Rosslyn Chapel

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Rosslyn Chapel, originally named the Collegiate Chapel of St. Matthew, is a 15th century church in the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland. The chapel was designed by William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness (also spelled "St. Clair") of the St. Clair family, a Scottish noble family descended from Norman knights.

Construction of the chapel began in 1440, and the chapel was officially founded in 1446, with construction lasting for forty years.

Contents 1 Architecture 1.1 Apprentice Pillar 1.2 'Musical' boxes 1.3 Green Men 1.4 'Ears of corn' 2 Templar and Masonic connections 3 Fictional references 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Architecture

Some have claimed that excavations carried out in the 19th century suggest that the extant chapel was intended to form part of a much larger structure, the building of which was halted when William Sinclair died.^{[citation needed]} However, Robert Lomas and Christopher Knight have theorised that the Chapel's west wall is actually a model of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and is part of the structure by design, rather than evidence of another intended stage of building, which would have made the site about the size of a Cathedral.^{[citation needed]} The extant chapel, in internal layout, most closely resembles the East Quire of Glasgow Cathedral.

The Chapel stands on fourteen pillars, which form an arcade of twelve pointed arches on three sides of the nave. The three pillars at the east end of the chapel are named, from north to south, the Master Pillar, the Journeyman Pillar, and most famously, the Apprentice Pillar. At the west end, another three pillars divide the nave and the Lady Chapel.

[edit] Apprentice Pillar

The "Apprentice Pillar", or "Prentice Pillar", gets its name from a legend involving the mason in charge of the stonework in the chapel and his young apprentice. According to the legend, the mason does not believe that the apprentice can perform the complicated task of carving the column, without seeing the original which formed the inspiration for the design, located in Rome. Upon his return he is enraged to find that the upstart apprentice has completed the column, and in a fit of jealous anger the mason takes up his mallet and strikes the apprentice on the head, killing him.^[1]

It is also referred to as the "Princes Pillar" in An Account of the Chapel of Roslin (1778). On the architrave joining the pillar, there is the inscription Forte est vinum fortior est rex fortiores sunt mulieres super omnia vincit veritas: "Wine is strong, a king is stronger, women are stronger still, but truth conquers all" (1 Esdras, chapters 3 & 4)

Also of interest are the eight dragons at the base of the pillar, from whose mouths spring vines that wind around the pillar. It has been suggested that this is a reference to Norse mythology, representing the eight dragons of Niflheim chewing at the base of the world tree Yggdrasil.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 'Musical' boxes

Among Rosslyn's many intricate carvings are a sequence of 213 boxes protruding from pillars and arches with a selection of patterns on them. It is unknown whether these patterns have any particular meaning attached to them — many people have attempted to find information coded into them, but no interpretation has yet proven conclusive.

One of the more promising attempts to make sense of the boxes is by interpreting them as a musical score. The boxes do somewhat resemble Chladni patterns; the geometric shapes formed when a plate covered with powder is vibrated at specific frequencies.^{[citation needed]} The father-and-son team of Thomas and Stuart Mitchell have paired the patterns up with musical notes to produce a tune which Stuart calls the Rosslyn Motet.

[edit] Green Men

Another notable feature of Rosslyn's architecture is the presence of 'Green Men'. These are carvings of human faces with greenery all around them, often growing out of their mouths. They are commonly thought to be a symbol of rebirth or fertility, pre-Christian in origin. In Rosslyn they are found in all areas of the chapel, with one excellent example in the Lady Chapel, between the two middle altars of the east wall.

[edit] 'Ears of corn'

In addition to the boxes, there are carvings of what could be ears of American corn or maize in the chapel. This crop was unknown in Europe at the time of the chapel's construction, and was not cultivated there until several hundred years later. Thus, some scholars view these carvings as evidence supporting the idea that Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney, William Sinclair's grandfather, and/or the Knights Templar had traveled to the Americas well before Columbus. Other scholars interpret these carvings as stylized depictions of wheat, strawberries or lilies.

[edit] Templar and Masonic connections

The St Clair, later Sinclair, Earls of Rosslyn or Roslin have in recent years been connected to various legends about the historical Knights Templar (particularly the legends concerning Templar voyages to America, described above). However, historians Mark Oxbrow and Ian Robertson in their recent book, Rosslyn and the Grail, note that the St. Clairs testified against the Templars when that Order was put on trial in Edinburgh in 1309. Historian Louise Yeoman, says their Knights Templar connection is false, and that Rosslyn Chapel was built by William Sinclair so that Mass could be said for the souls of his family.

The Sinclairs also have well documented connections with Scottish Freemasonry which has a Templar degree. William Sinclair 3rd Earl of Orkney, Baron of Roslin and 1st Earl of Caithness built Rosslyn Chapel. A later William Sinclair of Roslin became the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland and, subsequently, several other members of the Sinclair family have held this position.

This dual connection, whether actual or perceived, means that Rosslyn features prominently in conjectures (both academic and fictional) that the Freemasons are direct descendants of the Knights Templar.

[edit] Fictional references

The Chapel is a major feature in the last part of Dan Brown's 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code, though many incorrect assertions were made about the structure. For example, Brown's book states that the Chapel was built by the Knights Templar, and contains a six-pointed Star of David worn into the stone floor. Both assertions are entirely fictional. Throughout the 80s and 90s, the Scottish NGO Friends of Rosslyn, led by Niven Sinclair was also very active in correcting a number of fallacious theories regarding Rosslyn Chapel.

Another fictional claim is that the name "Rosslyn" is a form of the phrase "Rose line", and that a line starting in France also runs through the Chapel. In fact, the name "Rosslyn" comes from two Celtic words: "ross," meaning "steep cliff", and "lyn", meaning waterfall, and there is no association with any Rose Line. Philip Coppens has argued for the possible existence of a local Rosslyn Meridian, based on Arthur's Seat.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

• Clan Sinclair
• Ancient mysteries
• Scottish Knights Templar
• Knights Templar in Scotland
• Royal Order of Scotland
• Friends of Rosslyn

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Dr Forbes, Bishop of Caithness, An Account of the Chapel of Rosslyn, 1774; cited in Rosslyn Chapel (1997) by the Earl of Rosslyn, page 27

[edit] References

• Official website
• Cooper, Robert L. D. (Ed.) An Account of the Chapel of Roslin. Grand Lodge of Scotland. 2000. ISBN 0-902324-61-6.
• Cooper, Robert L. D. (Ed.) Genealogie of the Sainteclaires of Rosslyn. Grand Lodge of Scotland. 2002. ISBN 0-902324-63-2.
• Cooper, Robert L. D. (Ed.) The Illustrated Guide to Rosslyn Chapel. Masonic Publishing Co. 2003. ISBN 0-9544268-1-9.
• Cooper, Robert L. D. The Rosslyn Hoax?. Lewis Masonic. 2006. ISBN 0-85318-255-8.
• Cooper, Robert L. D. (Ed.) The voyages of the Zeno brothers. Grand Lodge of Scotland. 2004. ISBN 0-9544268-2-7.
• Philip Coppens. The Stone Puzzle of Rosslyn Chapel. Frontier Publishing/Adventures Unlimited Press, 2002 ISBN 1-931882-08-8.
• The Earl of Rosslyn, Rosslyn Chapel, Rosslyn Chapel Trust, 1997.
• Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas. The Hiram Key. Fair Winds Press, 2001 ISBN 1-931412-75-8.
• Mark Oxbrow & I. Robertson. Rosslyn and the Grail. Mainstream Publishing, 2005 ISBN 1-84596-076-9.
• Tim Wallace-Murphy & Marilyn Hopkins. Rosslyn: Guardians of the Secrets of the Holy Grail. Element Books, 1999 ISBN 1-86204-493-7.
• Cracking Da Vinci's Code, 2006 documentary, Charles E. Sellier production
• Da Vinci Declassified, 2006 TLC video documentary

[edit] External links

• The Rosslyn Templars Scottish Freemasonry, Knights Templar and Rosslyn Chapel - Separating fact from fantasy
• The Rosslyn Hoax? Have the public been victims of a massive hoax?
• Scottish Freemasonry Official Website
• Rosslyn Chapel - Sacred Destinations
• Tune into the Da Vinci coda — an article on the 'musical' boxes of Rosslyn, from The Scotsman
• Rosslyn Chapel's extraordinary carvings explained at last — an article on Rosslyn's Green Men, and an associated reading of its carvings, from The Scotsman
• Rosslyn Chapel-360 degree interactive panoramas
• A Group of non Masonic Scottish Knights Templar in Rosslyn Chapel with other Chapel Pictures May 2006
• Scotsman article: Historian Louise Yeoman states Chapel built so Priests could say Mass for the Sinclair Family
• St Andrews Knights Templar at Rosslyn Chapel in 1999 Non Masonic
• 19th Century Templar at Rosslyn Chapel Non Masonic
• Visit of Overseas Chivalry, Rosslyn Chapel, 13th September 2003 Non Masonic
• The Da Vinci Connection
• Stuart Mitchell Official Website

Coordinates: 55°51′19″N, 3°09′29″W