Golden Numbers


Golden Numbers

in-arcadia The most important piece of information given to Henry Lincoln by Géraude de Sède was that the tomb depicted by Nicholas Poussin in ” Et in Arcadia Ergo” was located close to Rennes Le Château.

The Background Landscape

pontils-tomb Lincoln visited the tomb and confirmed that in his opinion the landscape behind the tomb was similar to the landscape in the painting.

There are those who argue against this belief. It is a contentious subject heavily influenced by those who believe that everything associated with Géraude de Sède and Pierre Plantard is a fraud. A very early photograph which looks as though it might have been taken before Lincoln’s involvement is some what discouraging.

The Modern View

pontils-tomb-2 The whole issue has become more difficult because the owner of the land on which the tomb was situated demolished the tomb in an attempt to stop people trespassing on his land. Recent photographs, which now have to make assumptions about the location of the tomb nevertheless appear more promising. In reading about the argument as to wether “poussin’s tomb” was important or even relevant I became aware that the Paris Meridien, the North South line which passes through the centre of Paris also passes very close to the tomb. This piece of information was offered more as assistance in finding the tomb than as an independent piece of information but nevertheless it stuck in my mind.

Golden Numbers

mona-lisa

Lincoln consulted art experts including, amazingly, Anthony Blunt who was not only art advisor to the Queen of England but also a soviet spy.

Christopher Cornford of the Royal College of Art confirmed that many artists used the so called golden numbers as a basis for their composition.

Artists know that golden number structures, be they squares, spirals, triangles or pentacles are inherently attractive to the human eye. One of the best known examples is Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa where sides of the included squares are all related to each other by The “golden number” 1.618.

Fibonacci

fibonacci-series The Golden numbers are an integral part of the Fibonacci Series. In AD 1300, a mathematician called Leonardo Fibonacci succeeded in describing in mathematical terms a relationship of numbers which apparently influence many natural occurrences, including the development of Human Beings. The background to this slide illustrating the sequence is one of the opening scenes from “the Da Vinci Code” where the sequence was prominent in the early part of the mystery.

Applications

pyramids The use of the golden numbers to help design and compose structures and works of art was used as early as the construction of the Egyptian Pyramids.

credit-card The belief that the golden numbers are important in pleasing the human eye (even if approximate) range from sublime works of art to the most mundane. The universal design of the credit card is an application of the golden numbers.

Pentacles

fibonacci-pentacle Its connection with pentacles and therefore the pentacles being investigated by Lincoln is that the perfect pentacle is structured using golden relationships and it can be defined in terms of members of the Fibonnaci series.

One should not get too carried away by this statement. In the later Fibbonaci series the result of dividing the earlier number into the later number is indeed the golden ratio 1.618(0339887). Similarly dividing the later number into the earlier number gives the inverse golden ratio 0.618(0340).

golden-mean-2 Earlier in the series these calculations clearly do not give the same result. The golden ratio and it’s inverse are yielded as a successive approximation as one progresses to the higher numbers in the Fibonacci series. As the proportions quoted as governing the structure of pentacles are early in the series they are only approximate and given one dimension it cannot be used to calculate other dimensions using only fibonacci relationships. Normal geometric relationships must be used for such calculations.

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Extract from The Prisoner of Foix--Chapter 43 -The EntranceNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley-26th April 1355

 

'Looks like we are going to see a bit of excitement, John. The Captain tried to get an agreement from the Prince that if there is surf running across the channel to Arcachon we will turn back to Bordeaux, but the Prince would hear none of it. Instead, he has offered to provide insurance for all three ships. If they are damaged or sunk, the owners will be compensated and every sailor who makes the passage will be given a bounty payment. What none of this seems to take into account is that if we sink in rough, fast-flowing waters we might all drown.'

John raised his eyebrows. 'But that is what we are going to do?'

'Yes, despite the fact that surf running accross the entrance is not uncommon and the deep water channel moves continually. In the end, the Prince attacked their captains on their weakest point, their professional pride! He threw down the gauntlet. He offered to take the Sally first through the channel, and to take control during the passage.' He raised his brow. 'We are going into the Bay of Arcachon, come what may! '

Extract from The Eagle of Carcassone -- Chapter 24-- A Real GoddessNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley - 22 July 1355

An hour later John walked with Ximene close to the river along the valley below St Feriole. It was the very essence of a summer’s day. The sun was fierce but in the shadow of the trees, it was cool and fragrant. The trees and shrubs along the riverbank hid their progress, from the Château, from St Feriole.

Eventually they reached a point where John thought it was safe to emerge from cover. To his satisfaction the stream extended into a pool with a sandy beach, shaded by trees. Where the stream entered the pool there was a flat grassy area, almost circular. Behind this, the bulk of two mountain ridges provided a splendid backdrop. He looked around once more ‘Not just a good training ground but a great training ground. If the Greek heroes knew about this they might be tempted to join me, to train with me’

Ximene laughed out loud. He turned to look at her. She had removed her outer clothes and was wearing a white chemise, cut short so that it barely reached her knees. Around her waist, she wore a plaited leather belt, obviously fashioned from the multitude of leather straps to be found in the tackle room.

She ran her hands down over her breasts. ‘When you were unconscious I heard you muttering about gods and goddesses, so  I have decided that from now on, for you, I will be the goddess.’

The Prisoner of FoixVol 1 of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

Aquitaine, an English possession, is in crisis. It is under threat from neighbouring nations and internal dissension.

The Black Prince, King Edward III’s eldest son has been given the task of taking command in Aquitaine.

Suddenly there is an opportunity. Ximene Trencavel is the heiress to the lands of Occitan, to the east of Aquitaine: lands controlled by the Franks. Ximene wants independence, both for herself and for Occitan.

A union between Aquitaine and Occitan would be mutually beneficial. The Black Prince undertakes a secret journey to meet Ximene to negotiate a marriage contract. It is, however, a marriage neither of them really wants.

Meanwhile, the  Franks plot to murder Ximene to prevent ,not just the marriage, but any kind of union between England and Occitan.

The Eagle Of CarcassonneVol II of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

The loose alliance between Ximene Trencavel and the Black Prince is under threat.

The Prince invades Occitan, to show his support for Ximene but it becomes an invasion which creates more problems than it solves.

The Prince has fallen hopelessly in love with Joan of Kent and Joan is now determined to marry him and become the next Queen of England.

Joan is therefore  determined to convince Ximene that she should not marry the Prince.

Part of her strategy is to encourage Ximene’s relationship with John Stanley—one of the Princes bodyguards—not an easy task as both John and Ximene have doubts about their compatibility.

However, John is grievously injured in a battle and Ximene commits herself to nurse him back to health.