Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code

 

 

The Da Vinci Hoax

Though written from a clearly conservative Catholic perspective, Olson and Miesel's scholarship is sound and they present a comprehensive debunking. Definitely the best of the Christian books on the DVC.

 

The Real History Behind The Da Vinci Code

Sharan Newman gives an A-Z of relevant topics from a non-Christian medievalist's perspective with an amusingly light tone.

 

The Rough Guide to The Da Vinci Code

Part travel guide and part historical analysis, this small book actually packs a lot of well-researched information into its pages. Not a guide for Dan Brown fans, but an excellent pocket resource.

 

The Da Vinci Codebreaker

Garlow is a Christian writer but his A-Z guide is packed with excellent information, especially on the relative dates of the canonical and non-canonical early Christian writings. Recommended.

 

The Real Da Vinci Code

Unarguably the best documentary on the DVC produced so far. The BBC's Tony Robinson takes a certain glee in debunking the DVC's claims in a highly detailed and entertaining trip across Europe.

 

The New Knighthood

Malcolm Barber's definitive history of the origins, development and end of the Order of Knights Templar. A good scholarly antidote to the New Age nonsense that is often written on this subject.

 

The Trial of the Templars

Barber's detailed account of the reasons for the Templars' suppression, the politics of their trial and the real history behind the fall of the Order.

 

The Knights Templar and their Myth

Partner traces how the Knights Templar became a mainstay of conspiracy theories over the last six centuries, detailing the fantasy claims made about them by Freemasons and other secret societies.

 

The Holy Grail: Imagination and Belief

Richard Barber's new book traces the origins of the 'Grail Legends' in medieval fiction and how the Grail has remained an element in western folklore ever since.

 

Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew

Another excellent work by Bart D. Ehrman detailing the formation of the Christian Bible and the struggles between rival forms of early Christianity.

 

The Witch in History

A scholarly survey of current research on the 'Witch Craze', minus some of the popular modern myths and misconceptions. Purkiss also looks at the changing image of the witch up to modern times.

 

The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory

Eller's unflinching critique of the feminist/New Age myth of an idyllic matriarchal Neolithic world, showing how it is based on modern ideology rather than actual evidence.

 

Leonardo: Flights of the Mind

Proabably the most readable and well-researched biography of Leonardo in recent decades. Nicholl brings Leonardo's world to life while sticking closely to the primary source material.

 

Jesus the Jew: A Historian's Reading of the Gospels

A dense and complex but quite startling reading of the evidence about Jesus which puts him back in his historical context as a First Century Jewish preacher and healer. A remarkable and groundbreaking book.

 

Leonardo's Incessant Last Supper

Steinberg's book analyses the real meanings and compositional techniques of Leonardo's paintings and then looks at how The Last Supper has become an icon of western art and popular culture into the present day.

 

Gnosis : The Nature and History of Gnosticism

A good historical introduction to the rise, development and history of Gnosticism as well as its later survivals and modern revivals. Scholarly, readable and free of fringe speculation or partisan ideology.

 

The Nag Hammadi Library in English

This revised edition of Robinson's translation of the Gnostic texts from Nag Hammadi remains the best resource for those who want to read these works and get an introduction to their place in the history of Christianity.

 

The Lost Gospel : The Book of Q and Christian Origins

Burton Mack gives a reasonable reconstruction of 'Q' based on Matthew and Luke. His interpreation of what it can tell us about the early Jesus Sect is not quite as convincing, but this is a good perspective on the question of the origins of the gospels.

 

From Jesus to Christ : The Origins of the New Testament Images of Christ

One of the very best recent works of scholarship on the relation between the Yeshua of history and Jesus of faith. Lucid, intelligent, closely argued and still readable, this book is recommended for anyone wanting to understand how the 'Jesus' of today arose.

 

The Making of the Magdalen: Preaching and Popular Devotion in the Later Middle Ages

Jansen's book traces why Mary Magdalene became the focus of medieval legends and folk tales and how these stories developed. A clear analysis of how a marginal Biblical figure accumulated detailed legends.

 

When Jesus Became God: The Struggle to Define Christianity during the Last Days of Rome

An excellent recent account of the Fourth Century struggles to define the divinity of Jesus and how they intersected with Constantine's political agenda.

 

The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, Religious, and Institutional Context, 600 B.C. to A.D. 1450

David Lindberg is the leading scholar in the field of medieval science and how it lay the foundations of the Scientific Revolution of later centuries.

 

 

The Treasure of Rennes-le-Chateau : A Mystery Solved

Finally, an objective researcher debunks the myths and nonsense associated with Rennes-leChateau - the New Age 'mystery' which gave birth to the 'Priory of Sion', Holy Blood Holy Grail and The Da Vinci Code. Highly recommended.