Chapter 1
Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki
Rachel Sleeman
Robert Langdon
Renaissance bedroom
Louis XVI furniture
Hand-frescoed walls
Mahogany four-poster
bed
Jacquard bathrobe
Hotel Ritz Paris
Concierge
The American
University of Paris
Religious Symbology,
Harvard University
Pagan symbolism
hidden n the stones of
Chartres Cathedral
“Mais, monsieur”
Vatican
Paris
Guest Relations
Handbook
Boston Magazine city’s
top ten most intriguing
people
American University of
Paris’s Pavillon
Dauphine
The Symbology of
Secret Sects
The Art of the
Illuminati
The Lost Language of
Ideograms
Religious Iconology
Curriculum vitae
Harrison Ford
Harris tweed
Burberry turtleneck
Savonnerie carpet
Robert Langdon A fictional character who is also the hero of Dan Brown’s earlier
novel, Angels and Demons. He is a professor of religious symbology at Harvard
University, author of several books that include The Symbology of Secret Sects, The Art
of the Illuminati, The Lost Language of Ideograms, and Religious Iconology. In the novel
he was featured in Boston Magazine’s article on the city’s top ten most intriguing people.
Visit his web page, www.robertlangdon.com for more information on this well-known
character, or visit his author’s page, www.danbrown.com for more about the man who
created him.
Renaissance bedroom Furniture in the Renaissance style, very ornate. A bed might
have “inset burled panels framed with burled moldings, a huge open carved crest, full
burled columns, fancy carved side finials, gold incised carvings and large burled columns
on the footboard.” From http://www.souhantq.com/bd/bd-1120.html, Sept 20, 2004. For
further descriptions of a Renaissance bedroom, visit the above site.
http://www.mattress-plus.com/grand_renaissance_bedroom.php, Sept 20 2004.
Louis XVI furniture Louis XVI was known as The Sun King. He reigned from 16431715 and had amazing courts in Paris and Versailles. The style of furniture is
characterized by marquetry inlays, opulence and grandiose size.
http://www.collectingnetwork.com/furnitureguide.htm, Sept. 20 2004.
Hand-frescoed walls A painting technique in which the pigment is applied with the
plaster of the wall so it becomes a permanent part of the wall. A famous example of a
fresco is “Delphic Sibyl” by Michelangelo, found in the Sistine Chapel.
http://search.eb.com/eb/article?tocId=9035374&query=fresco&ct=eb, Sept 20, 2004
Mahogany four-poster bed- Mahogonay is a tall evergreen tree with hard wood that
turns reddish brown when mature. Most commercial mahogany comes from other genera
in the family, such as African Khaya and Entandophragma.
"mahogany." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
20 Sept. 2004 <http://search.eb.com/eb/article?tocId=9050141>.
Jacquard bathrobe Jacquard is a very expensive type of fabric woven on a jacquard
loom. The jacquard weave is used to make allover figured fabrics such as tapestries and
brocades. "textile." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
20 Sept. 2004 <http://search.eb.com/eb/article?tocId=60784>.
The jacquard loom was developed in 1804-05 by Joseph-Marie Jacquard. It allows the
weaver to control individual warp yarns.
image from "Jacquard loom." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica
Online. 30 Oct. 2004 <http://search.eb.com/eb/article?tocId=9043218>.
Hotel Ritz Paris A luxury hotel located at 15 Place Vendôme, Paris, and founded in
1898 by César Ritz. Rooms range from 610 Euros for a room to 8500 for an Imperial
Suite. The Hotel Ritz is frequented by royalty, celebrities and other people of high
society. http://www.ritzparis.com/
http://www.ehi.com/Hotel_Ritz-Paris.html, Oct 30, 2004.
www.mapquest.com
Concierge- con·cierge
P Pronunciation Key (kô -syârzh ) n.
1. A staff member of a hotel or apartment complex who assists guests or residents,
as by handling the storage of luggage, taking and delivering messages, and
making reservations for tours.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=concierge, Sept. 20 2004
F. concierge, in OF. cumcerges, concerge, -ciarge, -sirge, -sierge, -cherge, whence
med.L. consergius (in text of 1106): derivation unknown. Entry printed from Oxford
English Dictionary Online © Oxford University Press 2004.
The American University of Paris Founded in 1962 by Lloyd DeLamater, The AUP is
an independent college of liberal arts and sciences. It is accredited in the United States by
the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and
Schools. It is the oldest American higher education institution in Europe.
http://www.aup.fr/
http://www.aup.fr/, Nov 1, 2004.
Religious Symbology, Harvard University The oldest and one of the most prestigious
higher education institutions in the US, Harvard was founded in 1636 in Cambridge, MA.
It began as a college, but became a university in 1782 with the establishment of a medical
school. "Harvard University." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 2004. Encyclopædia
Britannica Online. 1 Nov. 2004 <http://search.eb.com/ebc/article?tocId=9366672>.
The official Harvard website does not list any professors of religious symbology.
http://www.harvard.edu/ Nov. 1, 2004
Chartres Cathedral
“Chartres Cathedral is Cathedral of Notre-Dame at Chartres, one of the most influential
examples of High Gothic architecture. The main part of this great cathedral was built
between 1194 and 1220. It replaced a 12th-century church of which only the crypt, the
base of the towers, and the western facade remain. Abandonment of the traditional
tribune galleries and the use of a unique type of flying buttresses allowed for a larger
clerestory (windowed wall of a room that rises higher than the surrounding roofs to light
the interior space.) Remarkable stained-glass windows and a Renaissance choir screen
add to its beauty.”
“Chartres Cathedral." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica
Online. 1 Nov. 2004 <http://search.eb.com/ebc/article?tocId=9360416>.
“The Cathedral at Chartres was the site of an Hibernian (Irish) mystery center and later a
Druid (an order of men among the ancient Celts of Gaul and Britain, who, according to
Cæsar were priests or religious ministers and teachers, but who figure in native Irish and
Welsh legend as magicians, sorcerers, soothsayers, and the like- Entry printed from
Oxford English Dictionary Online © Oxford University Press 2004) cave sanctuary
containing the Black Madonna” http://www.vermontel.com/~vtsophia/DION2.htm, Nov
1, 2004.
"If one studies the representations of the Seven Liberal Arts (important to Freemasonry,
they are grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy) in the twelfth
century one realizes that they are only a link in the whole chain of representations of this
subject, and that a long tradition of ideas and forms lies behind their images. It is
generally agreed that the first facade on which the Seven Arts were represented was that
of the Royal Portal of Chartres Cathedral. ...these systems of decoration indicate in
different ways the relation of secular learning to theological truths."
The Seven Liberal Arts Presented to the Northern California Research Lodge By Thomas
D. Worrel, March 20, 1997 (revised January 2002) http://millvalley.freemasonry.biz/worrel/seven-liberal-arts01.htm, Nov 1st, 2004.
“Mais, monsieur”- French for “But, sir”
Vatican conclave The meeting of Roman Catholic cardinals assembled for the election
of a new Pope. In Brown’s previous novel, Angels and Demons, the cardinals have been
summoned to Rome for just such an election. The “Vatican” is often used to describe the
leadership structure of the Roman Catholic Church under the pope as well as the
geographical area in the city fo Rome designated as Vatican City. “Independent papal
state, southern Europe, within the commune Rome, Italy.Area: 108.7 acres (44 hectares).
Population (2001 est.): 900. Its medieval and Renaissance walls form its boundaries
except on the southeast at St. Peter's Square. Within the walls is a miniature nation, with
its own diplomatic missions, newspaper, post office, radio station, banking system, army
of more than 100 Swiss Guards, and publishing house. Extraterritoriality of the state
extends to Castel Gandolfo and to several churches and palaces in Rome proper. Its
independent sovereignty was recognized in the Lateran Treaty of 1929. The pope has
absolute executive, legislative, and judicial powers within the city. He appoints the
members of the Vatican's government organs, which are separate from those of the Holy
See. The many imposing buildings include St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Palace, and
the Vatican Museums. Frescoes by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel, by Pinturicchio in
the Borgia Apartment, and by Raphael in the Stanze (rooms in the papal apartments) are
also there. The Vatican Library contains a priceless collection of manuscripts from the
pre-Christian and Christian eras. The pope and other representatives of the papal state
travel widely to maintain international relations.” "Vatican City." Britannica Concise
Encyclopedia. 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 1 Nov.2004
<http://search.eb.com/ebc/article?tocId=9381820>.
Paris “City (pop., 1999: 2,125,246; metro. area, 9,644,507), river port, capital of France.
It is now located on both banks of the Seine River. … It is now the financial, commercial,
transportation, artistic, and intellectual centre of France. The city's many attractions
include the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame de Paris, the Louvre, the Panthéon, Pompidou
Centre, and the Paris Opera, as well as boulevards, public parks, and gardens.”
"Paris." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
1 Nov.2004 <http://search.eb.com/ebc/article?tocId=9374569>.and
http://www.paris.fr/
http://www.fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/Sect4/Sect4_4.html, Nov 1st, 2004.
Guest Relations Handbook There is a Guest Relations Handbook for the Hotel Ritz,
where the VIP guests write message about their stay. However, on the cover, it says
simply “Ritz Paris,” not anything about “sleep like a baby in the city of lights.”
E-mail from Matthieu Goffard, Press Office for the Ritz Paris, to Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki,
11/1/04
Boston Magazine - city’s top ten most intriguing people- “For more than 40 years,
Boston magazine's experienced writers, editors, and designers have captured all sides of
our city with award-winning and insightful writing and groundbreaking reporting and
design. … We bring a timely, local take to matters of travel, shopping, money, food,
fashion, home, and health, through the magazine and in collaboration with our broadcast
partners. Pull it all together and it's not hard to understand why our percentage of
newsstand copies sold is among the highest of any magazine of any kind in the United
States. Or why we've been named among the three best city magazines in the nation
seven times in the last eight years by the City and Regional Magazine Association.”
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/content.php?name=aboutus.txt Nov 1st, 2004.
Boston Magazine has at times published articles about the city’s most intriguing people,
but editor Jon Marcus stressed that the reference in The Da Vinci Code is otherwise
entirely fictional. (e-mail from Jon Marcus, editor of Boston Magazine, to Jordan TirrellWysocki on 11/30, 2004).
American University of Paris’s Pavillon Dauphine An elegant building at the entrance
to the Bois de Bologne, used for cocktail parties, dinners, seminars, weddings, etc. It was
built at the beginning of the 20th century.
http://www.theflews.com/Paris/Week13aGallery.htm, Nov 1, 2004.
The Symbology of Secret Sects, The Art of the Illuminati, The Lost Language of
Ideograms, Religious Iconology- These are all fictional books authored by the fictional
character Robert Langdon, All of these issues come into play in one form or another
throughout the novel.
Curriculum vitae - curriculum- A course; spec. a regular course of study or training, as
at a school or university. (The recognized term in the Scottish Univerities.) curriculum
vitæ, the course of one's life; a brief account of one's career.
1633 Munimenta Univ. Glasg. (1854) III. 379 Finito anni curriculo discessurum. 1643
Ibid. II. 317 Curriculum quinque annorum. 1824 J. RUSSELL Tour Germ. (1828) I. iii.
134 When the [German] student has finished his curriculum, and leaves the university.
1829 Glasg. Univ. Cal. 39 The curriculum of students who mean to take degrees in
Surgery to be three years. 1870 ROLLESTON Anim. Life Introd. 84 The completion of
the entire curriculum of metamorphosis. 1888 BURGON Lives 12 Gd. Men II. ix. 201
Butler's immortal Work has..been elbowed out from the Oxford curriculum. 1902 New
Internat. Encycl. III. 21/2 Anciently biography was more of a mere curriculum vitæ than
it is now. 1939 ‘M. INNES’ Stop Press II. iv. 269, I don't know much about Benton's
curriculum vitæ... He must have an orthodox..academic record. 1941 KOESTLER Scum
of Earth 59 His superiors..knew all about my professional travels from the curriculum
vitae in their files, written by myself. 1954 New Yorker 25 Dec. 18/2 As for Mr.
Lapidus's curriculum vitae, he was born in Russia fifty-two years ago, grew up in
Brooklyn, graduated from the Columbia School of Architecture in 1927, and took a job
with the well-known firm of Warren & Wetmore. 1971 Time 22 Mar. 14/2 Eddie's
curriculum vitae..has been served up in plentiful quantity in the press. Entry printed from
Oxford English Dictionary Online © Oxford University Press 2004
Harrison Ford Born on July 13, 1942, Chicago, Ill., U.S. “U.S. film actor. He played
minor roles on screen and television before achieving stardom in George Lucas's hit Star
Wars (1977) and its sequels, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi
(1983). He also starred in the adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and its
sequels (1984, 1989). He graduated to dramatic roles in Blade Runner (1982), Witness
(1985), The Fugitive (1993), and Clear and Present Danger (1994). His rugged good
looks and wry charm made him, by some measures, the most popular actor of his time.”
"Ford, Harrison." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica
Online. 1 Nov. 2004 <http://search.eb.com/ebc/article?tocId=9364678>.
http://www.msu.edu/user/gillmica/favs.html, Nov. 1st, 2004
Harris tweed “Harris Tweed is cloth that has been handwoven by the islanders of Lewis,
Harris, Uist and Barra in their homes, using pure virgin wool that has been dyed and spun
in the Outer Hebrides. This is the definition of Harris Tweed contained in the Harris
Tweed Act of 1993 and it ensures that all cloth certified with the Harris Tweed Orb
symbol complies with this definition and is genuine Harris Tweed, the world’s only
commercially produced handwoven tweed.” The Harris Tweed Authority,
http://www.harristweed.org/what_is.htm, Nov 1st, 2004.
http://www.vjbooks.com/interviews/brown_dan_interview2.htm, Nov 1st, 2004.
In this picture, Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code, is show wearing Harris Tweed
and a Burberry turtleneck.
Burberry turtleneck A turtleneck* manufactured by Burberry, a world-wide stylish
clothing company.
* 1. a. A close-fitting roll or band collar, now usu. one intermediate in height between a
crew-neck and a polo-neck; formerly also = polo-neck (a) s.v. POLO1 4. b. A shirt or
jersey with such a collar.
1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 217/3 Turtle Neck Sweater. Extra heavy knit, all wool,
turtle neck. … 1982 J. GARDNER For Special Services xvi. 174 Bond, clad now in dark
slacks, a black turtle-neck and short jacket
Entry printed from Oxford English Dictionary Online © Oxford University Press 2004
Savonnerie carpet Savonnerie is French for “soap factory.” In this case it is the name of
a factory established in a former soap works in Paris in the 17th century, used attrib. and
absol. to designate hand-knotted pile carpets made there. Also used of similar products
from elsewhere in France.
1876 Encycl. Brit. V. 129/2 The most celebrated and artistic textures of this class are the
Aubusson, Savonnerie, and Beauvais carpets of France. 1899 R. GLAZIER Man. Hist.
Ornament 118 About 1590, some carpets called Savonnerie were made in the Louvre, the
technique being somewhat similar to the Persian carpets. … 1977 Times 11 Oct. 17/6 The
sale will contain..16 antique Oriental carpets and one Savonnerie.”
Entry printed from Oxford English
University Press 2004
Dictionary Online© Oxford
http://waldorfcarpetone.com/orientalrugs/maison/savonnerie.html, Nov 1st, 2004.
Direction Centrale Police Judiciare Also known as the Central Management of the
Criminal Investigation Department, DCJP is a French internal security service. The DCJP
deals mainly with criminal business and with matters of specialized delinquency. The
DCJP gathers evidence to identify criminals and then in turn mandates an extensive
search for those criminals. Acting on its own initiative, most of Judicial Police officials
“implement approaches and techniques of investigation adapted to countering complex
and serious criminal phenomena” DCJP—Central Directorate Judicial Police. John Pike.
19 September 2004. <http://www.fas.org/irp/world/france/interieur/dcpj/index.html>.
U.S. FBI The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation is the largest investigative
branch of the United States Department of Justice. The FBI was founded in 1908 under
authorization of President Theodore Roosevelt, but was dramatically altered by Attorney
General J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover established the FBI identification division to keep
records of fingerprints. The FBI deals with counterterrorism, counterintelligence,
organized crime, violent crimes, theft, and white collar crimes. The FBI has investigative
jurisdiction in federal crimes that are not automatically investigated by other agencies
such as the secret service. The mission of the FBI is to “uphold the law through the
investigation of violations of federal criminal law; to protect the United States from
foreign intelligence and terrorist activities; to provide leadership and law enforcement
assistance to federal, state, local, and international agencies; and to perform these
responsibilities in a manner that is responsive to the needs of the public and is faithful to
the United States constitution.” <http://www.fbi.gov/>."Police." Britannica Student
Encyclopedia. 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. September 19 2004
<http://search.eb.com/ebi/article?tocId=206762>. F.B.I. Wikipedia. September 19
2004. <www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/FBI>.
“Official-looking blue uniform” The official color of French police uniforms.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1436310.stm, November 20, 2004.
Capitaine English translation: “Captain.” “Un captaine de gendarmerie” indicates this
captain is a police chief. <http://www.french-linguistics.co.uk/dictionary/ > September
19, 2004
Louvre See Prologue.
Polaroid “(p l -roid ) [[POLAR + OID]]. trademark for: A transparent material
containing embedded crystals capable of polarizing light: used in optics and photography.
[[Short for Polaroid Land Camera]]. The Polaroid Land Camera was developed by
American physicist Edwin Land, a Harvard dropout, in 1947. It is a camera that develops
the film negative internally and produces a print (“a Polaroid snapshot”) within seconds
after the process is initiated.” Websters New World Dictionary. Copyright 2002 Wiley
Publishing Inc. To learn more about Polaroid history, visit Polaroid’s official website:
http://www.polaroid.com/global/movie_2.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444176
1320&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=282574488338441&bmUID=1095693910744&PRD
REG=null September 19 2004
<http://www.electronics-audio-and-video.com/html/polaroid_camera.html>. September
19, 2004.
“A Polaroid snapshot” (Brown 10).
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/art/pacificnw/2003/0112/cover03.jpg. September 19,
2004.
“almost lost his life inside Vatican City” This a reference to Dan Brown’s novel Angels
and Demons in which the character Robert Langdon first appeared. On the back cover of
Angels and Demons we read “World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is
summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest
of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the
Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization -- the Illuminati. Desperate
to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the
beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra. Together they embark on a frantic hunt
through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and the most secretive
vault on earth...the long-forgotten Illuminati lair.” Dan Brown, Angels and Demons,
Pocket Star Publishing, 2001. Langdon races to destroy the bomb that could extinguish
Vatican City, the head Catholic
leaders, and kill Langdon himself.
<http://amazon.com> September 19, 2004