power-crazed den of
evildoers who perverted
Christ's teachings to further
their own political agenda.
In The Da Vinci Code, we
also learn that Mary
Magdalene's story would
have been lost forever had it
not been for her protectors.
They chronicled Mary's life,
and even catalogued her
descendants. Nevertheless,
the Church relentlessly
sought to annihilate all
documents relating to her
identity and "her family's
rightful claim to power." This
ongoing attempt by Roman
Catholic authorities to
eradicate all evidence of "the
true story of her life" went on
for centuries.
The Church's diabolical plot
failed, however, because a
group of truth-honoring
knights stepped into the
conflict. These warriors
"known collectively as the
Knights Templar" were
Joy feelings magazine
organized by a brotherhood
called the Priory of Sion, a
secret group allegedly
founded in 1099 by the
French king Godefroi de
Bouillon. He was a
descendant of Jesus and
Mary, who according to The
Da Vinci Code, formed the
Priory so the truth would be
protected and passed on to
future generations.
Who were the members of
the Priory of Sion? This is
where Leonardo da Vinci
comes into the picture. He
and Sir Isaac Newton, along
with the Italian painter
Botticelli, the French author
Victor Hugo, and many other
historical figures, were all
supposedly Grand Masters of
the Priory. For proof of
Leonardo's involvement,
Brown says that one need
only look at some of the
artist's most famous
paintings. They supposedly
contain symbols and codes
that reflect Leonardo's own
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