Introduction

It’s an indisputable fact that people love a mystery and even more so, a buried treasure hunt. When I finally shuffle off the mortal coil, I might like to be remembered, at least, as the person who invented the ‘Lincoln Da Vinci Code’. Not that I started it initially – that was the discovery of glazier Tom Kupper – but perhaps I finished it. What exactly is this ‘Lincoln Da Vinci Code’ of mine ? Well, it is based on the joining of two significant events, one the writing of American bestselling author Dan Brown’s controversial ‘The Da Vinci Code’ – certain to become the movie blockbuster of 2006 – and the equally controversial arrival of Hollywood to film scenes of the movie in Lincoln Cathedral during August 2005. At the conclusion of Brown’s book is the finding of a sacred religious treasure, afforded so by a paper chase of a number of scattered clues, and so I wondered if I too could provide a similar quest in the same spirit and vein, afforded a similar amount of ‘clues’ – starting with the interestingly unusual scene of The Last Supper at the Great East Window, but instead of France, concluding at Lincoln Cathedral itself. The Lincoln Da Vinci Code is the result of such an effort.

My starting point, inevitably was, of course, the anomaly of an apparent dog on the plate at The Last Supper, instead of the expected loaf of bread or cup that has gone on to be elevated to The Holy Grail. Whereas most take their dog on a lead, this dog led me to many other clues and obliging hypotheses, some within the Cathedral and some not so far away, and a whole host of items of curious interest, particularly the notorious Lincoln Imp, thought of as nothing more than simply a Mason’s joke, the symbolism of which I have shown in a dramatic alternative fashion in our story, what he could potentially actually represent – a confirmatory ‘marker’ regarding our nearby treasure. Other clues have taken me through an exhaustive search involving Masons, Mary Magdalene, and the statue of Lincolnshire born and famed Grail poet Alfred Lord Tennyson within the Cathedral precincts. It is curious to note that time after time interesting coincidences and synchronicities popped up during the Quest, especially when I began to conclude that in some way it was almost as if we were involved in a game of chess – after all, in connection with the Cathedral we are not short of a bishop,a castle,a knight, king and queen. – and then discovered that coinciding with the final scheduled day of the Da Vinci filming within the Cathedral there was also being held for the first time ever in a Cathedral, the Circular Chess Championship! The circular chessboard was actually in use as far back as the 11^th century at the time the Minster was being built, its roots unclear but said to have been known to great theoreticians, tactical geniuses of the day, and monks. Often known also as Byzantine chess to reflect the period, its moves are , however, different to that of today’s game. And it was resurrected, in 1983, in Lincoln ! Although my angle on this chess involvement is only barely touched upon in the book, I was impressed by what psychologists refer to as ‘ synchronicity’ – to cause to coincide or agree in time – as I feel this to be a tool many feel at ease with in their own psychological search for a meaning in their own lives, their own spiritual and inner search for the Grail, if you like, in a day and age whereby many are confused and disillusioned with the apparent emptiness of life.

In the realm and vast sea of coincidences that have jumped out at me, I have attempted to present in this, hopefully, intriguing hypothesis, an opportunity for the reader to view it as either fact or fiction, trusting that I have proved at least one thing.Our inner spiritual search is a personal one, and we are all entitled to individual opinion in what I feel is our one united goal or Grail – a search for Truth, whatever that truth might prove to be.