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63 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Merovingian fact, myth, and misinformation, May 20, 2005
A literary cottage industry was spawned nearly twenty years ago with the publication of "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" by Lincoln, Baigent and Leigh. The outstanding example of its output is "The DaVinci Code," in which the story has been even further dumbed down for popular consumption. While Tracy Twyman's "The Merovingian Mythos" is not quite as abysmally bad, it is representative of the genre. It takes a handful of historical facts (some of which are quite fascinating), relates them to literature and legend (again, often having considerable interest) and leavens them with a great deal of speculation, myth, and, one suspects, wishful thinking. It is entirely typical of the attitude that permeates so much of our society, whereby facts (whether they be intelligence reports from the middle east, economic data, or whatever) are selected to fit their consumer's desires and prejudices. Sad to say, there are many people who would rather believe in fairy tales than in humdrum realities. The failing of all the "Merovingian mythos" books is that they do not face genealogical facts. As we trace our ancestry back from the present generation, each generation of ancestors doubles in number. Thus, every person has two parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents, and so on. There are today about sixty generations separating us from the time of the semi-legendary Merovingian progenitor who is variously called Meroveus, Merovech, or Merovée. Accordingly, the typical middle-aged adult of the early twenty-first century has ancestors at that period numbering approximately two to the sixtieth power. This number is, of course, many times the number of people actually living in Europe during the fifth century A.D., so there is much repetition of ancestral lines. Accordingly all people of European descent have many ancestors in common. In such works on genealogy as Roderick Stuart's "Royalty for Commoners," Frederick Lewis Weis's "Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists," and Gary Boyd Roberts's "The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to the American Colonies," documented lineages having living representatives may be followed all the way back to the Merovingians. For example, in Stuart's book one may find lineages back to Merovech through Charlemagne, through Charlemagne's wife Hildegarde of Swabia, through Hugh "le Méfiant," and through Regnier "Longhals." The last-named of these goes through Adela, the daughter of the doomed Dagobert II, thus encompassing virtually the complete Merovingian line. A relatively large number of people exist who can prove they descend through at least one of these lines, some through all four, and often with much duplication. This number is dwarfed by that of the descendants who are completely unaware of their ancestry. Even if the fanciful theories advanced in "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and elaborated in "The Merovingian Mythos" were all true, just what would it mean? That perhaps more than half of all people of north European descent were descended from a) Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalen; b) Jews of ancient Palestine; c) Sumerian god-kings? And what would any of these prove? The study of genealogy is rewarding because it yields a personalized acquaintance with history. For example, the revolutionary battle of King's Mountain, or the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, somehow have more significance to me because ancestors of mine were there. Shortly after I was able to prove a line to Charlemagne, I was able to pick up Ariosto's "Orlando furioso" with a bit more interest than I had in it three decades ago in college. It adds a certain dimension to know that one is descended from the saintly Margaret, queen of Scotland, or from Fredegonde, whom Stuart identifies as one of the most bloodthirsty women in history. We are a mixed-up race, descended from saints and sinners, heroes and villains, and none of these facts changes in the least who we are or what we do in life, unless we are inspired (or repelled) by their examples. I would far rather study a well-documented work of genealogy, with the literary classics and a good historical reference like the eleventh edition of the Encylopædia Britannica close at hand, than any number of pseudo-histories such as "The Merovingian Mythos."
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18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well written and interesting., May 18, 2006
In the midst of all The Da Vinci Code hype and hoopla, one can be forgiven for forgetting that there are more than just two books that discuss Mary Magadalene and Rennes-le-Chateau. Tracy Twyman has been an occult and esoteric author for over a decade; her interest was tweaked initially, as with mine, by the (in)famous book The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail*, and its follow-up. Twyman has produced a very interesting book on the mystery that surrounds this area of Southern France and those who have resided therein. As with all such, the Templars, the Inquisition, Jesus heirs and the Priory of Sion feature. The chapters at times read like individual articles for a magazine, and I believe some were, but that only adds to the readability of this work. Unlike some works on these subjects, Twyman avoids trying to look overly academic by being turgid and impenetrable. That is not to say that this book is not a useful addition to the body of work on the origins of the Christian Church, its main players, and its path through history. It takes a certain skill to make such complicated and twisting a subject read well. Whether or not you agree with her hypothesis -- that the bloodline of the Merovingians stems not only from Christ and Mary Magdalene, but goes back far further, and that the Holy Grail" is hidden under the French town -- this is a cracking read. There is a lot of interesting stuff in here for believer, sceptic or heretic. Considering the first review of the Da Vinci Code movie, I suspect that spending your time reading the Tracy's book would be time far better spent. An open mind is useful for enjoyment; but not essential. She has sourced her information for those wishing to engage the subject further. I am looking forward to reading the book's followup, Solomon's Treasure, which sits on my desk, next for review. *Editor's note: The story of The Da Vinci Code, The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail and the court case has been told on Blogcritics.
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22 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
These Weren't The Days My Friend..., February 10, 2006
I think it may be possible that the proto-French were busily hatching paranoid plots and forming esoteric secret societies as far back as when they discovered it was possible to paint on cave walls. Certainly the area of the Languedoc and Rennes-le-Chateau have been hotbeds of the occult for nearly two millennia. If you name a European legend, it either came from there or dropped in for a long visit. And, as books like The Da Vinci Code prove, we are fascinated with all that strangeness. The best part is that at least part of all these events is true. The Merovingians were real and narrowly missed ruling Europe several times. The Languedoc was accessible from the Middle East from as far back as the Christ's time - it is perfectly possible that Mary Magdalene and Joseph of Arimathea did turn up there. And Jesus' crucifixion could have been staged. And don't forget the Cathars and the Templars. Or the good Abbe Sauniere. There are just enough facts and tempting theories to delight and entertain us for years. Thanks to Holy Blood, Holy Grail everyone thinks that the Priory of Sion is the modern endpoint of a series of secret societies that believed that Jesus survived to flee to Europe and that, over the centuries sacred objects have been collected in some secret cache, clues to which were found by Abbe Sauniere. And for all we know part or all of this is true. The Priory certainly exists, and they have made no secret of their plans to establish a pan-European monarchy. I find all this fascinating because the themes and ideas that play here are part history and part insight into the real narratives of the west. The grail, King Arthur, and many other themes blend together into myth and magic. And myth and magic have a lot to do with how our thinking got to where it is. And so I picked up The Merovingian Mythos with the hope that I would find out more about the real Merovingians, and why they play such a central role in all this occult and esoteric cosmology. Tracy Twyman starts out well. The first three chapters are a reprise of the Languedoc history and the constituents of the Priory of Sion. They don't add a lot to Holy Blood, Holy Grail, but they are a good summary for those who skipped the original. And then something horrible happens. Twyman shifts gears and starts trying to make connections between the Merovingians and the stories of Atlantis. We are treated to a frenetic dissertation that sets a new high for distorted etymology as Twyman tried to tie every single bit of mythology, be it Norse, Middle Eastern, European, or South American into one chaotic mélange which she claims is the true history of Atlantic. And this is just the beginning. Next come Satanism and the Book of Enoch. The only thing missing are aliens from outer space. To me this book is a deep disappointment. Admittedly esotericism offers plenty of opportunity for extreme fantasy. But the Merovingians and their legacy have played a long and interesting part in the development of European culture. Antediluvian excesses ring totally false in this context. If you have already read Holy Blood, Holy Grail then avoid this book and acquire a good history of early Europe instead.
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