Product Description

Some thirty years ago, Henry Lincoln first learnt about a strange mystery set in the tiny French village of Rennes-Le-Chateau where a secretive and flamboyant priest, Berenger Sauniere, became fabulously rich after finding some ancient documents in his church. Thus became Henry Lincolns trail to discover the truth behind his unexplained wealth. Three BBC television documentaries followed, culminating in the publication of the worldwide bestseller THE HOLY BLOOD AND THE HOLY GRAIL in which a hypothesis was put forward that perhaps the priest had stumbled across a fact known only to the initiates of a secret society the Priory of Sion. Here was a secret that seemed to turn history on its head. Is it possible that Jesus was married? Did he father a blood line which still survives today. The mystery also seemed to involve the Knight Templars and their fabled treasure. Clue after amazing clue was uncovered by the author and, in KEY TO THE SACRED PATTERN, he sets down for the first time the dramatic and entertaining story of his search. Henry Lincoln presents the unarguable facts behind this strange and gripping mystery far older than Christ and stretching back into an undreamt past.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #398710 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

About the Author
Henry Lincoln is a highly-respected historian and broadcaster. His previous books include the worldwide bestselling THE HOLY BLOOD AND THE HOLY GRAIL.

Customer Reviews

The revelations are amazing, truly frightening.
In reading this book, I expected a dry, factual history book, drawing on the tales of the Templar Knights - an interesting, but hardly exciting account of days gone by. Instead I found myself reading until 3am, unable to put the book down, as the book revealed secrets and patterns found in all aspects of the world around us, from landscapes to works of art, which endeavoured to solve the mystery of the holy grail. The sheer volume of evidence of repeating patterns found in so many places, and pointing, it would seem to the location, and content of the holy grail was truly fascinating, and at the same time terrifying. If this book proves one thing, it is this - truth really is stranger than fiction.

Informative but entertaining
A book worth reading purely for its entertainment value. It also has more update information than his previous works. You need to have read 'The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail' and 'The Holy Place' to understand much of the book. It also counters arguments made against his theories in other books by other Authors such as 'The Tomb of God'. He discusses the events that lead to the production of the 3 BBC films and his other books in an entertaining manner.

An invitation to wonderful history
The Rennes-Le-Chateau story really is the greatest story ever told, and the tale of how the story was discovered is another terrific yarn.

This book tells that story, starting with scriptwriter Henry Lincoln's holiday in France when he stumbled upon the story, and the following investigations and television programmes. In doing so it picks up the clues, discoveries, and processes by which the trail is followed.

It's a personalised account and seen entirely from Lincoln's perspective, and as an already professional writer, he makes it a good read. Alongside his personal journey there's the geometry and imagery he and others discovered and tried to interpret.

The biggest of the themes that's not found elsewhere is the way Rennes-le-Chateau has a life of it's own and strange things seem to happen - little things that are perhaps orchestrated as dark jokes by locals, or maybe something else. He gives this aspect a real sense of reality, and I found it to be real when I visited the area - and just as Lincoln tells it.

This is an intriguing read, well written and interesting, and an honest account of the research as well as a cautious but practical interpretation of the fascinating discoveries. Top marks again.