Da Vinci Code -- Foucault’s Pendulum as Inspiration

When Dan Brown's novel was released, it caused quite a stir amongst academics, clerics and religious followers and critics across the world. Some argued his theories were purely illogical, even heretical, while others said they only gave validity to ones that have existed for many centuries. His most controversial theory is his account of the Holy Grail, which he asserts is not a chalice, but a human being - namely, Mary Magdalene.

His story suggests that this truth was suppressed by the church in order to conceal the Sacred Feminine, an ancient principle dictating that God has both male and female elements - one that Jesus himself supposedly adhered to. He uses Leonardo Da Vinci's painting of the Last Supper as evidence of this fact.

However, this is not his only contentious claim: he also states that Jesus and Mary were married, and moreover, that they had a child, named Sarah, who would carry on the bloodline in secret, only to be known by a privileged few. This minority, called the Priory of Sion (who would later become the Knights Templar) carried this secret through history; encoded evidence of which can be found on some historic mounments, including the famed Rosslyn Chapel.

However, Brown was not the first to make such assertions. Learn more about Foucault's Pendulum, and its role as inspiration for the book.

What is Foucault’s Pendulum

The Foucault pendulum, named after French physicist Léon Foucault, was an instrument that was conceived to demonstrate the natural rotation of the earth. The pendulum is free to oscillate along any vertical plane, while running continuously uninhibited by friction (ideally a motor should be utilized to factiliate this). The physics behind it dictate that the direction in which the pendulum swings will rotate along with the earth’s rotation.

Foucault’s first demonstration of the pendulum took place in 1851 at the Pantheon in Paris, when he suspended a 28-kilogram bob with a 67 meter-wide wire from the dome. Although the theory of the earth’s rotation was well known at the time, the experiment demonstrated its veracity in a manner that could be easily comprehended.

Fictional References

In addition to the physical structure of the pendulum, Italian author Umberto Eco also wrote a novel entitled Foucault’s Pendulum, which un-coincidentally figured as a form of indirect inspiration for Dan Brown’s novel.

The book also treats the theme of conspiracy and codes, and it even addresses the plausibility of the Holy Bloodline and the Knights Templar, though this is all done in a satirical manner to demonstrate the futility of such theories.

The story centers around Belbo, Dioatavelli and Casaubon, three friends working for a publisher in Milan, who decide to invent a satirical conspiracy game after reading too many of such theories at work. However, as they get further into their “Plan,” the lines between fiction and reality become increasingly blurred, and what’s worse, followers of conspiracy theories take their “game” seriously, believing Belbo to be the true keeper of the lost treasure of the Knights Templar.

Source: www.jesusfamilytomb.com