Rosslyn Chapel
Superb Medieval Architecture Linked to Freemasonry, Knights Templar
The Chapel is a mix of Christian, Pagan and Templar influences, and forever associated with: the Knights Templar,the Holy Grail and sadly Dan Brown and the Da Vinci Code.
Rosslyn Chapel or the Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew was founded in 1446 by Sir William St Clair and lies around six miles south of the centre of Edinburgh.
Today the Chapel,a superb example of Medieval architecture,is still a vibrant place of worship, draws many thousands of visitors through its ancient doors.
For many, the first time they will have heard of, or seen this ancient building, will have been courtesy of the hugely successful novel, the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, and the subsequent film starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou.
For those with the opportunity to take a closer look they will find, according to Britton in his Architectural Antiquities of Britain (1812) a building, “I believe may be pronounced unique, and I am confident it will be found curious, elaborate and singularly interesting, impossible to designate by any given familiar terms.”
The Chapel’s ceiling rises to over forty feet while its breadth is thirty-four feet and its length sixty-eight feet. Into that relatively small space is crammed an eclectic mix of carvings with Pagan, Christian and Templar influences predominating.
The Mason’s pillar and the Apprentice’s pillar are perhaps the best known of the ancient carvings. They tell us a story of Medieval jealousy and anger; the Chapel’s Master Mason had been asked to create a pillar based on an exquisite carving housed in Rome; but before starting work at Rosslyn he travelled to the Eternal City to study the original.
However in his absence his apprentice, influenced by a dream, completed the work. On return the mason was so angry he hit the young man with a mallet, killing him instantly
In a corner, facing the organ loft, the carved head of the Apprentice, complete with scar on his temple, looks down, nearby his grieving mother surveys the scene, while the Mason peers from another dark corner.
On the architrave joining the Apprentice’s Pillar is a Latin inscription, which says, “Wine is strong, a King is stronger, women are stronger still but truth conquers all.” Esdras, (Ezra) ch 3and 4.
While there are many fascinating carvings around the building, the ones of Indian corn or maize are particularly thought provoking, tucked away above one of the window arches they have been identified as being a plant unknown in Britain at the time the Chapel was built.
Addressing this mystery, the present Earl of Rosslyn poses the question, “ Is it possible that knowledge brought home by Prince Henry (a seaman from Scotland’s Orkney Isles) passed to his grandson William St Clair the Chapel’s founder? This question re-opens the debate about Columbus’s discovery of America. Was somebody there before him?
Legends associated with the Knights Templar at Rosslyn flourish. It is said that in sealed vaults beneath the chapel lie the remains of ten Barons of Rosslyn dressed in their full armour, and of course Rosslyn will also be forever linked with the Holy Grail.
Speculation and rumour will always play its part at Rosslyn; on a recent Chapel tour a guide referring to the line between fact and fiction quipped to an enthralled audience that when the undiscovered ‘sealed chamber’ is finally opened you will probably find Elvis.
Well, perhaps not.
