Michael Baigent
Encyclopedia
Michael Baigent is an author
and speculative theorist who co-wrote a number of books that question mainstream perceptions of history
and the life of Jesus
. He is best known as co-writer of the book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
.
, New Zealand. He grew up in Motueka
and Wakefield
, small communities on the sparsely-populated South Island
of New Zealand
. His upbringing was Catholic
, and he attended church three times a week, as well as being tutored in Catholic theology
from the age of 5. His father left the family when he was 8 years old, and Baigent took the name of his maternal grandfather, Lewis Baigent. His great-grandfather had founded a forestry
firm, "H. Baigent and Sons".
His secondary schooling was at Nelson College
, and then he moved on to Canterbury University, Christchurch
, initially intending to study science and continue in the family career of forestry, but then switched to studying comparative religion and philosophy, studying Buddhism
, Hinduism
and Christianity
. He traveled to Australia
and Southeast Asia
, occasionally living on the street. He then returned to Auckland
, receiving a BA
in Psychology
.
Michael Baigent worked briefly at the BBC
photographic department, and worked night shifts at a soft-drink factory. Later in life, Baigent earned an MA
in Mysticism and Religious Experience at the University of Kent
.
A Freemason
and a Grand Officer of the United Grand Lodge of England
, he has been editor of Freemasonry Today since April 2001, which he has used as a platform for a more liberal approach to Freemasonry. He is a trustee of the Canonbury Masonic Research Centre.
He currently lives in Bath with his wife, Jane. They have two daughters, one of them named Tansi (born c. 1986).
, where he met Richard Leigh
, the man who was to be his roommate and frequent co-author. Leigh introduced him to the alleged mystery of Rennes-le-Château
in France
, and Baigent launched into research on the matter. In the same decade, Leigh introduced him to Henry Lincoln
, an English
television scriptwriter, while Lincoln was lecturing at a summer school. The three discovered that they shared an interest in the Knights Templar
, and took their Jesus bloodline theory on the road during the 1970s, in a series of lectures which later developed into the 1982 book, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
.
Published on 18 January 1982, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail popularised the hypothesis that the true nature of the quest for the Holy Grail
was that Jesus
and Mary Magdalene
had a child together, the first of a bloodline which later married into a Frankish royal dynasty, the Merovingians, and was all tied together by a society known as the Priory of Sion
. This ideas were later used as a basis for Dan Brown
's international bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code
.
The theory that Jesus and Mary were in a carnal (physical) relationship is based on Baigent's interpretation of the Holy Kiss on the mouth (typically between males in early Christian times, thus signifying Mary's emancipation), and spiritual marriage, as given in the Gospel of Philip
. The theory was perpetuated by authors Laurence Gardner
and Margaret Starbird
.
The day after the publication the authors had a public clash on BBC
television with the Bishop of Birmingham
and Marina Warner. The book rapidly climbed the bestseller charts, and had a sequel, The Messianic Legacy.
The book has been described as "a work thoroughly debunked by scholars and critics alike" and it was called "one of the all-time great works of pop pseudohistory" in a review in the New York Times Book Review.
Later, only with Leigh as co-author, he penned several books, including The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception
(1991) in which they primarily followed the controversial theories of Robert Eisenman
concerning the interpretation of the Scrolls.
, were incorporated in the bestselling American novel The Da Vinci Code
, by Dan Brown
.
In March 2006, Baigent and Leigh filed a lawsuit in a British
court against Brown's publisher, Random House
, claiming copyright infringement
.
Concurrent with the plagiarism trial, Baigent released a new book, The Jesus Papers, amid criticism that it was just a reworking of themes from Holy Blood, Holy Grail, and timed to capitalize on the marketing hype around the release of the movie The Da Vinci Code
, as well as the attention brought by the trial. In the postscript to the book (p. 355), Baigent points out that the release date had been set by Harper Collins long before.
On 7 April 2006, High Court
judge Peter Smith
rejected the copyright-infringement claim by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, and Dan Brown
won the court case. On 28 March 2007, Baigent and Leigh lost their appeal against this decision and were faced with legal bills of about 3 million pounds.
magazine (8 January 2000), reviewer Piers Paul Read said the authors: "show no interest in understanding the subtleties and paradoxes in the history of the Inquisition".
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
and speculative theorist who co-wrote a number of books that question mainstream perceptions of history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and the life of Jesus
Historical Jesus
The term historical Jesus refers to scholarly reconstructions of the 1st-century figure Jesus of Nazareth. These reconstructions are based upon historical methods including critical analysis of gospel texts as the primary source for his biography, along with consideration of the historical and...
. He is best known as co-writer of the book The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail is a book by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln....
.
Biography
Baigent was born in March 1948 in ChristchurchChristchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand. He grew up in Motueka
Motueka
The town of Motueka in the South Island of New Zealand lies close to the mouth of the Motueka River, on the western shore of Tasman Bay. It is, after Nelson and Richmond, the third largest centre in the Tasman Region, with a population of 7125...
and Wakefield
Wakefield, New Zealand
The small New Zealand community of Wakefield is situated some 25 km south west of Nelson at the top of the South Island.First settled in about 1843, it was originally called Pitfure. However the name was soon changed to Wakefield...
, small communities on the sparsely-populated South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. His upbringing was Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, and he attended church three times a week, as well as being tutored in Catholic theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
from the age of 5. His father left the family when he was 8 years old, and Baigent took the name of his maternal grandfather, Lewis Baigent. His great-grandfather had founded a forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
firm, "H. Baigent and Sons".
His secondary schooling was at Nelson College
Nelson College
Nelson College is a boys-only state secondary school in Nelson, New Zealand. It teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private Preparatory School for year 7 and 8 boys...
, and then he moved on to Canterbury University, Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, initially intending to study science and continue in the family career of forestry, but then switched to studying comparative religion and philosophy, studying Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. He traveled to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Southeast Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, occasionally living on the street. He then returned to Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, receiving a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
.
Michael Baigent worked briefly at the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
photographic department, and worked night shifts at a soft-drink factory. Later in life, Baigent earned an MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in Mysticism and Religious Experience at the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
.
A Freemason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
and a Grand Officer of the United Grand Lodge of England
United Grand Lodge of England
The United Grand Lodge of England is the main governing body of freemasonry within England and Wales and in other, predominantly ex-British Empire and Commonwealth countries outside the United Kingdom. It is the oldest Grand Lodge in the world, deriving its origin from 1717...
, he has been editor of Freemasonry Today since April 2001, which he has used as a platform for a more liberal approach to Freemasonry. He is a trustee of the Canonbury Masonic Research Centre.
He currently lives in Bath with his wife, Jane. They have two daughters, one of them named Tansi (born c. 1986).
The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
In 1976, Baigent moved to EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he met Richard Leigh
Richard Leigh (author)
Richard Harris Leigh was a novelist and short story writer born in New Jersey, USA to a British father and an American mother, who spent most of his life in the UK. Leigh earned a BA from Tufts University, a Master's degree from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D...
, the man who was to be his roommate and frequent co-author. Leigh introduced him to the alleged mystery of Rennes-le-Château
Rennes-le-Château
Rennes-le-Château is a commune in the Aude department in Languedoc in southern France.This small French hilltop village is known internationally, and receives tens of thousands of visitors per year, for being at the center of various conspiracy theories, and for being the location of an alleged...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Baigent launched into research on the matter. In the same decade, Leigh introduced him to Henry Lincoln
Henry Lincoln
Henry Lincoln is an English author, television presenter, scriptwriter and former Supporting actor. He co-wrote three Doctor Who multi-part serials in the 1960s, and —starting in the 1970s— authored a series of books and inspired documentaries for the British television channel BBC2,...
, an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
television scriptwriter, while Lincoln was lecturing at a summer school. The three discovered that they shared an interest in the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
, and took their Jesus bloodline theory on the road during the 1970s, in a series of lectures which later developed into the 1982 book, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail is a book by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln....
.
Published on 18 January 1982, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail popularised the hypothesis that the true nature of the quest for the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
was that Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
and Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
had a child together, the first of a bloodline which later married into a Frankish royal dynasty, the Merovingians, and was all tied together by a society known as the Priory of Sion
Priory of Sion
The Prieuré de Sion, translated from French as Priory of Sion, is a name given to multiple groups, both real and fictitious. The most notorious is a fringe fraternal organisation, founded and dissolved in France in 1956 by Pierre Plantard...
. This ideas were later used as a basis for Dan Brown
Dan Brown
Dan Brown is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown's novels, which are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour time period, feature the recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories...
's international bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel written by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to...
.
The theory that Jesus and Mary were in a carnal (physical) relationship is based on Baigent's interpretation of the Holy Kiss on the mouth (typically between males in early Christian times, thus signifying Mary's emancipation), and spiritual marriage, as given in the Gospel of Philip
Gospel of Philip
The Gospel of Philip is one of the Gnostic Gospels, a text of New Testament apocrypha, dating back to around the third century but lost to modern researchers until an Egyptian peasant rediscovered it by accident, buried in a cave near Nag Hammadi, in 1945...
. The theory was perpetuated by authors Laurence Gardner
Laurence Gardner
Laurence Gardner was a writer and lecturer in the "alternative history" genre of research.-Career:Laurence Gardner's first book Bloodline of the Holy Grail was published in 1996. The book was serialized in the Daily Mail and a best seller...
and Margaret Starbird
Margaret Starbird
Margaret Starbird is the author of seven books arguing for the existence of a secret Christian tradition that held Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene , calling it the "Grail heresy".-Works and beliefs:...
.
The day after the publication the authors had a public clash on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television with the Bishop of Birmingham
Bishop of Birmingham
The Bishop of Birmingham heads the Church of England diocese of Birmingham, in the Province of Canterbury, in England.The diocese covers the North West of the historical county of Warwickshire and has its see in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, where the seat of the diocese is located at the...
and Marina Warner. The book rapidly climbed the bestseller charts, and had a sequel, The Messianic Legacy.
The book has been described as "a work thoroughly debunked by scholars and critics alike" and it was called "one of the all-time great works of pop pseudohistory" in a review in the New York Times Book Review.
Later, only with Leigh as co-author, he penned several books, including The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception
The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception
The Dead Sea Scrolls Deception is a book of non-fiction by authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh. Rejecting the established, peer-reviewed consensus that the Dead Sea scrolls were the work of a marginal Jewish apocalyptic movement, and following primarily the thesis of Robert Eisenman, the...
(1991) in which they primarily followed the controversial theories of Robert Eisenman
Robert Eisenman
Robert Eisenman is an American Biblical scholar, theoretical writer, historian, archaeologist, and "road" poet. He is currently Professor of Middle East Religions, Archaeology, and Islamic Law and director of the Institute for the Study of...
concerning the interpretation of the Scrolls.
Dan Brown lawsuit
Some of the ideas presented in Baigent's earlier book The Holy Blood and the Holy GrailThe Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail is a book by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln....
, were incorporated in the bestselling American novel The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel written by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to...
, by Dan Brown
Dan Brown
Dan Brown is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown's novels, which are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour time period, feature the recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories...
.
In March 2006, Baigent and Leigh filed a lawsuit in a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
court against Brown's publisher, Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, claiming copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
.
Concurrent with the plagiarism trial, Baigent released a new book, The Jesus Papers, amid criticism that it was just a reworking of themes from Holy Blood, Holy Grail, and timed to capitalize on the marketing hype around the release of the movie The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code (film)
The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 American mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard. The screenplay was written by Akiva Goldsman and based on Dan Brown's worldwide bestselling 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code...
, as well as the attention brought by the trial. In the postscript to the book (p. 355), Baigent points out that the release date had been set by Harper Collins long before.
On 7 April 2006, High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
judge Peter Smith
Peter Smith (judge)
Sir Peter Winston Smith , styled The Hon Mr Justice Peter Smith, is a Judge of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales, appointed to that office on 15 April 2002 and assigned to the Chancery Division...
rejected the copyright-infringement claim by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, and Dan Brown
Dan Brown
Dan Brown is an American author of thriller fiction, best known for the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code. Brown's novels, which are treasure hunts set in a 24-hour time period, feature the recurring themes of cryptography, keys, symbols, codes, and conspiracy theories...
won the court case. On 28 March 2007, Baigent and Leigh lost their appeal against this decision and were faced with legal bills of about 3 million pounds.
Controversy
Michael Baigent's interpretations of history sometimes attract hostile criticisms from scholars and historians. For example, Bernard Hamilton, writing in the English Historical Review (Vol. 116, No. 466 (Apr., 2001), pp. 474–475) described Baigent's treatment of The Inquisition in his 1999 book of the same name (with Richard Leigh) as pursuing "a very outdated and misleading account of this institution [the Inquisition]". In a review in the SpectatorThe Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
magazine (8 January 2000), reviewer Piers Paul Read said the authors: "show no interest in understanding the subtleties and paradoxes in the history of the Inquisition".
Sole Author
- Ancient Traces: Mysteries in Ancient and Early History (1998) ISBN 067087454X
- The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in HistoryThe Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in HistoryThe Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in History is a book by author Michael Baigent published in 2006. Providing his detailed history of Jesus' life and crucifixion; using papers that, according to the author, were covered up...
(2006) ISBN 0-06-082713-0 - From the Omens of Babylon: Astrology and Ancient Mesopotamia (1994) ISBN 0140194800
- Racing Toward Armageddon: The Three Great Religions and the Plot to End the World (2009)
Co-written with Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln
- The Holy Blood and the Holy GrailThe Holy Blood and the Holy GrailThe Holy Blood and the Holy Grail is a book by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln....
, 1982, UK ISBN 0-09-968241-9- U.S. paperback: Holy Blood, Holy Grail, 1983, Dell. ISBN 0-440-13648-2
- The Messianic Legacy, 1986
Co-written with Richard Leigh
- The Temple and the LodgeThe Temple and the LodgeThe Temple and the Lodge is a book co-written by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh that claims to trace a link between the suppressed Knights Templar and modern day Freemasonry....
, 1989, ISBN 0-552-13596-8 - The Dead Sea Scrolls DeceptionThe Dead Sea Scrolls DeceptionThe Dead Sea Scrolls Deception is a book of non-fiction by authors Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh. Rejecting the established, peer-reviewed consensus that the Dead Sea scrolls were the work of a marginal Jewish apocalyptic movement, and following primarily the thesis of Robert Eisenman, the...
, 1991 - Secret Germany: Claus Von Stauffenberg and the true story of Operation Valkyrie, 1994
- The Elixir and the Stone: The Tradition of Magic and Alchemy, 1997
- The Inquisition. 1999
Co-written with other authors
- Mundane Astrology: Introduction to the Astrology of Nations and Groups (co-written with Nicholas Campion and Charles Harvey) 1984 (reissued expanded edition, 1992)
External links
- 'Da Vinci," other books fit conspiracy fixation, April 13, 2006, MSNBC (includes AP photo of Baigent)