According to Christian beliefs, the first master of construction and craftwork is God - the Great Architect of the Universe. But sometimes the devil was not averse to keeping him company.
In any case, you can come to a similar conclusion if you read the book by Vera Begicheva "Mysteries of Ancient Technologies". Satan's technical abilities are endless … - evidenced by the cultural historian A. V. Amphitheaters in his work "The Devil in Everyday Life, Legend and Literature of the Middle Ages." - He knows all arts, crafts and crafts, but, of course, does not exchange in their field for trifles and undertakes only work worthy of his dexterity and strength. In Western Europe, where people have lived on stone from time immemorial, Satan acquired a passion for architecture and construction. A great many bridges, towers, walls, aqueducts and the like are attributed to this strange architect and engineer."
Devil's bridges
It was Satan who allegedly built the famous wall on the border between England and Scotland - a Roman military defensive structure, erected by order of the emperor Hadrian. He also threw a bridge over the Rhone River in Avignon and other so-called devil's bridges, including the Devil's Bridge in the Alps, across which in 1799 the great A. V. Suvorov passed over a terrible abyss with his miracle heroes.
Hadrian's wall
Two 12th century statues in Regensburg (Austria) tell the story of the construction of yet another "devil's bridge".
“One statue is placed under the roof of the cathedral between other figures to drain water in the form of a man leaning down with his whole body, the other is on the bridge in the form of a naked youth sitting astride a stone with the inscription“How hot!” and with a face facing the cathedral. Legend connected these two figures with the construction of a bridge over the Danube in the 12th century.
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The builder of the bridge allegedly fought a pledge with the architect of the cathedral, who would sooner finish his work, and with the help of the Devil outstripped his rival, who, out of chagrin, threw himself from the roof of the cathedral and killed himself to death,”writes art critic V. P. the era of the Middle Ages. The exclamation "How hot!" indicates not only the extraordinary drought that broke out in the summer of 1135, but also the hellish flame, the heat of which is already felt by the sinner who sold his soul to Satan in payment for the bridge built on time.
Scum in the church
“The strangest thing is that the devil sometimes used his architectural talents also for the construction of churches and monasteries,” notes A. V. Amphitheaters. - But, of course, in this case he either pursued his secret goals, or was compelled by Will, the strongest of him. So, they say, he made plans and other drawings for the Cologne and Aachen cathedrals, and the latter was even partly, if not all, built by him."
Aachen Cathedral
Aachen Cathedral was founded in 798 on the site of the destroyed Roman baths - the very place for evil spirits! Within its walls, a poltergeist, the appearance of ghosts was repeatedly observed, from the hands of the priest during the liturgy, it was often as if someone tore out the cup with the wine transformed into the blood of Christ, throwing it at the feet of the most unworthy of the parishioners.
And Albert von Bolstedt, nicknamed Albert the Great (1193-1280), a professor of theology in Cologne and Paris, the head of scholasticism of his time, famous for his extensive works on theology, philosophy and natural sciences, took part in the construction of the Cologne Cathedral (founded in 1248). After his death, Albert the Great was revered as a saint by the Dominican monks, in whose order he was, In his offspring, however, he retained the glory of the great astrologer and alchemist, warlock and magician.
Black Madonnas
Chartres Cathedral in France is the greatest masterpiece of Gothic architecture. At the same time, it is the only French cathedral that was never visited by kings, cardinals or bishops. There were persistent rumors that Satan had laid the foundation for the temple. At first, historians associated these legends with the fact that in ancient times there was a Druidic sanctuary.
Chartres Cathedral
However, in 1904, in the depths of the hill that now lies at the base of the cathedral, the so-called black Madonna was discovered - the figure of the Mother of God with a black face and sexually accentuated body shapes, which the clergy could not, of course, regard as evidence of Satan's "copyright".
I must say that "black Madonnas" were found in many churches in France, and at times Catholic hierarchs were horrified to discover that the people had been devoutly worshiping them for centuries. Thus, in the oldest Parisian church Saint-Germain-des-Prés, built in 542 on the site of the sanctuary of the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis, the "black Madonna" was revered as the Mother of God until her solemn burning in 1514. Together with her the whole clergy of the church went to the fire.
Hellish rush
“The miracle of the devil's buildings was not only in their perfection,” emphasizes AB Amphitheaters, “but also in the speed with which they were built. Often the devil was given no more than one night for them - and he did it, unless people cheated him, which in relation to the devil, it seems, no one has ever considered a sin."
Having pledged to build a church during one night, the devil transferred to the construction site from the most distant places whole granite rocks, blocks and slabs of colored marble, sometimes even columns stolen from some ancient pagan temple, centuries-old oaks and spruces, metal beams and beams.
So, it is known that the Church of St. Barbara in Brittany was built in just a week. Many volunteers from among the local residents took part in the construction, and it is documented that each new shift, coming to work, was amazed at the incredible amount of work that predecessors managed to do. Nevertheless, the pace of work increased day by day, and it all ended with a mysterious epidemic, accompanied by seizures, broke out among the volunteer builders, which drove most of them to their graves.
Chapel of Saint Barbara in Brittany
The only thing the devil systematically avoided was to crown his building with a cross. And even then once the hellish architect managed to build the highest cathedral with a cross for the Swedish king Olav the Holy. But the king, having risen to the roof of the cathedral, saw with horror that what seemed to people from below to be a cross was in reality a golden figure of a vulture with outstretched wings.
Writers' testimonies
Creative people often mysteriously feel what a person cannot see without imagination. It is not for nothing that it is believed that talented writers at the moment of inspiration come into contact with the higher spheres.
Describing in his novel Our Heart the famous abbey of the 12th century Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, erected on a rock, surrounded by the sea from all sides at high tide, the French writer Guy de Maupassant unobtrusively emphasizes in it some otherworldly, diabolical beginning:
"The tall building rose in the blue sky, where its details were now clearly visible: a dome with bells and turrets, a roof bristling with gutters in the form of grinning chimeras and shaggy monsters …"
Maupassant's heroes, "amazed at the striking structure," come closer to it along the sandy spit that jutted out of the water at low tide.
“Above them, in the sky, rose a bizarre chaos of arrows, granite flowers, arches thrown from tower to tower - incredible, huge - and light architectural lace, as if embroidered from azure, from which it protruded, burst out, as if for takeoff, a fabulous and a terrible bunch of gutters with animal faces …"
Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel
“The devil was so proud of his architectural talent that one day he summoned the Archangel Michael, his old enemy, to a competition who would build a more beautiful church on Mount Saint-Michel. The archangel, as one should expect, won, but the devil also did not hit his face in the mud; Moreover, the Archangel's Church was taken to heaven for its beauty, so the sinful world cannot judge it, but the one erected by the devil remained on earth, and tourists still admire it as a Gothic masterpiece,”writes A. V. Amfitheatrov.
According to legend, the devil also took part in the construction of Notre Dame Cathedral and even portrayed himself in the image of one of the chimeras - the famous devil-thinker.
In the historical novel by Mark Aldanov "The Thinker" (1927) there is a spectacular scene: a mysterious stranger who sculpted the devil-thinker Notre Dame leads the heroes to watch his work, and they wonder why he did not carve his name on the statue - after all, descendants will ask, what was the name of the master.
“No,” said the sculptor with liveliness. "Whoever sees my statue will not ask this."
Those who have read Victor Hugo's novel, or at least are familiar with the musical staged based on it, will understand that the famous cathedral often cultivated feelings that were not Christian at all …
“Interesting newspaper. Mysteries of Civilization No. 3 2014