Shadows of The Da Vinci Code in Southern France

by Ken Harbinson

As it happened, my wife was reading The Da Vinci Code as I was simultaneously absorbed in travel guides for our trip to the southwest of France.  This is when the name 'Sauniere' emerged in both places. In the novel, he is the leader of a mysterious religious sect that for centuries has protected a 'Holy Grail'--the secret that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalen and that their descendants may still be alive today.  It is an enigma that threatens to vanquish centuries of Christian orthodoxy, and has been guarded for generations not only by Leonardo, but by a long list of his...