Henry´s Faithful Friend

When Henry the Lion left for his pilgrimage he told his wife Matilda that, in case he does not make it back, she may marry again after seven years.

He split his ring in half and gave her one so she knows for sure that it´s him.
All this happened for real, the following might eventually be a myth only...

In the Mediterranean Sea they lost the ship.
The vassal sew Henry the Duke into the skin of an ox and a giantic griffin took the assumed yummy bite, but Henry could get free.
He found a wild lion fighting a dragon and helped the lion - who, in turn, was so thankful he never left his helper´s side.
But Henry wanted to go home asap as the seven years were nearly over and with the lion it would take too long.
At night he secretly escaped but the lion cried so hard Henry came back and took the lion, whom he named Henry as well.. with him.

The devil played a sad part, too (sad as in he lost) and Henry was home in time.
When Henry died in 1195 the lion wanted to enter the cathedral to be with his friend but was not allowed to.

Broken-hearted and desperate he stood on his hind legs and kept digging his claws into the stone until he was so exhausted he fell and died. You can see how his claws worked the stone in pic above.

It certainly also could be that many visitors who came out of church in the dark lighted a fire using the sandstone right by the door.
Or that people took the fine dust for their sick people as the cathedral was sanctified to healer Saint Blaise.

Whatever works for you :-)
Maybe just take a seat on one of the benches around the cathedral and listen to your heart.

I think I can clearly see a lion there.
And no, he wasn´t a wimp, he was a faithful friend, I think...
Source again the book Braunschweiger Geheimnisse (Braunschweig´s secrets).

Faith, btw!
Why can´t some people have faith that now is just right?
The summer is only 15 days old and I already saw the word "autumn" yesterday as deco.
OK... you know something? When winter is 14 days old I´ll happily give up that sort of faith and put up my "spring"-sign - if I remember then! ;-)