|
|
| *Travel Tips>>>Edinburgh Travel Tips |
Has anyone been to Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland? |
Travel Info did you enjoy it? was it worth the trip outside of the city? Travel Tips yes I visited the Chapel in 2005 September. There was scaffolding around the outside as they were carrying out maintenance. I stood inside in awe especially after I had my really weird experience. It was up front in the alter area. I wanted to take photos of the floor and pillars and other areas of the interior when I noticed shadows on the floor not consistent with the light from the windows or the ceiling lights. I searched for the shadows and the source of light creating them for over an hour and could not satisfy my curiosity. I decided to record the strange shadow affect on my digital camera but once captured it would not 'store' the photograph. You could see the effects on the camera but the camera refused to store it . Goose bumps?. Yes ! Roslyn Chapel was to me an intriguing area as we walked along the various pathways in the grounds. I felt a sense of calm despite my photo experience. It was as though I was given something to remember internally .... Others Its fab & only a 20 minute ride on the 15 bus. 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. Architecture Interior of the chapel. Pendant keystone in the roofSome 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. Apprentice Pillar The Apprentice Pillar in 2003.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. 1778 drawing of the inscription.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] '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 鈥?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. Green Men Green Man of the chapelAnother 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. '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. 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. 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. 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 http://www.answers.com/rosslyn+chapel?gw... Only go if you are a Church architecture buff |
| Tags |
| Belfast Birmingham Brighton Bristol Cardiff Edinburgh Glasgow Leeds Liverpool London Manchester |
Travel Info Categories--Copyright/IP Policy--Contact Webmaster |