Код да Винчи

Chapter 22

           OriginallyknownastheWindRose,itdenotedthedirectionsofthethirty-twowinds,blowingfromthedirectionsofeightmajorwinds,eighthalf-winds,andsixteenquarter-winds.Whendiagrammedinsideacircle,thesethirty-twopointsofthecompassperfectlyresembledatraditionalthirty-twopetalrosebloom.Tothisday,thefundamentalnavigationaltoolwasstillknownasaCompassRose,itsnorthernmostdirectionstillmarkedbyanarrowhead…or,morecommonly,thesymbolofthefleur-de-lis.

           Onaglobe,aRoseLinealsocalledameridianorlongitudewasanyimaginarylinedrawnfromtheNorthPoletotheSouthPole.Therewere,ofcourse,aninfinitenumberofRoseLinesbecauseeverypointontheglobecouldhavealongitudedrawnthroughitconnectingnorthandsouthpoles.ThequestionforearlynavigatorswaswhichoftheselineswouldbecalledtheRoseLinethezerolongitudethelinefromwhichallotherlongitudesonearthwouldbemeasured.

           TodaythatlinewasinGreenwich,England.Butithadnotalwaysbeen.LongbeforetheestablishmentofGreenwichastheprimemeridian,thezerolongitudeoftheentireworldhadpasseddirectlythroughParis,andthroughtheChurchofSaint-Sulpice.ThebrassmarkerinSaint-Sulpicewasamemorialtotheworld’sfirstprimemeridian,andalthoughGreenwichhadstrippedParisofthehonorin1888,theoriginalRoseLinewasstillvisibletoday.

           «Andsothelegendistrue,»theTeacherhadtoldSilas.«ThePriorykeystonehasbeensaidtolie’beneaththeSignoftheRose

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