Baigent, Michael 1948-

PERSONAL:

Born 1948, in Nelson, New Zealand. Education: Canterbury University, degree in psychology.

ADDRESSES:

Home—England.

CAREER:

Writer and photojournalist.

WRITINGS:

(With Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln) Holy Blood, Holy Grail, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 1982, published with a new introduction, Delta Trade Paperbacks (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Nicholas Charles Harvey) Mundane Astrology, Aquarian Press (Willingborough, Northamptonshire, England), 1984.

(With Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln) The Messianic Legacy, Cape (London, England), 1986, Holt (New York, NY), 1987.

(With Richard Leigh) The Temple and the Lodge, Arcade (New York, NY), 1989.

(With Richard Leigh) The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception, Summit Books (New York, NY), 1991.

From the Omens of Babylon: Astrology and Ancient Mesopotamia, Arkana (New York, NY), 1994.

(With Richard Leigh) The Inquisition, Viking (New York, NY), 1999.

The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-up in History, HarperSan Francisco (San Francisco, CA), 2006.

Author of scripts for television series The Secret, 1993.

SIDELIGHTS:

Michael Baigent has written and coauthored numerous books about history and possible religious conspiracies. Some of his works concern the theory that Jesus Christ did not die at his crucifixion, and that he later married Mary Magdalene and raised a family with her. Baigent's work came into the international spotlight in 2005, when he and a frequent collaborator, Richard Leigh, charged that author Dan Brown had plagiarized from their nonfiction work Holy Blood, Holy Grail in writing his best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code. Both books state that the real Holy Grail is related to the bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Brown acknowledged that he had used Holy Blood, Holy Grail (which was also written with Henry Lincoln) as part of his research, but he denied any unfair use of the book. When the case came to court in 2006, Brown and his publisher were cleared of the plagiarism charges. Baigent and Leigh had to pay considerable court costs, but even so, there was a positive side effect for them. Even though they lost the case, the publicity surrounding the proceedings resulted in a huge increase in sales for Holy Blood, Holy Grail.

In Holy Blood, Holy Grail, the authors present their theory that Jesus survived his crucifixion and wed Mary Magdalene, who eventually went to live in France with her daughter after Jesus died of natural causes. The authors assert that Mary Magdalene's character and relationship to Christ were covered up by the early church fathers, who wished to emphasize the asceticism of Christ. Through Mary Magdalene's daughter, Sarah, the bloodline of Christ was passed to the French monarchs, and, the authors state, a secret society called the Priory de Sion has guarded this bloodline, one that seeks to put the descendants of Christ on the thrones of Europe. "If you have an interest in the hidden obscure history of the Priory de Sion then this book is a comfortable entry into the mystery," advised Marty Duncan in Reviewer's Bookwatch.

Baigent elaborated on some of his historical theories in his book The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-up in History. In it he explains how the crucifixion could have been faked and why the parties involved would have been motivated to arrange such a conspiracy. He points out statements in the Bible that suggest that after the crucifixion, Jesus' friends visited his tomb with herbs and spices more appropriate for healing than for embalming. Baigent's hypothesis is that Jesus was drugged on the cross, removed quickly, and later revived and spirited away to a safe location. His book also goes over his earlier theories that Christ raised a family, and that the Christian church has been built on a foundation of false information. Baigent's theories have upset some so much that the author has even received death threats because of his writings. In an interview with Bill O'Reilly, transcribed for America's Intelligence Wire, Baigent described himself as simply a historian, "interested in the historical Jesus," and added: "Jesus never claimed to be God. Jesus never tried to start a religion. He promulgated a faith of forgiveness, of love, of compassion. You cannot go afar from that."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

America, March 27, 2006, "Da Vinci Smackdown," p. 4.

America's Intelligence Wire, March 7, 2006, Tariq Panja, "Author Admits Exaggerating Claims That Da Vinci Best Seller Borrowed from His Own Novel"; April 7, 2006, Hillel Italie, "Da Vinci Code Judge Unimpressed by Either Side"; April 13, 2006, Tomeka Steele, review of Holy Blood, Holy Grail; April 25, 2006, transcript of Bill O'Reilly interview with Michael Baigent; July 12, 2006, Kana Inagaki, "Authors Who Lost Da Vinci Code Copying Case to Mount Legal Appeal."

Bookseller, October 21, 2005, Joel Rickett, "Brown Accused of Plagiarism," p. 3; March 3, 2006, "Blood on the Tracks," p. 17; March 24, 2006, "Bleak for Da Vinci Duo," p. 7; March 31, 2006, Alison Bone, "Baigent Back with Holy Grail Sequel," p. 13; July 7, 2006, Katherine Rushton, "Da Vinci Case to Re-open," p. 3; August 11, 2006, "Three Days for Leigh and Baigent to Overturn DVC Ruling," p. 7; September 1, 2006, "Da Vinci Appeal in January," p. 5.

Daily Variety, March 14, 2006, Steven Zeitchik, "Code Author Refutes Claim," p. 2; April 10, 2006, Steven Zeitchik, "Court Clears Code but Pic Hits Hurdle," p. 5.

English Historical Review, April, 2001, Bernard

Hamilton, review of The Inquisition, p. 474.

European Intelligence Wire, August 10, 2006, "Da Vinci Code Back in Court."

Financial Times, April 8, 2006, Ludovic Hunter-Tilney, "Even the Losers Have Something to Smile About," p. 3.

Guardian (London, England), May 17, 2006, Maev Kennedy, "A Test of Faith."

M2 Best Books, March 2, 2006, "Sales of Holy Blood Book on the Increase."

Newsweek, March 13, 2006, Cathleen Mcguigan and Ginanne Brownell, "Heck of a Prob, Brownie," p. 61.

New Zealand Herald, December 18, 2004, Helen Tunnah, "NZ Author Suing over Da Vinci Bestseller."

New Zealand Press Association, May 15, 2006, Rebecca Quilliam, interview with Michael Baigent.

PR Newswire, June 8, 2004, "Bestselling Author Signs Deal for New TV Series to Rival the Da Vinci Code."

Publishers Weekly, November 15, 1991, Janet Rosen, review of The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception, p. 46; December 6, 1991, review of The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception, p. 62; April 10, 2006, "Brown Wins Suit," p. 4.

Reviewer's Bookwatch, March, 2005, Marty Duncan, review of Holy Blood, Holy Grail.

Spectator, March 25, 2006, Matthew D'Ancona, "My Dinner with the Da Vinci Code Duo," p. 20.

ONLINE

Internet Movie Database,http://www.imdb.com/ (December 24, 2006), information about Michael Baigent.

MSNBC,http://www.msnbc.msn.com/ (April 2, 2006), Sara James, transcript of Dateline program segment "The Mystery of The Jesus Papers."

Priory of Sion,http://priory-of-sion.com/ (December 26, 2006), Paul Smith, profile of Michael Baigent; E.P. Wijnants, review of The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-up in History.

Tektonics.org,http://www.tektonics.org/ (December 24, 2006), James Patrick Holding, "On a Debate with Michael Baigent."*