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Narrator: THE DA VINCI CODE-- AN EXPLOSIVE *** MYSTERY
THAT CLAIMS TO REVEAL THE 2,000-YEAR-OLD SECRET
OF THE HOLY GRAIL.
ITS RELEASE CAUSED WORLDWIDE CONTROVERSY.
Man: WE WERE ALL PERSONALLY DENOUNCED BY THE POPE.
Narrator: BUT HOW MUCH OF THE BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE
IS REALLY TRUE?
Woman: DAN BROWN MAY HAVE HIT ON SOMETHING IN HIS FICTION
THAT COULD BE TRUE!
Narrator: DID LEONARDO DA VINCI LEAVE MESSAGES IN HIS WORK
500 YEARS AGO?
Man: IF WE WANT TO FIND A REAL SECRET IN THE LAST SUPPER,
YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK WHAT IS INSIDE.
Narrator: WHY DID HE USE MIRROR WRITING IN HIS NOTEBOOKS?
Woman: I'M CONVINCED THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI WAS DYSLEXIC.
Narrator: WE REVEAL THE INSPIRATION
FOR THE ON-SCREEN CHARACTER OF SYMBOLOGIST ROBERT LANGDON.
Man: WHEN PEOPLE STARTED ASKING ME,
"IS ROBERT LANGDON LIKE YOU?"
I STARTED THINKING, YEAH, YOU KNOW,
NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT...
Narrator: AND THE REAL MYSTERY BEHIND THE CHURCH
THE DA VINCI CODE MADE FAMOUS.
Man: THERE ARE VOIDS WITHIN INSIDE EACH
OF THESE PINNACLE CONSTRUCTIONS.
Narrator: REAL LIFE CODE-BREAKERS UNCOVER
THE EXTRAORDINARY REAL STORY BEHIND THE DA VINCI CODE.
MAY 2006.
THE DA VINCI CODE HITS THE BIG SCREEN.
BASED ON THE BOOK OF THE SAME NAME BY DAN BROWN
AND DIRECTED BY RON HOWARD,
THE MOVIE CAUSES WORLDWIDE CONTROVERSY.
Todd Hallowell: WE WERE ALL PERSONALLY DENOUNCED
BY THE POPE.
WE DIDN'T GET GREAT SACKS OF HATE MAIL, JUST THE OCCASIONAL.
Narrator: THE MOVIE'S HEADLINE-GRABBING CLAIM
THAT JESUS AND MARY MAGDALENE WERE MARRIED AND HAD CHILDREN
IS PRESENTED AS FACT
AND INFURIATES THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
Hallowell: TRUTH IS PRETTY FLEXIBLE
WHEN DEALING WITH EVENTS THAT SUPPOSEDLY OCCURRED
AND SUPPOSEDLY OCCURRED THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO.
Narrator: THE DA VINCI CODE
IS THE MOST EAGERLY ANTICIPATED RELEASE OF THE YEAR
AND RAKES IN THREE QUARTERS OF A BILLION DOLLARS
AT THE BOX OFFICE.
Hallowell: I THINK THAT THE CONTROVERSY THAT EXISTED
PRIOR TO THE FILM OPENING ONLY, YOU KNOW,
HELPED CREATE MORE OF THAT SORT OF "WANT TO SEE" ATTITUDE
AMONG THE POTENTIAL AUDIENCE.
Narrator: BUT HOW MUCH OF THE STORY IS REALLY BASED ON FACT?
USING ONE OF LEONARDO DA VINCI'S MOST WELL-KNOWN ARTWORKS,
THE LAST SUPPER,
ONE OF THE KEY CHARACTERS IN THE MOVIE, SIR LEIGH TEABING,
PLAYED BY SIR IAN McKELLAN,
CLAIMS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
IS BEHIND A 2,000-YEAR-OLD CONSPIRACY.
Leigh Teabing: HOW MANY WINE GLASSES
ARE THERE ON THE TABLE?
Woman: ONE? THE HOLY GRAIL?
Teabing: OPEN YOUR EYES.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE MOVIE
THE HOLY GRAIL ISN'T A CUP AS MANY BELIEVE--
IT'S A PERSON.
AND NO ORDINARY PERSON, BUT THE WOMAN WHO FOR CENTURIES
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH BRANDED A ***, MARY MAGDALENE.
BUT WHAT REALLY INCENSED THE CHURCH
IS THE MOVIE'S ASSERTION
THAT MARY MAGDALENE AND JESUS WERE MAN AND WIFE.
Robin Griffith-Jones: SUDDENLY THE IMAGE OF JESUS
WHICH THE CHURCHES HAVE CULTIVATED
AND AROUND WHICH AND UPON WHICH
THEY'VE BUILT HUGE AMOUNTS OF WESTERN THEOLOGY,
BEGINS TO DISSOLVE.
Narrator: THE QUESTION OF WHETHER OR NOT
JESUS WAS EVER MARRIED
HAS BEEN ARGUED OVER FOR NEARLY 2,000 YEARS.
BUT THE MOVIE'S CRITICS WERE QUICK TO POINT OUT
THAT THE SCRIPTURES MAKE NO REFERENCE TO IT AT ALL.
Griffith-Jones: THERE IS COMPLETE SILENCE ON THIS
IN THE BIBLE.
IT IS NOT MENTIONED.
THAT'S QUITE INTERESTING IN ITSELF.
Narrator: IN THE MOVIE, SIR LEIGH TEABING
PRODUCES EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT HIS ASTONISHING CLAIM...
THE LITTLE KNOWN GOSPEL OF PHILIP.
Teabing: CHRIST LOVED HER MORE THAN ALL THE DISCIPLES...
AND USED TO KISS HER ON THE...
Woman: BUT THIS SAYS NOTHING OF MARRIAGE.
Narrator: THE GOSPEL OF PHILIP DOES, IN FACT, EXIST.
IT WAS DISCOVERED, ALONG WITH 12 OTHER PAPYRUS BOOKS,
BY A FARMER IN WESTERN EGYPT IN DECEMBER 1945.
SCHOLARS BELIEVE THESE BOOKS NOW STORED IN CAIRO'S COPTIC MUSEUM
ARE TRANSLATIONS OF GOSPELS WRITTEN BY JESUS' DISCIPLES.
ELAINE PAGELS, A PROFESSOR OF RELIGION
AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY,
CLAIMS THESE GOSPELS GIVE A VERY DIFFERENT PICTURE
OF HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH MARY MAGDALENE.
Elaine Pagels: THERE ARE DIFFERENT STORIES
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT GOSPELS ABOUT MARY MAGDALENE,
BUT THE MOST POWERFUL AND PERSISTENT
IS THAT SHE'S ASSOCIATED WITH PROSTITUTION,
WHICH COMPLETELY DISCREDIT HER QUALIFICATIONS
AS BEING ANYONE IMPORTANT IN THE JESUS CIRCLE.
NOW, WHEN YOU LOOK IN THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS, FOR EXAMPLE,
SHE IS A DISCIPLE.
SHE'S AN IMPORTANT DISCIPLE.
Narrator: BUT DOES THE GOSPEL OF PHILIP
REALLY PROVE MARY MAGDALENE WAS MORE THAN JUST JESUS' DISCIPLE,
AS CLAIMED IN THE MOVIE?
Pagels: DAN BROWN BEGAN, HE SAYS, BY,
WHEN HE SAW A LINE FROM THE GOSPEL OF PHILIP
THAT SAID, "JESUS LOVED MARY MAGDALENE
AND THEN THE TEXT IS BROKEN.
Narrator: THE MISSING WORD HAS NEVER BEEN FOUND.
BUT THE COPTIC WORD FOR "MOUTH" FITS THE MISSING SPACE,
SO SOME EXPERTS HAVE ASSUMED THAT'S THE FULL TRANSLATION.
REVEREND JONES BELIEVES THAT
EVEN IF THE MISSING WORD IS "MOUTH,"
THAT'S STILL NOT PROOF THAT MARY WAS JESUS' WIFE.
Griffith-Jones: KISSING ON THE MOUTH
IS WHAT FAMILY MEMBERS DID TO EACH OTHER.
A FAMILY KISS WOULD BE ON THE MOUTH.
IT IS NOT *** IN OUR SENSE.
TO US, A KISS ON THE MOUTH IS PRETTY WELL EXCLUSIVELY ***,
EXCEPT PERHAPS MOTHER AND TINY, TINY CHILD.
IT WAS NOT SO IN THE ANCIENT WORLD.
SO DON'T, ONE SHOULDN'T IMMEDIATELY ASSUME,
OH, KISSED ON THE MOUTH, MUST BE SOME *** FRISSON HERE.
Narrator: ELAINE PAGELS BELIEVES THAT'S EXACTLY
WHAT DAN BROWN DID ASSUME FOR THE DA VINCI CODE.
Pagels: THERE'S ANOTHER WAY TO INTERPRET THESE SOURCES,
AND THAT'S THE WAY DAN BROWN DIDN'T INTERPRET THEM.
IN THE GOSPEL OF PHILIP,
WHEN IT SAYS HE AND MARY WERE CONSTANT COMPANIONS,
AND HE KISSED HER OFTEN ON HER MOUTH,
AND HE REGARDED HER AS HIS BRIDE,
IT'S SPEAKING METAPHORICALLY.
Narrator: MANY SCHOLARS HAVE LONG ARGUED
THAT THE JESUS AND MARY RELATIONSHIP
IN THE GOSPEL OF PHILIP
IS NOT A LITERAL PHYSICAL CONNECTION,
MERELY A SPIRITUAL ONE.
BUT A STARTLING NEW DISCOVERY HAS BLOWN THE DEBATE WIDE OPEN.
THIS SMALL SCRAP OF PAPYRUS,
OWNED BY AN ANONYMOUS PRIVATE COLLECTOR,
IS FORCING SOME EXPERTS
TO RECONSIDER THEIR INTERPRETATIONS.
BELIEVED TO BE A FRAGMENT OF ANOTHER LONG LOST GOSPEL,
IT WAS SENT TO HARVARD UNIVERSITY IN 2010
FOR ANALYSIS AND TRANSLATION.
IT CONTAINS JUST 33 WORDS,
AND THE LINE THAT'S CAUSING SO MUCH EXCITEMENT READS,
"JESUS SAID TO THEM, MY WIFE."
Pagels: DAN BROWN MAY HAVE HIT ON SOMETHING IN HIS FICTION
THAT COULD BE TRUE.
Narrator: IF THE FRAGMENT IS PROVED TO BE REAL,
IT SUGGESTS THAT SOME EARLY CHRISTIANS
BELIEVED JESUS WAS MARRIED.
Pagels: THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE JESUS CODEX SEEMS QUITE CLEAR,
BECAUSE IT'S VERY HARD TO FAKE A SECOND-CENTURY COPTIC SCRIPT
THAT'S FADED THE WAY THIS TEXT IS.
I THINK THE EVIDENCE IS VERY GOOD,
THAT THIS IS AN ANCIENT TEXT.
Narrator: BUT THE GOSPEL OF JESUS' WIFE
DOES NOT PROVE THAT DAN BROWN WAS RIGHT.
IT PROVES NOTHING ABOUT JESUS' ACTUAL LIFE--
ONLY THAT SOME EARLY CHRISTIANS, WRITING LONG AFTER HE DIED,
MAY HAVE BELIEVED HE HAD A WIFE.
BUT DAN BROWN GOES EVEN FURTHER,
CLAIMING THAT 550 YEARS AGO
LEONARDO DA VINCI KNEW THIS SECRET
AND ENCRYPTED ONE OF HIS MOST FAMOUS PAINTINGS
WITH A MESSAGE REVEALING ALL.
COULD THAT BE TRUE?
THE LAST SUPPER--
ONE OF LEONARDO DA VINCI'S MOST FAMOUS WORKS--
PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN RON HOWARDS' 2006 BLOCKBUSTER
THE DA VINCI CODE.
THE MOVIE CLAIMS THE FIGURE SITTING TO JESUS' RIGHT
IS MARY MAGDALENE, NOT THE DISCIPLE JOHN
AS THE CHURCH WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE...
AND THAT SHE IS THE HOLY GRAIL.
Mario Taddei: WHEN I SAW THE MOVIE OF DAN BROWN
AND I READ THE BOOK, I WAS VERY HAPPY
BECAUSE IT WAS A VERY BEAUTIFUL NOVEL,
BUT IT'S SCIENCE FICTION.
Narrator: MARIO TADDEI IS A MILAN-BASED INVENTOR
AND AN EXPERT ON THE WORKS OF LEONARDO DA VINCI.
HE'S SPENT 15 YEARS ANALYZING THE RENAISSANCE MASTER'S WORK
TRYING TO GET INSIDE HIS MIND.
MARIO DOESN'T BELIEVE THE MOVIE'S CLAIMS--
AND FOR GOOD REASON.
A VERSION.
Taddei: BEFORE LEONARDO DA VINCI
THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF LAST SUPPERS.
AND WHEN HE PAINTED THE LAST SUPPER
HE HAD TO FOLLOW SOME RULES.
THE RULES WANTS TO HAVE THE PEOPLE IN THAT POSITION
WITH THAT SMILE
SO PEOPLE CAN RECOGNIZE THE DIFFERENT APOSTLES ONE BY ONE.
Narrator: BEFORE LEONARDO'S LAST SUPPER,
ALL OF THE OTHER COPIES LOOKED VERY SIMILAR.
ARTISTS USED THE SAME FORMULA TO DEPICT CHRIST'S DISCIPLES.
ST. PETER HANDLES A KNIFE,
JUDAS CARRIES A PURSE OF SILVER,
AND ST. JOHN, THE YOUNGEST DISCIPLE,
IS ALWAYS SHOWN AS A YOUTHFUL, FEMININE-LOOKING FIGURE.
Taddei: IS THIS JOHN OR MARY MAGDALENE
IS A VERY EASY QUESTION,
BUT IT IS A STUPID QUESTION BECAUSE IT MUST BE JOHN
BECAUSE LEONARDO HAD TO COPY THE LAST SUPPER BEFORE HIM,
AND JOHN LOOKS LIKE A WOMAN.
LEONARDO DA VINCI JUST COPIED THESE THINGS,
BECAUSE THEY MUST BE IN THIS WAY
SO IT MUST BE RECOGNIZABLE AS JOHN.
THAT'S IT!
Narrator: CECILIA FROSININI IS DIRECTOR
OF THE MURAL PAINTING LABORATORY AT THE PUBLIC ART INSTITUTE
IN FLORENCE, ITALY.
HER TEAM HAS RESTORED WORKS BY MANY OF THE ITALIAN MASTERS,
INCLUDING SEVEN BY LEONARDO DA VINCI.
SHE BELIEVES IT'S POSSIBLE TO SEE ALMOST ANYTHING
IN THE LAST SUPPER--
EVEN THE BASIS FOR A BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE--
BECAUSE THE WAY IT LOOKS TODAY
IS VERY DIFFERENT TO HOW THE PAINTING STARTED OUT.
Cecilia Frosinini: WE KNOW THAT LEONARDO USED
A VERY EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE
BECAUSE OF THE GREAT DEAL OF SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS
THAT WERE MADE ON THE LAST SUPPER.
Narrator: TO CREATE THE LAST SUPPER,
LEONARDO DA VINCI USED AN UNUSUAL METHOD.
INSTEAD OF PAINTING ONTO WET PLASTER,
HE USED A MIXTURE OF EGG YOLKS, VINEGAR AND OIL PAINT
APPLIED DIRECTLY ONTO THE WALL OF A MILANESE CHURCH.
IT WAS AN UNSUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENT.
THE MATERIALS HE USED WEREN'T UP TO THE JOB,
AND BEGAN TO FLAKE AWAY FROM THE WALL
AS SOON AS IT WAS COMPLETED.
Taddei: SO THE PROBLEM IS THAT TODAY WE ARE LOOKING
AT THE SHADOW OF THE ORIGINAL PAINTING OF LEONARDO.
THAT WAS GONE FOREVER BECAUSE OF DESTROYING
AND BECAUSE OF THE RE-PAINTING.
Narrator: THE MOVIE ASKS US TO BELIEVE THAT THE LAST SUPPER
CONTAINS LETTERS HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT.
AN "M" REFERRING TO MARY MAGDALENE
AND A "V," THE SYMBOL OF A CHALICE,
TYPICALLY KNOWN AS THE HOLY GRAIL,
OR AS THE DA VINCI CODE WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE,
A "V" FOR THE SHAPE OF A WOMB.
Taddei: THE "V" FOR THE SYMBOL FOR MARY MAGDALENE
AND "M" IS JUST A VERY EASY AND STUPID THING.
Frosinini: IT'S LIKE READING THE CLOUDS.
WE CAN MAKE ALL OUR HYPOTHESES ON THE SHAPE OF THE CLOUDS.
THEY SOMETIMES SEEM A HORSE OR A MONSTER OR A HEAD OF A PERSON,
BUT THEN THEY CHANGE, BECAUSE OF THE WIND,
BECAUSE OF THE PERSPECTIVE,
AND A DIFFERENT PERSON GIVES YOU A DIFFERENT ANSWER.
Narrator: ACCORDING TO THE EXPERTS,
IF YOU LOOK HARD ENOUGH,
ALL PAINTINGS CONTAIN SHAPES THAT LOOK LIKE LETTERS.
SO UNLESS NEW EVIDENCE EMERGES THAT CONFIRMS WHETHER OR NOT
THE LAST SUPPER DOES CONTAIN THE LETTERS "M" AND "V,"
THE DEBATE WILL NEVER BE RESOLVED.
BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE MOVIE'S CLAIM
THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI WAS DELIBERATELY TRYING
TO REVEAL THE SECRET OF THE HOLY GRAIL?
Frosinini: THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THAT!
BECAUSE, OF COURSE, IF YOU WANT TO TRANSFER A MESSAGE,
YOU HAVE TO BE VERY SURE THAT PEOPLE CAN READ IT.
BUT THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU CAN READ
WITHOUT THE DA VINCI CODE HANDBOOK.
Narrator: LEONARDO DA VINCI MAY NOT BE REVEALING THE TRUTH
ABOUT MARY MAGDALENE AND JESUS' RELATIONSHIP IN HIS PAINTING.
BUT HE IS SENDING A MESSAGE.
ONE THAT FIVE CENTURIES AGO
WAS JUST AS CONTROVERSIAL AS THE DA VINCI CODE.
Taddei: WHAT IS MISSING FROM THE PICTURE IS THE HALOS.
Narrator: BEFORE LEONARDO DA VINCI,
ALL VERSIONS OF THE LAST SUPPER
SHOWED JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES WITH HALOS,
IN EFFECT PORTRAYING THEM AS SAINTS.
BUT DA VINCI CHOSE TO IGNORE THIS CONVENTION
AND PAINT THEM WITHOUT HALOS.
Taddei: I BELIEVE THAT LEONARDO NEVER PUT THE HALOS
BECAUSE HE THINK THAT, THAT THE PEOPLE ARE COMMON PEOPLE,
AND THIS IS A TRUE SECRET OF LEONARDO.
THERE IS NO EXTRATERRESTRIAL, SUPERNATURAL OBJECT
INSIDE THE LAST SUPPER.
LEONARDO WANTS TO TELL US THAT THAT THE 13 MEN ARE SIMPLE MEN.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING MUCH MORE POWERFUL.
Narrator: LEONARDO DA VINCI IS COMMUNICATING A SUBTLE MESSAGE
WITH HIS LAST SUPPER.
HE'S TELLING US THAT JESUS WAS A MORTAL, A MAN--
A THEME ECHOED IN THE DA VINCI CODE.
BUT COULD HE HAVE LEFT OTHER CLUES FOR US TO DECIPHER?
IN THE DA VINCI CODE, OSCAR-WINNING ACTOR TOM HANKS
PLAYS HARVARD PROFESSOR OF RELIGIOUS SYMBOLOGY
ROBERT LANGDON,
WHO'S DRAWN IN TO THE HUNT FOR THE HOLY GRAIL.
REMARKABLY, HIS CHARACTER IS BASED
ON A REAL EXPERT IN SYMBOLS--
JOHN LANGDON, A GRAPHIC DESIGNER FROM PENNSYLVANIA.
John Langdon: WHEN PEOPLE STARTED ASKING ME,
"IS ROBERT LANGDON LIKE YOU?"
AT FIRST I WOULD SAY, "NO, NOT VERY MUCH,"
AND THEN AFTER PEOPLE STARTED ASKING ME MORE FREQUENTLY,
I STARTED THINKING, YEAH, YOU KNOW,
NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT...
Narrator: IN THE DA VINCI CODE, ROBERT LANGDON IS AN EXPERT
AT DECIPHERING THE MEANING BEHIND SYMBOLS.
THE REAL LANGDON SPECIALIZES IN CREATING THEM.
Langdon: THE THING THAT I LIKED THE BEST ABOUT ROBERT LANGDON
IS HIS INTEREST IN SYMBOLS.
THAT'S, THAT'S MY LIFE, THAT'S HIS LIFE,
THAT'S WHERE WE REALLY OVERLAP A GREAT DEAL.
Narrator: JOHN'S PASSION IS DESIGNING AMBIGRAMS--
A WORD OR PHRASE THAT'S DESIGNED TO BE SYMMETRICAL
SO IT READS THE SAME UPSIDE DOWN OR BACK TO FRONT.
AND IT WAS THIS SPECIALTY THAT FIRST BROUGHT HIM INTO CONTACT
WITH DA VINCI CODE AUTHOR DAN BROWN--
LONG BEFORE HE FIRST PUT PEN TO PAPER.
Langdon: NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT DAN'S MUSIC CAREER.
HE WAS A POP MUSIC SINGER-SONGWRITER.
AND *** BROWN CALLED ME ONE DAY
AND SAID THAT HIS SON WAS ABOUT TO WORK,
START WORK ON A NEW CD
THAT WAS GOING TO BE CALLED "ANGELS AND DEMONS,"
AND WOULD I BE INTERESTED
OR WILLING TO DESIGN AN AMBIGRAM FOR THE CD COVER?
AFTER THAT CD, DAN DECIDED
HE WAS NO LONGER INTERESTED IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS,
AND SO HE BECAME A NOVELIST AT THAT POINT.
Narrator: FIVE YEARS LATER DAN BROWN WROTE
HIS FIRST ROBERT LANGDON NOVEL, ALSO CALLED ANGELS AND DEMONS,
AND USED JOHN'S ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE BOOK.
BROWN'S NEXT LANGDON NOVEL WAS THE DA VINCI CODE,
AND WHEN IT BECAME A MOVIE, JOHN WAS CONTACTED AGAIN.
Langdon: THIS IS THE LOGO THAT I DESIGNED
FOR THE DEPOSITORY BANK OF ZURICH
THAT WAS USED IN THE FILM
WITH TOM HANKS AND AUDREY TAUTOU.
THE DEPOSITORY BANK LOGO WAS VISIBLE
FOR MAYBE TWO OR THREE SECONDS IN THE FILM.
AND IT WAS, IT WAS A NICE, A NICE, VERY BRIEF VIEW OF IT.
Narrator: LIKE JOHN, THE MOVIE'S LEADING MAN
SPECIALIZES IN SYMBOLS AND THEY HAVE THE SAME LAST NAME.
BUT THE SIMILARITIES DON'T END THERE.
ROBERT LANGDON ALSO SHARES JOHN'S PHOBIAS.
Man: IF YOU WOULD STEP INSIDE, PLEASE.
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.
Robert Langdon: IN THERE?
Langdon: THERE ARE THESE UNDERLYING,
MORE PERSONAL TRAITS, OR CONDITIONS,
THAT APPLY TO BOTH OF US.
ROBERT LANGDON'S FEAR OF HEIGHTS,
HIS TOUCH WITH CLAUSTROPHOBIA.
VERY MUCH LIKE MINE.
Narrator: IN THE MOVIE, JOHN'S NAMESAKE GETS CAUGHT UP
IN A LIFE OR DEATH RACE
THROUGH SOME OF EUROPE'S MOST FAMOUS MEDIEVAL LOCATIONS
TO DISCOVER THE FINAL RESTING PLACE OF THE HOLY GRAIL.
TO DO IT, THE SYMBOLOGIST HAS TO DECIPHER
A SERIES OF CRYPTIC CLUES
SUPPOSEDLY CREATED BY LEONARDO DA VINCI.
Robert Langdon: WE NEED A MIRROR.
Teabing: BACKWARDS, IN THE STYLE OF LEONARDO HIMSELF.
Robert Langdon: THANK YOU.
Narrator: ALMOST EVERYTHING LEONARDO DA VINCI WROTE
IN HIS JOURNALS IS BACK TO FRONT,
AND THE LETTERS INVERTED.
HE DIDN'T CREATE AMBIGRAMS LIKE JOHN LANGDON.
INSTEAD DA VINCI USED WHAT'S CALLED MIRROR WRITING.
SO WAS THIS, AS THE MOVIE CLAIMS,
A DELIBERATE FORM OF CODE?
Taddei: WHY HE WROTE BACKWARDS?
BECAUSE IF YOU ARE LEFT-HANDED AND YOU WROTE IN OUR DIRECTION
YOU WILL COVER YOUR INK
AND MAYBE YOU WILL HAVE ALL YOUR INK ON YOUR HAND,
ON YOUR ARM.
SO THAT'S WHY LEONARDO WROTE IN A MIRROR WAY.
Maryanne Wolf: I THINK THE MORE LIKELY REALITY
WAS THAT HE DISCOVERED THAT THAT WAS SOMETHING HE DID WITH EASE.
Narrator: PROFESSOR MARYANNE WOLF
IS A READING AND LANGUAGE SPECIALIST
AT TUFTS UNIVERSITY IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.
SHE DOESN'T BELIEVE DA VINCI BEING LEFT-HANDED
IS THE ONLY REASON HE MIRROR-WROTE.
Wolf: THE JOURNALS, VOLUMINOUS THAT THEY ARE,
CONTAIN SO MANY SPELLING ERRORS, OMISSIONS, DELETIONS,
AND GRAMMATICAL ERRORS.
YOU SEE IN COMPUTATION,
HIM MAKING SOME OF THE SIMPLEST RETRIEVAL ERRORS.
Narrator: LEONARDO IS OFTEN REGARDED AS A GENIUS,
AS AN ACCOMPLISHED DESIGNER AND INVENTOR,
BUT IT TURNS OUT SPELLING WASN'T ONE OF HIS GIFTS.
TO NEUROLOGISTS AND LANGUAGE EXPERTS LIKE PROFESSOR WOLF,
DA VINCI'S LEFT-HANDED-NESS AND HIS POOR SPELLING RECORD
ARE SIGNS HIS BRAIN WORKED DIFFERENTLY THAN MOST PEOPLE'S.
Wolf: AS A RESEARCHER OVER TWO DECADES WORKING
WITH HUNDREDS OF CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH DYSLEXIA,
I'M CONVINCED THAT LEONARDO DA VINCI WAS DYSLEXIC.
Narrator: DYSLEXIA IS AN INHERITED LEARNING DISABILITY,
WHICH IMPAIRS PEOPLE'S READING AND WRITING SKILLS.
ITS CAUSE OR CAUSES ARE NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD,
BUT THE CONDITION AFFECTING BETWEEN 5% AND 10% OF PEOPLE
IS BRAIN-BASED.
THE HUMAN BRAIN IS MADE UP OF TWO HEMISPHERES,
THE RIGHT AND THE LEFT.
EACH IS A HIGHLY SPECIALIZED REGION
THAT CONTROLS DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS.
THE LEFT HEMISPHERE GOVERNS OUR ABILITY
TO RECOGNIZE SEQUENCES OF WORDS AND LETTERS.
THAT'S WHY 95% OF RIGHT-HANDED PEOPLE
USE THIS HEMISPHERE TO COMMUNICATE.
THE RIGHT HEMISPHERE IS USED TO ANALYZE SPACE
AND GEOMETRICAL SHAPES AND FORMS.
BUT SOME LEFT-HANDED PEOPLE AND DYSLEXICS
ALSO USE THIS HEMISPHERE TO COMMUNICATE--
WHICH COULD EXPLAIN WHY DA VINCI
WAS SO BRILLIANT AT CREATING GEOMETRIC SHAPES
BUT STRUGGLED WITH SPELLING.
PROFESSOR WOLF BELIEVES LEONARDO DA VINCI MIRROR-WROTE
BECAUSE HIS BRAIN WAS WIRED TO DO SO.
AND SHE'S KEEN TO TEST HER THEORY.
Wolf: BECAUSE MIRROR WRITING IS ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT PEOPLE SPECULATE ABOUT,
WE WANTED TO SEE, WELL, IS IT EASIER FOR DYSLEXICS?
IS IT EASIER FOR LEFT-HANDED?
AND CAN WE, IN THIS VERY RUDE APPROXIMATION
OF THOSE FOUR CATEGORIES,
CAN WE MAKE SOME KINDS OF INTERESTING OBSERVATIONS?
Narrator: SHE'S GOING TO CONDUCT A SIMPLE EXPERIMENT
WITH FOUR PEOPLE.
THERE ARE TWO LEFT-HANDERS, INCLUDING JOHN LANGDON,
AND TWO RIGHT-HANDERS.
IN EACH CATEGORY, ONE OF THEM IS DYSLEXIC.
THEY'RE BEING ASKED TO TRANSCRIBE
MIRROR-WRITTEN SENTENCES.
BY TIMING THE VOLUNTEERS,
PROFESSOR WOLF WILL SEE WHO'S FASTEST,
AND, IN THEORY, WHO'S BETTER NEUROLOGICALLY MAPPED
TO MIRROR-WRITE.
LEFT-HANDERS LIKE JOHN LANGDON
SHOULD BE ABLE TO READ THE SENTENCES WITHOUT DIFFICULTY,
BUT THE RIGHT-HANDERS SHOULD STRUGGLE.
IN BOTH TASKS THE DYSLEXICS ARE QUICKER THAN THE OTHERS.
AND THE LEFT-HANDERS ARE FASTER THAN THE RIGHT-HANDERS.
Langdon: MINE IS 57 SECONDS.
Man: AND MINE WAS ONE MINUTE, 30 SECONDS.
Narrator: THE SAMPLE SIZE IS TOO SMALL
TO CONFIRM MARYANNE'S THEORY,
BUT IT DOES INDICATE THAT LEFT-HANDED DYSLEXICS
ARE MORE NATURALLY ABLE TO MIRROR-WRITE.
IT ALSO SUGGESTS THAT DA VINCI,
THE MOST PROLIFIC MIRROR-WRITER IN HISTORY,
MIGHT HAVE BEEN DYSLEXIC.
AND THAT HIS MIRROR WRITING WAS THE RESULT
OF A NATURAL NEUROLOGICAL PROCESS
WHICH HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH CODES AT ALL.
WHETHER OR NOT DA VINCI WAS DYSLEXIC CAN NEVER BE PROVED.
BUT THERE'S NO DOUBT HE WAS ONE OF THE WORLD'S
MOST CREATIVE AND PRODUCTIVE DESIGNERS.
SO DID HE, AS THE MOVIE CLAIMS,
REALLY CREATE THE ULTIMATE SAFE-BOX TO PROTECT SECRETS?
IN THE DA VINCI CODE, THE CLIMAX OF THE MOVIE
DEPENDS ON TOM HANKS' CHARACTER OPENING A STRANGE DEVICE.
Woman: A CRYPTEX.
THEY'RE USED TO KEEP SECRETS.
IT'S DA VINCI'S DESIGN.
Narrator: INSIDE IS THE SECRET LOCATION OF THE HOLY GRAIL.
ONLY THE RIGHT CODE WILL OPEN THE CRYPTEX.
IF IT'S FORCED OR BROKEN,
THE SECRET WILL BE DESTROYED FOREVER.
Taddei: THE CRYPTEX OF THE DAN BROWN MOVIE
LOOKS LIKE A DA VINCI INVENTION BECAUSE IT IS VERY FASCINATING.
IN THE MOVIE THEY SAY THAT THIS IS A SAFE, A SAFE BOX.
YOU CAN OPEN IT AND THEN FIND SOME SECRETS INSIDE.
I WAS VERY FASCINATED WITH THIS TOOL
BECAUSE IT'S FASCINATING, IT'S A NICE TOOL,
AND I TRIED TO FIND IT IN THE DA VINCI CODE REAL CODES.
Narrator: THIS IS A COPY OF ONE OF DA VINCI'S NOTEBOOKS.
IT'S CALLED FOLIO B.
ON PAGE 33 THERE'S A SERIES OF SCHEMATICS
THAT SOME CLAIM ARE BLUEPRINTS
OF THE CRYPTEX THAT'S FEATURED IN THE MOVIE.
Taddei: IF YOU FOCUS ON THIS PICTURE
YOU CAN SEE SOMETHING LIKE A RING WITH MECHANISM AROUND
THAT LOOKS LIKE EXACTLY THE CRYPTEX.
Narrator: MARIO TADDEI MAKES HIS LIVING
CREATING THE INVENTIONS DESIGNED BY LEONARDO.
FOR THE PAST YEAR HE'S BEEN BUILDING THE DESIGN
THOUGHT TO BE DA VINCI'S CRYPTEX,
WITH SURPRISING RESULTS.
Taddei: SO THE REAL PROJECT OF LEONARDO,
THE PAGE WHERE THEY SEE THE CRYPTEX THAT IS NOT TRUE
IS THIS MACHINE.
IT'S TWO METERS WIDE AND TWO METERS AND A HALF HEIGHT.
Narrator: RATHER THAN BEING A CODED SAFE LIKE IN THE MOVIE,
IN REALITY, DA VINCI'S DESIGN
IS FOR A MACHINE THAT HARNESSES GRAVITY.
IT'S ONE OF THE EARLIEST KNOWN ATTEMPTS
TO CREATE PERPETUAL MOTION--
A MECHANISM THAT ONCE STARTED WILL NEVER STOP.
Taddei: LEONARDO DA VINCI WAS OBSESSED BY THESE MACHINES,
THESE PERPETUAL MOTION MACHINES.
HE DESIGNED HUNDREDS OF DIFFERENT MACHINES LIKE THIS.
BUT LEONARDO KNOWS VERY WELL
THAT THIS MACHINE CANNOT WORK BECAUSE OF THE FRICTION.
Narrator: SO DA VINCI'S DESIGN
ON PAGE 33 OF HIS FOLIO B NOTEBOOK
ISN'T THE CRYPTEX USED IN THE MOVIE.
IN FACT, THE CRYPTEX IS A CLEVER FIGMENT
OF AUTHOR DAN BROWN'S IMAGINATION
VISUALIZED ON-SCREEN BY THE MOVIE'S ART DEPARTMENT.
IN THE MOVIE, CLUES TO THE LOCATION OF THIS CLEVER DEVICE
ARE HIDDEN IN THE LOUVRE IN PARIS.
BUT FILMING NIGHT SCENES IN THE FAMOUS GALLERY
WAS NEVER GOING TO BE EASY.
Hallowell: SUDDENLY THE IDEA OF BRINGING LIGHTING
INTO THE LOUVRE MADE THEM VERY, VERY UNEASY.
SO WHAT WE WOUND UP DOING
WAS BUILDING HUGE PORTIONS OF THE LOUVRE ON STAGE,
ON THE JAMES BOND STAGE, ACTUALLY, AT PINEWOOD.
AND WE THEN HAD TO RECREATE ALL THOSE PAINTINGS
IN PHENOMENAL DETAIL.
Narrator: THEY'RE KEY SCENES IN THE MOVIE
BECAUSE IT'S HERE THAT ROBERT LANGDON LEARNS
THAT THE CURATOR OF THE LOUVRE, JACQUES SAUNIERE,
PLAYED BY JEAN-PIERRE MARIELLE,
HEADS A SHADOWY ORGANIZATION CALLED THE PRIORY OF SION.
IN THE DA VINCI CODE,
THE PRIORY OF SION IS A SECRET SOCIETY
THAT PROTECTS THE BLOODLINE OF JESUS AND MARY.
IT'S PURE FICTION, BUT IN CREATING IT
DAN BROWN TOUCHED ON A REAL STORY--
ONE THAT ANY HOLLYWOOD SCRIPTWRITER WOULD BE PROUD OF.
IN 1891 A PRIEST NAMED BERENGER SAUNIERE
WAS RENOVATING A CHURCH
IN A SMALL VILLAGE IN SOUTHWEST FRANCE
WHEN HE DISCOVERED SOME ANCIENT PARCHMENTS.
Jean-Luc Chaumeil [translated]: THESE PARCHMENTS ARE ENCODED,
AND THEY INDICATE THE EXISTENCE OF A COLOSSAL TREASURE
IN THE VICINITY.
THAT'S ACCORDING TO THE LEGEND.
Narrator: THE DOCUMENTS ARE WRITTEN IN LATIN,
AND AT THE BOTTOM OF ONE OF THE PAGES
APPEAR TWO INITIALS, A "P" AND AN "S."
BUT DESPITE THIS TANTALIZING CLUE,
NO TREASURE WAS EVER FOUND.
THEN, ALMOST 90 YEARS LATER, IN THE LATE 1970s,
AUTHORS RESEARCHING THE STORY DISCOVERED A SECRET DOSSIER
THAT REVEALED WHAT THOSE INITIALS MEANT.
THEY STOOD FOR THE PRIORY OF SION,
AN ORGANIZATION CREATED IN 1099
TO PROTECT A SECRET ROYAL BLOODLINE--
THE HEIRS TO THE FRENCH THRONE.
GENEALOGIES IN THE SECRET DOSSIER
TRACED THE LINE TO THE 20th CENTURY
AND THE LAST LIVING HEIR, A MAN NAMED PIERRE PLANTARD.
THE STORY WAS A NATIONAL SENSATION,
ESPECIALLY WHEN IT EMERGED THAT PIERRE PLANTARD
WAS A MIDDLE-AGED JANITOR.
BUT IT THEN TOOK AN ASTONISHING TWIST
WHEN THE AUTHORS OF A BOOK CALLED "HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL"
PUBLISHED THEIR THEORY...
THAT THIS LONG LOST FRENCH KING
WAS ALSO THE LAST LIVING DESCENDENT OF JESUS.
Chaumeil: THIS IS A SENSATION.
THEY TELL US THAT JESUS GOT MARRIED TO MARY MAGDALENE
AND THEY HAD CHILDREN.
AND THAT GAVE RISE TO A DYNASTY--
NOT JUST ANY DYNASTY, BUT THE MEROVINGIANS,
THE LAST OF WHICH IS PIERRE PLANTARD.
SO HE'S A DESCENDENT OF JESUS.
Narrator: THE BOOK'S CLAIM IN 1982 WAS TOO MUCH FOR PLANTARD.
HE ADMITTED THAT THE SECRET DOSSIER
AND THE PRIORY OF SION WERE FABRICATED.
IN THE 1960s, TOGETHER WITH TWO FRIENDS,
PLANTARD MANUFACTURED HIS CLAIM TO THE FRENCH THRONE
BY CREATING THE SECRET DOSSIER.
HE NAMED THE ORGANIZATION AFTER A MOUNTAIN NEAR HIS HOMETOWN.
THE HOAX WAS SET IN MOTION
BY PLANTING THE DOCUMENTS INTO FRENCH ARCHIVES,
BUT THE PUBLICATION OF THE "HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL" BOOK
BLEW THE WHOLE THING WAY OUT OF PROPORTION.
CLAIMING TO BE A DESCENDENT OF JESUS WAS TOO MUCH--
EVEN FOR A MASTER HOAXER LIKE PLANTARD.
THE PLOT OF DAN BROWN'S DA VINCI CODE
WAS WRITTEN 20 YEARS AFTER THE PUBLICATION
OF "HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL,"
BUT HIS PORTRAYAL OF THE PRIORY OF SION
AND THE IDEA THAT JESUS' LIVING DESCENDENT EXISTS IS IDENTICAL.
IN THE MOVIE,
THE LAST SURVIVING BLOOD RELATIVE OF JESUS
IS DISCOVERED NOT IN FRANCE, BUT IN SCOTLAND.
Robert Langdon: ROSSLYN CHAPEL.
Woman: SO THIS IS IT.
THE GIFT AT THE END.
Robert Langdon: THE HOLY GRAIL BENEATH ANCIENT ROSSLYN WAITS.
Narrator: JUST A FEW MILES SOUTH OF EDINBURGH,
ROSSLYN CHAPEL IS ONE OF THE MOST ORNATELY CARVED
MEDIEVAL BUILDINGS IN ALL OF EUROPE.
IT'S THE LOCATION FOR THE MOVIE'S CLIMACTIC SCENE,
BUT FILMING IT PRESENTED A CHALLENGE.
Hallowell: WHEN WE ARRIVED AT ROSSLYN CHAPEL THE FIRST TIME,
IT HAD A MASSIVE CORRUGATED ROOF OVER THE ENTIRE STRUCTURE,
BECAUSE OVER THE MANY YEARS IT HAD BEGUN LEAKING SO BADLY
THAT THEY, THEY HAD INITIALLY PUT UP
WHAT THEY WERE CONSIDERING A TEMPORARY ROOF
TO PROTECT THE CHAPEL.
AND THIS WAS DUE TO LACK OF FUNDS, THIS "TEMPORARY ROOF"
HAD BEEN UP THERE FOR, GOOD LORD, I DON'T KNOW,
20 YEARS AT LEAST.
Narrator: BRINGING A MAJOR HOLLYWOOD PRODUCTION TO ROSSLYN
HAD A HUGE IMPACT ON THE CHAPEL.
Hallowell: BUT AFTER WE MADE THE FILM,
THE ATTENDANCE AT ROSSLYN CHAPEL GREW SO EXPONENTIALLY
THAT THEY WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO TAKE OFF
THE CORRUGATED METAL ROOF
AND INSTALL A PROPER ROOF
AND DO A COMPLETE RESTORATION OF ROSSLYN.
AND I THINK THAT'S SORT OF SOMETHING
TO FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT, YOU KNOW,
THAT'S A REAL SORT OF PLUS SIDE TO THIS WHOLE THING.
Narrator: THE MOVIE CLAIMS ROSSLYN WAS BUILT
BY THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR--
A CHRISTIAN MILITARY ORDER WHO ACCORDING TO LEGEND
DISCOVERED THE SECRET OF THE HOLY GRAIL IN THE 11th CENTURY.
AT FIRST GLANCE THE CHAPEL'S INTRICATE STONEWORK
SEEMS TO CONFIRM THE CONNECTION WITH THE TEMPLARS.
Nick Boyes: YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE MAIN ATTRACTIONS
OF ROSSLYN CHAPEL
IS THAT IT'S ABSOLUTELY STACKED WITH CARVED DETAIL.
I MEAN, IT'S CHARGED, EVERY SURFACE
IS FEATURING EXQUISITE THREE-DIMENSIONAL CARVED DETAIL.
FOR EXAMPLE THE TWO FIGURES ON HORSEBACK, YOU KNOW,
THAT'S GOT REAL SIGNIFICANCE IN TERMS OF KNIGHTS TEMPLAR.
Narrator: THE TRUTH IS THE CHAPEL WAS BUILT
200 YEARS AFTER THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR
WERE DISBANDED.
NEVERTHELESS, ITS CARVINGS HAVE ATTRACTED GRAIL HUNTERS.
ROSSLYN CHAPEL'S STONE ROSES--
WHICH SOME SAY SYMBOLIZE MARY MAGDALENE--
HAVE LED PEOPLE TO BELIEVE
IT MUST BE THE HIDING PLACE OF THE GRAIL.
SO WAS THE DA VINCI CODE RIGHT ALL ALONG?
IS ROSSLYN CHAPEL REALLY HIDING A SECRET?
THE CLIMACTIC SCENE
OF 2006 BLOCKBUSTER THE DA VINCI CODE
REVEALS THAT SCOTLAND'S ROSSLYN CHAPEL
CONTAINS A HIDDEN CHAMBER--
THE TOMB OF MARY MAGDALENE.
FOR CENTURIES THE CHAPEL HAS BEEN A TARGET
FOR REAL-LIFE GRAIL HUNTERS.
SO COULD THE MOVIE HAVE IT RIGHT?
DOES ROSSLYN REALLY HAVE SECRET VOIDS HIDDEN WITHIN ITS WALLS?
NICK BOYES IS IN CHARGE OF RESTORATION
OF THE CHAPEL'S STONEWORK.
Boyes: THE CARVED DETAIL OF ROSSLYN CHAPEL
IS ABSOLUTELY LYRICAL,
AND THE MORE YOU LOOK, THE MORE YOU SEE.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE CAN SEE A FLOWER
CARVED INTO THE SIDE ELEVATION OF THIS PINNACLE.
AND IF YOU LOOK VERY CAREFULLY
THERE'S A HOLE RIGHT IN THE CENTER OF THAT FLOWER.
Narrator: EACH OF ROSSLYN'S 20 PINNACLES
CONCEALS A HIDDEN CHAMBER.
THEY'RE A DESIGN FEATURE OF THE BUILDING,
CREATED FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE--
BUT NOT A RELIGIOUS ONE.
Boyes: SO WHEN WE OPENED THIS VOID,
WE FOUND IT JAMMED ABSOLUTELY FULL OF AGED HONEYCOMBS,
WHICH CLEARLY SUGGESTS THAT IT HAD BEEN USED
AS A COLONY FOR BEES.
THE POETRY OF THIS BUILDING IS THAT,
THAT FLOWER AND THAT ACCESS HOLE
WAS THE ROUTE THAT THE BEES WERE DESIGNED TO TAKE
IN ORDER TO ACCESS THE VOID.
Narrator: BUT THE PURPOSE OF SOME OF ROSSLYN'S OTHER CARVINGS
HAS PROVED HARDER TO SOLVE.
IN PARTICULAR, THIS SEQUENCE OF 215 CARVED BOXES
ON THE RIBS OF THE ARCHES.
Stuart Mitchell: THIS IS THE MOST FAMOUS PART
OF ROSSLYN CHAPEL
SIMPLY BECAUSE IT'S THE MOST INTRICATELY CARVED
AND HOLDS THE MOST AMAZING MYSTERY OF ALL.
Narrator: STUART MITCHELL IS A COMPOSER.
HE THINKS THESE CARVED BOXES ARE A CODE CONCEALING A SECRET
THAT'S VERY DIFFERENT THAN ANYTHING POSED
IN THE DA VINCI CODE.
AND FOR HIM, THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE MYSTERY
ARE THE CARVED MUSICIANS FOUND
AT THE TOP OF EACH OF THE CHAPEL'S PILLARS.
Mitchell: THERE'S 13 OF THEM,
AND THEY'RE ALL BRILLIANTLY CARVED LUTE PLAYERS,
CORNET PLAYERS, BAGPIPES, A REAL VARIETY OF AN ORCHESTRA,
AND EVERYBODY IS PLAYING IN PERFORMANCE POSITION.
Narrator: STUART'S CONVINCED THAT ROSSLYN'S CODE
IS A MUSICAL ONE.
BUT THE TRICK WAS IDENTIFYING
WHAT THE SYMBOLS ON THE BOXES MEANT.
Mitchell: THE EUREKA MOMENT CAME
WHEN WE'D FINALLY WATCHED SOME VIDEOS ON CYMATICS
AND WATCHED A RUN THROUGH OF TWO OCTAVES
AND SAW THE PATTERNS OF ROSSLYN APPEARING ONE AFTER ANOTHER,
AFTER ANOTHER, AFTER ANOTHER.
Narrator: THE MARKINGS ON ROSSLYN'S BOXES
APPEAR TO BE WHAT'S CALLED CYMATICS.
CYMATICS IS THE STUDY OF VISIBLE SOUND.
AND JOHN REID IS RECOGNIZED AS BEING
ONE OF THE WORLD'S FOREMOST RESEARCHERS IN THE FIELD.
John Stuart Reid: SOUND LIES AT THE VERY HEART OF ALL MATTER.
EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE VIBRATES.
SO IF WE CAN ACTUALLY MAKE THAT VISIBLE,
WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE UNIVERSE
IN A WAY THAT WE COULD NEVER HAVE UNDERSTOOD IT BEFORE.
Narrator: ALTHOUGH SOUND IS INVISIBLE TO THE EYE,
WHEN APPLIED TO A METAL PLATE
OR A THIN MEMBRANE COVERED IN A FINE DUST,
PITCH AND VIBRATION CREATE A PATTERN
UNIQUE TO THAT FREQUENCY AND NOTE.
Reid: IF WE THEN USE SPECIAL TECHNIQUES,
SUCH AS THE MEDIEVAL TECHNIQUE OF LITERALLY SPRINKLING ON SAND,
THEN WE WILL REVEAL THE IMPRINT THAT THE SOUND HAS MADE.
Narrator: ROSSLYN'S BOXES ARE A MUSICAL SCORE
CARVED IN STONE CYMATIC PATTERNS.
AND BY USING AN INTERNET DATABASE,
STUART MITCHELL IDENTIFIED THE NOTES DEPICTED ON THE BOXES.
Mitchell: THIS FIRST PATTERN HERE,
THAT LOOKS LIKE A MALTESE CROSS A LITTLE BIT,
IS PRODUCED BY A "C" NATURAL NOTE,
AND THAT'S THIS NOTE.
THE NEXT NOTE HERE IS AN "A" NOTE...
AND PUSHING IT ALONG HERE WE HAVE A "B" NOTE.
THIS IS WHAT A PATTERN PRODUCED BY A "B" NATURAL.
Narrator: TO CHECK THE ACCURACY OF STUART'S RESEARCH,
JOHN REID WILL REVERSE ENGINEER THE CYMATIC PATTERNS
AND COMPARE HIS FINDINGS AGAINST STUART'S.
Reid: THE PROCESS OF IDENTIFYING THE ROSSLYN PATTERNS
IS ESSENTIALLY TRIAL AND ERROR TO BEGIN WITH.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE USING AN ELECTRO-MECHANICAL PLATE
THAT WE ARE DRIVING TO CREATE THE PATTERNS,
SO, TO FIND THE PATTERN, IT'S LITERALLY NECESSARY
TO SWEEP THROUGH
ALL THE DIFFERENT NATURAL FREQUENCIES OF THE PLATE
AND SEE WHICH PATTERNS POP OUT.
Narrator: ONE BY ONE JOHN IDENTIFIES
THE NOTE, PITCH AND FREQUENCY OF THE FIRST THREE CYMATIC PATTERNS
MARKED ON ROSSLYN'S BOXES.
PLAYING THEM TOGETHER, JOHN'S NOTES MATCH STUART'S.
TESTS HAVE SHOWN THAT STUART'S CYMATIC THEORY WORKS.
BUT WHAT DOES THE MUSIC SOUND LIKE?
Mitchell: WE WERE A BIT AFRAID
IT WAS EITHER GOING TO SOUND TOTALLY RIGHT
OR IT WAS GOING TO SOUND TOTALLY WRONG.
BUT WE WERE REALLY SURPRISED TO FIND
IT HAD SUCH A CHARM AND MUSICAL STRUCTURE ABOUT IT
AND MUSICAL DIRECTION.
TO OUR EARS IT WAS AN INTENDED PIECE OF MUSIC.
Narrator: BUT ROSSLYN'S HEAD OF RESTORATION, NICK BOYES,
ISN'T CONVINCED.
Boyes: WELL, MY PROBLEM WITH USING THIS,
THESE CARVED IMAGES,
THE BOXES ON THE ENDS OF THE CUSPS HERE
AS SOME CODE TO DECIPHER A HIDDEN MESSAGE
IS SOME OF THESE CUSPS WERE KNOCKED OFF
AS PART OF THE REPAIR WORKS AND REPLACED.
Narrator: ROSSLYN'S LEAKING ROOF
HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PROBLEM FOR THE CHAPEL.
OVER CENTURIES WATER LEAKING INTO THE BUILDING
HAS ERODED THE SOFT SANDSTONE--
DESTROYING DETAILS ON SOME OF THE CARVED BOXES.
IN THE 19th CENTURY, THE DECISION WAS TAKEN
TO REPLACE THE WORST-EFFECTED MASONRY,
AND TODAY IT'S POSSIBLE TO SPOT
WHICH OF THE CHAPEL'S BOXES ARE ORIGINAL AND WHICH AREN'T.
Boyes: WE CAN LOOK AT THE LOWEST CUSP,
AND IT LOOKS VERY SHARP, IT'S NOT AGED.
IT HAS ALL THE APPEARANCE OF A THREE-DIMENSIONAL FORM
THAT WAS MODELED, AND MODELED NOT SO LONG AGO.
HOWEVER, IF YOU WERE TO LOOK UP ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE,
THEN YOU ARE CERTAINLY LOOKING AT AGED CARVED DETAIL.
Narrator: TODAY ROSSLYN'S BOXES ARE A MIX
OF ORIGINAL 15th CENTURY BLOCKS AND 19th CENTURY REPLACEMENTS.
Boyes: WHOEVER MODELED THESE CUSPS
MAY NOT HAVE TAKEN GREAT CARE
OR IN FACT MAY NOT HAVE HAD THE ORIGINAL INFORMATION
IN ORDER TO MAKE AN EXACT REPLICA OF THE ORIGINAL CUSP.
Narrator: QUESTION MARKS OVER THE ACCURACY
OF ROSSLYN'S RESTORED BOXES
MEANS NO ONE CAN BE CERTAIN THAT THE MUSIC STUART HAS DECIPHERED
IS WHAT WAS ENCODED INTO THE CHAPEL 500 YEARS AGO.
IN REALITY, UNLIKE THE MOVIE,
ROSSLYN'S SECRETS CAN NEVER BE PROVED.
Hallowell: I REALLY DO FEEL AS THOUGH THE FILM
STANDS IN THAT RESPECT AS A SORT OF, SORT OF A HOLY GRAIL,
THAT IT REALLY DID DO EXACTLY WHAT IT SAID IT WAS GOING TO DO
AND IT DELIVERED AN ENTERTAINING VERSION
OF A BOOK THAT WAS ALREADY QUITE WELL-KNOWN,
AND IN MOST CIRCLES, QUITE WELL-LOVED.
NOT ALL CIRCLES.
Narrator: AS ENTERTAINMENT, THE DA VINCI CODE
WAS A PHENOMENAL SUCCESS.
AS HISTORY, IT'S LITTLE MORE
THAN A SERIES OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES,
ALL UNPROVEN AND MOST IMPLAUSIBLE.
AND WHILE THE DISCOVERY OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS' WIFE
HAS BROUGHT NEW ATTENTION TO DAN BROWN'S PROVOCATIVE THEME
OF A MARRIED JESUS AND MARY,
IT DOES NOT PROVE HIS CASE.
BECAUSE IT, TOO, COULD BE A WORK OF FICTION,
WRITTEN BY AN ANCIENT DAN BROWN
WHO KNEW THAT TRUTH OFTEN GETS IN THE WAY OF A GOOD STORY.