{"id":731,"date":"2011-09-18T20:24:34","date_gmt":"2011-09-19T01:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/?p=731"},"modified":"2011-09-19T12:09:44","modified_gmt":"2011-09-19T17:09:44","slug":"corzoo-in-shining-armor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/?p=731","title":{"rendered":"Corzoo in Shining Armor"},"content":{"rendered":"

If one can make sense of Vienna by an awareness of the historical presence of royal courts and the fact that Vienna was capital of the Holy Roman Empire for a while, one can make sense of Edinburgh by knowing about its nearly-constant battles throughout the centuries, as well as the fact that it was the center of the Scottish Enlightenment.<\/p>\n

\"\"One of the very first things one is sure to see upon entering the city is the castle, an imposing structure built on, not just a mere hill, but a craggy precipice of rock that stands high above the rest of the town.\u00a0 It is all crags and cliffs except for one main road called the Royal Mile, which stretches down in a straight line eastward from the castle and reaches the Palace of Holyroodhouse.\u00a0 The palace is the Queen\u2019s residence when in Scotland, and has always been the preferred residence of the royals since it was built, since the castle was for protection and afforded them few comforts.<\/p>\n

Adjacent to the palace is Holyrood Park, a large piece of land that was formerly used as royal hunting grounds. \u00a0It contains springs, lakes, cliffs, and the highest point in all of Edinburgh \u2013 Arthur\u2019s Seat.<\/p>\n

Back westward we go to Castle Rock \u2013 on the north side, at the bottom of the cliffs, are beautifully tended gardens and the newer part of the city farther north.\u00a0 On the south side, nestled in the shadows of the dramatic rock face, is the oldest part of the city. Tiny shops line the narrow streets as well as restaurants, old churches, and graveyards.<\/p>\n

Such is the general geography of the center of the city, and the part that Dave, Corzoo, and I had time to explore.<\/p>\n

\"\"On our first afternoon, we wandered around the old part of the city, finding delightful shops \u2013 the world\u2019s first liquid deli for instance.\u00a0 \u201cWhat in the world is a liquid deli?\u201d you might ask.\u00a0 Well, upon entering, you see large wooden casks and an array of clear vases with various colors of liquid in them.\u00a0 They contain oils, vinegars, liqueurs, and any other delight you can think of that might come in liquid form.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about chocolate milk?\u201d Corzoo asked.\u00a0 I shook my head doubtfully.\u00a0 \u201cMango smoothies?\u201d he tried again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d said the very helpful shopkeeper.\u00a0 \u201cbut we only have things that keep a very long time.\u00a0 But we do have fun squiggly-shaped glass bottles that you can have after the older folks in your life finish up whichever liquid they choose to take home with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

We moved on to look at old bookshops, tweed stores, and an obligatory tartan shop before winding our way to Greyfriars Kirk and the kirkyard.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreyfriars Kirk?\u00a0 As in Captain Kirk?\u201d Dave teased Corzoo with his Star Trek humor.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d said the gullible little Corzoo.\u00a0 \u201cKirk means church<\/em>!\u00a0 It is more visibly related to the German kirche<\/em>.\u00a0 Remember that?\u00a0 It\u2019s the word we have to be careful not to confuse with kirsche <\/em>which means cherry<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAh yes, I remember now!\u201d Dave said.\u00a0 \u201cI didn\u2019t think I remembered James Tiberius Kirk having a brother named Greyfriars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"We wandered around the churchyard.\u00a0 If you can imagine the creepiest of Halloween movies you have seen with old, dark graveyards that harbor restless spirits and long-forgotten secrets – that is what Greyfriars kirkyard looks like!\u00a0 We found bars over some of the gravestones and wondered why in the world?<\/em><\/p>\n

We discovered by reading a few plaques that Edinburgh went through a period of time where bodies would be stolen from graves to be used for study by medical students.\u00a0 People who were alive also had to be careful during this time.\u00a0 These body-snatchers weren\u2019t averse to killing a person for the same purpose.\u00a0 YIKES!<\/p>\n

We then moved on to a portion of the Royal Mile to explore and came across St. Giles Cathedral.\u00a0 It is an elaborate and very old church \u2013 some of the oldest portions date to the 12th<\/sup> century \u2013 and contains a small space called the Thistle Chapel.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cOooohhhhh!\u201d cried Corzoo.\u00a0 \u201cI was hoping I would get to see this chapel!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d we asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the official meeting place of The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle,\u201d he replied with a buzzy flourish.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I know what a thistle is and that it is the official flower of Scotland, but I don\u2019t know what that Order is,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe I can fill you in,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cIt is a chivalric order containing knights and ladies that have been appointed by the Sovereign \u2013 the Sovereign being whoever is king or queen at the moment. It was established by James VII of Scotland – most likely in order to secure the loyalties of certain politically strategic people.\u00a0 Nowadays the Queen (in this case) usually appoints people who have contributed in some great way to Scottish society.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chapel was small, but filled with detail and symbolism.\u00a0 Each of the sixteen knights and ladies has his or her own heraldry, or coat of arms, displayed above his or her seat.\u00a0 There were tiny carved animals on the each armrest between the seats \u2013 each one different.\u00a0 There were angels playing bagpipes and pelicans and, of course, thistles!<\/p>\n

\"\"The next morning we visited the castle first thing. The views of the city from atop Castle Rock were impressive.\u00a0 We could see the entire city and beyond.\u00a0 It was very easy to see why one would choose the craggy rock for the castle location.\u00a0 We saw the crown jewels and the Stone of Destiny, which has been used in coronations for 1000 years.\u00a0 We went to the residential part of the castle called the Royal Palace where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth on June 19th<\/sup>, 1566 to James the VI of Scotland, who became James I of England.\u00a0\u00a0 Upon seeing the accommodations, we understood immediately why the royals preferred Holyroodhouse as their residence.\u00a0 This was very barebones, indeed!\u00a0 We also visited the Great Hall, which displays brutal weapons of war \u2013 swords and spears and guns.<\/p>\n

Underneath all of this were dungeons for prisoners of war.\u00a0 The stories that come from the castle would not make, in general, not very good bedtime stories.\u00a0 It was a place of war \u2013 not of peace \u2013 and as such, much suffering and violence took place there.\u00a0 However, it was especially interesting to see the old prison doors.\u00a0 Initials, names, and pictures were carved roughly into the wood.\u00a0 Ancient graffiti!<\/p>\n

We also saw the sweet, tiny St. Margaret\u2019s Chapel, which was built by King David in the year 1130, dedicated to his mother Margaret.\u00a0 It is the oldest surviving building in the entire city!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Dave\u2019s concert was later that day, so we needed to get back and rest for a while, but before we did, we stopped in at The Elephant House for coffee and pastries.\u00a0 This is one of the caf\u00e9s where J.K. Rowling began writing the first of her Harry Potter books.\u00a0 The back room of the caf\u00e9 overlooks the creepy Greyfriars Kirkyard, all the winding streets of the old part of the city beneath, and looming above is the castle.\u00a0 It was easy to make the leap from the scene out of that window to the world of Hogwarts and all of the fantastical things that happened there!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>When we returned, our half-day of exploration had surprisingly worn us out.\u00a0 Corzoo decided it was time for a Scottish snooze, cuddled up in woolen tartan!<\/p>\n

The following day was dedicated to the exploration of the Palace of Holyroodhouse and Holyrood Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cOk, Tour Guide Corzoo,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cWhat can you tell us about how such a magnificent structure as this came to be?\u201d<\/p>\n

Corzoo dove in eagerly to some historical information for us.\u00a0 \u201cWell, the first thing to have been built on this site was actually an abbey whose ruins remain to this day.\u00a0 The legend is that King David had a vision here of a stag with a cross between its antlers.\u00a0 The king took this to be a sign and built an abbey dedicated to the Holy Rood.\u00a0 Rood <\/em>means cross.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Aha! I had wondered where such a funny word had come from.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally, the abbey and the adjacent hunting grounds \u2013 what is now Holyrood Park – were the most important things here for a very long time.\u00a0 But the royals\u2019 guesthouse expanded into a more permanent residence and eventually became this exquisite palace.\u00a0 The abbey was partially destroyed by English raids in the 1500\u2019s and by more mobs in the 1600\u2019s, and since the design of roof of the abbey was faulty to begin with and seemingly irreparable, the ruins were finally left just as they were.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Tour Guide Corzoo!\u201d we said.<\/p>\n

\"\"We walked through the magnificent, ornate palace.\u00a0 It was everything that the royal residences at the castle was not.\u00a0 It was comfortable, elaborate, and extremely beautiful.\u00a0 But our favorite part came when we walked out of doors off to the side of the palace. There before us stood the ruins of the abbey that King David had originally built. \u00a0The ruins were nothing less than poetic.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cDid you know,\u201d said Corzoo, \u201cthat this is the place that gave Mendelssohn his inspiration for his third symphony, the Scottish Symphony?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh!\u201d I exclaimed.\u00a0 \u201cThat makes a good deal of sense.\u00a0 I can see how he might hear that music while visiting here.\u00a0 It is such a melancholy place.\u201d<\/p>\n

We wandered around the abbey ruins for a while.\u00a0 Corzoo was whizzing around the abbey in a world of his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat game are you up to, lad?\u201d asked Dave.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am defending the abbey from the attackers.\u00a0 Watch out!!!\u201d\u00a0 He made a lunge with his imaginary sword just to Dave\u2019s side.\u00a0 \u201cWhew, that was close.\u00a0 I saved you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were King David instead of just Dave, I would bestow upon you knighthood of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps I will one day do something good enough and brave enough to be made a knight!\u201d said Corzoo.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure it works that way, but perhaps you will,\u201d answered Dave.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u00a0 Don\u2019t most knights do very good and very brave things?\u00a0 I should be able to become one if I do many good and brave things, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, not to be a downer, small frye, but often the bravest of folks don\u2019t get the knighthood their actions might warrant.\u00a0 And those who are knighted, well, they might be very good and very brave people indeed, and have done extraordinary things, but that doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t those who are just<\/em> as good and brave who \u2013 how do you say George Eliot puts it, Angela?\u201d<\/p>\n

George Eliot is one of my favorite authors.\u00a0 Mary Ann Evans was her real name.\u00a0 \u201cShe says they rest in unvisited tombs,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes \u2013 unvisited tombs!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I would rather be knighted and have a magnificent tomb – or better yet, never die and have no tomb at all!\u201d said Corzoo.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, yes, there is that, isn\u2019t there,\u201d said Dave.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the point of being brave or good at all if I won\u2019t be remembered as noble and recognized forever and ever by everyone?\u201d Corzoo\u2019s imaginary sword had dropped out of his hand, forgotten.<\/p>\n

I tried to console him a bit.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s nothing to say you won\u2019t <\/em>be remembered by people and have recognition, but that can\u2019t really be your aim now, can it?\u00a0 Otherwise you end up going about doing brave and ostentatious acts for the sake of looks.\u00a0 More harm can be done than good that way, and often you end up bumbling around like silly Don Quixote fighting his windmills.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The reference to Don Quixote caused Corzoo to perk up a bit.\u00a0 Cervantes wrote many funny stories about the \u201cingenious gentleman\u201d who wandered the country in search of adventures to prove himself a knight.\u00a0 He traveled on his skinny horse with his sidekick Sancho and declared the name of his lady-love before every \u201cbrave\u201d act he committed.\u00a0 One of Corzoo\u2019s favorite things was to listen to the very cheeky Strauss tone poem based on Don Quixote and his mis-adventures.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, Corzoo, many people that we think of as being heroes are just very ordinary people, but they say that when put in a particular situation, they felt like they had no choice but to act in the way they did.\u00a0 Often, they wouldn\u2019t have chosen to be put in that position in the first place!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike Don Quixote who tried very hard to prove his knight-worthiness and ended up looking quite foolish,\u201d Corzoo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly.\u201d I replied.\u00a0 \u201cI think that the ones who are real heroes are those who go quietly about their business tending to their \u2018inner shining armor.\u2019 \u00a0The necessary actions flow quite naturally from them when the time comes.\u00a0 They have no choice but to do what they feel is right.”<\/p>\n

\u201cHmmm, an inner shining armor\u2026\u201d I could see the image resonated with him and his spirits were lifting.\u00a0 \u201cBut how exactly does one tend to creating an inner shining armor?\u00a0 Just in case I have the opportunity to write a treatise on the philosophy of such things, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAhem, yes, of course,\u201d I smiled at Corzoo\u2019s sense of pride.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I think perhaps it is a gentle and small thing that happens inside a person every single day,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cSometimes the bravest acts don\u2019t look so brave on the outside \u2013 like putting oneself in someone else\u2019s shoes and trying to understand the world through their eyes.\u00a0 Or acting in a peaceful way even though you want to retaliate\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s really difficult and gives me no satisfaction!\u00a0 And after all, an inner armor must have a sword along with it.\u00a0 What is the sword for?\u201d said Corzoo.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s for cutting through the crap!\u201d Dave said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuccinctly put!\u201d I replied.\u00a0 \u201cIt helps us see better \u2013 to get to the heart of things. \u00a0To clear away the brush so we can see the proper path.\u201d<\/p>\n

We sat for a while, and wandered through the beautiful gardens of the Palace.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cWell, speaking of seeing things better,\u201d I continued, \u201cshall we go for our walk up to Arthur\u2019s Seat?\u201d I pointed to the peak of the large hill in front of us.\u00a0 \u201cIt will be good exercise and we\u2019ll have excellent views of the entire city and even farther than that!\u201d\u00a0 We were feeling a bit out of shape from sitting on planes and buses, but we huffed and puffed our way up.<\/p>\n

\"\"About a third of the way, we spotted more ruins.\u00a0 It was the ruins of St. Anthony\u2019s Chapel overlooking St. Margaret\u2019s Loch.\u00a0 Loch <\/em>is the Scottish word for lake<\/em>, Corzoo was sure to inform us.\u00a0 We inspected the ruins, and Dave pointed out the remnants of a fire someone had made in the corner of the ruins, and some ugly black graffiti people had left behind.\u00a0 It was apparently a favorite hang-out for many throughout the centuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did they mark up the ruins this way?\u201d asked Corzoo.<\/p>\n

I told him that my guess was that they figured they wouldn\u2019t have a monument made for them after they died, so they wanted to leave traces of themselves behind in some way.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes it always come back to tombs with you?\u201d Corzoo asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh no, quite the contrary!\u00a0 But it does make sense, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d\u00a0 Corzoo had to agree with me.\u00a0 I determined not to mention tombs for the remainder of our outing.\u00a0 At least we weren\u2019t talking about body-stealing like yesterday!\u00a0 But this was Edinburgh after all – a place that does creepy<\/em> really well. It was okay to be just a little broody and dark.<\/p>\n

\"\"We walked on a gravel path most of the way, passing vast tangles of bushes and brambles and fields of thistles as well as gentle grassy knolls.\u00a0 Towards the top it got rockier and rockier.\u00a0 We were going to earn our view at the top!\u00a0 There were some moments where we had to be very careful with footing, walking along what was essentially a cliff with no barrier to keep from falling very far.\u00a0 But by keeping eyes fixed on where we were going rather than where we could <\/em>have gone, we made it finally to the top.\u00a0 I helped Corzoo to get the best view possible of Castle Rock, the old part of the city, and as far as the Firth of Forth and beyond.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cI like it here,\u201d said Corzoo.\u00a0 \u201cCan we come back sometime and look around more?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would absolutely love to,\u201d I replied.\u00a0 \u201cThere are also many castles in the countryside too \u2013 those would be fun to see one day.\u00a0 And do you know, Corzoo, there is this thing called Scottish Country Dancing.\u00a0 With your love of movement, you just might like that dance!\u201d<\/p>\n

Did I hear a groan coming from Dave and sense an eye-roll?<\/p>\n

\u201cI shall watch you two from the sidelines with pleasure!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAw, com\u2019on!\u201d said Corzoo.<\/p>\n

Off we went down the hill, debating the merits of dance, but in agreement about visiting this extraordinary city again some day.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If one can make sense of Vienna by an awareness of the historical presence of royal courts and the fact that Vienna was capital of the Holy Roman Empire for a while, one can make sense of Edinburgh by knowing … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-young-corzoo"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=731"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":769,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731\/revisions\/769"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelashornstudio.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}