A Song In Stone: Gloss and Annotations
This document provides information on research and notes used to write A Song In Stone. (PgNum) is the page number in the hardcover edition.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Biblical Quotes
A
Abaris (77). The "Divine Messenger" of the Druids, syncretistically transformed into Hermes and then Mercury. Abaris is mentioned in Herodotus and also by Plato as a Thracian sage who cured the plague in Athens and Sparta; tradition suggests that he was a servant of Apollo but hermetic legend makes him a forerunner of Mercury, or Hermes. Juan blurs the legend for us here, but the caduceus-symbol is important. Abaris is said to have been a patron of pre-Christian druidic societies, but that is mostly a tradition of modern would-be druids. A little artistic license puts this all together.
Abode of Mercy. (145) Rob is alluding to the opening of the heart in the fourth initiation. This term also crops up in Eastern texts such as the Namakkara, wherein it refers to the Buddha's heart; in the esoteric pilgrimage, there is all kinds of syncretism – after all, the Templars brought back a great deal from Outremer. Chartres is the spiritual center of France, and therefore of the book.
alchimetical symbols. (274) The symbols on the pillars in Amiens Cathedral were added for literary purposes and aren't actually there (at least in this century). Still, with the amount of carving present in your average medieval cathedral, they might have been overlooked . . . (see below: in order, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter).
Amiens. (173) City in Picardy. The described features (Porte Gayant, Vignes, Saint-Martin, Le Maison des Fleurs, Chemin de l'Eau, Pont de Dursame, Porte Saint-Denis) all appear on a period map of Amiens. Ian is not familiar with the modern city, so no reference is made to it (unlike Toulouse where he visited with Ian and Jan.) Prior to the nineteenth century, Amiens had an extensive network of underground vaults used to store dyestuff, cloth, wine-casks and other things. For the purpose of the narrative, they have been enlarged and made more complex; but they actually did exist, and based on drawings made at the time they were filled in (to prevent accidents on the roads above) they had similar arch supports to the Lady Chapel of Rosslyn. I have embellished the design for the purpose of the story – but the logical jump is not that great.
Amiens Fire. (275) Like a number of other cathedrals in northern France, Amiens was destroyed several times by fire; the event Ian witnesses is the great fire of 1218 (though there was another serious blaze in 1258 which did not consume the entire structure).
Andély. (223) (Andély-le-Vieux). This town is located at a bend in the river, which narrows to a few hundred meters. The shrine of St Clotilde – the mother of Clovis, the first Christian Frankish king – is located here. It is of particular omen for me; my mother's given name was Clotilde. Château-Galliard, on the east side of the river, is a massive fortress which is still there. Petit-Andély is the part of the town on the east bank.
Antikythera device. (291) This device is recreated for plot purposes, but it actually exists – it was found about 1900, and is a mystery to archaeologists since it contains a differential gear – something unknown even in 1307. There are a lot of resources on this – for instance, see this summary. A model is on display at Boston's Museum of Science, and there is an excellent set of pages at SUNY explaining how it worked, including Java animations.
Apprentice Pillar. (22) The most famous feature of Rosslyn Chapel. While this work is one of Rosslyn's great drawing cards, it is not particularly significant to the book.
aragonesa. (59) The aragonesa dance is popular in northern Spain and various rural parts of France to this day. The relationship between this dance and the "path to the east" made by pilgrims in the shadow of Léon's rose window is artistic license. So is the implied similarity to the pattern formed by labyrinths in Chartres and Amiens and below Nôtre-Dame in Paris.
Archimedes' constant. (249) Pi (π), the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, was not given this name until the eighteenth century, first by William Jones and then by Leonhard Euler (who also discovered e, the root for natural logarithms.) However, as Rodney observes, its approximate value was known even in ancient times; the "method of exhaustion" consists of inscribing polygons with ever-larger numbers of sides within a circle of fixed diameter.
Awake, My Soul. (186) Thomas Ken's long, lugubrious hymn, published 1674. Ian is right: no one knows all of the verses, just the last one. The complete text (and music) are online. The business of timing an egg is apparently fairly accurate, though it's only hearsay evidence.
B
ball of pitch. (346) The means by which Theseus killed the minotaur in the labyrinth – he stuffed a ball of pitch in the creature's mouth.
Beau Dieu. (269) A statue of the resurrected Christ on the trumeau at the Cathedral of Amiens.
Beaujeu, Guillaume de. (190) (d. 1291). The 21st Grand Master of the Templars, slain at Acre.
Beauséant. (236) The banner of the Templars. Also a battle cry for the Order. It bears the Latin inscription: Non nobis, Domine, non nobis sed nomini tuo da gloriam. "Not unto us, o Lord, but unto You the Glory."
bec a bec. (67) "lips touching". This is a rude comment, as is the noise Juan makes.
Bec, Guilbert de. (141) This character is invented, but there was a noble family of Bec in Picardy; in the story, Guilbert is the nephew of Michel de Bec, who is a historical character.
Bec, Michel de. (259) Real character, perhaps related to Pope Clement V. Martin de Bec is said to have possessed a large library.
Beeb. (3) The BBC. This term may have originated with the Goon Show, but it is a popular nickname in British slang.
Bernard of Clairvaux, Saint (175). (1090-1153). One of the earliest leaders of the Cistercian Order, a noted theologian. An abbot at 25, he preached the Second Crusade. In this story he is intimately associated with the early Templars and their excavations beneath Temple Mount.
Bonomel. (190) Ricaut de Bonomel, an (ex-)Templar poet, who complained about the inaction of the Templars and other military orders against the advances of the infidel. His writing was praised by those who hated the Templars, and hated by the Order itself.
Bruno, Giordano. (173) (1548-1603) Bruno was a medieval philosopher whose poetry and other writing transcended much of the thought of his age. Gran refers to his attempt at creating an epistemological theory of everything. He was burned at the stake for heresy in 1603.
C
Cahorsin (223). Rodney's name for Archbishop Duèze, later Pope John XXII.
California Dreaming. (226) A song by the Mamas and the Papas from 1965. A song of homesickness; evidently that's a part of Rosslyn's music as well:
All the leaves are brown / and the sky is grey
I've been for a walk / on a winter's day
I'd be safe and warm / if I was in L.A
California Dreamin' / on such a winter's day
stopped into a church / I passed along the way
well, I got down on my knees / and I pretend to pray
you know the preacher likes the cold / he knows I'm gonna stay
California Dreamin' / on such a winter's day
all the leaves are brown / and the sky is grey
I've been for a walk / on a winter's day
if I didn't tell her / I could leave today
California Dreamin' / on such a winter's day(© to original copyright holder. Reproduced here for informational purposes only.)
Cantigas de Santa Maria. (37) The famous music of Santiago in honor of the Virgin. Described in brief in the text.
Cariñena wine. (67) Local wine from the area of Zaragoza, grown there for centuries. It is often drunk very young (Joven), and the wine the lads are drinking would probably not be very fermented.
Caput Sophiae. (310) The "head of wisdom". De Bec is using the skull as a sort of animated head; this links in the Baphomet legend, the head that the Templars were supposed to have worshipped. He has drawn three Hebrew characters; aleph, mem, and tav; when Ian wipes away the aleph, only mem and tav remain, as explained. These are letters traditionally carved on the forehead of a golem, shamelessly adapted for this scene. (Note that the description of the letters is incorrect: in Hebrew they would be written right-to-left. One of my readers recently pointed this out.)
Carmelite Order. (328) The Carmelite hermits settled on Mt Carmel in the Holy Land around 1206, and their original rule was written by Father (later Saint) Albert Avogadro, Patriarch of Jerusalem. It strongly emphasizes poverty and a vow of silence. The community was forced from the Holy Land at the end of the Crusading era, settling its brothers in small monasteries; the most prominent one was in Aylesford in England, led by (Saint) Simon Stock. The 'bee' metaphor is used by the Carmelites as described by Brother David. Note that these Carmelites are different from, and earlier than, the so-called "Discalced" Carmelites.
Carnutum (174). The Roman name of Chartres.
Carraria Major. (74) A wide boulevard on the east side of Toulouse, extending from the 'Bourg' downhill into the city proper. The synagogue for the Jewish Quarter was tightly shut (it was never torn down and was re-granted to the returning Jews by a later French king), but there would be no indigenous Jewish population, as they were ejected in 1306.
chiel. (4) A term derived from Rodney's (and my) £3 Scots-English dictionary. It means "guy", usually a young man. It's usually only used by snooty people, thus Ian's observation that Rodney wouldn't fare well in rough parts of town.
Celestine V. (349) Pietro de Morrone, pope for only six months.
Channel 4. (4) A public-service television broadcaster in the United Kingdom since 1982. It's the network that hosted Ian and Jan.
Chantilly. (333) In 1307, this was a sleepy village, with a manor owned by the Archbishop of Paris; Chantilly-le-Château was built only in the late fifteenth century. Ian refers to Ronaldo, forward for Real Madrid, who married Daniella Ciccarelli at Chantilly-le-Château in February 2005.
Chartres. (149) Chartres Cathedral is a place rich with imagery. It was destroyed by fire in 1194 (except for the western façade and the bases of the two great towers on either side), and rebuilt in Gothic style over the next quarter-century. Its most well-known feature is the dozens of stained-glass windows, most of which are authentic and intact from that period (despite Napoleon, the Hundred Years' War, two world wars and innumerable smaller scuffles over the centuries.) The process for making these windows is said to have come from the Abbot Suger of St Denis in Paris, and esoteric belief holds that they are particularly made to admit (or exclude) certain wavelengths of light.
The other well-known feature of the cathedral is the labyrinth, as described by Ian in this chapter. It is supposed to represent a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and a penitent could supposedly replace an actual penance with walking on foot or on knees along such a labyrinth. This is modern myth, I think. However, the labyrinth was cunningly made – 365 stones, with one particular white stone that would catch the rays of the meridian sun exactly at the spring equinox.
Chartres, like many holy places, was built over older ruins, and esoteric beliefs hold that it is a druidic sacred place that was remade in the Christian image (a black earth-goddess was recarved to form a Madonna and Child.)
The best source of information on Chartres is Favier's wonderful book The World of Chartres, which includes (among other things) a cross-sectional diagram of the nave, identifying all of the stained-glass windows (including one dedicated to the Virgin of Beautiful Glass, by the way) and a complete diagram of the lower levels showing the various access points and the way in which the layout was changed over the centuries. I have tried to depict it as it would have been in 1307, though there is some speculation involved regarding exact configuration.
There is lots of less reliable information on the geometry of Chartres, but there is some that is more readable. The least difficult source on this is the Charpentier book The Mysteries of Chartres Cathedral, which gives calculation for the dimensions.
There are a number of streams below the cathedral; they converge below the center of the choir. There is a loop of the stream that roughly follows the curve of the ambulatory. This is the water-path beneath the Hill.
Chatîllon, Walter of. (160) In Latin "Gaultier Insulis". A twelfth-century French theologian and poet; he is a well-known goliard. He wrote Prædicatio Goliæ (the Apocalypse of Golias) and the Alexandreïs, which features the famous "Scylla and Charybdis" reference. He was also a humorist, and was also the author of an anti-Semitic tract, Contra Judaeos.
Children of Master Jacques. (165) Also called Compagnons Passants.
Children of Solomon. (165) The Children of Solomon were the Gothic cathedral-builders. Masonic esoteric tradition makes the Children of Solomon the ancestors of these craftsmen, and therefore the predecessors of the Masonic fraternity itself.
Children of Soubise. (165) The Children of Soubise were a (perhaps fictional?) order of companion-builders who constructed the Romanesque-architecture cathedrals across Europe. They were said to be based at Cluny, and associated with the (reformed) Benedictine Order. An old tradition suggests that the Children of Soubise "assassinated" the great and learned master builder Jacques (or Jakin). Jakin (or Jachin) is one of the "two pillars" in Masonic ritual.
Christ the Redeemer in Rio. (121) This is an enormous statue on a hill above Ipanema in Rio de Janiero in Brazil. It would have been a challenge for a person with acrophobia.
Chladni pattern. (385) The research work of Ernst Chladni is the key to associating a given sound frequency with the dimensions given in the Grail-book. The mathematics for this work is not all that complex, but I have stayed away from it in the text. Paul Bourke has an excellent site describing the patterns, particularly the 3-dimensional ones.
Christ laughing. (301) This is my homage to Umberto Eco. The central plot of The Name of the Rose involves Jorge of Burgos, the blind monk; he's offended by the notion that Christ laughed (as described by Rob in the story). Sir Umberto is Umberto Eco (from Milan); Sir Georgio is Jorge of Burgos. The moral of Rob's tale is that, of course Christ laughed, for he was a man; and that as long as he and Ian are alive they can rejoice in their continued existence.
Clement V, Pope (45). (1264-1314) Clement V, Bernard de Got, was elected Pope in 1305 following the death of his predecessor Benedict XIV. Even before his passivity (some might say connivance) at the destruction of the Templar Order, there were suspicions about his elevation in exchange for favors to the King of France. Sophia Menache's biography (LOC catalog # BX1275 .M46 1998) blows up the legend of the conversation at the Forest of Angèly: she claims Dumas completely invented it in The Companions of Jehu (it appears near the end of the Prologue, though this seems to have been a contemporary rumor as well.) Clement V signed a writ in late July 1307 demanding investigation into numerous charges of corruption, blasphemy, and sodomy on the part of the Templars. Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master of the Order, was aware of this writ and encouraged its promulgation; he believed that it was necessary to clear the air and exonerate the Order. Instead, of course, it was used as a pretext for the events that were to come. (Rob's hesitation at the end of Chapter 4 is about speaking the name of the Colonna, an Italian noble family.)
Clotilde, Saint. (226). (474-545) Queen of the Franks, wife of Clovis, and one of the great early patronesses of Christianity in France.
Columba, Saint. (24) (521-597). http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04136a.htm. The evangelist of Scotland, of Irish birth. He built a church on the island of Iona, one of the most numinous places I have ever visited.
combinatoria. (325) The existing documentation on Llull's devices include large charts of letter combinations, with each letter corresponding to a word or phrase. But they look very much like amino acid chains in genome maps.
Compagnons Passants. (165) Also called "traveling companions", are also called the "Children of Master Jacques". These are the craftsmen who have "traveled" to a higher state of understanding.
confrére. (235) Rob's description of his past shows that while he is a Templar, he is not a Knight Templar; this may explain why he is not as prideful as many such are portrayed to be. He is a sergeant, a man of common birth who serves the order as a soldier – and, in this case, as a guide.
Connolly, Billy. (100) A famous Scots comedian. He recently played "Uncle Monty" in the movie A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Creatori serviunt omnia subjecta. (160) These Latin phrases are drawn from Prædicatio Goliæ, a Latin poem ascribed to Walter of Chatîllon – Chatîllon was a town where he served as a clerk). These are lines 31-34:
Creatori serviunt omnia subjecta,
sub mensura, numero, pondere perfecta.
Ad invisibilia, per haec intellecta,
sursum trahit hominem ratio directa.
There is no association between the author of this work and Chartres as far as I know; this is literary license. The place where the staircase descends to the crypt, however, is in the place described. There is no reason why a stone bearing an obscure inscription could not have been located there eight hundred years ago – at least for the benefit of this story.
Chatîllon praises mathematics in this poem – in particular, the ratio directa – the perfect measure of the golden ratio. Chartres (at least in 1307, before the acoustics were messed up by the relocation of the pulpit and the addition of bas-reliefs and the organ) was the place of perfect sound. This is due to the dimensions of the nave, particularly its height (and arrangement of roof-trees) and the ratio of width to length. The story implies that these dimensions were deliberately chosen in order to evoke the music written here and encoded in the Rosslyn stones.
croix-pattée. (77) A cross, usually (but not always) with equal arms, which become wider at the ends. It is a symbol often associated with the Crusades, and particularly the Templars.
D
DeMolay, Jacques. (308) (1244-1314) The last Grand Master of the Order of the Temple. What you believe about the last Templar Grand Master depends on where you're sitting. Some accounts depict him as unlettered, arrogant and ignorant; others as simply misguided or deluded. Given the power of the Order, it seems unlikely that anyone who served as Grand Master could be stupid – I'm inclined to believe that he simply placed too firm a belief in Phillippe le Bel's honesty and probity, and never could believe that he could be betrayed. In the end, even knowing what was to happen, he thought he would be vindicated.
"Devil's chord." (307) A tritone, a chord considered to be music that causes evil thoughts. Also called the "devil's interval." It appears in some rock and modern music as well, for example in the opening chords of Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze. Of course, Wagner used it as well in the Ring operas.
Die Gedanken sind frei. (137) A traditional song from the 19th century; the most common modern interpretation is by Pete Seeger, which Ian might have heard growing up. The main stanza is:
Die Gedanken sind frei, wer kann sie erraten,
Sie fliegen vorbei wie nächtliche Schatten.
Kein Mensch kann sie wissen, kein Jäger erschießen
mit Pulver und Blei: Die Gedanken sind frei!"Thoughts are free: no one can reveal them.
They fly by like nocturnal shadows.
No man can know them, no hunter shoot them down
with powder and shot: thoughts are free!" (of course, it rhymes in German.)
This also fits with the later scene where Ian and Rob are in the oubliette under Amiens:
Und sperrt man mich ein im finsteren Kerker,
Das alles sind rein vergebliche Werke.
Denn meine Gedanken zerreißen die Schranken
und Mauern entzwei, die Gedanken sind frei!"And if I am thrown in the darkest dungeon,
It would amount to nothing:
My thoughts would then tear the gates
and walls apart: thoughts are free!"
Dieu vo garde. (245) In Masonic parlance, the "due-guard" alludes to the position hands are placed when Masonic oaths are taken. The term comes from this expression, or something similar.
Door of the Initiates (181). A door at Chartres Cathedral, over which there is the depiction of a wheeled cart.
Duèze, Archbishop. (223) (1249-1334) Jacques D'Euse or Duèze, a canon lawyer from Cahors, later Pope John XXII, the first true "Avignonese" pope. He is later referred to as "the Cahorsin". Rodney may be in error; this man was terrified of sorcery, and may not have wanted anything to do with a divining map.
E
Edward II. (292) (1284-1327) King of England from 1307, following the death of his father Edward I, the "Hammer of the Scots". He was crowned in early 1308 and may have had Adam de la Halle as a musician at his coronation, which is the origin of the idea that de la Halle did not die in 1286 as is traditionally thought. Edward II was a miserable king; Robert the Bruce defeated him at Bannockburn and thus secured Scottish independence; he was forced to abdicate in 1327 and died later that year.
ell (43). A length of cloth measure, normally from the shoulder to the fingers of the opposite hand. Thus the crippled man who does not give full measure.
Elm. (7) Elms appear on the lane to Rosslyn Chapel; the elm is a symbol of the first initiation, as is lead ("leaden clouds"). See also the Gisors Elm.
"Every Good Boy Deserves Favour". (42) The British version of the American "Every Good Boy Does Fine".
F
Faraday cage. (27) This idea is invented for the novel. In the context of the story, the presence of an earth-path interferes with Sean Ross' wireless signal because of a Faraday cage effect. The baptistry isn't part of the stone building (it was added in the 1880s to elevate the organ above the nave) and presumaby wouldn't interfere with the signal.
Festival; Fringe (7). The Edinburgh International Festival takes place every August. It features various arts activities, including music and theater. The Edinburgh Festival takes over the city for a couple of weeks every summer. It includes lots of street performances, as well as major events like the Military Tattoo up at Edinburgh Castle. By comparison, the Fringe is a much more free-form, wild, open-air activity that began after the Second World War when a few theater groups turned up uninvited at the Festival. The Fringe is a sort of counter-cultural response that happens side by side with the Festival, and is less mainstream and more weird.
Forest of Angèly. (349) This is a myth about Clement V. Prior to the death of his predecessor, he is said to have met Phillippe IV in the Forest of Angèly, and in exchange for the King's support in obtaining the Holy See, he offered to perform certain tasks – among them the destruction of the Templar Order. The story has sinister aspects that go beyond simple royal greed for the Order's treasure.
This story was perpetuated in literature; in Dumas' Companions of Jehu he relates the story as follows:
"Archbishop, I have it in my power to make thee pope."
Bertrand de Got listened no longer, but cast himself at the King's feet, saying: "What must I do to obtain this?"
"Accord me the six favors which I shall ask of thee," replied Philippe le Bel.
"It's for thee to command and for me to obey," said the future Pope.
The vow of servitude was taken.
The King raised Bertrand de Got, and, kissing him on the mouth, said:
"The six favors which I demand of thee are these: First, thou shalt reconcile me completely with the Church, and grant me pardon for the misdeed that I committed toward Boniface VIII. Second, thou shalt restore to me and mine the right of communion of which the Court of Rome deprived me. Third, thou shalt grant me the clergy's tithe in my kingdom for the next five years, to help defray the expenses of the war in Flanders. Fourth, thou shalt destroy and annul the memory of Pope Boniface VIII. Fifth, thou shalt bestow the dignity of cardinal upon Messires Jacopo and Pietro de Colonna. As to the sixth favor and promise, that I shall reserve to speak to thee thereof in its time and place."
Bertrand de Got swore to the promises and favors known, and to the promise and favor unknown. This last, which the King had not dared to mention in connection with the others, was the abolition of the Knights Templar. Besides the promises made on the Corpus Domini, Bertrand de Got gave as hostages his brother and two of his nephews. The King swore on his side that he should be elected pope.
It's clear that Clement cleared the air between the King and the Holy See, murky since Nogaret's attack on Boniface VIII at Anagni in 1303; the tithes of the clergy were returned despite Unam Sanctam; the Colonna (mentioned in passing as "a name I shall not mention" while the lads were in Toulouse) were made cardinals; and the hostages presumably included Armand de Got, who appears as a bodyguard to Guilbert de Bec.
However, there is no proof that this meeting ever took place, and most historians dismiss the event as hearsay at best.
Fourth wall. (324) In some of Adam's actual plays, the narrator speaks directly to the audience; he used this technique long before it had a formal name.
Fra Liberatus (292). The head of the Fraticelli, or spiritual Franciscans. A number of societies of monastics spun off from the Franciscans during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; this one was seeking the blessing of Pope Clement V, and Fra Liberatus was on his way from Italy to Avignon at the time of his death. Their philosophy was heavily dependent on a vow of poverty, and their doctrine decried the Church's wealth and denied that Clement V (and later John XXII) even deserved to be called Pope due to their abrogation of this monastic rule. They were ruthlessly repressed in the 1330s by Pope John XXII (Angelo de Clareno succeeded Liberatus and is mentioned in the text).
Friends of Rosslyn (8). An NGO that promotes study of and information about Rosslyn Chapel.
Fulbert of Chartres (175). Bishop of Chartres (952-1029) at the time of the 1020 fire that destroyed the earlier cathedral; he devoted most of his later life to its reconstruction. His inclusion among the Children of Soubise is literary license, but reasonable within the confines of the story.
G
gaita. (64) Or gaita gallega. This is a traditional instrument in northeast Spain – and yes, it's a bagpipe. It's traditionally played by two musicians harmonizing while accompanied by a percussion instrument or two. (The group of five described here would be quite typical.)
Gaudin, Thibaud de. (190) (1229-1292) The 22nd Grand Master of the Templars, the last to govern the Order in Outremer. After the fall of Acre and the death of his predecessor Guillaume de Beaujeu, de Gaudin retreats to Sidon (which is also taken) and he then reorganizes the Templars in Cyprus – but they never return to the Holy Land.
German mile. (69) Various units of measure existed before nineteenth-century standardization. A German mile was about 7 kilometers, or a bit over four English miles. Since there were Germans in the mercenary company in which Juan served, it's a term he would use.
Giblumite. "giblum" means "stone-squarer"; the word appears in 1 Kings 5. It is also the name of a particular Masonic grip.
Gisors. (237) A town in northern France, most famous for the Gisors Elm.
Gisors Elm. (253) This symbolism is described by Rodney in the text; for a good account, see http://www.philipcoppens.com/gisors.html. The cutting of the elm has been used in literature before – this article suggests that Conan Doyle's Holmes story The Musgrave Ritual may derive from this symbolic event. The important thing about Rodney's thinking is that the name of the Grail derives not from Sant Graal – "holy cup" – but rather Sangre Real – "holy blood". This is artistic invention; the grail isn't a cup, it's a book.
Gisors, Guillaume de. (241) Though it is not directly mentioned in the text, this character is intended to be the one said to be one of the early Grand Masters of the (completely fictional) Priory of Sion. His death in 1307 neatly fits with the story. The Gisors Elm has mystical significance as well, and the travelers' route easily brings them to Gisors. Its relationship to the protection of Jesus' bloodline (through the Merovingians) also fits nicely.
goliard. (331) A satirical form of poetry; also, clergymen who wrote this sort of poetry, which mocked the Church. Walter of Chatîllon was a goliard, and some of Adam de la Halle's plays are considered goliardic in nature.
Got, Armand de. (165) Pope Clement's nephew. Fictional creation, but medieval Popes often had large extended families to whom jobs were distributed.
Got, Bernard de. (45) Pope Clement V (1264-1314).
Grassmarket. (150) An open-air square in Edinburgh near the Mound. On particular days it's filled with vendors. (And in the southeast corner, there's a science-fiction bookstore - TransReal. It is referred to, but not mentioned by name, on page 384.)
Grocheio, Johannes de. (340) Johannes de Grocheio (c. 1250 – c. 1320) was a leading musical theorist of the day. He and de la Halle knew each other (though since most accounts have de la Halle dead between 1286-1288, this meeting would be completely fictional.) de Grocheio complains about the regulations for musicians and performers in Paris. Legally only professionals (i.e., members of a guild) could perform, but amateurs were constantly coming in from the countryside and taking not only street-corner spots but actual concert-type jobs away from them. No amount of legislation had been able to stem the tide. For a brief description of his life, see .
Guillaume. (358) Most of the well-known bells of Nôtre-Dame were not cast until much later than the story; this is the only one in existence in 1307.
H
Hattin. (236) The battle of Hattin on July 4, 1187 was decisive in determining the fate of the Crusading States. It was called the "Horns of Hattin" because of a prominent mountain peak nearby. There exists a contemporary account of the battle; Rob's account of the final battle at Acre is based on standard accounts.
"Haud your wheesht." (37) Scots slang. "Hold your tongue."
heid-bummer (4). Scottish slang term. The boss, the key figure.
Hic amitur archa cederis. (182) "You will work through the Ark." This inscription and carving are located at Chartres. The carving depicts a group of workers escorting a wheeled cart which might be bearing the Ark of the Covenant. It may refer also to 1 Chronicles 13:7 – "And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drave the cart." – when the Temple is dedicated.
Hidden treasure. (189) The movie with the treasure buried beneath a church in New York is, of course, National Treasure, which also features Freemasons – in a positive light, in fact.
Highers. (48) The Highers in Scotland correspond to the A-levels in England.
Hill of Beauce. (175) The hill on which the town (and church) of Chartres is located. It is also called the Hill of the Strong, and is considered to be "undefiled"; neither clergyman nor king is buried beneath the Cathedral. Rob believes, just as Gran suggested during the fourth initiation, that it would be an event of great significance to shed blood there.
Holy of Holies. (196) The sanctum sanctorum of King Solomon's Temple, the darkness where the Ark of the Covenant was placed when the temple was completed.
Honnecourt, Villard de. (297) Villard de Honnecourt was a thirteenth-century artist who created a sketchbook full of devices, architectural renderings, and assorted artwork. In some ways he resembles an early sort of DaVinci, though nowhere near as brilliant. There is a very complete website online that includes a copy of the book.
"horse". (264) A colloquial term referring to Rodney's warrant, or pass, proving his bona fides as a member of the Children of Solomon.
I
Ian and Jan. (3) The "Ian and Jan" show is loosely modeled on a Scottish afternoon talk program(me) called Richard and Judy. It is on Channel 4 in Scotland. It's typical afternoon fare – books, guests, features.
Iesus Filii Josephus. (247) Since the grail-book is a description of Jesus' genome, it is a bit heretical to describe Jesus as the son of Joseph (as opposed to the Son of God); traditional doctrine suggests that Joseph had very little if anything to do with Jesus' parentage. Later in the chapter Rodney suggests something even more heretical – that Jesus may have had actual descendants – but swerves away from it.
"incidit in Scyllam qui vult vitare Charybdim". (161) "He falls in Scylla's jaws who would escape Charybdis" - "between a rock and a hard place". It is a quote from the Alexandreïs, the only line that anyone remembers (the book was very influential and well-read in its time.) Scylla and Charybdis are mentioned in the Odyssey, among other places.
Irn-Bru™. (31) A hideously sweet, highly-caffeinated orange drink wildly popular in Scotland. It's the Scots version of Jolt™; the slogan for Irn-Bru is "Made From Girders".
Isles. (220) The Isles was a separate lordship, nominally independent of the King of Scotland, at least in part until 1493. Rob is from Tiree and would pay heed to the MacDonald, not to the King of Scotland. Scotland itself became part of the United Kingdom by the Act of Union in 1707.
ITV. (4) Ian thinks of ITV as "soaps and more soaps". Also called "Channel 3", this is the most sensationalist of British broadcasters.
J
Jeu de Pelérin. (289) A (supposedly) posthumous account of a pilgrim coming to Arras, only to find that Adam has died. It was released by his nephew after Adam's "death" in 1286. In this account Adam does not die at the commonly accepted time, but travels about in the Mediterranean world searching for a key to the unhearable music. Then he meets Raymond Llull, as described in the narrative.
Jenners (151) An upscale department store in Edinburgh. Note that in 2005 it was sold to the House of Fraser, though it nominally retains its own brands and identity. We visited Jenners and had lunch there in August 2005, just before the sale.
Jerome, Saint. (335) (340-420). Saint Jerome wrote a parable, "The Hermit and the Minstrel", in which he asserted what Rodney says. The minstrels of the Middle Ages were consdered to be "ministers of Satan".
"Jerusalem" (25) The hymn based on William Blake's famous poem, based on the apocryphal story of Joseph of Arimathea's journey to Britain.
John the Baptist. (274) As of 1307, the gilded skull of the Baptist in Amiens was the "original". The traditional story of John the Baptist's skull is that it was stolen from a church in Constantinople shortly after the Latin armies sacked it (1204) and was installed at Amiens in 1206. According to tradition it was destroyed or stolen in Napoleonic times and replaced by another saint's skull. The story introduces another variation . . . or two.
K
kalends. (94) Kalends, like the better-known Ides, refers to a specific day of the month; in this case, the first. Saint Giles' Day is the "Kalends of September".
Kepporeth. (196) The Mercy Seat is the cover of the Ark; blood was sprinkled on it by the high priest during Yom Kippur, to atone for the sins of the people.
King David's harp. (335) Brother David refers to Samuel 16:23 - "And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him."
"Kilts and Heather Club" (6). The Scottish BBC. Ian is describing the elite, genteel nature of BBC Scotland.
L
Langue verte. (136) The "green language", also called the "Language of the Birds", has to do with the hidden arts of alchemy and numerology represented in nature. Modern authors such as Swift and Carlyle employ elements of this in their works, as do (more blatantly) "mystics" and poseurs such as Castaneda and Chopra. The "green language" of Hermes Trismegistus may have origins in the Jewish Qabala, or even in Druidic traditions; but Rob's reference to the idea that "even the dimensions have meaning" points to the idea of sacred geometry; this becomes even more important when the ladsget to Chartres. There's a lot of rubbish on this subject; look here for the most opinion-neutral description on line. There's also a strong convergence between the sacred geometry of cathedrals and the mathematical harmonies of music – which fits the theme of the book very well.
Lavender (177). A symbol of the fourth initiation.
Lion in Winter. (253) A 1966 Broadway play made into a very famous 1968 movie with Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn. When it was first performed in Scotland, David McCallum appeared on stage.
Litanies a la Vierge Noire. (154) Poulenc's composition in honor of the black virgin of Rocamadour, completed in 1936. A favorite of Ian's Gran MacPherson.
Llull, Raymond. (290) Llull is an interesting figure who, among other things, created the ars combinatoria described in the text, and proposed that the Crusading orders be combined and placed under the direction of a prominent Christian monarch such as King Phillip of France. There is an extensive article on his "machine" by Werner Künzel. His journey to Alexandria is entirely fictional; in the story he has reasoned the existence of the Grail-book and hopes to find it there. The shipwreck and construction of the Antikythera device, a medieval orrery are also entirely my own creation.
Louvre. (223) Philip Augustus, King of France (1165-1223), King from 1180, had the Louvre built as a fortified palace; it did not become the French national museum until many centuries later. It can be imagined that the Children of Solomon built it. The map is completely fictional, however; it is a tool for divination similar to the primitive method used by de Bec on the road to Orléans in Chapter 6.
M
Maestro Mateo. (38) The architect of Santiago de Compostela.
maggots. (92) This was a common tactic when the wounded man could not receive medical attention right away. Maggots do not eat living flesh, just necrotic tissue. This technique, known as debriding or autolytic biosurgery is being experimented with in modern day.
Maison de la Coquille. (116) Mentioned in Aylmer's guidebook. The willow-tree is my addition, and is a symbolic part of the third initiation, as is river water (which is why the water at the hostel is clean).
Matamoros (58). "Moor-slayer". The battle cry of soldiers in the reconquista.
Merovingians. (254) There is a conspiracy theory regarding the genealogy of the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties (Charlemagne, his direct ancestors and his descendants) that links them to the House of David. It's really quite far-fetched and has been fostered in part by the "Priory of Sion" hoax. The passage in the book pays lip service to it.
Midi Canal. (83) The Midi Canal was built in the 17th century to facilitate commercial traffic. Naturally, it doesn't exist at all in the story time frame. The Midi itself is a famous wine-growing region, and looks nothing like it is described; in the sixteenth century the French crown brought in Dutch engineers to drain the swamps and level the land.
mosaic pavement. (195) The description of the floor of the chamber as "laid out like a huge checkerboard" is meant to symbolize the "mosaic pavement" of the second level of the Temple. The two pillars bear the symbols of "Boaz" and "Jachin", the two pillars at the Temple's entrance.
motet. (26) A medieval musical form. DeGrocheio was apparently one of the first composers of motets.
Mountmarle. (20) A high place that overlooks Roslin and the site later occupied by the Chapel. A great battle was fought near there in 1303.
N
News24. (3) A 24-hour BBC news feed.
Nogaret, Guillaume de. (73) (1260-1313). Due to his involvement in the 'Outrage at Anagni' against Boniface VIII (described by Rob a bit later on), Nogaret was still excommunicate in August 1307 and would not have been permitted within the cathedral; but as a very powerful agent of King Philip the Fair he could not be ignored. His father was widely mentioned as a Cathar heretic, burned at the stake in the 1270s for apostasy, but there are conflicting accounts regarding the truth of this. It is true, however, that Nogaret was powerful, ruthless and widely feared – and completely fearless.
Nôtre-Dame de Paris. (360) The description is intended to convey how busy a place the cathedral would be – it was in constant use, with different groups using different parts of it, in some cases simultaneously. The place didn't become the site of grand exclusive processions for some time. The room beneath the crypts is mostly fictional. It is known that there are stone piers below the cathedral that probably date from pre-Roman times, but it is literary license that places an entire sanctuary as described. The Mars Oracle from tradition is the church itself.
nummo. (43) a copper coin (i.e., a penny).
O
organs. (157) Organ technology had just reached an interesting state by the time of the story. The great church organs – indeed, Chartres Cathedral's great organ – had not yet been built, but the organ described in this passage would have been typical for the era. It's a hand-pumped bellows-driven organ with a keyboard (of sorts) and no foot-pedals. Rob mentions a portative organ (i.e., able to be carried): this would be a smaller affair, operated by one person (and not two), strapped over the shoulder of a sitting musician who manipulated the keys with one hand and operated the bellows with the other, rather like an accordion.
"Owl and Nightingale." (336) A Middle English poem, written about 1200. This might have been a bit highbrow for an entertainer performing before a mercenary company, but Adam was very talented.
Outremer. (36) "Across the sea". The Christian kingdoms in and near the Holy Land.
P
Paraiso. (43) The open marketplace arrayed on the north side of the cathedral. This was regulated by officers of the Bishop, with prices of key items (such as pilgrims' badges) controlled by statute; supposedly only a fixed number of vendors were allowed to sell them. As with every other marketplace in the Middle Ages, these rules were honored more in the breach than to the letter.
Paraskevidekratiaphobia (50) Fear of Friday the 13th.
"paths". (70) These are sometimes called ley lines, patterns in the earth (air, water, fire) that indicate the flow of elements. The hermetics of the Middle Ages and early Renaissance called the earth-paths the Wouivre; I've decided to stick with an easier terminology for Rob. Note that water-paths don't necessarily correspond to rivers; also, there's evidence to suggest that the Petite Garonne did, in fact, change course some centuries before the time of the story, and that the church of La Dalbade is located where there was no solid ground a few hundred years earlier.
Payens, Hugues de. (175) (1070-1136) The original founder of the Order of the Temple. There are uncounted writings that speculate on what the Templars may have found while excavating beneath Temple Mount and what they may have brought back to Europe; what is known is that St Bernard of Clairvaux, one of the most influential figures of the day, championed their cause and their efforts.
The story suggests that when they came back to France they brought some of their treasures specifically to Chartres and placed them there: in particular, the Ark of the Covenant – which is said to have contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments, Aaron's rod (see Exodus 4), and the pot in which the sacred mana from the wanderings in the Sinai was kept. See Hebrews 9:4 – ". . . the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant."
Chartres itself was built to exact specifications, and in an extraordinarily short time; one esoteric reseacher (Von Simson) suggests that the master builder may have been in possession of a (since lost) complete manuscript of Plato's Timaeus, which contained information on the exact geometric relationships on which the dimensions of the building were originally based.
perfect measure. (160) The "place of perfect measure" is Chartres, which was acoustically perfect. This is referenced in the Chatîllon poem, the "Alexandre√Øs"; four key lines are inscribed on a stone in Chartres. (This is fictional, however).
Pietro de Morrone. (349) An aged monk elevated to the Papacy as Celestine V, he was convinced to resign by Cardinal Gaetani, who became Boniface VIII; the monk was left to starve to death. Rodney refers to him, his successor Benedict XIV, and the current Pope, Clement V, as usurpers.
Poor Knights. (34) The "Poor Knights of Christ" was an alternate name of the Templars.
Pórtico de Gloria. (38) The "Gate of Glory" in Santiago.
Postcards. (267) The cards described actually exist. They are included in an account of an Australian Western Front soldier, similar to what might be imagined for Ian's great-grandfather.
Poulenc, Francis. (15) (1899-1963). A French composer, a favorite of Ian's Gran MacPherson. Poulenc was a member of the "Group des Six". He turned back to the faith of his youth after a personal tragedy, and composed Litanies a la Vierge Noire in 1936; Ian meets a black virgin in Chartres. Cocteau is mentioned in The Da Vinci Code as a figure in the history of the Priory of Sion; so is Guillaume de Gisors, who we met (unnamed) at Santiago and who we meet in Gisors.
Prevost of Merchants. (351) Effectively the "chief of police" for Paris in 1307, particularly for markets such as Les Halles.
R
Rabboni. (2037) A word used in Masonic ritual. It means "Master"; it appears in Mark 20:16, when Mary Magdalen addresses the risen Jesus.
Raleigh, Sir Walter (57). (1552-1618) The quote Ian can't quite remember is from Sir Walter Raleigh's His Pilgrimage – written as Raleigh was on his way to the gallows. Raleigh's Pilgrimage isn't exactly what Ian has in front of him, but it's the sort of association that a television talking head might make.
Give me my scallop-shell of quiet,
My staff of faith to walk upon,
My scrip of joy, immortal diet
My bottle of salvation,
My gown of glory, hope's true gage;
And then I'll take my pilgrimage.
Raven (52). Symbol of the first initiation.
Robert the Bruce (1274-1329). (22) King Robert I of Scotland ascended to the throne after killing his rival in a church in Dumfries in 1306. He was an implacable foe of King Edward I of England (the "Hammer of the Scots") and defeated his son at Bannockburn in 1314; the reference is to the legend that the Templars (in disguise) helped decide that battle.
Robin and Marion. (67) Li Gieus de Robin et Marion was written by Adam de la Halle, the greatest and one of the last of the trouvéres or troubadors. He is supposed to have died between 1286 and 1288. He was nicknamed Adam le Bossu – "hunchback", but does not appear to have been physically deformed (it was a family name of some sort, though the theory about his bowing is mentioned in at least one source.) See http://toisondor.byu.edu/frmedrama/adam-h.html for a good biography. The quote is in Picard, or Langue d'Oeil.
rondeau. (26) A late medieval musical form.
Rosebank. (390) A small, well-tended cemetery in Edinburgh, less well known than Greyfriars or several others in the city. It is a peaceful setting for middle-class Edinburghers to bury their dead.
Rosslyn Motet. (25) The music of Rosslyn is supposed to have been decoded, but my guide insisted at the time that there was far more to it than that – it was a simplistic view of the "song in stone". Rob Madson believes that as well.
routes templières. (222) The routes to the Holy Land protected by the Templars. For this story, this term is extended to mean the various earth-paths that crossed parts of Europe.
Royal Scottish Academy. (26) The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Dance is a well-known school for music study and performance.
Ruby (52). Symbol of the first initiation.
S
Sainte-Croix. (85) The cathedral at Orléans, Sainte-Croix, was a Romanesque church that was destroyed by fire and then rebuilt in Gothic style, but its roof gave way during reconstruction in the 1270s. Rob's comment on cathedral building and the amount of time required is spot on – except for Chartres, which was rebuilt from Romanesque to Gothic following the 1194 fire and took only 26 years to be reconsecrated. Chartres, however, is unique in many ways. The legend of the consecration of the cathedral is part of the tradition in Orléans. The cathedral at Orléans was built over a Roman temple, which was built over a pagan one. Orléans was a royal city from the thirteenth century on – the "queen of the Loire" – and considerable wealth was lavished on it.
Saint-Cyprien. (69) Now a suburb of Toulouse, in the fourteenth century it was a small village built around a church, on the west side of the Garonne River. The bridge between them was St Pierre-de-Bazacle, long since washed away.
Saint-Eutrope. (94) The medieval priory at Saintes was chosen for geographical convenience. It is, however, a large Gothic structure, and fits with the theme of the story.
Saint Giles' Day. (94) September 1. Saint Giles is the patron saint of cripples, and of Edinburgh.
Saint Magdalen's Day. (90) July 22. Ian's flashback refers to the Battle of Falkirk, when Wallace's army met with the forces of Edward I on St Magdalen's Day, 22 July 1298. Apparently Ian was at that battle with Wallace. The schiltron was an infantry formation devised by Wallace – an infantry square of men similar to a Macedonian phalanx, intended to be proof against English cavalry. The schiltrons held against the first charge of the impetuous English horsemen, but Wallace was betrayed by the withdrawal of John Comyn. The battle was incredibly bloody but ultimately a defeat for the Guardian of Scotland, who had to retreat toward Callander with the force he had left. The battle had cost Edward dearly, especially in horses, and since Wallace was still at large the victory was a hollow one – he had not suppressed the Scottish independence movement.
Saint Mary's. (26) St Mary's is an Edinburgh music preparatory school.
Saint Martin. (102) The patron saint of soldiers. He is famous for the tale of parting his cloak to share with a poor man. His shrine at Tours was a pilgrimage site for soldiers on their way to Santiago (or Rome or Jerusalem). The brand-new rose window beneath the Tour Charlemagne was installed at Tours in the late 13th century.
Saint-Sernin. (72) The cathedral church of Toulouse, located in the 'bourg' or northern suburb. The 'bourg' was mostly settled by wealthier families in ths period. The Porte Miègeville is still there; it depicts Saint James and Saint Peter as described, though the church has sustained at least one major fire and the position of the façade has been moved (by Napoleon, who changed the arrangement of the streets and eliminated the Place de la Trinité). The cathedral was a stop for Santiago-bound pilgrims, however, and is described by Aymery Picaud in the Pilgrims' Guide.
Santa Maria de Léon. (58) While parts of it were under construction well into the 16th century, the main part of Santa Maria de Regla was completed in 1303.
Saint Vincent Monastery. (68) A traditional spot on the pilgrimage route on the north side of the Pyrenees.
Salerno. (93) This was the site of the most famous and accomplished medical school in the Middle Ages. It was well known even in the 11th and 12th centuries.
Satie, Erik (1866-1925) (15). A French composer and pianist, a favorite of Ian's Gran MacPherson.
science-fiction bookstore. (384) Transreal Fiction, on the Grassmarket. I visited the store in August 2005.
Scotsman. (3) "Scotland's National Newspaper." Originally founded in 1817, it has been a daily broadsheet since 1850.
Senlis. (326) The walls and the ditch called "le Fosse" are authentic to the period, as is the Porte-Saint-Rieul. There was a Carmelite priory in Senlis, though beekeeping is invented for the story; still, according to Crane, The World History of Beekeeping and Honey-Hunting, the described form of beehive storage was used in northeastern France throughout the Middle Ages. The boxes are called 'skeps' and contain the hives; the beekeepers can easily draw out the combs and remove the honey. Smoke was used to calm bees from Roman times forward.
Sepulchre. (190) The Holy Sepulchre is Jerusalem, the site of the grave of Jesus.
Septembresce. (146) The feast of the birth of the Virgin, held on September 8. This is a fair depiction of Chartres town on this day. In particular, the Cathedral would have been packed with pilgrims, many of them sleeping inside – everywhere, even in the crypts. In addition, the Bishop's sway permitted those vendors inside the church proper to buy and sell exempt from taxes, while his deacons helped the civil authority keep order. (And yes, they did sell lead models of the Blessed Virgin in 1307.)
skep. (328) A wicker or wooden box used to hold a beehive.
"Shank's pony." (57) On foot. This is modern Scots parlance.
Sisyphus. (227) A figure in Greek mythology, condemned to push a rock up a hill throughout eternity.
Song of Roland. (60) A great medieval epic. The quote is from Stanza CCXIII, late in the poem when Roland – and a whole lot of other folks – are dead. In the Middle Ages the Chanson de Roland was extremely popular with storytellers, though its depiction of an eighth-century battle is badly colored by medieval style – as Ian says, "Coronation Street for the inn-and-tavern crowd", referring to a contemporary Brit soap opera.
standing stones. (320) These are actually there in the forest north of Senlis; the modern name is "the Senlis Alignment." Rob's use of them to make Ian tell the truth is invented for the purpose of the story.
strait gate. (178) Luke 13:24 – "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."
sueldo. (43) A sueldo is a silver coin (i.e., a shilling).
sunflowers (177). A symbol of the fourth initiation.
swan. (153) A symbol of the fourth initiation.
T
Temple Mount. (121) The crypts under Temple Mount in Jerusalem are very close; there is some dispute over various holy places, and the various Christian groups (Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Catholic, different Protestants) compete directly with each other on holy days.
Thirteen stairs. (186) Traditionally, this is the number of steps in the stair leading to a gallows.
tippee. (4) An archaic slang term, derived from Rodney's (and my) £3 Scots-English dictionary. It means "refined" or "classy".
Tiree. (24) Rob Madson's home isle, a small island in the Inner Hebrides.
Toulouse (69). Toulouse was famous for its industry. In the middle 14th century, before the Plague, its population may have reached 50,000, and had a large population of "mercators" or "burgenses", most of whom lived in the civitas or city proper, below the wall that separated it from the 'bourg'. Outside of Toulouse proper the area was poor and feudal, but the city was actually quite free – freemen of the town served in important positions as ancilli (servants) or nuncii (bailiffs, police and also town criers). More than forty guilds were functioning in this period, all of which patronized specific religious orders and which were responsible for certain parts of the city defense. The only bump in Toulouse's road was the Cathar heresy, which was brutally suppressed in the area during the middle 13th century and led to the loss of autonomy for the Counts of Toulouse.
The dyestuff, which really was essentially the same as woad, was grown as a plant upriver (cochineal = coquagnes in Occitan), then shipped downstream to Toulouse where it was boiled. The Garonne River really did look blue from all the crap that was poured into it. Though, as Rob points out, the Templar hostel was upriver near the Île de Tournis, and didn't see most of the pollution in its own water.
The best source of information on Toulouse is John Hire Mundy's Society and Government at Toulouse in the Age of the Cathars, LOC DC 801 T726 M83 1997. It's a bit thick reading, but is very thorough – it's someone's doctoral disseration. Toulouse is now "Space City" for the European Community space program.
Tree of Jesse. (47) Jesse is the father of David, the grandfather of Solomon. The "Tree of Jesse" is a traditional medieval form. At Santiago even today, pilgrims place their hand on the Tree as described.
trumeau. (269) A central pillar in a large arch, usually dividing the entryway into two doorways. At Amiens, the trumeau contains the Beau Dieu, a statue of Jesus trampling serpents.
Tunic of the Virgin. (147) One of the greatest relics of Chartres Cathedral, it is supposed to have been a garment worn by the Virgin Mary.
V
Vierge sous-Terre. (154) "The virgin beneath the earth." A statue of the Virgin Mary found in the crypt at Chartres. According to legend, it was a statue of the earth-goddess adapted to become a statue of the Virgin.
virgini parturiae. (154) "The virgin about to give birth." The cult of the Black Madonna is its own entire rabbit-hole of scholarship and mysticism. It connects Poulenc with Chartres (though his own work was written about a different Black Virgin (in Rocamadour.) La Vierge sous-Terre is a good symbol for that, though, and it's still there in Chartres (though the Well of the Strong is long since gone.)
W
walk upright. (205) One of the principal features of Gothic architecture is the use of the ogival arch. The rounded, Romanesque arch leans downward – the weight of the stones is held back by the presence of a key-stone in the center. The ogival arch, by comparison, is pointy; the weight of stone is held back by buttresses and the arch leans upward. It is said that it causes those who pass beneath it to "walk uprightly."
Walkabout Scotland. (33) A camping and hiking organization, similar to our Appalachian Mountain Club. A city boy like Ian would be properly disdainful of them.
Wallace, William (1270-1305). (69) The movie Braveheart did more to misrepresent history than the average movie. The actor is, of course, Mel Gibson. The wikipedia entry is reasonably informative about the historical figure.
War Memorial. (268) At Edinburgh Castle there is a huge structure (which I visited in the summer of 2005) containing elaborate memorials to all of Britain's recent wars. There are large books listing casualties by regiment – in the case of the Great War, deaths of an entire generation reduced to books of names.
"Wee Ian". (153) Scottish vernacular, as Ian observes. "Wee Ian" is always the son, even if he's physically bigger than his father.
Well of the Strong (174). A holy well in the crypt at Chartres. It does not exist in modern times, but was present in 1307.
windmills. (256) Amiens did have a large number of windmills scattered across the Picard plain.
Wouivre. (175) The earth-path.
Z
Zerubbabel. (27) In Masonic tradition, he is the leader of the stoneworkers and other craftsmen who are allowed by the Babylonians to return to the Holy Land to build the Second Temple. Cf. Zechariah 4:9 – "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you."
Biblical Quotes
"And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares." (306) Micah 4:3. Rodney plays on this famous expression, reversing it for the circumstances.
"And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them." (86) Isaiah 42:16. This is a Masonic allusion, but it is derived from Isaiah 42, verse 16 (this is used when the group is going under the hill at Chartres as well.)
"And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." (250) Matthew 5:29. Rodney is referring to this particular line when Rob leaves his companions.
"And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." Luke 1:46-47. Rob rightly denies that he is not the blessed Virgin, but this is an appropriate passage to describe his feelings at this point.
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore." (281) Psalms 133:3. Ian paraphrases this psalm, referring to the idea of enlightenment descending while he prays.
"For the eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light." (78) Luke 11:34. It helps also that Luke is a physician and the patron of physicians. The All-Seeing Eye is another Masonic symbol; it represents the Divine, capable of "pervading the inmost recesses of the human heart."
"He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear." (173) Mark 4:9.
"I am the one who came before. After me will came one more powerful, the latchet of whose sandals I was unworthy to stoop down and unloose." (275) This refers to Luke 3:16 most closely, but the line appears in all four Gospels. John the Baptist foretells the coming of Jesus.
"I will please the Lord in the land of the living." Psalms 116:9.
"Lord, now lettest thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy Word: For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel." (199) Luke 2:29-32. This is called "the Canticle of Simeon" and refers to the recognition of Simeon, a Jew, that Jesus was the awaited Messiah. On (250) Rob recites this line in Latin.
"Save me, O God. For the waters have come up to my neck. I am sunk in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God." (284) Psalm 69: 1-3. All of the psalms would be sung from the psaltery during the course of the liturgical year. There is a detailed commentary on this psalm at http://www.easyenglish.info/psalms/psalm069-taw.htm.
"Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." (178) Luke 13:24.
"The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you." (27) Zecheriah 4:9.
"Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness." (195) 2 Chronicles 6:1. The sanctum sanctorum, or holy of holies, was the innermost portion of the Temple of Solomon, where the Ark was placed when the Temple was dedicated by King Solomon. The Ark was carried by the Levite priests using long wooden poles that passed through rings on its outer surface; evidently the Templars (or the Children of Solomon) carried the Ark to this resting place using the same method.
"This is the day the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (302) Psalms 118:24.
"Wine is strong. The king is stronger. Women are stronger still: but truth conquers all." (27) The quoted passage is from 1 Esdras 3:10-12, and while it's part of the Greek Orthodox canon, it's not in the Vulgate (and therefore not in the standard Latin Bible either – and, of course, nowhere to be found in the King James. (The King James canon includes none of the Apocrypha, and the Catholic Bible only 12 of the books.) The Rosslyn structure refers to Biblical text that would not have been considered canon in the 1440s. Note that Rob reads the words (not Ian; I couldn't make it out either, my guide read it for me.) The interweaving of text and ornamentation is a reference to the rondeau musical form.
The contents of this page ©2009, Walter H. Hunt.
