Undead Parish

The Undead Parish (城下不死教区, "Parish of the City of the Immortals under the walls") is a location in Dark Souls.

It is a small area containing both the new and the old Undead Church, along with various other buildings.

Lore

Theories

• It is possible to theorize that the numerous female statues holding a child present in the Undead Burg, the Undead Parish and the Firelink Shrine represent the advent of the Chosen Undead awaited by humanity who would succeeds Gwyn, Lord of Cinder and bring back the splendor of the Age of Fire erasing the Curse of Undeath. This is reinforced by the fact that the statues are present in the Church of the city where the Undead lived, built by Anor Londo to follow Gwyn's plan of sheperding the humans to repeat his sacrifice, and in the Firelink Shrine, the place where Frampt would lead the potential Chosen Undead, effectively creating cultural artifacts with a specific message connected to the Linking of the Fire cult to convey. The iconography of the woman who holds and presents the baby clearly recalls that of the numerous Christian depictions of the Virgin Mary together with Christ Child, whose meaning is precisely the birth of the one who will save humanity with his sacrifice.
• Additionally the female figure may represent Gwynevere, Princess of Sunlight as she is represented in one case with a crown, her being officially "queen", despite as an illusion created by Gwyndolin, and in the other surrounded by humans offering gifts of animals and harvest, her being the goddess of the harvest and blessings. This is reinforced by the fact that, despite being an illusion created by Gwyndolin, the goddess had the role of receiving the Chosen Undead who would be able to overcome the multiple trials on their path, receiving them in the cathedral of Anor Londo and giving them the Lordvessel, effectively making Gwynever the female figure who would confirm the coming of the "savior of the world".

Adjacent locations

• Undead Burg
• Darkroot Garden
• Firelink Shrine - An elevator becomes operational after it is activated from the Parish.
• Sen's Fortress - Opens after the player has rung both Bells of Awakening.

Bonfires

There are two bonfires in the Undead Parish area, both of which are warping points.

• Sunlight Altar Warping Point - After the Taurus Demon, across the bridge and beyond the threshold that is guarded by the Hellkite Dragon.
• Undead Parish Warping Point - Beyond the Berenike Knight, in the structure across the narrow bridge leading from the Undead Parish Church. It is found in the old Undead Church above Andre the Blacksmith.

Covenant

• Warrior of Sunlight - Can be joined either by praying at the Sunlight Altar or talking to Solaire once he arrives at said altar.

Characters

• Andre of Astora (merchant and blacksmith)
• Knight Lautrec of Carim (white phantom) - Trapped in a cell requiring the Mystery Key. If the player frees him, he can later be summoned as a white phantom for the Bell Gargoyles fight.
• Oswald of Carim (merchant) - Appears after ringing the bell within the parish.
• Reah of Thorolund (merchant) - After rescuing her from the Tomb of the Giants.
• Solaire of Astora (gold phantom) - Summonable for the Bell Gargoyles fight. He also appears near the Sunlight Altar bonfire, after defeating Ornstein and Smough in Anor Londo, where he can initiate players into the Warrior of Sunlight covenant.

Enemies

Respawning

• Balder Knight
• Hollow
• Hollow Warrior
• Small Undead Rat
• Undead Soldier

Non-respawning

• Fang Boar
• Berenike Knight
• Black Knight
• Channeler
• Titanite Demon

Bosses

• Bell Gargoyles

Items

Keys

• Mystery Key (corpse)
• Basement Key (corpse)

Miscellaneous

• Alluring Skull ×4 (corpse)
• Humanity (corpse)
• Sunlight Medal (Bell Gargoyles - drop if Solaire is present)

Upgrade materials

• Demon Titanite (Titanite Demon - drop)
• Titanite Shard (Berenike Knight - drop)

Souls

• Fire Keeper Soul (corpse)

Weapons

• Gargoyle Tail Axe (Bell Gargoyles - sever tail)
• Halberd (corpse)
• Knight Shield (corpse)

Trivia

• The portcullis behind the Fang Boar is closed when the player approaches too close to it, which causes the Armored Zombie closest to it to rush behind it and pull the lever. As such, it can be prevented from closing by aggroing this Armored Zombie with a ranged attack, thus preventing it from being there to close the gate.

Gallery

Exterior

Church interior.

The statue inside the Church.

The broken statue of Gwyn's firstborn outisde the Church.

The statue outside the Church.

Map of the Undead Parish exterior grounds area.

Map of the Undead Parish interior church area.