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| Church of Saint-Sulpice |
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| Meridian Line or Gnomon |
Saint-Sulpice is a huge, Late Baroque parish church located in the fashionable neighborhood of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. It recently became even more popular with tourists than usual thanks to its prominent role in the novel The Da Vinci Code, which is dicussed below.
Saint-Sulpice plays an important role in the popular novel The Da Vinci Code.
In chapters 19 and 22 of the book, an albino monk-assassin named Silas
pays a visit to Saint-Sulpice, based on instructions Saunière revealed
to Silas at gunpoint in the Louvre. The monk searches for a keystone believed to unlock the secret of the Holy Grail.
The
book goes on to explain that the original zero-longitude line passed
through Paris, along this Rose Line, before being moved to Greenwich,
England.
Silas follows the line to the obelisk, and gets an
unpleasant surprise - the instructions were actually a well-rehearsed
lie designed the guard the secret of the Grail. In the designated spot,
Silas finds only a reference to a verse in the Book of Job which reads
"Hitherto shalt thou go and no further." Silas attacks the sole occupant
of the church, Sister Sandrine, as she attempts to phone for help.
In the wake of the popularity of The Da Vinci Code, the church of Saint-Sulpice posted the following note in English:
Well, The Da Vinci Code
version makes a good story. But even the facts are not without
interest, in providing an example of the cooperation of science and
religion. It would not be unreasonable to expect the church was built on
a pagan temple; this was a regular practice. However, it seems unlikely
that the sundial, especially if known to be pagan, would have been
preserved or reconstructed in the new church building.
I was really excited to see the Meridian Line or Gnomon =)
Pictures by MSW
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