Publication Prior to Proof

Vern G. Swanson has written a Da Vinci Code of his own, arguing in Dynasty of the Holy Grail: Mormonism's Sacred Bloodline that LDS founder Joseph Smith was a descendant of Jesus. And yet, he doesn't sound very confident in his thesis.

Swanson admits he can't prove the LDS Church's first president was descended from Christ. He also concedes that if Jesus indeed fathered children, millions of his descendants could be alive today. Swanson says he came to his conclusion by weaving together circumstantial threads from history and hopes to correct errors in a future edition.

"I'm inching towards the truth. I haven't found the truth. I have no hard evidence," says the art historian and scholar. "I wish I could say I had some secret evidence that no one else has." [Link]

Da Vinci Code Blue! This Theory's Still Alive!

Was Dan Brown right? One respected genealogist has evidence that the Priory of Sion so important to The Da Vinci Code wasn't dreamed up in the 1950s as critics allege, but quite a bit earlier.

I, Arlene Eakle, professional genealogist and PhD in English History, know that the Antiquaries believed Sion was established as early as 1099, and connected to the Knights Templars with the same grandmaster serving both. Then in 1188, the two were restructured with separate leadership and treasuries. These early genealogists, for that is what the Antiquaries were, also knew that Sion supported the Merovingian royal lineage, still working closely with and in some enterprises, still connected to the Knights Templars. I know because I researched and documented not only their vision but also their achievement.

One idea that intrigues me is the real possibility that Prince Michael Stewart of Albany could be a direct lineal, and living descendant from Mary Magdalene. [Link, via Genealogy Blog]

Prince Michael Stewart of Albany is Belgium-born Michael Lafosse, who claims descent from "Bonnie Prince Charlie." Is he also a descendant of Jesus? You be the judge.

Must've Been a Slow News Day in Minnesota

The release of The Da Vinci Code prompted a reporter from the St. Paul Pioneer Press last week to call local people bearing the surname "Sinclair"—a name prominent in the lackluster blockbuster novel and movie.

A quick call to several listed in the St. Paul and east metro telephone directory brought responses of total confusion.

"You mean our name is in the movie?" one woman asked.

Another woman said Sinclair was her late husband's family name and he never mentioned anything about the family.

Patrick Sinclair of Lake Elmo finds the family's recent notoriety both humorous and intriguing.

Sinclair owns The Dock Stop in Lake Elmo, selling and installing boatlifts and docks. The only times he walks on water, he noted, is in December, January and February.

That ability comes "from being a Minnesotan," he said, "not from being a Sinclair." [Link]

[tagged: genealogy, family tree, ancestry]

Da Vinci Code Sequel Causes Uproar

A Genealogue Exclusive [What's That?]

Dan Brown's much-anticipated follow-up to The Da Vinci Code will again feature Harvard professor Robert Langdon, this time trying to prove that 19th-century El Paso resident Jesus Delgado has descendants now living. This contradicts a Delgado family history published in 1956, which states that Jesus "died without issue."

Maria Delgado Montes, whose late father compiled the genealogy, is outraged that Brown would cast doubt on the book's veracity.

"If you'll pardon the expression, this is the 'Bible' of Delgado genealogy," she says, holding up a well-worn copy. "Everybody thinks so ... except that godless heathen at The American Genealogist who said it needed more footnotes. What gives Dan Brown the right to attack my father's book—especially the story of Jesus?"

Her outrage is shared throughout the El Paso area, where Jesus is something of a legend, remembered for his remarkable compassion. On one occasion, Jesus was climbing Mount Cristo Rey outside the city when he came upon a European immigrant giving birth. People still talk about his delivering the German on the Mount.

Brown alleges in his forthcoming book that Jesus secretly married a woman of doubtful reputation and produced a son whose descendants have controlled El Paso politics for generations. Shortly before his son's birth, Jesus was arrested for washing the feet of Jewish strangers against their will. He was executed soon after by a Texas governor eager to prove that he was tough on crime.

"He couldn't have married her," insists Maria—a great-great-grandniece of Jesus. "And if he did, it was only to redeem her reputation. And if he fathered a son, it was only to prove that she was worthy of carrying his child. Is there anything nobler?"

Despite this hypothesizing, Maria is confident that her father will be vindicated in the end.

"His research has been proven correct every time it's been challenged," she says. "Some say he was infallible, but that's going too far. After all, he did leave off a comma on page 327."

Merovingiana

If you're interested in cashing in on the forthcoming Da Vinci Code mania, dust off your PayPal account and get ready to bid. Family Forest is selling its Da Vinci Code kinship reports on eBay.

Opening bid for the entire collection of these 27 Adobe PDF reports is $10,000.

The successful bidder will own the exclusive publishing rights (we’ll remove availability from our site, and redirect visitors to your site) for surprising and thought-provoking Da Vinci Code content that is unavailable anywhere else. [Link]

As it turns out, most of the real people mentioned in The Da Vinci Code are actually related. Of course, most of the real people mentioned in my high-school yearbook are actually related, but no one will pay $10,000 for that information.

Da Vinci Code fans and critics alike will be surprised if not flabbergasted to discover the mystifying and highly interconnected web of generation-by-generation family ties (according to fully sourced recorded history) that actually connects most of the real people in Dan Brown’s phenomenal best-seller “The Da Vinci Code” to each other as relatives. [Link]

[tagged: genealogy, family tree, ancestry]

Searching for God at RootsWeb.com

With all the controversy over The Da Vinci Code and its premise that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, it's easy to forget that, according to Catholicism, Christ has had many brides.

The proof is as close as the WorldConnect Project, where several genealogists have listed "Jesus Christ" or "God" as the spouse of their convent-dwelling relatives. Relatives like Gertrude Griffin (Sister Mary Margaret), and Elizabeth Eugenia Vannucci (Sister Betty).

Searching for God references at WorldConnect shows how creative family historians can be when recording nonstandard information. His birth and death dates are given as "Alpha" and "Omega," and as "Always Was Always Is Always Will Be" and "Never." Ian Thomas reveals that God is "Deceased," but omits the date. The GEDCOM format allows for no easy explanation of God's begetting children centuries apart—in some cases leading to confusion over Adam's relationship to the Virgin Mary and to Jesus.

And then there is this entry, which lists God only as an uncooperative witness.

[tagged: genealogy, family tree, ancestry]

The Da Vinci Co-Opt

The predicament in which Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown finds himself should be familiar to many genealogists. He based his work on the work of his predecessors—in Brown's case, the authors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail—and now those predecessors want credit.

And several million dollars.

The outcome of the court case in London could hinge on whether the content borrowed—including the genealogy of Jesus Christ's descendants—was factual or fictional. Here's the problem for the plaintiffs: If their book was factual, they may not have a leg to stand on. As all Internet-educated lawyers know, "You can't copyright facts," although the arrangement of those facts may be protected. If, on the other hand, they argue that the Jesus genealogy sprang from their own feverish minds, they'd better stop touting Holy Blood, Holy Grail as an "extraordinarily provocative, meticulously researched book."

The lesson for genealogists is clear: Steal only from people who didn't make stuff up.

[tagged: genealogy, family tree, ancestry]

Da Vinci Code Fans Need Not Apply

From icWales:

Can anyone crack Wales' Da Vinci Code?

Oct 5 2005

Sam Burson, Western Mail

WALES' version of The Da Vinci Code remains cloaked in history amid fears there may be no experts learned enough to reveal more about the religious manuscript.

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ has triggered a sensation since being discovered at the National Library of Wales earlier this year.

The 17th-century tome lists huge amounts of information on the bloodlines of biblical characters, including Jesus himself. It also contains intriguingly crossed- out passages about Mary Magdalene, a figure also central to Dan Brown's phenomenal best seller The Da Vinci Code.

[snip]

Llandovery College Dean Peter Hogan, who discovered the manuscript among papers belonging to the public school at the Aberystwyth library, is now having to play a waiting game.

He said yesterday, "If anybody can help us find out more about this, we would be more than glad to hear from them."

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

What Do Bill Gates and Walt Disney's Frozen Head Have in Common?

From pressbox.co.uk:

Da Vinci Code Supplements Released

Kamuela, HI Monday, September 19, 2005 — Da Vinci Code fans and critics alike will be surprised if not flabbergasted to discover the mystifying and highly interconnected web of generation-by-generation family ties (according to fully sourced recorded history) that actually connects most of the real people in Dan Brown's phenomenal best-seller "The Da Vinci Code" to each other as relatives.

[snip]

A virtually limitless number of surprising and counterintuitive reports can emerge, including these 27 Da Vinci Code supplements which Millisecond Publishing Company, Inc. has released today at www.familyforest.com/Da_Vinci_Code.html.

All of the historical figures who are the subjects of these 27 Family Forest Kinship Reports, with only one exception, can be found in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code."

The one exception is the world famous Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Tom Hanks who will be portraying Harvard professor Robert Langdon in the upcoming Ron Howard directed Sony Pictures film about "The Da Vinci Code."

[snip]

[Read the whole story]

You have a friend (an ancestor?) in Jesus

It's not surprising that 101 individuals have posted the ancestry of Jesus to the WorldConnect Project. After all, the authors of the Gospels themselves showed interest in his genealogy. Matthew traced Christ's lineage (through his step-father Joseph) from Abraham; and Luke traced it all the way back to Adam.

What is surprising is how many individuals have posted information on the progeny of Jesus. Entering the names of "Jesus Christ" and spouse "Mary" into the search engine, and checking the box next to "Has Descendants," brings up 18 databases, some of which claim to show living descendants of the couple.

The common source seems to be Bloodline of the Holy Grail: The Hidden Lineage of Jesus Revealed, by Laurence Gardner. Disclaimer: I've never read it, or The Da Vinci Code (nor do I intend to). The apparent gist: All/most/some of Europe's royal families descend from Jesus and Mary Magdalene, so anyone who can prove his descent from these royals can extend his family tree back to Adam.

It has always baffled me why so many genealogists are anxious to prove their descent from royalty—so anxious that they'll accept any specious theory as true. Gustave Anjou didn't say "There's a sucker born every minute," but he should have.

(For more Biblical fun, try searching for "Adam," wife "Eve," father "God.")