They argued that the bulk of the claims, ancient mysteries, and conspiracy theories presented as facts are pseudohistorical. Response from professional historians and scholars from related fields was negative. Īn international bestseller upon its release, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail spurred interest in a number of ideas related to its central thesis.

They concluded that the legendary Holy Grail is simultaneously the womb of Mary Magdalene and the sacred royal bloodline she gave birth to. Once there, they intermarried with the noble families that would eventually become the Merovingian dynasty, whose special claim to the throne of France is championed today by a secret society called the Priory of Sion. In The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, the authors put forward a hypothesis that the historical Jesus married Mary Magdalene, had one or more children, and that those children or their descendants emigrated to what is now southern France. The original work was reissued in an illustrated hardcover version with new material in 2005. A sequel to the book, called The Messianic Legacy, was originally published in 1986. The paperback version was first published in 1983 by Corgi books. The book was first published in 1982 by Jonathan Cape in London as an unofficial follow-up to three BBC Two TV documentaries that were part of the Chronicle series. The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail (published as Holy Blood, Holy Grail in the United States) is a book by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln.

The priory novel