Nicolas Flamel in The Da Vinci Code

[kp0027]

I've been a lurker here on the HPfGU list for a little while, but this
weekend I came across a coincidence that (to my knowledge) no one 
has pointed out on this board.  I was reading Dan Brown's The Da Vinci
Code (TDVC) when a familiar name appeared.  In TDVC, Brown lists 
the names of the Grand Masters of an acient secret society called the
Priory of Sion.  The essential purpose of this society was/is to 
guard the location of the holy grail, and in the preface of the 
book, Dan Brown states that what he writes about the society has been
researched and backed up.  Nicolas Flamel is listed as one of their 
Grand Masters.  We know that Nicolas Flamel was a real person.  I 
wonder if it was common knowledge that he was tied to this 
religious group?  Has anyone else out there read TDVC and noticed 
this cross reference?  Anyone have any thoughts about it?