Well as you all know The last Supper has a special plce in Christanity.
But there is another side of this !!!!As you can see frm the pic that Da vinci has drawn.It can be seen tht on the right of Jesus lies her holyness Mary Magnadalene.
And you can see there is not one bowl but 13 for 13 people.Also an anonymous hand over Mary or Rose or Holy Grail as she is called.
IN THE WORDS OF DAN BROWN :
Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code, The Last Supper
Millions of people have read The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and have been caught up in its story. What is true? What is fiction? Clearly some things are true. There was a painting, The Last Supper, done by Leonardo da Vinci. There are organizations called Opus Dei and the Priory of Sion. But is there really a global conspiracy to hide the living descendants of Jesus Christ?
These pages help to explore the issues brought out by the book. None of these are new issues to scholars. The role in the Church in putting down pagans and women over the centuries is well documented. The theological gatherings which occurred over the years to decide which of the hundreds of gospels to include in each religions "defined set of beliefs" are also well documented. In fact, "The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail" published in 1982 had the EXACT same message as Da Vinci Code. It talked about Mary M having Jesus' child and that child becoming part of the Merovingian dynasty. HBHG became a best seller and launched fierce debates. Interestingly, the authors thought this funny because the subject had already been beaten to death only 20 years before. The exact same topic was written about in 1993 by A.N. Wilson and again caused debate. In a foreword added to HBHG in 1996, the authors comment, "In another few years, the suggestion [of Mary/Jesus and child] will undoubtedly be made again by another author; and the media will undoubtedly prove as forgetful of Wilson's book as they were of ours." How true!
Please take time to explore this site - but also to then go out and READ the source material such as the appropriate Bible passages and books on Leonardo da Vinci's life. It is only by reading such material first hand that you can truly decide for yourself what to believe.
You, the reader, should not devour my site to say "Lisa is right". My intention is for you to read my site to see what thousands of people find to be in question - people who cared enough to write me and discuss it with me. This entire site began with a single page, and a single picture of the painting. Everything else grew due to user questions. After you've read through the questions and comments, then you should go and research the answers for yourself.
Don't believe the web. Don't believe this website. Look through the questions people ask, and then find the answers from a real source - the actual source materials of the Bible, of Lenardo's writings and works. This site should merely provide you starting points to investigate.
Note that real scholars call the painter "Leonardo". The "da Vinci" just means that he came from the Vinci area. To call him "Da Vinci" would be like calling "Joan of Arc" by the name "of Arc". Nobody says "Hey did you see that movie about Of Arc? It was pretty good!"
HISTORY OF THE DA VINCI CODE :
originally did research on the Merovingian Kings when writing about the Matrix - Bible connections. You can Read my Matrix Notes Here. Merovingian is the name of the 'power man' in the Matrix series, the one with the sexy wife, Perseophone. It was no accident that the Matrix featured the Merovingian name and background in their series, because most of the movie had very strong Biblical references.
The Merovingian Kings were rulers in what is now France from 481 through 752. In history, the Merovingians were a dynasty in what is now France, which was at the time called the Frankish area. The name was given to them because of Merovius (also known as Merovech), who began the family, and who attained near mythical status with his skills and feats. His descendants all proudly called themselves Merovingians.
The Merovingians were thrown out of power by the Pope in 751 with the "Donation of Constantine" - where they were called pagans and renounced. The Pope feared their power and replaced them with the Carolingian dynasty, of which Charlemagne was a member. Still, they worked on in secret, claiming to have direct bloodlines to Jesus Christ (through Mary Magdalene, his lover) and wanting to redeem themselves. They felt the Papacy had become a refuge for thieves and liars, and that it fattened itself on the profits it made from the poor. The Merovingians wanted to return Christianity to its for-the-people roots.
The Knights Templar and Freemasons, who came from the same background, continued to work towards freeing the "real people" from the bureaucracy and control of the established Catholic church, and to allow the power of the Messiah to help and touch the people.
The Merovingian family is famous for their connections with the Knights Templar, and the Search for the Holy Grail. It was even said that Merovius' ancestors came from Atlantis, and were from the stock of a race of very intelligent, powerful, caring people. Merovius (the historical ruler) claimed to have documented that he was descended from Jesus and Mary. Of course that documentation was never shown or saved :)
Little is actually known about Merovius, and many Pagan god attributes somehow got assigned to Merovius' history. Gregory of Tours (538-594) was the Bishop of Tours and wrote about Merovius in his "History of the Franks". Note that Gregory was writing this history a full 100 or more years after it happened. Gregory claims that Merovius was the child of Chlodio the Longhair, who was a chief of a Frankish tribe. Merovius claimed both Chlodio and a "sea monster" as being his dual fathers. The sea monster was part of the pagan legend. Note that because Chlodio had long hair, his sons all wore long hair as well and felt it gave them power. Sampson, anyone? Chlodio's (426-447) claim to fame is that he wrestled control of Cambrai back from the Roman guards there.
Gregory says that Chlodio's father was Pharamond, who lived in the early 400s. Pharamond is usually listed as the "first" leader of the Salian Franks, and came from the Germany region. Pharamond's legacy is that he pushed towards France over the Rhine river valley to extend his control. However, historians are not sure if these connections are true or myths. Nothing is known about Pharamond's parentage.
So in any case, there is no proof that Merovius was at all related to Mary. Heck, there's no proof that Merovius was fathered by a sea monster either. There's no proof where Mary went after the crucifixion. The Merovians were claiming links to pagan gods, to sea monsters, and to Mary at various times in their careers. They really seemed to be after power and wanted to justify it in whatever language suited the moment.
Again, to reiterate, there IS no documentation linking Mary to ANYONE. The Merovingians claimed that they came from Mary's bloodline - but they also claimed they came from Atlantis and from sea creatures at other times. The earliest known Merovingian king was back in the 400s - nothing at all is known or documented about his parentage.
Merovius' Line
Merovius had a child, Childeric I. Childeric is much more documented historically. That's because Chidleric took over Gaul in 456 when the Romans were good at documenting things. It's also because Childeric wasn't a very nice guy. He kept using royal powers to get his hands on the young maidens in his kingdom, and the parents became furious with him and kicked him out. Childeric managed to regain power, and run off with the wife of a friend of his. He had a son with her, Clovis, and died in 481.
Clovis fought many wars, married Clotilda in 493, and was baptized. He became the first "Christian" ruler of this area. He died in 511.
Note that this line goes down through generations to Charlemagne, the famous King of the Franks, born in 747. From Charlemagne is goes down through more generations to Eleanor of Acquitaine who married Henry II, King of England.
Also note that the Merovingians INVADED Paris in the 500s, but they most certainly did not FOUND it as claimed in Da Vinci Code :) Paris was first a village named Lutetia Parisiorum and then the Romans came in and turned it into a city. Which the Merovingians took over.
From a Visitor -
One Question though. Is the description of the Grail and the the contents (i.e.Tomb of Mary m, and historical documents to prove blood line.) based on fact or was it poetic licence by Dan Brown. I am very intrigued with this line of knowledge, and would like to learn more
My Response -
There are no historic documents from that time that say anything about Pharamond's parents. So any claims of information about his parents were invented after the fact. If anybody does know of documents saying ANYTHING about who Pharamond's parents were that are HISTORICALLY MEANINGFUL, they would become world famous, as it is something many people are curious about.
From a Visitor -
You state (repeatedly) that there is NO documentation linking anyone to Mary M. In light of the 'spirit of conspiracy' shouldn't that be "there is no KNOWN documentation ..." ;-)
My Response -
Actually what I say repeatedly is that there is no proof, which means "known facts" :) It's like saying that until recently we had no proof that Mary M ever wrote a gospel. That is true. Now we have found some proof and that situation has been remedied. Sure, the truth could exist out there somewhere. Or it could not exist in any documentation anywhere, found or unfound. Right now we have theories, and maybe someday we'll have proof. Or maybe someday we won't. Only time will tell. But given how human beings love to research and trumpet their claims. I find it REALLY hard to believe that someone knows something about the parentage of the Merovingian kings and has somehow kept it hidden all these years - when many of those very kings were VERY very eager to prove their ties to the Mary M line. Of course if we just knew where the body of Mary was buried, maybe we could do DNA testing and settle it pretty easily. With Jesus having "no body" and his father being a mystical spirit, the only DNA we could test would be Mary's.
From a Visitor -
One of your lines stated that there was no information anywhere to support the view that the Merovingians (did I spell that right?) came from Mary M. Could it be possible that we haven't been given all the information if there really is a group that prays to her? It may be a little too conspiracy theory, but I never rule out anything I can't prove by being there myself.
My Response -
Lots of groups pray to Mary!! That doesn't involve secret information. The Merovingians and many after them would have LOVED to have proven their claims of relations. You really would think if they were so gung-ho to prove this relationship and if ANY proof had existed anywhere that they would have gotten it, being the kids (grandkids etc). If *they* couldn't produce this proof, I find it unlikely that some other people had it and were somehow keeping it from them. Those Merovingians were pretty powerful people. Who knows, some documents could still exist somewhere in the world. Heck, we just found those gnostic gospels in a jar in Egypt after how many thousands of years. But it becomes less and less likely as time goes by.
From a Visitor -
A number of legends associate the Merovingian kings with the royal bloodline of Jesus and Magdalene. One of their myths is that the ancestress of the Merovingians was a mermaid and another says that the mother of Merovee' was impregnated by a sea monster. In each of these myths, the prevailing kernel of truth seems to be that this ancestry is "half man, half fish." Since Christ was known to early Christians as the "ICHTHYS" and Mary Magdalene was identified with the shape known as the "Vessel of the Fish".
OPUS DEI :
In the Dan Brown book Da Vinci Code, there are all sorts of comments about Opus Dei and their shadowy attempts to hide or discover the truth about Jesus and Mary M. Just what is going on here?
Many people have pointed out the great fiction of the conspiracies with Opus Dei. These are CLEARLY fiction. There are plenty of REAL mysterious groups out there he could have used, but he chose to use one that is incredibly bland. Maybe he did that on purpose so he wouldn't get sued or stalked :)
Opus Dei in fact Has an Official Website at OpusDei.org - hardly secret :) They are very recent - founded in 1928 by Josemaria Escriva. Josemaria was only 26 at the time, and was a Catholic Priest. He died in 1975 and has since been canonized.
In essence, Opus Dei is about real, ordinary people dedicating their life to God's work. It wants every person to "be a saint". There are courses and seminars held to this goal, but it is about people being in the modern, daily world, helping the world be a better place. Opus Dei members don't go off to mountaintops. They are married, have jobs, raise families, but do the best they can to honor God at every moment in their lives.
Only 2% of Opus Dei members are priests. The rest are "average, every day" people that have a focus on doing God's work. There are no vows or commitments, just a resolution to do the best they can to help others. The statutes of Opus Dei specifically forbid secrecy about the organization - the purpose of the organization is to spread the word of God and to help others.
ON THE DOWN SIDE: Opus Dei is pretty clearly fascist. They supported the efforts of Hitler and Mussolini to "stamp out communism" and the extreme steps they took. They read their members' mail and control their thoughts. From their book "The Way": "You shall not buy books without the advice of an experienced Christian. It is so easy to buy something useless or mischievous. Often people believe they are carrying a book under their arm ... but they only carry a load of mud." So you can only read what they allow you to read. I doubt they would allow their members to read The Da Vinci Code :)
Also, they tend to be anti-woman. This quote came from a leader at a meeting in 1994: "Woman are so sinful and are responsible that we have been dislodged from the Garden of Eden. And the only possibility for them to lessen their guilt is by subordinating themselves... You should be like a carpet where people can step onto". I don't THINK so!! :)
From a Visitor -
First off, very intersting site. Sites like this are great for this growing debate. You seem to have many view points and I'm wondering about your facts. You seem very certain that all the information you come across is 100% accurate. There are many sites dedicated to exposing the negative side of Opus Dei. I am not putting them down, but I do not believe they are the happy-go-lucky God loving people you make them out to be, or else why would so many be screaming about them.
My Response -
Certainly no group - not the Mormons or Opus Dei or any other - is perfect. They all have flaws. But Opus Dei's flaws are pretty public and their entire organization is always under scrutiny. The kinds of flaws they have are of the generic church-power kind and not of the secret-cult kind :)
From a Visitor -
I wish on commend you on your site. It is exactly what is needed to put "The DaVinci Code" into proper perspective. My younger cousin passed me the book and asked me "Is this all real?". I have since given her your url.
Regarding the Opus Dei, a book worth reading is "Their Kingdom Come" by Robert Hutchison. ISBN 0-552-14186-0. I find that too many opponents of the Opus Dei suffer convenient heart attacks, including Pope John Paul I. The church would be very different today if he had lived and made his changes. Dan's book might have had to use another bogeyman instead :-).
Thanks again for a very informative and useful site.
My Response -
For those who aren't familiar with the story, Pope John Paul I was born as Albino Luciani in 1912 in Italy, a sickly child who was at risk of death almost immediately. By 1958 he was a bishop of Vittorio Veneto. In 1969, Pope Paul VI named him "Patriarch of Venice". He was a cardinal in 1973. On August 6, 1976, Pope Paul VI died. John Paul was officially elected on August 26, 1976. He gave one radio message, had a welcoming ceremony, and then died of a heart attack on September 28. So he was "in office" a mere month and two days.
Many have said he was poisoned for various political reasons, and this event was even used as plot in Godfather III. While Paul VI was very against birth control (as is the current pope), John Paul was a liberal who wanted to allow it. John Paul also wanted to clean up the finances and kick out many Masonic-tied cardinals. He was just about to announce the list of people to oust, but he never got the chance to. He suddenly dropped dead and the lists were put away. No autopsy was ever done, even though many said the reason for his heart attack was an overdose of digitalis. Sister Vincenzia, who found the body, was forced to take a vow of silence.
Polls have shown that 30% of Italians believe that John Paul was assassinated.
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