Free Republic

LONDON: The author of the blockbuster novel “The Da Vinci Code” faces an English High Court challenge Monday from two men who claim he stole their ideas. Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh are suing their own publishers, Random House, claiming Dan Brown’s book draws heavily on their 1982 bestseller “Holy Blood, Holy Grail”. Brown’s 2003 book has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and earned the American 45 million pounds in one year, instantly making the writer one of the world’s richest. Baigent’s and Leigh’s book tackles theories that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married, had a child, and the...

The author of the blockbuster novel "The Da Vinci Code" faces an English High Court challenge Monday from two men who claim he stole their ideas. Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh are suing their own publishers, Random House, claiming Dan Brown's book draws heavily on their 1982 bestseller "Holy Blood, Holy Grail". Brown's 2003 book has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and earned the American 45 million pounds (66 million euros, 78.5 million dollars) in one year, instantly making the writer one of the world's richest. Baigent's and Leigh's book tackles theories that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married,...

    RENNES-LE-CHÂTEAU DEBUNKED   No treasure at Rennes-le-Château!   Excavations conducted beneath the Tour Magdala at Rennes-le-Château on 20 August 2003 in search of treasure yielded negative results – involving Professors Eisenman and Baratollo, who have both been working on this project since April 2001. The negative results should not surprise informed researchers who have known for decades that no "treasure" at Rennes-le-Château ever existed and is merely the fantasy of confidence tricksters and catchpenny authors. That an archaeological dig in the first place should have been carried out at Rennes-le-Château during recent years is in itself a statement...

  Background Information   I first came across the subject matter of Rennes-le-Château in 1979, after watching one of Henry Lincoln’s documentaries. It was also during the late 1970s that I developed an interest in researching Christian origins, which touched upon matters like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi Texts and the Gnostics, the latter sect being similar to the mediaeval dualist sect the Cathars, featured on Lincoln’s documentary – which was the main reason behind my watching it. I had to confine myself entirely upon English material relating to the subject matter of Rennes-le-Château between 1979-1982, believing this...