The DaVinci Code

Book Salon Bibliography
Steven Armstrong, PhD (Cand), and Book Salon Members
September 4, 2004

Further reading on topics in Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code:

(1)     Historical roots of Gnosticism and Hermetism:

Barnstone, Willis & Marvin Meyer, eds. The Gnostic Bible. Boston: Shambhala, 2003. 

Fowden, Garth. The Egyptian Hermes: a historical approach to the late pagan mind. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993. 

King, Karen L. What is Gnosticism? Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2003. 

Salaman, Clement, et al., eds. The Way of Hermes (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2000) 

Williams, Michael A. Rethinking Gnosticism: an argument for dismantling a dubious category. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996. 

(2)     Mary Magdalene and early Christianity:

Boer, Esther de. The Gospel of Mary: beyond a Gnostic and a Biblical Mary Magdalene. London; New York: T & T Clark International, 2004.  

Brock, Ann,  Mary Magdalene, the First Apostle: the Struggle for Authority. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Theological Studies, Harvard Divinity School: Distributed by Harvard University Press, 2003. 

Ehrman, Bart D. Lost Christianities: the Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. 

King, Karen L. The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle. Santa Rosa, CA: Polebridge Press, 2003. 

Leloup, Jean-Yves. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2002. 

Marjanen, Annti. The Woman Jesus Loved: Mary Magdalene in the Nag Hammadi Library and related documents. Leiden; New York: E.J. Brill, 1996. Contents: I. Introduction -- II. Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Thomas -- III. Mary Magdalene in the Sophia of Jesus Christ -- IV. Mary Magdalene in the Dialogue of the Savior -- V. Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Mary -- VI. Mary Magdalene in the First Apocalypse of James -- VII. Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Philip -- VIII. Mary Magdalene in Pistis Sophia -- IX. Mary Magdalene in the Great Questions of Mary -- X. Mary Magdalene in the Manichaean Psalm-book -- XI. Conclusion.  

Schaberg, Jane.  The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene: Legends, Apocrypha, and the Christian Testament. New York: Continuum, 2002. Contents: Virginia Woolf and Mary Magdalene: thinking back through the Magdalene -- Meditations at Migdal -- Silence, conflation, distortion, legends -- The woman who understood (too) completely: the gnostic/apocryphal Magdalene -- The Christian testament's Mary Magdalene: scholarly versions, explorations, erasures -- Converging possibilities -- Mary Magdalene as successor to Jesus.

(3)     The Fibonacci Sequence and the Golden Section:

Hoggatt, Verner E. Fibonacci and Lucas numbers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1969.

Huntley, H. E.  The Divine Proportion: a study in mathematical beauty. New York: Dover Publications, 1970. 

Knott, Ron. Fibonacci Numbers and the Golden Section. Web page. Surrey University Guildford, UK, 2004. 

(4)     Templars, Rennes-le-Château, and other historical mysteries:

Barber, Malcolm. The New Knighthood : a History of the Order of the Temple. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Contents: List of Grand Masters of the Temple -- 1. Origins -- 2. The concept -- 3. The rise of the Templars in the east in the twelfth century -- 4. Hattin to La Forbie -- 5. The last years of the Templars in Palestine and Syria -- 6. Templar life -- 7. The Templar network -- 8. The end of the Order -- 9. From Molay's curse to Foucault's Pendulum.  

Baigent, Michael, Richard Leigh, & Henry Lincoln. Holy Blood, Holy Grail.  New York: Delta Trade Paperbacks, 2004. 

Bernier, Francine. The Templars' Legacy in Montréal, the New Jerusalem. Kempton, IL: Frontier Publishing; Adventures Unlimited Press, 2001. 

Cox, Simon. Cracking the DaVinci Code. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2004. 

Markale, Jean. The Church of Mary Magdalene: the sacred feminine and the treasure of Rennes-le-Château. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2004. 

Mizrach, Steven. “Priory of Sion: the Facts, the Theories, the Mystery.”Web page. Florida International University. A critical analysis of the Priory of Sion mystery.

The Templars: selected sources. Translated and annotated by Malcolm Barber and Keith Bate.  Manchester; New York: Manchester University Press, 2002. 

Wallace-Murphy, Tim. Rosslyn, Guardian of the Secrets of the Holy Grail. Boston: Element, 1999. 

Wikipedidia. "Knights Templar." Web page, 2004. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templars. As with any web site, read with discernment, but many useful links.

(5)     The Grail:

Barber, Richard W.  The Holy Grail: imagination and belief. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004.  

Brittanica.com. "The Holy Grail." Extensive links and references: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Grail. 

Dover, Carol, ed. A Companion to the Lancelot-Grail cycle. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer, 2003. 

Littleton, C. Scott. From Scythia to Camelot: a radical reassessment of the legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, and the Holy Grail. New York: Garland, 2000.

Lacy, Norris J. ed. Lancelot-Grail: the Old French Arthurian Vulgate and post-Vulgate in translation. 5 volumes. New York: Garland Publishing, 1993-1996.

Loomis, Roger Sherman. The Grail: from Celtic myth to Christian symbol. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991.

Matthews, John. Sources of the Grail: an anthology. Hudson, NY: Lindisfarne Press, 1997.

Rolt-Wheeler, Francis. Mystic Gleams from the Holy Grail: The Legend of Spiritual Chivalry, the Mystery of its Divine Origin, its Secret in the World of Faerie and its High Initiation. London: Rider & Co, nd [1950s].

Williams, Charles. Arthurian Poets: Charles Williams. Woodbridge & Rochester, NY 1991.