Stryker Invasion: Our Time Across the Pond: Edinburgh: Last Day Rosslyn Chapel

On the day we were supposed to drive home from Edinburgh, I asked Ethan if we could go see Rosslyn Chapel. It wasn't too far from our hotel, and it was pretty close to our route home. I had read in a tourism book that it was a great place to see, and was reminded that this chapel was in the last scenes of The DaVinci Code.

When we got there, I was a little disappointed to see a large scaffolding covering the chapel. (I found the picture above without the scaffolding on-line. In fact, all of these inside pictures are from the Internet, as they did not allow photography inside the chapel.) Anyway, I wasn't sure if it would be worth paying to go see it. But, I'm so glad that we decided to go in. The outside of the chapel was still incredible, and the inside was unbelievable!!!

Rosslyn Chapel was founded in 1446 by Sir William St Clair. It took about 40 years for the chapel to be built. What is particularly noteworthy about this chapel is its extraordinary mason work.

If I was just walking through this chapel unaided, I would have thought the mason work was exquisite, but that would have been about all. Fortunately, there were signs posted all around the chapel, pointing out symbols that could be found in the carvings, and the stories behind them. These walls were covered with religious and pagan symbols, and a few Knights of the Templar symbols, as well.

In the front of the chapel, there are two very ornately carved pillars. One is known as the Mason's Pillar,

and the other is the Apprentice Pillar.

The legend goes that the Master Mason carved the first pillar, and then went on a journey to Rome to get inspiration to carve the other pillar. While he was away, his apprentice had a dream that inspired him to carve the other pillar. When the Master Mason returned, instead of being proud of his apprentice's accomplishment, he killed him in a jealous rage.

This is a carving of the seven deadly sins,

and the chapel had over 100 carvings of the "Green Man," which was a popular pagan fertility symbol during that time period.

I found all of the carvings and stories to be so intriguing.

However, it was the mason work around this window that really peaked my interest. If you look closely, you can see that the framing along the inside of this window looks like maize. Maize, of course, is not indigenous of Europe, but came from North America. So the question is: how was this carved back in the mid-1400s before Columbus even crossed the Atlantic? Some historians argue that a man named Prince Henry of Orkney discovered North America about 100 years before Columbus. Legend suggests that Prince Henry made a voyage in 1398 that brought him to Nova Scotia and modern day Massachusetts. While there, he wintered with the Micmac Indians. Prince Henry just happens to be the grandfather of William St Clair, the founder of Rosslyn Chapel. Fact or fiction? You decide!

Earlier I mentioned the scaffolding that was around the outside of the chapel. I found out that this structure has been there since 1997 in an effort to keep the elements off the roof. Apparantly, the stone of the roof needs to dry out and efforts need to be made to better conserve the outside masonry of the chapel. Even though the scaffolding was rather unsightly, it did allow us to walk around the outside of the chapel and see what the roof looked liked. Along the roof line, you could see the following letter sequence: WLSFYCYZOG Miii1L, which translates to "William Lord Sinclair Fundit Yis College Ye Zeir Of God MCCCCL" (1450). Here are a few pictures I took from our view on the scaffolding.