Holy Blood, Holy Grail

The book puts forward the thesis that Jesus fathered children with Mary Magdalene, whose offspring founded the Merovingian dynasty in France. It attributes the survival of this royal bloodline over the centuries to a secret society, the Priory of Sion. Although it became a bestseller and influenced later works, historians and theologians criticize its speculative methodology and lack of documentary evidence. The text also reinterprets the Grail as a symbol of the sacred lineage rather than a liturgical object.