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De Castro window: female figure, head above the grail, lying on Jesus' lap |
The window is behind the altar at St
Mary de Castro Church, one of the oldest churches in Leicester. It’s not
actually an old window though – it was created by the 19th century artist
William Wailes, proprietor at the time of one of England’s largest and most
prolific stained glass workshops. Could it be that Wailes was buying into the
persistent minority theory that one of Jesus’ disciples was actually a woman –
Mary Magdelene – the same theory propagated by the best-selling book The Da
Vinci Code? And if he was, why should he be pursuing this highly controversial
theory in the St Mary de Castro church?
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St. Mary de Castro Church |
This is, to be frank, a speculative
article, but we think we have an answer.
Religious thriller
The Da Vinci Code, the controversial
religious thriller by Dan Brown, is one of the best-selling books of all time. It’s
based on the seemingly wild idea that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene, who
was pregnant at the time of the crucifixion – and therefore Christ has
descendants. It’s an idea that has had a small cult following for hundreds of
years, according to the author. In 2006, the book was adapted into a
blockbuster film starring Hollywood legend Tom Hanks.
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Dan Brown's famous best-selling novel |
If you have seen the film, you may know
that Leicestershire’s link to the movie is Belvoir Castle – a location where
various scenes in the movie were shot. But there could be a much stronger link.
If you research the history of Leicestershire, you find there could also be a
local connection to the underlying themes of The Da Vinci Code.
As we delve into the depths of
Leicestershire history, to a time when Leicester was ruled by powerful Norman
lords, we see that the Dan Brown’s “holy bloodline” may have flowed through the
heart of Leicester.
Disputed theories
Dan Brown’s book is a fantastic work of
fiction, based on highly controversial theories, put forward most recently by
Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln in the bestseller, Holy Blood,
Holy Grail. They claim that the pregnant Mary Magdalene travelled in a
rudderless boat to Southern France. The boat, they say, carried The Holy Grail
– which was Mary Magdalene herself, because she was the vessel that carried the
blood of Christ in the form of her unborn child. When older, the theory goes,
Mary’s divine child would eventually intermarry with noble families to create a
truly royal French bloodline known as the Merovingian dynasty. It is claimed
that the Merovingian bloodline was protected by the Order of the Knights
Templar. On its release, Holy Blood, Holy Grail became an instant bestseller. But
mainstream historians, academics and the Church gave a universally negative
response.
Powerful family
The Merovingians themselves certainly
existed though. They were a historical family who ruled France for hundreds of
years. Like many royal families at this time, they claimed their authority was
given by God. Ancient kings claiming they were “related” to Jesus is not
uncommon. The Merovingian dynasty
followed this tradition and throughout their reign, they claimed that they were
indeed the descendants of Jesus and his wife Mary Magdalene. By doing this, their status and their
authority could never be questioned.
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Clovis I - the most important Merovingian king |
This, of course, should be taken with a
pinch of salt, for there is no evidence of any kind of divine union. But there
is a certain mystique that surrounds the Merovingian kings, such as their
legendary attributions of saintliness, wisdom, magical powers and they openly promoted
their “divine origin”.
So what does all this have to do with
Leicester? Quite a lot, as it turns out.
Royal bloodline
After the Norman Conquest of 1066,
Leicester was ruled by powerful Norman Earls – the families of de Beaumont and
de Montfort. Both families are in fact
direct descendants of the ancient Merovingian line of kings. The royal
bloodline entered Leicester through Leicester’s first Earl, Robert de Beaumont,
and particularly his wife Isobel de Crepi of Vermandois. Their child, Robert le Bossu was the first
true Merovingian ruler of Leicester. As he was a boy when his father died,
Robert was brought up at court under the protection of Henry I. History notes
that as a boy, le Bossu was “remarkable for his learning and piety”. He took an active part in the civil wars that
followed the death of the king and, under the victor’s son, Henry Plantagenet,
he rose to the highest offices in the state. Le Bossu’s brilliance was observed
by King Henry II, who made him his friend and adviser. Robert le Bossu was
succeeded by his son Robert, called Blanchesmains. The Merovingian line, always
strongly linked to Leicester, only finally died out when the great Simon de
Montfort was killed in battle in 1265.
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Robert le Bossu built Leicester Abbey - only the ruins remain |
Rose of Venus
So within Norman England, Leicester was
a Merovingian stronghold, with its own local rulers – and its own rules. The
Norman Earls who controlled Leicester were at one time either directly
controlling the country or advising the king. Leicester’s rulers, from Robert
le Bossu through to Simon de Montfort were in a league and class of their own.
They were all great thinkers and powerful men, learned in many disciplines. One
thing is for certain, like the Merovingian kings who came before them, the
Earls of Leicester had the same brilliant attributes and talents, which only
adds further mystique to the Merovingian bloodline.
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The symbol of the Norman Lords - the Rose of Venus |
They may have followed their ancestors
in terms of wisdom, but did the Earls of Leicester promote the myth of their
divine origin? It’s certainly possible. The seal of the last de Beaumont Earl,
Robert FitzPernel, and used as a badge by all the Earl’s before, is the
cinquefoil – also the present day symbol of Leicester City Council.
If we look into history, the cinquefoil
is a five-petalled rose commonly found in Christian symbolism of the Middle
Ages. It is called the “Rose of Venus”, because its five points mimic the
pentagrammatic path of Venus in the night sky through the year. It was also a
symbol associated with Mary Magdalene during the Middle Ages. Could the
Merovingian Earls of Leicester have encoded their family’s belief that they
were descended from Mary Magdalene in their seal? Is the symbol of Leicester
not only a symbol of the Merovingian Earls, but also a symbol of Mary
Magdalene?
Norman effect
Which brings us to St Mary de Castro
church. Along with the St Mary de Pratis abbey, it was one of the most
important religious buildings in Norman Leicester. St Mary de Castro was built
by Robert de Beaumont, and largely rebuilt by his son, Robert le Bossu. Le
Bossu also built and richly endowed the magnificent St Mary de Pratis abbey,
the ruins of which can be seen on Abbey Park. The primary building of the abbey
is built in the shape of a cross and if you draw a line through its long axis,
and extend it eastwards for approximately three miles, it lines up directly
with St Mary’s church in Humberstone, also built by order of Robert le Bossu. These
churches are all believed to be dedicated to the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus.
But some scholars now claim that many
Norman churches dedicated to St Mary (particularly those built by Merovingians)
were originally dedicated to Mary Magdalene. It is certainly possible that the
Merovingian Earls encoded their family secrets into the name and symbolism of
their religious buildings.
Interestingly St Mary de Castro is
always translated as St Mary of the Castle. But any Latin dictionary will tell
you that Castro also means “unmanned” or “emasculated” as in castrated.
Feminine looks
In The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown uses Leonardo
da Vinci’s masterpiece, The Last Supper, as evidence that one of the disciples
was a woman. The painting seems to show a feminine figure seated next to Jesus.
The theory is that this “woman” is Mary Magdalene. Many believe that Da Vinci
bought in to the theory of the female disciple. The point is that there is a
history to putting a female-like figure in a Last Supper picture.
The St Mary de Castro Last Supper is
behind the altar of the church. The image is intricately created on stained
glass and shows Jesus sitting at a table with his 12 disciples.
The figure on Jesus’ left does appear
to be rather feminine. Are we to believe the official interpretation: that this
is St John? There is also a stained glass window dedicated to St John in
Leicester Cathedral. This depiction again looks rather feminine, being the only
biblical figure in the collection without a beard and strangely enough, holding
the Holy Grail. A red dragon is seen coming out of the Grail, which some
believe is also a symbol of the bloodline.
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St. John, Leicester Cathedral - the only unbearded saint holding the Holy Grail |
There is a growing body of thought that
St John was a cover for Mary Magdalene and there are some scholars who believe
the author of the fourth gospel of the Bible is indeed Mary Magdalene herself. It
doesn’t matter if you think all this Mary Magdalene theory is nonsense. Most
people do. What matters is what the people who built St Mary de Castro
believed, and whether those beliefs have been referred to by subsequent
designers.
Powerful players
Some historians claim that the Knights
Templar were formed to be the protectors of the Merovingian bloodline. If so,
then surely they would have had a presence in Leicestershire? It appears that
they did, at Rothley Chapel, today located within the domain of the Rothley
Court Hotel.
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Rothley Chapel |
The chapel was home to the Knights
Templar for over a hundred years, during the Earldoms of Robert FitzPernal and
Simon de Montfort. The Templars were extremely powerful players in England and
across Europe, and were known to have shown particular respect to Mary
Magdalene. Records show that by 1203, local nobility had given them great
swathes of prime Leicestershire farming land. They were rich and extremely
influential but there is severe lack of events recorded regarding Leicester’s
Templars. Maybe there was nothing to record,
but as the order was a secret one, and as they held meetings that were not open
to the public, we would never know their exact motives and activities. Nevertheless,
the Order of the Knights Templar were here during our very own Merovingian era.
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Knights Templar painting in Rothley Chapel |
‘Divine’ myth
So the early Earls of Leicester were
French aristocrats known as Merovingians, who believed they were descended from
Jesus and Mary Magdelene. The Knights Templar may have been the guardians of
the Holy Grail, and may have been in Leicestershire to look out for our Earls
of “divine” origin. The Merovingian Earls could well have subtly encoded this
“divine” myth into their symbolism and their churches. The symbol of Leicester,
taken from the Merovingian Earls, could be a symbol of Mary Magdelene. And
maybe the proprietor of a 19th century stained glass workshop knew of the
Magdelene myth, and built a window depicting it in St Mary de Castro church, a
church that was largely built by Leicester’s Merovingian Earls.
by Matthew Sibson
by Matthew Sibson
i use to be a choirboy at st Mary de castro church back in the late 60s to early 70s rang the bells, we did weddings a lot of good childhood memorys .
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