The claims that make The Da Vinci Code a historically inaccurate rendition

The 2006 film The Da Vinci Code has been widely discussed for many reasons. One of the biggest reasons for its criticism is that it is a historically inaccurate rendition.

Based on the 2003 Dan Brown novel carrying the homonym, many claims made by the film and the book have made historians as well as the audience scream into the void. The film was also panned by the critics.

Helmed by Ron Howard, the film follows the plot of Robert Langdon, a symbologist, who, upon the mysterious death of the curator of the Louvre museum, Jacques Saunière, has been assigned to uncover the truth. In the process, Robert Langdon and the police cryptographer Sophie Neveu come across some revelations rooted in the history of Christianity, in regards to the Holy Grail.

The film stars Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, and many others.

However, let us explore the claims made by The Da Vinci Code that have been historically inaccurate.

The claims that make The Da Vinci Code a historically inaccurate rendition

The Da Vinci Code has made some claims that have met with intense criticism not only in terms of its historical inaccuracies, but also in relation to its scientific and religious validity.

The film and the book have generated some strong claims, some of which are outrageous and inaccurate. The Da Vinci Code has also been strongly condemned by the Catholic Church for certain claims it has made. Author Dan Brown has altered some historical facts to fit into the storyline, resulting in controversy.

One of the most famous as well as the most widely discussed claims made by The Da Vinci Code is about Mary Magdalene. In the film, Ian McKellen's character Sir Leigh Teabing mentions that the Holy Grail is actually Mary Magdalene, and not the cup, something that is commonly understood as the Holy Grail.

Dan Brown's work claims that Mary Magdalene was married to Jesus Christ. Not only that, their bloodline is also mentioned to exist. Going by the historical claim that it makes, it is inaccurate, as there is no historical and scientific evidence to support the claim. The Da Vinci Code also falsely claims that Mary Magdalene belonged to the tribe of Benjamin.

Pointing at the iconography of Leonardo Da Vinci's highly celebrated work during the High Renaissance movement, The Last Supper, the figure next to Jesus Christ is attributed to be Mary Magdalene by the film and the book, but in reality, many art historians claim the figure to be John. The figure's gender is also ambiguous, as it does not follow the traditional markers of masculinity.

Leonardo Da Vinci, as an artist, had an innovative temperament, and hence he painted men who inhabited feminine qualities. In fact, in the last painting of the artist, Saint John the Baptist, he followed a similar style of painting John, like in The Last Supper.

Along with these, The Da Vinci Code also presents inaccurate facts about the Louvre Museum. It claims that the museum holds a total of 65,300 artworks, but it actually has a total of 35,000 artworks. Also, the total number of glass panes mentioned in the architecture of the museum is 666, which is wrong, as it is actually 673.

Dan Brown's work also goes on to assert that artist Leonardo Da Vinci has embedded cryptic symbols about certain covert truths about religion in his work, a claim that art historians do not agree with. It was also claimed that in his diary, he had sketched the construction of the Cryptex, which is again untrue.

Some other false claims about Da Vinci have been made, too, including that he had made devices of torture and mythical components such as the Elixir of Life.

About the heavy criticism the film has received, as per reports, helmer Ron Howard stated that the film should be seen as a means of entertainment. He had mentioned by stating: