The Da Vinci Code characters

Appears from the start

A Harvard professor of religious symbology visiting Paris, an authority on secret societies, sacred iconography, and hidden meaning in art. Called to a crime scene late at night, he finds himself a suspect and is drawn into a frantic hunt through France, decoding clues concealed in famous works of art and history. Learned and level-headed, he pieces together riddles under relentless pursuit.

Appears from the start

A talented French police cryptographer who warns Langdon that he is in danger and helps him escape. Quick, resourceful, and estranged from her family by an old rift, she has a personal connection to the murdered man that pulls her into the mystery. Her code-breaking skill and cool nerve make her Langdon's essential partner.

Appears from the start

The revered curator of the Louvre, murdered in the museum at the opening of the story. In his final minutes he arranges his body and leaves behind a series of cryptic clues and codes. His death, and the strange messages surrounding it, launch the entire chase and hint at secrets he had guarded.

Appears from the start

A stern, dogged captain of the French Judicial Police leading the murder investigation. Intense and devoutly private, he is convinced early on that he has found his culprit and pursues the case with single-minded determination, becoming a relentless hunter on Langdon's trail.

Appears from the start

A towering albino monk and zealous, self-punishing devotee who carries out violence in the name of his faith at the direction of a hidden master he knows only as the Teacher. Scarred by a brutal past and fanatically devoted, he practices painful penance and believes he is serving God as he hunts for a long-buried secret.

Appears from the start

A bishop who heads a conservative Catholic organization and serves as Silas's spiritual mentor and protector. Anxious about his group's standing within the Church, he is entangled in dealings with a mysterious figure and in the desperate search that drives the plot.

Appears from the start

A wealthy, eccentric British historian and Grail scholar living in France, an old acquaintance of Langdon's. Erudite, witty, and obsessed with the legend of the Holy Grail, he welcomes Langdon and Sophie into his estate and expounds at length on the hidden history he believes the Church has suppressed for centuries.

Appears from the start

The polished manager of a private Paris bank with a connection to the murdered curator. Protective of his institution's secrecy and of a particular safe-deposit account, he becomes caught up in the fugitives' flight as the chase moves through the city.