian bloodline was almost exterminated. Fortunately,Dagobert's son, Sigisbert, secretly escaped the attack and carried on the lineage, which laterincluded Godefroi de Bouillon—founder of the Priory of Sion.""The same man," Langdon said, "who ordered the Knights Templar to recover the Sangrealdocuments from beneath Solomon's Temple and thus provide the Merovingians proof of theirhereditary ties to Jesus Christ."Teabing nodded, heaving a ponderous sigh. "The modern Priory of Sion has a momentous duty.
Theirs is a threefold charge. The brotherhood must protect the Sangreal documents. They mustprotect the tomb of Mary Magdalene. And, of course, they must nurture and protect the bloodlineof Christ—those few members of the royal Merovingian bloodline who have survived into moderntimes."The words hung in the huge space, and Sophie felt an odd vibration, as if her bones werereverberating with some new kind of truth. Descendants of Jesus who survived into modern times.
Her grandfather's voice again was whispering in her ear. Princess, I must tell you the truth aboutyour family.
A chill raked her flesh.
Royal blood.
She could not imagine.
Princess Sophie.
Sir Leigh?" The manservant's words crackled through the intercom on the wall, and Sophiejumped. "If you could join me in the kitchen a moment?"Teabing scowled at the ill-timed intrusion. He went over to the intercom and pressed the button.
Rémy, as you know, I am busy with my guests. If we need anything else from the kitchen tonight,we will help ourselves. Thank you and good night.""A word with you before I retire, sir. If you would."Teabing grunted and pressed the button. "Make it quick, Rémy.""It is a household matter, sir, hardly fare for guests to endure."Teabing looked incredulous. "And it cannot wait until morning?""No, sir. My question won't take a minute."Teabing rolled his eyes and looked at Langdon and Sophie. "Sometimes I wonder who is servingwhom?" He pressed the button again. "I'll be right there, Rémy. Can I bring you anything when Icome?""Only freedom from oppression, sir.""Rémy, you realize your steak au poivre is the only reason you still work for me.""So you tell me, sir. So you tell me.
Sangreal……SangReal……SanGreal
Q
