LONDON (AP) – Dan Brown guards his privacy obsessively, but the author read by millions around the world was forced into the spotlight of a London courtroom to defend himself against accusations he copied the work of others.

The trial is a serious change from Brown’s small-town New Hampshire life, where he lives with his wife Blythe, and rises at 4 a.m. to work – “by making writing the first order of business every day, I am giving it enormous symbolic importance in my life,” he said.

The few seats in the 10th-floor courtroom not filled by journalists on Monday were quickly taken by avid trial-watchers hoping to catch a glimpse of Brown’s testimony – including many with an interest in shadowy medieval orders, alleged dark secrets within the Roman Catholic Church, and celebrity authors.

Brown took the stand in London’s High Court and dismissed claims he copied two writers’ work for “The Da Vinci Code.” Branding the allegations of Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh as “completely fanciful,” he said he had not read their book until the ideas and story line of his theological thriller were already in place.

In a witness statement made public by lawyers as he took the stand, Brown said was “shocked at their reaction” to his book. But under questioning by the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Brown acknowledged that he could not always recall exact dates of milestones in the creation of his novel.

Both books explore theories – dismissed by theologians – that Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute but Jesus’ wife, the couple had a child and the bloodline survives.

“I cannot possibly tell you the precise date I learned that Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute,” Brown told Jonathan Rayner James, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.

Baigent and Leigh are suing “Da Vinci Code” publisher Random House for copyright infringement, claiming Brown “appropriated the architecture” of their 1982 nonfiction book “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.”

If the writers succeed in securing an injunction to bar the use of their material, they could hold up the scheduled May 19 film release of “The Da Vinci Code,” starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou.

Random House lawyers argue that the ideas in dispute are so general they are not protected by copyright. They also say many of the ideas in “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail” do not feature in Brown’s novel, which follows the fictional professor Robert Langdon as he investigates the murder of an elderly member of an ancient society that guards dark secrets about the story of Jesus and the quest for the Holy Grail.

In his 69-page witness statement, Brown acknowledged reading Baigent’s and Leigh’s book while he was writing “The Da Vinci Code” – along with 38 other books and more than 300 documents submitted as evidence to the court.

He said the writers’ work “was not a crucial or important text in the creation of the framework of ‘The Da Vinci Code.’

“I’d never heard of it until I’d seen it mentioned in some of our other research books,” he said.

Brown said he had fully acknowledged his debt to the two authors by having a character in “The Da Vinci Code” refer to the earlier book and its theories.

He even named a character Sir Leigh Teabing – an anagram of Baigent and Leigh.

“Over the past 10 years I have placed in my novels the names of more than two dozen close friends and family,” Brown said. “The names I chose are always those of people I care for or respect.”

Other authors whose works he mentioned had sent letters of thanks, Brown said. But the plaintiffs had made allegations which contain “numerous sweeping statements which seem to me to be completely fanciful.”

The author, who usually shuns the spotlight, has traveled from his home in Exeter, N.H., to give evidence in the case. His statement and testimony provided tantalizing glimpses of his pre-“Da Vinci” life – from pupil at exclusive New England prep school Phillips Exeter Academy to semi-successful Los Angeles songwriter.

It also revealed a complex and wide-ranging research process undertaken with his wife, whose interest in “the sacred feminine,” Brown said, led to one of “The Da Vinci Code’s” key themes.

Brown appeared composed on the stand, only occasionally showing traces of impatience with Rayner James’ forensic questioning about documents and dates.

“It’s as if you’ve asked me to go back five years or 10 years and asked me not only what I got for Christmas, but what order I opened the presents,” he said.

Brown is due to continue his testimony on Tuesday.

The third author of “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail,” Henry Lincoln, is not involved in the case. A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Paul Sutton, refused to say why he was not participating.

Lincoln, who is in his 70s and reportedly in poor health, could not be reached for comment.