Burton Dane Travels

We're traveling through Europe and parts nearby for a year. We'll be posting our pix and adventures here.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Evora, Portugal





We visited a chapel lined with human bones and skulls. Remains of over 5000 anonymous people line the interior surfaces. Built by three monks, it’s intended to show that death always wins. And that regardless of talent, achievement and stature, after a we die, we’re all the same.

Translation on the entryway writing, homeschoolers?

posted by Burton Danes @ 10:12 AM  

6 Comments:

  • At 5:14 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    estamos (we are)
    esperamos (we hope)
    That's all I know. At least I think that might be right; public school is pretty crappy.
    Thanks for the suggestions! We are leaving mid-June for around 3 or 4 weeks. My friend Emanuelle has family somewhere in the French Alps so we'll play around there for a week or so.
    I love the monkey pictures!

    Kelli

     

  • At 9:26 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    Hooray! I got to read a month's worth of entries all at once. I LOVE your blog. Here's my two bits on the entryway. Its not latin, so those monks were slackers or too modern. I think it says (in spanish or portuguese) "Our bones are here to banish your hopes (ambitions)". Never could resist offering my opinion, no matter how uninformed.
    Sylvia

    ps: I'm having email troubles so I hope I haven't missed any of your mail.

     

  • At 7:38 AM , Blogger Burton Danes said...

    Well, I didn't try to translate it, but we were given a different interpretation. So far, the "bones are here" matches.... the rest is different.....

     

  • At 9:04 PM , Blogger sturman said...

    hi y'all: I just was this comment spot and am suspecting that I can get through to you???? I hope so. I've only accessed your travels a few times, but it sure brings you to life for me. Thanks. Do you get regular contacts from others in HR? If not, I'd be glad to let you know what is happening at the Center, with the weather, etc. Are you heading into Africa?

     

  • At 3:32 PM , Blogger BP said...

    Who needs to learn anything anymore. All the answers are on the web. According to Wikipedia the translation is "We bones that are here, for your bones we wait". Plus they have a pretty good article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capela_dos_Ossos

    Anyone care to translate the "Poem about existence" mentioned in the wikipedia article?

    Cheers

     

  • At 4:13 AM , Blogger Burton Danes said...

    Now that's the translation we got.

    We've seen the same message "deaths wins over everyone"" in stained glass, paintings and scuplture. There's something about saying it in the bones of 5000 people that makes it hit home.

     

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