Dan Brown - The Da Vinci Code

Roses. The womb of the goddess.

Entering with Sophie, Langdon felt his eyes reaching across the famous sanctuary and taking it all in. Although he had read accounts of Rosslyn’s arrestingly intricate stonework, seeing it in person was an overwhelming encounter.

Symbology heaven , one of Langdon’s colleagues had called it.

Every surface in the chapel had been carved with symbols – Christian cruciforms, Jewish stars, Masonic seals, Templar crosses, cornucopias, pyramids, astrological signs, plants, vegetables, pentacles, and roses. The Knights Templar had been master stonemasons, erecting Templar churches all over Europe, but Rosslyn was considered their most sublime labor of love and veneration. The master masons had left no stone uncarved. Rosslyn Chapel was a shrine to all faiths… to all traditions… and, above all, to nature and the goddess.

The sanctuary was empty except for a handful of visitors listening to a young man giving the day’s last tour. He was leading them in a single-file line along a well-known route on the floor – an invisible pathway linking six key architectural points within the sanctuary. Generations of visitors had walked these straight lines, connecting the points, and their countless footsteps had engravedan enormous symbol on the floor.

The Star of David , Langdon thought. No coincidence there. Also known as Solomon’s Seal, this hexagram had once been the secret symbol of the stargazing priests and was later adopted by the Israelite kings – David and Solomon.

The docent had seen Langdon and Sophie enter, and although it was closing time, offered a pleasant smile and motioned for them to feel free to look around.

Langdon nodded his thanks and began to move deeper into the sanctuary. Sophie, however, stood riveted in the entryway, a puzzled look on her face.

«What is it?» Langdon asked.

Sophie stared out at the chapel. «I think… I’ve been here.»

Langdon was surprised. «But you said you hadn’t even heard of Rosslyn.»

«I hadn’t…» She scanned the sanctuary, looking uncertain. «My grandfather must have brought me here when I was very young. I don’t know. It feels familiar.» As her eyes scanned the room, she began nodding with more certainty. «Yes.» She pointed to the front of the sanctuary. «Those two pillars… I’ve seen them.»

Langdon looked at the pair of intricately sculpted columns at the far end of the sanctuary. Their white lacework carvings seemed to smolder with a ruddy glow as the last of the day’s sunlight streamed in through the west window. The pillars – positioned where the altar would normally stand – were an oddly matched pair. The pillar on the left was carved with simple, vertical lines, while the pillar on the right was embellished with an ornate, flowering spiral.

Sophie was already moving toward them. Langdon hurried after her, and as they reached the pillars, Sophie was nodding with incredulity. «Yes, I’m positive I have seen these!»

«I don’t doubt you’ve seen them,» Langdon said,» but it wasn’t necessarily here. »

She turned. «What do you mean?»

«These two pillars are the most duplicated architectural structures in history. Replicas exist all over the world.»

«Replicas of Rosslyn?» She looked skeptical.

«No. Of the pillars. Do you remember earlier that I mentioned Rosslyn itself is a copy of Solomon’s Temple? Those two pillars are exact replicas of the two pillars that stood at the head of Solomon’s Temple.» Langdon pointed to the pillar on the left. «That’s called Boaz – or the Mason’s Pillar. The other is called Jachin – or the Apprentice Pillar.» He paused. «In fact, virtually every Masonic temple in the world has two pillars like these.»

Langdon had already explained to her about the Templars’ powerful historic ties to the modern Masonic secret societies, whose primary degrees – Apprentice Freemason, Fellowcraft Freemason, and Master Mason – harked back to early Templar days. Sophie’s grandfather’s final verse made direct reference to the Master Masons who adorned Rosslyn with their carved artistic offerings. It also noted Rosslyn’s central ceiling, which was covered with carvings of stars and planets.

«I’ve never been in a Masonic temple,» Sophie said, still eyeing the pillars. «I am almost positive I saw these here. » She turned back into the chapel, as if looking for something else to jog her memory.

The rest of the visitors were now leaving, and the young docent made his way across the chapel to them with a pleasant smile. He was a handsome young man in his late twenties, with a Scottish brogue and strawberry blond hair. «I’m about to close up for the day. May I help you find anything?»

How about the Holy Grail? Langdon wanted to say.

«The code,» Sophie blurted, in sudden revelation. «There’s a code here!» The docent looked pleased by her enthusiasm. «Yes there is, ma’am.» «It’s on the ceiling,» she said, turning to the right-hand wall. «Somewhere over… there.»

He smiled. «Not your first visit to Rosslyn, I see.»

The code , Langdon thought. He had forgotten that little bit of lore. Among Rosslyn’s numerous mysteries was a vaulted archway from which hundreds of stone blocks protruded, jutting down to form a bizarre multifaceted surface. Each block was carved with a symbol, seemingly at random, creating a cipher of unfathomable proportion. Some people believed the code revealed the entrance to the vault beneath the chapel.

Others believed it told the true Grail legend. Not that it mattered – cryptographers had been trying for centuries to decipher its meaning. To this day the Rosslyn Trust offered a generous reward to anyone who could unveil the secret meaning, but the code remained a mystery. «I’d be happy to show…»

The docent’s voice trailed off.

My first code , Sophie thought, moving alone, in a trance, toward the encoded archway. Having handed the rosewood box to Langdon, she could feel herself momentarily forgetting all about the Holy Grail, the Priory of Sion, and all the mysteries of the past day. When she arrived beneath the encoded ceiling and saw the symbols above her, the memories came flooding back. She was recalling her first visit here, and strangely, the memories conjured an unexpected sadness.

She was a little girl… a year or so after her family’s death. Her grandfather had brought her to Scotland on a short vacation. They had come to see Rosslyn Chapel before going back to Paris. It was late evening, and the chapel was closed. But they were still inside. «Can we go home, Grand-père? » Sophie begged, feeling tired. «Soon, dear, very soon.» His voice was melancholy. «I have one last thing I need to do here. How about if you wait in the car?»

«You’re doing another big person thing?» He nodded. «I’ll be fast. I promise.» «Can I do the archway code again? That was fun.»

«I don’t know. I have to step outside. You won’t be frightened in here alone?» «Of course not!» she said with a huff. «It’s not even dark yet!» He smiled. «Very well then.» He led her over to the elaborate archway he had shown her earlier.

Sophie immediately plopped down on the stone floor, lying on her back and staring up at the collage of puzzle pieces overhead. «I’m going to break this code before you get back!»

«It’s a race then.» He bent over, kissed her forehead, and walked to the nearby side door. «I’ll be right outside. I’ll leave the door open. If you need me, just call.» He exited into the soft evening light.

Sophie lay there on the floor, gazing up at the code. Her eyes felt sleepy. After a few minutes, the symbols got fuzzy. And then they disappeared.