History Literature / TheDaVinciCode

** In the film discovering descendants of Jesus is treated as something that would destroy the Catholic church, and Teabing wants to bring down the Church for centuries of persecution and deceit. Aside from the fact that this is a very [[SingleIssuesWonk selective]] and [[HypocriticalFandom prejudiced]] DoubleStandard, as such things are also found among non-Catholics, non-Christians and the non-religious, in Christianity, Christ's divinity and spiritual authority did not come from human genes, so there's not reason to think his spiritual power can be passed on by them In addition, God being infinite, it would not be diluted across His descendants; not to mention being Christian cannot be inherited from one's parents, it requires a personal decision. Proving that Jesus had a wife and descendants would be a remarkable finding that would cause a stir, but marriage is a God-ordained union, a sacrament in the Catholic Church and a central feature of Christianity so it would not do what the film claims it would do. [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment And we'll leave it at that.]]

** In the film discovering descendants of Jesus is treated as something that would destroy the Catholic church, and Teabing wants to bring down the Church for centuries of persecution and deceit. Aside from the fact that this is a very [[SingleIssuesWonk selective]] and[[HypocriticalFandom prejudiced]] DoubleStandard, as such things are also found among non-Catholics, non-Christians and the non-religious, in Christianity, Christ's divinity and spiritual authority did not come from human genes, so there's not reason to think his spiritual power can be passed on by them In addition, God being infinite, it would not be diluted across His descendants; not to mention being Christian cannot be inherited from one's parents, it requires a personal decision. Proving that Jesus had a wife and descendants would be a remarkable finding that would cause a stir, but marriage is a God-ordained union, a sacrament in the Catholic Church and a central feature of Christianity so it would not change

* In the film discovering descendants of Jesus is treated as something that would destroy the Catholic church, and Teabing wants to bring down the Church for centuries of persecution and deceit. Aside from the fact that this is a very [[SingleIssuesWonk selective]] and[[HypocriticalFandom prejudiced]] DoubleStandard, as such things are also found among non-Catholics, non-Christians and the non-religious, in Christianity, Christ's divinity and spiritual authority did not come from human genes, so there's not reason to think his spiritual power can be passed on by them In addition, God being infinite, it would not be diluted across His descendants; not to mention being Christian cannot be inherited from one's parents, it requires a personal decision. Proving that Jesus had a wife and descendants would be a remarkable finding that would cause a stir, but marriage is a God-ordained union, a sacrament in the Catholic Church and a central feature of Christianity so it would not change

** In the novel, Silas longs for a life of solitude and quiet study as an Opus Dei monk. In real life, Opus Dei has no religious orders, urging followers to sanctify everyday pursuits such as family and career, not retreat from the world.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TheDaVinciCode.jpg]]

* IJustShotMarvinInTheFace: During his frantic escape from the police, Silas forgets to check his target and shoots [[spoiler:Aringarosa]]. It isn't fatal, [[spoiler:but the distraction makes sure Silas doesn't escape]].

* FollowTheLeader: Created an explosion of AncientConspiracy quests ''*cough* NationalTreasure *cough*'' and books about the Holy Grail. Also, this was was inspired by a [[VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory "nonfiction" book]] which is about a conspiracy theory similar to the one Langdon runs into.

** Much is made of the Holy Grail legend's significance to Christianity, even though the Holy Grail isn't actually mentioned in any canonical Christian text. The Grail legend wasn't spawned until the 12th century, and it's solely the product of Arthurian literature. This is why the Grail doesn't appear in Leonardo's "The Last Supper" (not to mention that Leonardo, being Italian, wouldn't have had much reason to paint a {{Macguffin}} from a French/British chivalric romance in one of his biblical scenes).

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Leonardo was part of an ancient group that knew the secret of Jesus.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: The grail being of the Merovingian bloodline is portrayed as being kind of a big deal. While they were Kings, aside from Clovis most of them were little better than barbarian warlords and tended to be more incompetent than the last as time went on.

* TheScourgeOfGod: Silas insists that he's doing God's will.

* MeaningfulRename: "Silas" isn't actually Silas' birth name. He discarded the name that his parents gave him, and was later rechristened "Silas" by Bishop Aringarosa because the circumstances of his escape from prison match those of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silas Silas]], the apostle Paul's accomplice in [[Literature/TheBible the Book of Acts]].

* AdaptationalVillainy: Bishop Aringarosa gets this in TheMovie. In the book, he's just the leader of Opus Dei (where he's presented as nothing more than an unusually conservative Catholic prelate) who gets roped into helping The Teacher find the tomb out of desperation to keep his order from being abolished. In TheMovie, he leads a secretive "shadow council" within the Church that actively wants to destroy the tomb to prevent evidence of Jesus' bloodline from reaching the public, and he manipulates Fache (who's an Opus Dei member in the movie) into hunting down Langdon despite his innocence.

** Then there's the whole ''the goddess'' thing. It's implied that all Pagan religions worshiped feminine beings in a similar way, and that it made them more peaceful as a society.
** In the novel, Silas longs for a life of solitude and quiet study as an Opus Dei monk. In real life, Opus Dei does not have monks and urges followers to sanctify everyday pursuits such as family and career, not retreat from the world.

* InvisibleWriting: Mortally wounded curator Jacques Sauniere leaves an important clue scrawled on the Louvre's parquet floor, that can only be seen under ultraviolet light. "O Draconian Devil / Oh Lame Saint." It was made not to implicate his killer, but rather to indicate his killer's ''objective''.

''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 thriller written by DanBrown. It sold 80 million copies worldwide, becoming one of the bestselling novels in history. It also caused a huge controversy because of its statements about early Christianity, and was sharply criticized for historical inaccuracy. In 2006, a [[TheFilmOfTheBook film adaptation]] was released.

* RedHerring: As in all DanBrown books, [[spoiler:but literally in this case: "Aringarosa" is Italian for...[[RedHerring you guessed it]].]]

* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: Sophie, becomes a plot point later on.

** On the other hand, it doesn't seem to be a problem in the movie: basically all of the French, Spanish and Italian characters manage to speak English without resorting to their native languages (understandably, sometimes they'll say a particular word in a pretty distinctive fashion, reminiscent of that of their mother tongue). In fact, their English is {{surprisingly good|English}}, especially when we take into account the fact that the French, Spanish, and Italians are not traditionally well known for their command of English.
*** On the other hand, sometimes their use of English seems out of place: why do Jacques Saunière and Silas speak English when they are both French?

** Not quite. [[spoiler:"Aringarosa" should be translated more properly as ''pink'' herring, and the character himself is supposed to be of Spanish origins.]]

* EurekaMoment: Saturated with them-the final one is unseen but heavily implied.

* INeverSaidItWasPoison: Briefly played with in the movie. When Fache first brings Langdon to the Louvre (secretly suspecting him of being Sauniere's murderer), Langdon mentions that the murder took place in the Grand Gallery before Fache tells him where the body was found. Langdon, with his extensive knowledge of art, actually just recognized the Grand Gallery's distinctive parquet floor in the crime scene photograph, but he inadvertently ends up making himself look even guiltier.

** On the other hand, it doesn't seem to be a problem in the movie: basically all of the French, Spanish and Italian characters manage to speak English without resorting to their native languages (understandably, sometimes they'll say a particular word in a pretty distinctive fashion, reminiscent of that of their mother tongue). In fact, their English is [[SurprisinglyGoodEnglish surprisingly good]], especially when we take into account the fact that the French, Spanish, and Italians are not traditionally well known for their command of English.
*** On the other hand, sometimes their use of English seems out of place: why does Jacques Sauniere and Silas talk English when they are both French?

* RedHerring: As in all DanBrown books, [[spoiler:but literally in this case:"Aringarosa" is Italian for...[[RedHerring you guessed it]].]]

* WelcomedToTheMasquerade: The film adaptation has cryptologist Robert Langdon unearth ancient geneology research that detective Sophie Neveu is a descendant of [[spoiler:Jesus Christ]], and is under the protection of the Priory of Sion, which is the 21st century form of the Knights Templar.

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: Leonardo was part of a ancient group that knew the secret of Jesus.

** Not quite. [[spoiler:"Aringarosa" should be translated more properly as ''pink'' herring, and the character itself is supposed to be of Spanish origins.]]

** [[spoiler: Subverted. It turns out to be the work of a lone nutjob with an agenda. All the power players seemingly acting in concert against our heroes turn out to be unassociated individuals merely acting on poor information.]]