Michael Baigent et al

I wanted to read ‘Holy Blood, Holy Grail’ ever since I learnt that 'Da Vinci Code' was inspired by this book. Finally, I ended up reading both ‘Holy Blood, Holy Grail’ and ‘Jesus Papers’ recently. Both these books present a continuum and hence, they are better read together.

First of all, the authors have done an extensive research on the life and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and the related political context. Based on the historical and related information as well as legends, they provide a hypothesis regarding the crucifixion of Jesus and what happened subsequently. Jesus papers talk about two Aramaic documents, which indicate the possibility of Jesus being alive post the time of crucifixion. 

Main questions addressed in these books are  

Did Jesus survive crucifixion?

Was he married?

If so, did he leave a blood line?

Did this blood line survive?

The authors propose a theory, based on historical and circumstantial evidence they collected, that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and the ‘Holy Grail’ represents the royal blood of Jesus. They trace the blood line of Jesus to Merovingian dynasty and further down. Their research provides interesting information on ‘Knights Templar’ and ‘Priory of Sion’. The authors, despite covering voluminous historical information, keep the narrative engaging initially and in some parts; however, I could not help thinking that ‘Holy Blood, Holy Grail’ was shorter by several pages. As expected, the books attracted criticism and ‘Holy Blood, Holy Grail’ was even banned in some countries. 

Well, these books make an interesting read and provide a unique perspective on the life of Jesus Christ. However, with regard to factual veracity of the authors’ claims, I am not sure, perhaps you have to read different perspectives before coming to a conclusion. 

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