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Rosslyn Chapel

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Rosslyn Chapel.

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 (also spelled "St. Clair") of the St. Clair family, a Scottish noble family descended from Norman knights and, according to legend, linked to the Scottish Knights Templar. Construction of the chapel began in 1440, and the chapel was officially founded in 1446, with construction lasting for forty years.

As of 2006, the structure brings in about 25,000 visitors per year, many of whom are curious about the building's association with the 2003 bestselling novel, The Da Vinci Code, and the mythical Priory of Sion.

Architecture

Interior of the chapel.
Pendant keystone in the roof

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. 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. The extant chapel, in internal layout, most closely resembles the East Quire of Glasgow Cathedral.

The Chapel is famous for two of its pillars: the Apprentice Pillar and the Master Pillar which stand either side of the Journeyman's pillar and have distinctly different carving. Masonic Architects believe these structures could signify the pillars of Boaz and Jachin. The chapel stands on thirteen pillars, forming an arcade of twelve pointed arches, a fourteenth pillar between the penultimate pair at the east end form a three pillared division between the nave and the Lady Chapel.

'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. 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. He believes that this melody, played with medieval instruments at a sufficient volume, might cause a series of resonations to dislodge stones and reveal a secret chamber or passage.

Indian corn (maize)?

'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 that the Knights Templar had traveled to the Americas well before Columbus (see below). Other scholars look at these carvings and see nothing but stylized lilies.

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.

Starting from the east and moving clockwise, the Green Men get progressively older; starting as child figures and progressing through old age and finally — near the crypt at the north of the chapel — to mere leafy skulls. This also mirrors the biblical imagery in each part of the chapel, suggesting that Rosslyn was meant to be 'read' as a story of birth, life and death, a theory also put forward by Mark Oxbrow and Ian Robertson in Rosslyn and the Grail.

Freemasonry?

The Apprentice Pillar, which is said to be tied to Freemasonic legend.
Masonic carvings?

The chapel has long been famous for its possible connections to Freemasonry and its attendant rituals. William St Clair in 1736 was the first Grand Master of Scottish Freemasonry and Freemasonic parties were held in Rosslyn Chapel and surrounding area on a number of occassions in the following decades.

In the 1880s, restoration work was carried out on the chapel, which included some work on the statues and other depictions. History students from Edinburgh University have argued that some of the Masonic poses of the angels are not original to the church, but were added during these restorations.

Several freemasons have recently written about the chapel too. It was mentioned in Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln in The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, and Knight & Lomas in The Hiram Key. Baigent, Knight and Lomas have all publically stated their Masonic membership; Knight & Lomas see their membership as the main reason why they wrote the The Hiram Key. Both books served as inspiration for Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code, for its (possible) links to the Holy Grail. Despite the fictitious nature of this work, its influence has been considerable. The Scottish NGO The Friends of Rosslyn, which owns the land surrounding the Chapel and the Rosslyn Chapel Trust which administers the Chapel, have both published a number of books and literature on the Chapel.

American voyages

In addition to the theory that the Chapel was used by Freemasons and Knights Templar is the claim that those groups, stationed at Rosslyn Chapel, journeyed to North America and back before Christopher Columbus. This claim is based on several points:

  1. Some of what appear to be the oldest graveyards in Nova Scotia (which means New Scotland in Latin) may have Masonic symbols and Crusader crosses on them;
  2. The Westford Knight is a rock engraving in Massachusetts supposedly showing a Scottish knight, linked to the Henry Sinclair party, with the Clan Gunn markings;
  3. Rosslyn Chapel, although completed six years before Columbus' voyage, has stone carvings in it which some believe are of plants native to the Western hemisphere, such as aloe and maize. For more information, see La Merika.

The Holy Grail?

Because of its rumoured connections with the Knights Templar, the chapel has inevitably become part of modern lore as one of the possible final resting places of the Holy Grail. Proponents say that this is a possibility based upon legends of 'Secret Vaults' and the possibility that the similarities between Rosslyn Chapel and Herod's Temple might be more than cosmetic. St Clair legend also suggests that there are three big medieval chests (probably the size of steamer trunks) buried somewhere on the property, and this has inevitably led to various theories as to the chests' contents. Past scanning and excavations in or near the Chapel have not yielded any such chests, and sealed chambers under the basement of the chapel have yet to be excavated for fear of collapse.

Critics dispute the claim though, saying that the Knights Templar had nothing to do with Rosslyn Chapel, and that the Holy Grail is merely a legend that started with fictional stories in the 12th century, and therefore couldn't possibly be buried anywhere.

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 (which asserts that all of its descriptions of artwork and architecture are accurate) states that the Chapel was built by the Knights Templar, and contains a six-pointed Star of David worn into the stone floor -- both of which assertions were entirely fictional.

Another false 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 actuality though, the name "Rosslyn" comes from two words "Ross," meaning steep cliff, and "Lyn", meaning fast-flowing water, and there's no association with any Rose Line. Philip Coppens has argued for the possible existence of a local Rosslyn Meridian, based on Arthur's Seat and the site of Temple.[1] Such local meridians are known to have existed in the past, in communities with local time zones.

See also

References

  • Official website
  • Cooper, Robert L. D. (Ed.) An Account of the Chapel of Roslin. Grand Lodge of Scotland. 2000. ISBN 0902324616.
  • Cooper, Robert L. D. (Ed.) Genealogie of the Sainteclaires of Rosslyn. Grand Lodge of Scotland. 2002. ISBN 0902324632.
  • Cooper, Robert L. D. (Ed.) The Illustrated Guide to Rosslyn Chapel. Masonic Publishing Co. 2003. ISBN 0954426819.
  • Cooper, Robert L. D. The Rosslyn Hoax?. Lewis Masonic. 2006. ISBN 0853182558.
  • Philip Coppens. The Stone Puzzle of Rosslyn Chapel. Frontier Publishing/Adventures Unlimited Press, 2002 ISBN 1931882088.
  • Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas. The Hiram Key. Fair Winds Press, 2001 ISBN 1931412758.
  • Mark Oxbrow & I. Robertson. Rosslyn and the Grail. Mainstream Publishing, 2005 ISBN 1845960769.
  • Tim Wallace-Murphy & Marilyn Hopkins. Rosslyn: Guardians of the Secrets of the Holy Grail. Element Books, 1999 ISBN 1862044937.
  • Cracking Da Vinci's Code, 2006 documentary, Charles E. Sellier production
  • Da Vinci Declassified, 2006 TLC video documentary
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