Summary: Chapter 53
Vernet calls the manager of the bank and has him activate
the tracking system on the armored truck.
Summary: Chapter 54
Langdon smuggles the cryptex into Teabing’s house and
hides it underneath a divan in the grand sitting room. Langdon and
Sophie sit on the divan and Teabing enters the room. Langdon says
that Sophie doesn’t know the true story of the Grail, and Teabing
says he will tell her.
Summary: Chapter 55
Teabing explains that Leonardo Da Vinci thought the New
Testament was written by men, not God, and that some gospels had
been left out. Constantine the Great was determined to unite his
subjects under one religion, so he reformatted the Bible in 325A.D. To
make the idea of Jesus a unifying force for his subjects, Constantine
turned Jesus from a leader into a holy man. Constantine also included
in the Bible many symbols of the sun-worshipping religion his subjects had
previously followed. Teabing shows Sophie a picture of the Da Vinci
fresco The Last Supper. There is no chalice or
Holy Grail present in the painting, as many people think, but only
wine glasses for each person. Teabing says the Holy Grail is not
a thing, but a person.
Summary: Chapter 56
Langdon explains that the Holy Grail is a woman. He shows
Sophie the ancient symbol for male and female. The symbol for female resembles
a chalice. The Holy Grail is just a metaphor for the embodiment
of the sacred female, which has been lost through Christianity.
Langdon and Teabing tell Sophie that the Holy Grail is not just
any woman, but a specific woman. At this point the manservant, Rémy,
sees photos of Sophie and Langdon on television.
Summary: Chapter 57
Collet receives a tip about Langdon’s and Sophie’s location.
He gets in his car and heads to Versailles. Meanwhile, Silas breaches
the wall of the estate. He is determined to get the keystone.
Summary: Chapter 58
In Teabing’s study, the scholars show Sophie a representation
of Mary Magdalene in The Last Supper. In the painting,
she is shown sitting next to Jesus. The painting also contains several
representations of chalices and the letter M. Teabing
says Jesus thought highly of Mary, to whom he was married. According
to Teabing, Jesus gave Mary instructions to carry on his ministry.
Peter the apostle hated Mary and was jealous of her. Mary herself
was the descendent of the line of Benjamin, a powerful line. Jesus
and Mary had a child, or children, they tell her.
