Is 'The Da Vinci Code based on historical facts?
I'm asking because I saw this documentary on the History Channel where they say that this thing about the Priory of Sion was all an invention of a guy in the 50s. So settle it for me. Is it true or is it all B.S.? Same question goes for 'Angels And Demons' about the Illuminati.
History - 8 Answers - 2006-04-02 15:10:37
Best Answer
In the Da Vinci Code itself, it states that the societies mentioned are real, not the story. There may also be some basis in fact about some of the items mentioned in the book, like the cypher roll that you have to enter the right 5 word code in order to open, otherwise the vinegar enclosed in glass in the cylinder will break and destroy the interior information written on easily disintegrated paper.
All Answers
Answer 1
Loosely. It is all mostly theories, and/or fiction.
2006-04-02 15:12:23
Answer 2
It's all moneymaking hype. I won't buy it to read. I might borrow it from the library.
2006-04-02 15:12:25
Answer 3
Some of it is. The Priory of Sion and the Illuminati are real. However, Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveau and those people don't exist.
2006-04-02 15:12:43
Answer 4
Priory of Sion was created in 50's so is exactly what it says in the book. The majority of the text is based on facts with a little creativity added to the concepts - same for Angels and Demons, a colourful story based on facts
2006-04-02 15:12:49
Answer 5
Yes
2006-04-02 15:13:08
Answer 6
In the Da Vinci Code itself, it states that the societies mentioned are real, not the story. There may also be some basis in fact about some of the items mentioned in the book, like the cypher roll that you have to enter the right 5 word code in order to open, otherwise the vinegar enclosed in glass in the cylinder will break and destroy the interior information written on easily disintegrated paper.
2006-04-02 15:16:26
Answer 7
It's based very very loosely on events/figures of the past.
2006-04-02 16:09:21
Answer 8
Yes, the Priory of Scion was invented in the 50's, but the mention and belief in the Illuminati goes back a very long way, to the Middle Ages, at least.
2006-04-02 19:28:35
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
did there is a possibility of existence of holy grail mentioned in "the da vinci code" in a secret place ?
did there is a possibility of existence of holy grail mentioned in "the da vinci code" in a secret place ?
is priory of sion exist really?
History - 4 Answers - 2006-07-22 00:30:50
Best Answer
In Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers. The connection of Joseph of Arimathea with the Grail legend dates from Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie (late twelfth century) in which Joseph receives the Grail from an apparition of Jesus and sends it with his followers to Great Britain; building upon this theme, later writers recounted how Joseph used the Grail to catch Christ's blood while interring him and that in Britain he founded a line of guardians to keep it safe. The quest for the Holy Grail makes up an important segment of the Arthurian cycle, appearing first in works by Chrétien de Troyes.[1] The legend may combine Christian lore with a Celtic myth of a cauldron endowed with special powers. The development of the Grail legend has been traced in detail by cultural historians: It is a legend which first came together in the form of written romances, deriving perhaps from some pre-Christian folklore hints, in the later 12th and early 13th centuries. The early Grail romances centered on Percival and were woven into the more general Arthurian fabric. The Grail romances started in France and were translated into other European vernaculars; only a handful of non-French romances added any essential new elements. Some of the Grail legend is interwoven with legends of the Holy Chalice. Origins of the Grail The Grail plays a different role everywhere it appears, but in most versions of the legend the hero must prove himself worthy to be in its presence. In the early tales, Percival's immaturity prevents him from fulfilling his destiny when he first encounters the Grail, and he must grow spiritually and mentally before he can locate it again. In later tellings the Grail is a symbol of God's grace, available to all but only fully realized by those who prepare themselves spiritually, like the saintly Galahad. Early forms of the Grail There are two schools of thought concerning the Grail's origin. The first, championed by Roger Sherman Loomis, Alfred Nutt, and Jessie Weston, holds that it derived from early Celtic myth and folklore. Loomis traced a number of parallels between Medieval Welsh literature and Irish material and the Grail romances, including similarities between the Mabinogion's Bran the Blessed and the Arthurian Fisher King, and between Bran's life-restoring cauldron and the Grail. Other legends featured magical platters or dishes that symbolize otherworldly power or test the hero's worth. Sometimes the items generate a never-ending supply of food, sometimes they can raise the dead. Sometimes they decide who the next king should be, as only the true sovereign could hold them. On the other hand, some scholars believe the Grail began as a purely Christian symbol. For example, Joseph Goering of the University of Toronto has identified sources for Grail imagery in 12th-century wall paintings from churches in the Catalan Pyrenees (now mostly removed to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona), which present unique iconic images of the Virgin Mary holding a bowl that radiates tongues of fire, images that predate the first literary account by Chrétien de Troyes. Goering argues that they were the original inspiration for the Grail legend. [2] [3] Another recent theory holds that the earliest stories that cast the Grail in a Christian light were meant to promote the Roman Catholic sacrament of the Holy Communion. Although the practice of Holy Communion was first alluded to in the Christian Bible and defined by theologians in the first centuries A.D., it was around the time of the appearance of the first Christianized Grail literature that the Roman church was beginning to add more ceremony and mysticism around this particular sacrament. Thus, the first Grail stories may have been celebrations of a renewal in this traditional sacrament [4] This theory has some backing by the fact that Grail legends are almost entirely a phenomenon of the Western church (see below). Most scholars today accept that both Christian and Celtic traditions contributed to the legend's development, though many of the early Celtic-based arguments are largely discredited (Loomis himself came to reject much of Weston and Nutt's work). The general view is that the central theme of the Grail is Christian, even when not explicitly religious, but that much of the setting and imagery of the early romances is drawn from Celtic material. The Prieuré de Sion, usually rendered in English translation as Priory of Sion (occasionally as 'Priory of Zion'), is an alleged thousand-year-old cabal featured in various conspiracy theories, as well as being listed as a factual ancient society in the bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code. It has been characterized as anything from the most influential secret society in Western history to a modern Rosicrucian-esque ludibrium, but, ultimately, has been shown to be a hoax created in 1956 by Pierre Plantard, a pretender to the French throne. The evidence presented in support of its historical existence has not been considered authentic or persuasive by established historians, academics, and universities, and the evidence was later discovered to have been forged and then planted in various locations around France by Plantard and his associates. Nevertheless, many conspiracy theorists insist on the truth of the Priory's role as a powerful secret society. [1] The Alleged Priory If the claims had been proven to be true, they would have described the Priory of Sion as a secret society that was founded in the 11th century, to protect and preserve a secret involving the bloodline of Jesus Christ. The Priory allegedly created the medieval order of Knights Templar as its military arm, and had a series of Grand Masters which included such notable (and real) historical figures as Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci. The existence of the thousand-year-old Priory was supposedly "revealed" in the 1970s, via a series of documentaries and books by writers Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln, such as in their 1982 book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, which allegedly pieced together evidence from documents which had been found in the French National Library, as well as documents which were supposedly found in the late 1800s, hidden inside a pillar of a small church in southern France. Further attention came to the Priory when it was referred to as a factual society by the 2003 bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code. [ The Actual Priory The real Priory of Sion is an association that was founded in 1956, in the French town of Annemasse, as the beginning of a massive hoax. As with all associations, French law required the association to be registered with the government. It was registered with its Statutes at the Sub-Prefecture of Saint Julien-en-Genevois, in May 1956, and its registration was noted on 20 July 1956, in the Journal Officiel de la République Française. The founders and signatories are inscribed with their pseudonyms as Pierre Plantard (known as "Chyren"), André Bonhomme (known as "Stanis Bellas"), Jean Delaval, and Armand Defago. The purpose of the association according to its Statutes was entered as, "Études et entraide des membres" ("education and mutual aid of the members"). In practice, the originator of the association and its key protagonist was Pierre Plantard, its General Secretary, although its nominal head ("President") was André Bonhomme. The choice of the name, "Sion" was based on a popular local feature, a hill south of Annemasse in France, known as 'Mont Sion'.[2] The accompanying title, or subtitle to the name was, Chevalerie d'Institutions et Règles Catholiques d'Union Independante et Traditionaliste: this forms the acronym CIRCUIT and translates as "Knighthood of Catholic Rule and Institution and of Independent Traditionalist Union." The Statutes and Registration Documents of the Priory of Sion were deposited on 7 May 1956, while the first issue of its journal Circuit is dated 27 May 1956 (in total, twelve numbers of the journal appeared). Considering the political instability of the French Fourth Republic, the objectives of the journal were regarded with suspicion by the local authorities. It was indicated as a "Bulletin d'Information et Défense des Droits et de la Liberté des Foyers HLM" ("News Bulletin for the Defence of the Rights and the Freedom of Council Housing"). Indeed, some of the articles took a political position in the local Council elections. Others attacked and criticized property developers of Annemasse. It also opposed the gentrification of the area. The offices of the Priory of Sion and the journal were at Plantard's council flat. The articles of the Priory of Sion as indicated in its Statutes also desired the creation of a monastic order, but the activities of the Priory of Sion bore no resemblance whatsoever to the objectives as outlined in its Statutes. Article VII says that its members are expected, "to carry out good deeds, to help the Catholic Church, teach the truth, defend the weak and the oppressed". There is ample evidence that it had several members, as indicated by the numerous articles contained in its journal Circuit, written by a number of different people. Towards the end of 1956 the association had aims to forge links with the local Catholic Church of the area involving a school bus service run by both the Priory of Sion and the church of St Joseph in Annemasse. The Hoax Plantard hoped that the Priory of Sion would become an influential cryptopolitical irregular masonic lodge (similar to P2) dedicated to the restoration of chivalry and monarchy, which would promote Plantard's own claim to the throne of France. Between 1961 and 1984 Plantard contrived a mythical pedigree of the Priory of Sion claiming that it was the offshoot of the monastic order housed in the Abbey of Sion, which had been founded in the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the First Crusade and later absorbed by the Jesuits in 1617. The mistake is often made that this Abbey of Sion was a "Priory of Sion", but there is a difference between an abbey and a priory. Calling his original 1956 group "Priory of Sion" undoubtedly gave Plantard the later idea to claim that his organization had been historically founded in Jerusalem during the Crusades. Forged documents Le Tresor Maudit de Rennes-le-Chateau, 1967In order to give credibility to the fabricated lineage and pedigree, Plantard and his friend Philippe de Cherisey needed to create "independent evidence". So during the 1960s, they deposited a series of forged documents, the so-called Dossiers Secrets d'Henri Lobineau or "Secret Dossiers of Henri Lobineau", at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, in Paris. Also in the 1960s, Plantard began writing a manuscript and had a series of "medieval parchments" forged by de Cherisey which contained encrypted messages that referred to the Priory of Sion. The story that they concocted claimed that Father Bérenger Saunière had supposedly discovered these seemingly ancient parchments inside of a pillar while renovating his church in Rennes-le-Château in 1891. The story and existence of the parchments was intended to prove Plantard's claims about the Priory of Sion being a medieval society. Plantard then enlisted the aid of author Gérard de Sède to write a book based on Plantard's manuscript and forged parchments, alleging that Sauniere had discovered a link to a hidden treasure. The 1967 book, entitled L'Or de Rennes (The Gold of Rennes) and Le Tresor Maudit de Rennes-le-Chateau (The Accursed Treasure of Rennes Castle), became a popular read in France. It included copies of the "found" documents (the originals were of course never produced), though it provided them without any kind of translation. Expansion of the story In 1969, English actor and science-fiction script-writer Henry Lincoln read Le Tresor Maudit, and became intrigued. He discovered one of the encrypted messages, which read A Dagobert II Roi et a Sion est ce tresor, et il est là mort. (Trans: "To King Dagobert II and to Sion does this treasure belong, and he is there dead."). This was an allusion to a treasure belonging to the Merovingian line of Frankish kings, the last one of which, Dagobert II, had been assassinated in the 7th century, thereby ending the dynasty. Lincoln continued to do his own research and expansion on the conspiracy theories, writing his own books on the subject, and creating a series of BBC Two documentaries in the 1970s about the mysteries of the Rennes-le-Chateau area. In response to a tip from De Sede, Lincoln claims he was also the one who "discovered" the Dossiers Secrets, a series of (planted) genealogies which appeared to further confirm the link with the line of Merovingians. The documents claimed that the Priory had been founded in 1099, and had founded the organization of the Knights Templar. Proof of the conspiracy Letters in existence dating from the 1960s written by Plantard, de Cherisey and de Sede to each other confirm that the three were engaging in an out-and-out confidence trick, describing schemes on how to combat criticisms of their various allegations and how they would make-up new allegations to try and keep the whole thing going. These letters (totalling over 100) are in the possession of French researcher Jean-Luc Chaumeil, who has also retained the original envelopes. Jean-Luc Chaumeil during the 1970s was part of the Priory of Sion cabal, and wrote books and articles about Plantard and the Priory of Sion before splitting from it during the late 1970s and exposing Plantard's past in French books. A letter later discovered at the Sub-Prefecture of St. Julien-en-Genevois also indicated that Plantard had a criminal conviction as a con man. The disposition of the "real" Priory The formally registered association was dissolved sometime after October 1956 but intermittently revived for different reasons by Plantard between 1962 and 1993, though in name and on paper only. The Priory of Sion is considered "dormant" by the Sub-Prefecture because it has indicated no activities since 1956. According to French law, subsequent references to the Priory bear no legal relation to that of 1956 and no one other than the original signatories are entitled to use its name in an official capacity. André Bonhomme played no part since 1956. He officially resigned in 1973 when he heard that Plantard was linking his name with the association, so as of last report, there is no one who is currently around who has official permission to use the name.
All Answers
Answer 1
i do not know,but did you watch last night on the history channel about the grail,so much speculation where it is,and they think some of the protectors of the grail fled to the U.S. guess it will stay a mystery like the lost city of Atlantis
2006-07-22 00:37:18
Answer 2
The Da Vinci Code is a complete work of fiction, so yes there is a possibility. Along this topic, you might as well ask whether there is a possibility of a Temple of Doom mentioned in that sweet Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, cause asking questions about fiction is awesome.
2006-07-22 00:39:12
Answer 3
The Holy Grail is not a real object. Is the ideal goal the we insensibly search during our lives and requires the best of us to get near to, but we can never reach. The Priory of Sion and the list of members mentioned in 'The Davinci Code' is part of a hoax created in 1956 by a charlatan named Pierre Plantard who claimed to be heir to the throne of France.
2006-07-22 19:32:03
Answer 4
In Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers. The connection of Joseph of Arimathea with the Grail legend dates from Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie (late twelfth century) in which Joseph receives the Grail from an apparition of Jesus and sends it with his followers to Great Britain; building upon this theme, later writers recounted how Joseph used the Grail to catch Christ's blood while interring him and that in Britain he founded a line of guardians to keep it safe. The quest for the Holy Grail makes up an important segment of the Arthurian cycle, appearing first in works by Chrétien de Troyes.[1] The legend may combine Christian lore with a Celtic myth of a cauldron endowed with special powers. The development of the Grail legend has been traced in detail by cultural historians: It is a legend which first came together in the form of written romances, deriving perhaps from some pre-Christian folklore hints, in the later 12th and early 13th centuries. The early Grail romances centered on Percival and were woven into the more general Arthurian fabric. The Grail romances started in France and were translated into other European vernaculars; only a handful of non-French romances added any essential new elements. Some of the Grail legend is interwoven with legends of the Holy Chalice. Origins of the Grail The Grail plays a different role everywhere it appears, but in most versions of the legend the hero must prove himself worthy to be in its presence. In the early tales, Percival's immaturity prevents him from fulfilling his destiny when he first encounters the Grail, and he must grow spiritually and mentally before he can locate it again. In later tellings the Grail is a symbol of God's grace, available to all but only fully realized by those who prepare themselves spiritually, like the saintly Galahad. Early forms of the Grail There are two schools of thought concerning the Grail's origin. The first, championed by Roger Sherman Loomis, Alfred Nutt, and Jessie Weston, holds that it derived from early Celtic myth and folklore. Loomis traced a number of parallels between Medieval Welsh literature and Irish material and the Grail romances, including similarities between the Mabinogion's Bran the Blessed and the Arthurian Fisher King, and between Bran's life-restoring cauldron and the Grail. Other legends featured magical platters or dishes that symbolize otherworldly power or test the hero's worth. Sometimes the items generate a never-ending supply of food, sometimes they can raise the dead. Sometimes they decide who the next king should be, as only the true sovereign could hold them. On the other hand, some scholars believe the Grail began as a purely Christian symbol. For example, Joseph Goering of the University of Toronto has identified sources for Grail imagery in 12th-century wall paintings from churches in the Catalan Pyrenees (now mostly removed to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona), which present unique iconic images of the Virgin Mary holding a bowl that radiates tongues of fire, images that predate the first literary account by Chrétien de Troyes. Goering argues that they were the original inspiration for the Grail legend. [2] [3] Another recent theory holds that the earliest stories that cast the Grail in a Christian light were meant to promote the Roman Catholic sacrament of the Holy Communion. Although the practice of Holy Communion was first alluded to in the Christian Bible and defined by theologians in the first centuries A.D., it was around the time of the appearance of the first Christianized Grail literature that the Roman church was beginning to add more ceremony and mysticism around this particular sacrament. Thus, the first Grail stories may have been celebrations of a renewal in this traditional sacrament [4] This theory has some backing by the fact that Grail legends are almost entirely a phenomenon of the Western church (see below). Most scholars today accept that both Christian and Celtic traditions contributed to the legend's development, though many of the early Celtic-based arguments are largely discredited (Loomis himself came to reject much of Weston and Nutt's work). The general view is that the central theme of the Grail is Christian, even when not explicitly religious, but that much of the setting and imagery of the early romances is drawn from Celtic material. The Prieuré de Sion, usually rendered in English translation as Priory of Sion (occasionally as 'Priory of Zion'), is an alleged thousand-year-old cabal featured in various conspiracy theories, as well as being listed as a factual ancient society in the bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code. It has been characterized as anything from the most influential secret society in Western history to a modern Rosicrucian-esque ludibrium, but, ultimately, has been shown to be a hoax created in 1956 by Pierre Plantard, a pretender to the French throne. The evidence presented in support of its historical existence has not been considered authentic or persuasive by established historians, academics, and universities, and the evidence was later discovered to have been forged and then planted in various locations around France by Plantard and his associates. Nevertheless, many conspiracy theorists insist on the truth of the Priory's role as a powerful secret society. [1] The Alleged Priory If the claims had been proven to be true, they would have described the Priory of Sion as a secret society that was founded in the 11th century, to protect and preserve a secret involving the bloodline of Jesus Christ. The Priory allegedly created the medieval order of Knights Templar as its military arm, and had a series of Grand Masters which included such notable (and real) historical figures as Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci. The existence of the thousand-year-old Priory was supposedly "revealed" in the 1970s, via a series of documentaries and books by writers Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln, such as in their 1982 book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, which allegedly pieced together evidence from documents which had been found in the French National Library, as well as documents which were supposedly found in the late 1800s, hidden inside a pillar of a small church in southern France. Further attention came to the Priory when it was referred to as a factual society by the 2003 bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code. [ The Actual Priory The real Priory of Sion is an association that was founded in 1956, in the French town of Annemasse, as the beginning of a massive hoax. As with all associations, French law required the association to be registered with the government. It was registered with its Statutes at the Sub-Prefecture of Saint Julien-en-Genevois, in May 1956, and its registration was noted on 20 July 1956, in the Journal Officiel de la République Française. The founders and signatories are inscribed with their pseudonyms as Pierre Plantard (known as "Chyren"), André Bonhomme (known as "Stanis Bellas"), Jean Delaval, and Armand Defago. The purpose of the association according to its Statutes was entered as, "Études et entraide des membres" ("education and mutual aid of the members"). In practice, the originator of the association and its key protagonist was Pierre Plantard, its General Secretary, although its nominal head ("President") was André Bonhomme. The choice of the name, "Sion" was based on a popular local feature, a hill south of Annemasse in France, known as 'Mont Sion'.[2] The accompanying title, or subtitle to the name was, Chevalerie d'Institutions et Règles Catholiques d'Union Independante et Traditionaliste: this forms the acronym CIRCUIT and translates as "Knighthood of Catholic Rule and Institution and of Independent Traditionalist Union." The Statutes and Registration Documents of the Priory of Sion were deposited on 7 May 1956, while the first issue of its journal Circuit is dated 27 May 1956 (in total, twelve numbers of the journal appeared). Considering the political instability of the French Fourth Republic, the objectives of the journal were regarded with suspicion by the local authorities. It was indicated as a "Bulletin d'Information et Défense des Droits et de la Liberté des Foyers HLM" ("News Bulletin for the Defence of the Rights and the Freedom of Council Housing"). Indeed, some of the articles took a political position in the local Council elections. Others attacked and criticized property developers of Annemasse. It also opposed the gentrification of the area. The offices of the Priory of Sion and the journal were at Plantard's council flat. The articles of the Priory of Sion as indicated in its Statutes also desired the creation of a monastic order, but the activities of the Priory of Sion bore no resemblance whatsoever to the objectives as outlined in its Statutes. Article VII says that its members are expected, "to carry out good deeds, to help the Catholic Church, teach the truth, defend the weak and the oppressed". There is ample evidence that it had several members, as indicated by the numerous articles contained in its journal Circuit, written by a number of different people. Towards the end of 1956 the association had aims to forge links with the local Catholic Church of the area involving a school bus service run by both the Priory of Sion and the church of St Joseph in Annemasse. The Hoax Plantard hoped that the Priory of Sion would become an influential cryptopolitical irregular masonic lodge (similar to P2) dedicated to the restoration of chivalry and monarchy, which would promote Plantard's own claim to the throne of France. Between 1961 and 1984 Plantard contrived a mythical pedigree of the Priory of Sion claiming that it was the offshoot of the monastic order housed in the Abbey of Sion, which had been founded in the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the First Crusade and later absorbed by the Jesuits in 1617. The mistake is often made that this Abbey of Sion was a "Priory of Sion", but there is a difference between an abbey and a priory. Calling his original 1956 group "Priory of Sion" undoubtedly gave Plantard the later idea to claim that his organization had been historically founded in Jerusalem during the Crusades. Forged documents Le Tresor Maudit de Rennes-le-Chateau, 1967In order to give credibility to the fabricated lineage and pedigree, Plantard and his friend Philippe de Cherisey needed to create "independent evidence". So during the 1960s, they deposited a series of forged documents, the so-called Dossiers Secrets d'Henri Lobineau or "Secret Dossiers of Henri Lobineau", at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, in Paris. Also in the 1960s, Plantard began writing a manuscript and had a series of "medieval parchments" forged by de Cherisey which contained encrypted messages that referred to the Priory of Sion. The story that they concocted claimed that Father Bérenger Saunière had supposedly discovered these seemingly ancient parchments inside of a pillar while renovating his church in Rennes-le-Château in 1891. The story and existence of the parchments was intended to prove Plantard's claims about the Priory of Sion being a medieval society. Plantard then enlisted the aid of author Gérard de Sède to write a book based on Plantard's manuscript and forged parchments, alleging that Sauniere had discovered a link to a hidden treasure. The 1967 book, entitled L'Or de Rennes (The Gold of Rennes) and Le Tresor Maudit de Rennes-le-Chateau (The Accursed Treasure of Rennes Castle), became a popular read in France. It included copies of the "found" documents (the originals were of course never produced), though it provided them without any kind of translation. Expansion of the story In 1969, English actor and science-fiction script-writer Henry Lincoln read Le Tresor Maudit, and became intrigued. He discovered one of the encrypted messages, which read A Dagobert II Roi et a Sion est ce tresor, et il est là mort. (Trans: "To King Dagobert II and to Sion does this treasure belong, and he is there dead."). This was an allusion to a treasure belonging to the Merovingian line of Frankish kings, the last one of which, Dagobert II, had been assassinated in the 7th century, thereby ending the dynasty. Lincoln continued to do his own research and expansion on the conspiracy theories, writing his own books on the subject, and creating a series of BBC Two documentaries in the 1970s about the mysteries of the Rennes-le-Chateau area. In response to a tip from De Sede, Lincoln claims he was also the one who "discovered" the Dossiers Secrets, a series of (planted) genealogies which appeared to further confirm the link with the line of Merovingians. The documents claimed that the Priory had been founded in 1099, and had founded the organization of the Knights Templar. Proof of the conspiracy Letters in existence dating from the 1960s written by Plantard, de Cherisey and de Sede to each other confirm that the three were engaging in an out-and-out confidence trick, describing schemes on how to combat criticisms of their various allegations and how they would make-up new allegations to try and keep the whole thing going. These letters (totalling over 100) are in the possession of French researcher Jean-Luc Chaumeil, who has also retained the original envelopes. Jean-Luc Chaumeil during the 1970s was part of the Priory of Sion cabal, and wrote books and articles about Plantard and the Priory of Sion before splitting from it during the late 1970s and exposing Plantard's past in French books. A letter later discovered at the Sub-Prefecture of St. Julien-en-Genevois also indicated that Plantard had a criminal conviction as a con man. The disposition of the "real" Priory The formally registered association was dissolved sometime after October 1956 but intermittently revived for different reasons by Plantard between 1962 and 1993, though in name and on paper only. The Priory of Sion is considered "dormant" by the Sub-Prefecture because it has indicated no activities since 1956. According to French law, subsequent references to the Priory bear no legal relation to that of 1956 and no one other than the original signatories are entitled to use its name in an official capacity. André Bonhomme played no part since 1956. He officially resigned in 1973 when he heard that Plantard was linking his name with the association, so as of last report, there is no one who is currently around who has official permission to use the name.
2006-07-23 06:20:36
is priory of sion exist really?
History - 4 Answers - 2006-07-22 00:30:50
Best Answer
In Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers. The connection of Joseph of Arimathea with the Grail legend dates from Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie (late twelfth century) in which Joseph receives the Grail from an apparition of Jesus and sends it with his followers to Great Britain; building upon this theme, later writers recounted how Joseph used the Grail to catch Christ's blood while interring him and that in Britain he founded a line of guardians to keep it safe. The quest for the Holy Grail makes up an important segment of the Arthurian cycle, appearing first in works by Chrétien de Troyes.[1] The legend may combine Christian lore with a Celtic myth of a cauldron endowed with special powers. The development of the Grail legend has been traced in detail by cultural historians: It is a legend which first came together in the form of written romances, deriving perhaps from some pre-Christian folklore hints, in the later 12th and early 13th centuries. The early Grail romances centered on Percival and were woven into the more general Arthurian fabric. The Grail romances started in France and were translated into other European vernaculars; only a handful of non-French romances added any essential new elements. Some of the Grail legend is interwoven with legends of the Holy Chalice. Origins of the Grail The Grail plays a different role everywhere it appears, but in most versions of the legend the hero must prove himself worthy to be in its presence. In the early tales, Percival's immaturity prevents him from fulfilling his destiny when he first encounters the Grail, and he must grow spiritually and mentally before he can locate it again. In later tellings the Grail is a symbol of God's grace, available to all but only fully realized by those who prepare themselves spiritually, like the saintly Galahad. Early forms of the Grail There are two schools of thought concerning the Grail's origin. The first, championed by Roger Sherman Loomis, Alfred Nutt, and Jessie Weston, holds that it derived from early Celtic myth and folklore. Loomis traced a number of parallels between Medieval Welsh literature and Irish material and the Grail romances, including similarities between the Mabinogion's Bran the Blessed and the Arthurian Fisher King, and between Bran's life-restoring cauldron and the Grail. Other legends featured magical platters or dishes that symbolize otherworldly power or test the hero's worth. Sometimes the items generate a never-ending supply of food, sometimes they can raise the dead. Sometimes they decide who the next king should be, as only the true sovereign could hold them. On the other hand, some scholars believe the Grail began as a purely Christian symbol. For example, Joseph Goering of the University of Toronto has identified sources for Grail imagery in 12th-century wall paintings from churches in the Catalan Pyrenees (now mostly removed to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona), which present unique iconic images of the Virgin Mary holding a bowl that radiates tongues of fire, images that predate the first literary account by Chrétien de Troyes. Goering argues that they were the original inspiration for the Grail legend. [2] [3] Another recent theory holds that the earliest stories that cast the Grail in a Christian light were meant to promote the Roman Catholic sacrament of the Holy Communion. Although the practice of Holy Communion was first alluded to in the Christian Bible and defined by theologians in the first centuries A.D., it was around the time of the appearance of the first Christianized Grail literature that the Roman church was beginning to add more ceremony and mysticism around this particular sacrament. Thus, the first Grail stories may have been celebrations of a renewal in this traditional sacrament [4] This theory has some backing by the fact that Grail legends are almost entirely a phenomenon of the Western church (see below). Most scholars today accept that both Christian and Celtic traditions contributed to the legend's development, though many of the early Celtic-based arguments are largely discredited (Loomis himself came to reject much of Weston and Nutt's work). The general view is that the central theme of the Grail is Christian, even when not explicitly religious, but that much of the setting and imagery of the early romances is drawn from Celtic material. The Prieuré de Sion, usually rendered in English translation as Priory of Sion (occasionally as 'Priory of Zion'), is an alleged thousand-year-old cabal featured in various conspiracy theories, as well as being listed as a factual ancient society in the bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code. It has been characterized as anything from the most influential secret society in Western history to a modern Rosicrucian-esque ludibrium, but, ultimately, has been shown to be a hoax created in 1956 by Pierre Plantard, a pretender to the French throne. The evidence presented in support of its historical existence has not been considered authentic or persuasive by established historians, academics, and universities, and the evidence was later discovered to have been forged and then planted in various locations around France by Plantard and his associates. Nevertheless, many conspiracy theorists insist on the truth of the Priory's role as a powerful secret society. [1] The Alleged Priory If the claims had been proven to be true, they would have described the Priory of Sion as a secret society that was founded in the 11th century, to protect and preserve a secret involving the bloodline of Jesus Christ. The Priory allegedly created the medieval order of Knights Templar as its military arm, and had a series of Grand Masters which included such notable (and real) historical figures as Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci. The existence of the thousand-year-old Priory was supposedly "revealed" in the 1970s, via a series of documentaries and books by writers Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln, such as in their 1982 book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, which allegedly pieced together evidence from documents which had been found in the French National Library, as well as documents which were supposedly found in the late 1800s, hidden inside a pillar of a small church in southern France. Further attention came to the Priory when it was referred to as a factual society by the 2003 bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code. [ The Actual Priory The real Priory of Sion is an association that was founded in 1956, in the French town of Annemasse, as the beginning of a massive hoax. As with all associations, French law required the association to be registered with the government. It was registered with its Statutes at the Sub-Prefecture of Saint Julien-en-Genevois, in May 1956, and its registration was noted on 20 July 1956, in the Journal Officiel de la République Française. The founders and signatories are inscribed with their pseudonyms as Pierre Plantard (known as "Chyren"), André Bonhomme (known as "Stanis Bellas"), Jean Delaval, and Armand Defago. The purpose of the association according to its Statutes was entered as, "Études et entraide des membres" ("education and mutual aid of the members"). In practice, the originator of the association and its key protagonist was Pierre Plantard, its General Secretary, although its nominal head ("President") was André Bonhomme. The choice of the name, "Sion" was based on a popular local feature, a hill south of Annemasse in France, known as 'Mont Sion'.[2] The accompanying title, or subtitle to the name was, Chevalerie d'Institutions et Règles Catholiques d'Union Independante et Traditionaliste: this forms the acronym CIRCUIT and translates as "Knighthood of Catholic Rule and Institution and of Independent Traditionalist Union." The Statutes and Registration Documents of the Priory of Sion were deposited on 7 May 1956, while the first issue of its journal Circuit is dated 27 May 1956 (in total, twelve numbers of the journal appeared). Considering the political instability of the French Fourth Republic, the objectives of the journal were regarded with suspicion by the local authorities. It was indicated as a "Bulletin d'Information et Défense des Droits et de la Liberté des Foyers HLM" ("News Bulletin for the Defence of the Rights and the Freedom of Council Housing"). Indeed, some of the articles took a political position in the local Council elections. Others attacked and criticized property developers of Annemasse. It also opposed the gentrification of the area. The offices of the Priory of Sion and the journal were at Plantard's council flat. The articles of the Priory of Sion as indicated in its Statutes also desired the creation of a monastic order, but the activities of the Priory of Sion bore no resemblance whatsoever to the objectives as outlined in its Statutes. Article VII says that its members are expected, "to carry out good deeds, to help the Catholic Church, teach the truth, defend the weak and the oppressed". There is ample evidence that it had several members, as indicated by the numerous articles contained in its journal Circuit, written by a number of different people. Towards the end of 1956 the association had aims to forge links with the local Catholic Church of the area involving a school bus service run by both the Priory of Sion and the church of St Joseph in Annemasse. The Hoax Plantard hoped that the Priory of Sion would become an influential cryptopolitical irregular masonic lodge (similar to P2) dedicated to the restoration of chivalry and monarchy, which would promote Plantard's own claim to the throne of France. Between 1961 and 1984 Plantard contrived a mythical pedigree of the Priory of Sion claiming that it was the offshoot of the monastic order housed in the Abbey of Sion, which had been founded in the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the First Crusade and later absorbed by the Jesuits in 1617. The mistake is often made that this Abbey of Sion was a "Priory of Sion", but there is a difference between an abbey and a priory. Calling his original 1956 group "Priory of Sion" undoubtedly gave Plantard the later idea to claim that his organization had been historically founded in Jerusalem during the Crusades. Forged documents Le Tresor Maudit de Rennes-le-Chateau, 1967In order to give credibility to the fabricated lineage and pedigree, Plantard and his friend Philippe de Cherisey needed to create "independent evidence". So during the 1960s, they deposited a series of forged documents, the so-called Dossiers Secrets d'Henri Lobineau or "Secret Dossiers of Henri Lobineau", at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, in Paris. Also in the 1960s, Plantard began writing a manuscript and had a series of "medieval parchments" forged by de Cherisey which contained encrypted messages that referred to the Priory of Sion. The story that they concocted claimed that Father Bérenger Saunière had supposedly discovered these seemingly ancient parchments inside of a pillar while renovating his church in Rennes-le-Château in 1891. The story and existence of the parchments was intended to prove Plantard's claims about the Priory of Sion being a medieval society. Plantard then enlisted the aid of author Gérard de Sède to write a book based on Plantard's manuscript and forged parchments, alleging that Sauniere had discovered a link to a hidden treasure. The 1967 book, entitled L'Or de Rennes (The Gold of Rennes) and Le Tresor Maudit de Rennes-le-Chateau (The Accursed Treasure of Rennes Castle), became a popular read in France. It included copies of the "found" documents (the originals were of course never produced), though it provided them without any kind of translation. Expansion of the story In 1969, English actor and science-fiction script-writer Henry Lincoln read Le Tresor Maudit, and became intrigued. He discovered one of the encrypted messages, which read A Dagobert II Roi et a Sion est ce tresor, et il est là mort. (Trans: "To King Dagobert II and to Sion does this treasure belong, and he is there dead."). This was an allusion to a treasure belonging to the Merovingian line of Frankish kings, the last one of which, Dagobert II, had been assassinated in the 7th century, thereby ending the dynasty. Lincoln continued to do his own research and expansion on the conspiracy theories, writing his own books on the subject, and creating a series of BBC Two documentaries in the 1970s about the mysteries of the Rennes-le-Chateau area. In response to a tip from De Sede, Lincoln claims he was also the one who "discovered" the Dossiers Secrets, a series of (planted) genealogies which appeared to further confirm the link with the line of Merovingians. The documents claimed that the Priory had been founded in 1099, and had founded the organization of the Knights Templar. Proof of the conspiracy Letters in existence dating from the 1960s written by Plantard, de Cherisey and de Sede to each other confirm that the three were engaging in an out-and-out confidence trick, describing schemes on how to combat criticisms of their various allegations and how they would make-up new allegations to try and keep the whole thing going. These letters (totalling over 100) are in the possession of French researcher Jean-Luc Chaumeil, who has also retained the original envelopes. Jean-Luc Chaumeil during the 1970s was part of the Priory of Sion cabal, and wrote books and articles about Plantard and the Priory of Sion before splitting from it during the late 1970s and exposing Plantard's past in French books. A letter later discovered at the Sub-Prefecture of St. Julien-en-Genevois also indicated that Plantard had a criminal conviction as a con man. The disposition of the "real" Priory The formally registered association was dissolved sometime after October 1956 but intermittently revived for different reasons by Plantard between 1962 and 1993, though in name and on paper only. The Priory of Sion is considered "dormant" by the Sub-Prefecture because it has indicated no activities since 1956. According to French law, subsequent references to the Priory bear no legal relation to that of 1956 and no one other than the original signatories are entitled to use its name in an official capacity. André Bonhomme played no part since 1956. He officially resigned in 1973 when he heard that Plantard was linking his name with the association, so as of last report, there is no one who is currently around who has official permission to use the name.
All Answers
Answer 1
i do not know,but did you watch last night on the history channel about the grail,so much speculation where it is,and they think some of the protectors of the grail fled to the U.S. guess it will stay a mystery like the lost city of Atlantis
2006-07-22 00:37:18
Answer 2
The Da Vinci Code is a complete work of fiction, so yes there is a possibility. Along this topic, you might as well ask whether there is a possibility of a Temple of Doom mentioned in that sweet Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, cause asking questions about fiction is awesome.
2006-07-22 00:39:12
Answer 3
The Holy Grail is not a real object. Is the ideal goal the we insensibly search during our lives and requires the best of us to get near to, but we can never reach. The Priory of Sion and the list of members mentioned in 'The Davinci Code' is part of a hoax created in 1956 by a charlatan named Pierre Plantard who claimed to be heir to the throne of France.
2006-07-22 19:32:03
Answer 4
In Christian mythology, the Holy Grail was the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, said to possess miraculous powers. The connection of Joseph of Arimathea with the Grail legend dates from Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie (late twelfth century) in which Joseph receives the Grail from an apparition of Jesus and sends it with his followers to Great Britain; building upon this theme, later writers recounted how Joseph used the Grail to catch Christ's blood while interring him and that in Britain he founded a line of guardians to keep it safe. The quest for the Holy Grail makes up an important segment of the Arthurian cycle, appearing first in works by Chrétien de Troyes.[1] The legend may combine Christian lore with a Celtic myth of a cauldron endowed with special powers. The development of the Grail legend has been traced in detail by cultural historians: It is a legend which first came together in the form of written romances, deriving perhaps from some pre-Christian folklore hints, in the later 12th and early 13th centuries. The early Grail romances centered on Percival and were woven into the more general Arthurian fabric. The Grail romances started in France and were translated into other European vernaculars; only a handful of non-French romances added any essential new elements. Some of the Grail legend is interwoven with legends of the Holy Chalice. Origins of the Grail The Grail plays a different role everywhere it appears, but in most versions of the legend the hero must prove himself worthy to be in its presence. In the early tales, Percival's immaturity prevents him from fulfilling his destiny when he first encounters the Grail, and he must grow spiritually and mentally before he can locate it again. In later tellings the Grail is a symbol of God's grace, available to all but only fully realized by those who prepare themselves spiritually, like the saintly Galahad. Early forms of the Grail There are two schools of thought concerning the Grail's origin. The first, championed by Roger Sherman Loomis, Alfred Nutt, and Jessie Weston, holds that it derived from early Celtic myth and folklore. Loomis traced a number of parallels between Medieval Welsh literature and Irish material and the Grail romances, including similarities between the Mabinogion's Bran the Blessed and the Arthurian Fisher King, and between Bran's life-restoring cauldron and the Grail. Other legends featured magical platters or dishes that symbolize otherworldly power or test the hero's worth. Sometimes the items generate a never-ending supply of food, sometimes they can raise the dead. Sometimes they decide who the next king should be, as only the true sovereign could hold them. On the other hand, some scholars believe the Grail began as a purely Christian symbol. For example, Joseph Goering of the University of Toronto has identified sources for Grail imagery in 12th-century wall paintings from churches in the Catalan Pyrenees (now mostly removed to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona), which present unique iconic images of the Virgin Mary holding a bowl that radiates tongues of fire, images that predate the first literary account by Chrétien de Troyes. Goering argues that they were the original inspiration for the Grail legend. [2] [3] Another recent theory holds that the earliest stories that cast the Grail in a Christian light were meant to promote the Roman Catholic sacrament of the Holy Communion. Although the practice of Holy Communion was first alluded to in the Christian Bible and defined by theologians in the first centuries A.D., it was around the time of the appearance of the first Christianized Grail literature that the Roman church was beginning to add more ceremony and mysticism around this particular sacrament. Thus, the first Grail stories may have been celebrations of a renewal in this traditional sacrament [4] This theory has some backing by the fact that Grail legends are almost entirely a phenomenon of the Western church (see below). Most scholars today accept that both Christian and Celtic traditions contributed to the legend's development, though many of the early Celtic-based arguments are largely discredited (Loomis himself came to reject much of Weston and Nutt's work). The general view is that the central theme of the Grail is Christian, even when not explicitly religious, but that much of the setting and imagery of the early romances is drawn from Celtic material. The Prieuré de Sion, usually rendered in English translation as Priory of Sion (occasionally as 'Priory of Zion'), is an alleged thousand-year-old cabal featured in various conspiracy theories, as well as being listed as a factual ancient society in the bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code. It has been characterized as anything from the most influential secret society in Western history to a modern Rosicrucian-esque ludibrium, but, ultimately, has been shown to be a hoax created in 1956 by Pierre Plantard, a pretender to the French throne. The evidence presented in support of its historical existence has not been considered authentic or persuasive by established historians, academics, and universities, and the evidence was later discovered to have been forged and then planted in various locations around France by Plantard and his associates. Nevertheless, many conspiracy theorists insist on the truth of the Priory's role as a powerful secret society. [1] The Alleged Priory If the claims had been proven to be true, they would have described the Priory of Sion as a secret society that was founded in the 11th century, to protect and preserve a secret involving the bloodline of Jesus Christ. The Priory allegedly created the medieval order of Knights Templar as its military arm, and had a series of Grand Masters which included such notable (and real) historical figures as Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, and Leonardo da Vinci. The existence of the thousand-year-old Priory was supposedly "revealed" in the 1970s, via a series of documentaries and books by writers Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln, such as in their 1982 book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, which allegedly pieced together evidence from documents which had been found in the French National Library, as well as documents which were supposedly found in the late 1800s, hidden inside a pillar of a small church in southern France. Further attention came to the Priory when it was referred to as a factual society by the 2003 bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code. [ The Actual Priory The real Priory of Sion is an association that was founded in 1956, in the French town of Annemasse, as the beginning of a massive hoax. As with all associations, French law required the association to be registered with the government. It was registered with its Statutes at the Sub-Prefecture of Saint Julien-en-Genevois, in May 1956, and its registration was noted on 20 July 1956, in the Journal Officiel de la République Française. The founders and signatories are inscribed with their pseudonyms as Pierre Plantard (known as "Chyren"), André Bonhomme (known as "Stanis Bellas"), Jean Delaval, and Armand Defago. The purpose of the association according to its Statutes was entered as, "Études et entraide des membres" ("education and mutual aid of the members"). In practice, the originator of the association and its key protagonist was Pierre Plantard, its General Secretary, although its nominal head ("President") was André Bonhomme. The choice of the name, "Sion" was based on a popular local feature, a hill south of Annemasse in France, known as 'Mont Sion'.[2] The accompanying title, or subtitle to the name was, Chevalerie d'Institutions et Règles Catholiques d'Union Independante et Traditionaliste: this forms the acronym CIRCUIT and translates as "Knighthood of Catholic Rule and Institution and of Independent Traditionalist Union." The Statutes and Registration Documents of the Priory of Sion were deposited on 7 May 1956, while the first issue of its journal Circuit is dated 27 May 1956 (in total, twelve numbers of the journal appeared). Considering the political instability of the French Fourth Republic, the objectives of the journal were regarded with suspicion by the local authorities. It was indicated as a "Bulletin d'Information et Défense des Droits et de la Liberté des Foyers HLM" ("News Bulletin for the Defence of the Rights and the Freedom of Council Housing"). Indeed, some of the articles took a political position in the local Council elections. Others attacked and criticized property developers of Annemasse. It also opposed the gentrification of the area. The offices of the Priory of Sion and the journal were at Plantard's council flat. The articles of the Priory of Sion as indicated in its Statutes also desired the creation of a monastic order, but the activities of the Priory of Sion bore no resemblance whatsoever to the objectives as outlined in its Statutes. Article VII says that its members are expected, "to carry out good deeds, to help the Catholic Church, teach the truth, defend the weak and the oppressed". There is ample evidence that it had several members, as indicated by the numerous articles contained in its journal Circuit, written by a number of different people. Towards the end of 1956 the association had aims to forge links with the local Catholic Church of the area involving a school bus service run by both the Priory of Sion and the church of St Joseph in Annemasse. The Hoax Plantard hoped that the Priory of Sion would become an influential cryptopolitical irregular masonic lodge (similar to P2) dedicated to the restoration of chivalry and monarchy, which would promote Plantard's own claim to the throne of France. Between 1961 and 1984 Plantard contrived a mythical pedigree of the Priory of Sion claiming that it was the offshoot of the monastic order housed in the Abbey of Sion, which had been founded in the Kingdom of Jerusalem during the First Crusade and later absorbed by the Jesuits in 1617. The mistake is often made that this Abbey of Sion was a "Priory of Sion", but there is a difference between an abbey and a priory. Calling his original 1956 group "Priory of Sion" undoubtedly gave Plantard the later idea to claim that his organization had been historically founded in Jerusalem during the Crusades. Forged documents Le Tresor Maudit de Rennes-le-Chateau, 1967In order to give credibility to the fabricated lineage and pedigree, Plantard and his friend Philippe de Cherisey needed to create "independent evidence". So during the 1960s, they deposited a series of forged documents, the so-called Dossiers Secrets d'Henri Lobineau or "Secret Dossiers of Henri Lobineau", at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, in Paris. Also in the 1960s, Plantard began writing a manuscript and had a series of "medieval parchments" forged by de Cherisey which contained encrypted messages that referred to the Priory of Sion. The story that they concocted claimed that Father Bérenger Saunière had supposedly discovered these seemingly ancient parchments inside of a pillar while renovating his church in Rennes-le-Château in 1891. The story and existence of the parchments was intended to prove Plantard's claims about the Priory of Sion being a medieval society. Plantard then enlisted the aid of author Gérard de Sède to write a book based on Plantard's manuscript and forged parchments, alleging that Sauniere had discovered a link to a hidden treasure. The 1967 book, entitled L'Or de Rennes (The Gold of Rennes) and Le Tresor Maudit de Rennes-le-Chateau (The Accursed Treasure of Rennes Castle), became a popular read in France. It included copies of the "found" documents (the originals were of course never produced), though it provided them without any kind of translation. Expansion of the story In 1969, English actor and science-fiction script-writer Henry Lincoln read Le Tresor Maudit, and became intrigued. He discovered one of the encrypted messages, which read A Dagobert II Roi et a Sion est ce tresor, et il est là mort. (Trans: "To King Dagobert II and to Sion does this treasure belong, and he is there dead."). This was an allusion to a treasure belonging to the Merovingian line of Frankish kings, the last one of which, Dagobert II, had been assassinated in the 7th century, thereby ending the dynasty. Lincoln continued to do his own research and expansion on the conspiracy theories, writing his own books on the subject, and creating a series of BBC Two documentaries in the 1970s about the mysteries of the Rennes-le-Chateau area. In response to a tip from De Sede, Lincoln claims he was also the one who "discovered" the Dossiers Secrets, a series of (planted) genealogies which appeared to further confirm the link with the line of Merovingians. The documents claimed that the Priory had been founded in 1099, and had founded the organization of the Knights Templar. Proof of the conspiracy Letters in existence dating from the 1960s written by Plantard, de Cherisey and de Sede to each other confirm that the three were engaging in an out-and-out confidence trick, describing schemes on how to combat criticisms of their various allegations and how they would make-up new allegations to try and keep the whole thing going. These letters (totalling over 100) are in the possession of French researcher Jean-Luc Chaumeil, who has also retained the original envelopes. Jean-Luc Chaumeil during the 1970s was part of the Priory of Sion cabal, and wrote books and articles about Plantard and the Priory of Sion before splitting from it during the late 1970s and exposing Plantard's past in French books. A letter later discovered at the Sub-Prefecture of St. Julien-en-Genevois also indicated that Plantard had a criminal conviction as a con man. The disposition of the "real" Priory The formally registered association was dissolved sometime after October 1956 but intermittently revived for different reasons by Plantard between 1962 and 1993, though in name and on paper only. The Priory of Sion is considered "dormant" by the Sub-Prefecture because it has indicated no activities since 1956. According to French law, subsequent references to the Priory bear no legal relation to that of 1956 and no one other than the original signatories are entitled to use its name in an official capacity. André Bonhomme played no part since 1956. He officially resigned in 1973 when he heard that Plantard was linking his name with the association, so as of last report, there is no one who is currently around who has official permission to use the name.
2006-07-23 06:20:36
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