Day 226: Da Vinci Code Hunt - Rosslyn Chapel
Date: 15 April 2009
The first interesting sight I saw as I marched through this beautiful old town was a Scottish man in his Scottish wear, playing his Scottish instrument.
As I am already in my 226 days of my travel, things are starting to getting a little bit boring. So, to spice up life a little, I have decided to pay a visit to all the sites featured in the show Da Vinci Code! Well, since I love that show, I would love to "solve" the mystery myself. Here we go, first stop, THE ROSSLYN CHAPEL.
Rosslyn Chapel, properly named the Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew, was founded on a small hill above Roslin Glen as a Roman Catholic collegiate church (with between 4 and 6 ordained canons and two boy choristers) in the mid-15th century. Rosslyn Chapel and the nearby Roslin Castle are located at the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland.
The chapel was founded by William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness (also spelled "Sainteclaire/Saintclair/Sinclair/St. Clair") of the Sinclair family, a noble family descended from Norman knights, using the standard designs the medieval architects made available to him. Rosslyn Chapel is the third Sinclair place of worship at Roslin - the first being in Roslin Castle and the second (whose crumbling buttresses can still be seen today) in what is now Roslin Cemetery.
The purpose of the college was to celebrate the Divine Office throughout the day and night and also to celebrate Holy Mass for all the faithful departed, including the deceased members of the Sinclair family. During this period the rich heritage of plainsong (a single melodic line) or polyphony (vocal harmony) would be used to enrich the singing of the liturgy. An endowment was made that would pay for the upkeep of the priests and choristers in perpetuity and they also had parochial responsibilities.
After the Scottish Reformation (1560) Roman Catholic worship in the Chapel was brought to an end, although the Sinclair family continued to be Roman Catholics until the early 18th century. From that time the Chapel was closed to public worship until 1861 when it was opened again as a place of worship according to the rites of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
In later years the Chapel has featured in speculative theories regarding Freemasonry and the Knights Templar.
The Chapel has also acted as a burial place for several generations of the Sinclairs — a crypt was once reachable from a descending stair at the rear of the chapel. This crypt has for many years been sealed shut, which may explain the recurrent legends that it is merely a front to a more extensive subterranean vault containing (variously) the mummified head of Jesus Christ, the Holy Grail, the treasure of the Templars, or the original crown jewels of Scotland. In 1837 when the 2nd Earl of Rosslyn died, his wish was to be buried in the original vault; exhaustive searches over the period of a week were made, but no entrance to the original vault was found and he was buried beside his wife in the Lady Chapel.
The Chapel also has many other interesting things like those shown in the following pictures.
The Chapel was undergoing a major maintenance project at the time of my visit. As a result, I could not see the exterior of the Chapel as a whole. However, it was also with this project that scaffolds were built and we were allow to climb up to see the roof, the sculptures and all on the exterior up close. Is this what they mean by when you lose something, you will gain some other things? Life's fair.
A really beautiful spiderweb.
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. The green men in Rosslyn symbolise the months of the year in progression from East to West in the Chapel. Young faces are seen in the East symbolising Spring and as we progress towards the setting sun in the west the carvings age as in autumn of man's years. There are in excess of 110 carvings of Green men in and around the Chapel.
Too bad no phototaking were allowed inside the Chapel. It was really interesting. Lots of unsolved mystery till date. I came here because of Da Vinci Code but I fell in love with this Chapel. Would love to came back here again when the maintenance is over. Really very interesting place. The free guided tour fed me with lots of interesting facts. Not to be missed.
Rossyln Town.
Back to Edinburgh City Center.
I went on a free walking tour and found out more interesting facts about little things around the city. Some of which I still remember, some of which I forgot. Here goes.
Someone is buried under this parking lot number 23
Mass killing happened outside this church.
All Scottish spits at this heart on the floor and avoid stepping on it at all means.
Sorry, dont remember the rest.
This has got something to do with witchcraft.
My free walking tour guide.
As night fell, I went for yet another not to be missed thing to do in Edinburgh - The Ghost Tour. There were many company conducting it, but I was really glad with the one I went with. Really good.
For many years, people living in the old town of Edinburgh did not know that there are actually numerous streets underground. Meaning to say, there is another city underground!! People living above the ground do not know about the people living underground and people living underground never get to see the sunlight! Why is it so? how come it is like that? Interesting isnt it?
This Ghost Tour takes me to this underground city and at the same time explains the horrors happening.
Here's a short video taken during this tour which depicts one of the many tortures.
With the cold at night, people deserted the streets and together with the mist, it made it more spooky.
After the tour, I went for a drink with a fellow traveller at one of the famous pubs for one of the famous drinks.
Then it was back to the chill out place which my host brought me to last night before heading back for a good rest. Had a long day.
*Click HERE to return to the Main Page of The Cold Journey.*
The first interesting sight I saw as I marched through this beautiful old town was a Scottish man in his Scottish wear, playing his Scottish instrument.
As I am already in my 226 days of my travel, things are starting to getting a little bit boring. So, to spice up life a little, I have decided to pay a visit to all the sites featured in the show Da Vinci Code! Well, since I love that show, I would love to "solve" the mystery myself. Here we go, first stop, THE ROSSLYN CHAPEL.
Rosslyn Chapel, properly named the Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew, was founded on a small hill above Roslin Glen as a Roman Catholic collegiate church (with between 4 and 6 ordained canons and two boy choristers) in the mid-15th century. Rosslyn Chapel and the nearby Roslin Castle are located at the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland.
The chapel was founded by William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness (also spelled "Sainteclaire/Saintclair/Sinclair/St. Clair") of the Sinclair family, a noble family descended from Norman knights, using the standard designs the medieval architects made available to him. Rosslyn Chapel is the third Sinclair place of worship at Roslin - the first being in Roslin Castle and the second (whose crumbling buttresses can still be seen today) in what is now Roslin Cemetery.
The purpose of the college was to celebrate the Divine Office throughout the day and night and also to celebrate Holy Mass for all the faithful departed, including the deceased members of the Sinclair family. During this period the rich heritage of plainsong (a single melodic line) or polyphony (vocal harmony) would be used to enrich the singing of the liturgy. An endowment was made that would pay for the upkeep of the priests and choristers in perpetuity and they also had parochial responsibilities.
After the Scottish Reformation (1560) Roman Catholic worship in the Chapel was brought to an end, although the Sinclair family continued to be Roman Catholics until the early 18th century. From that time the Chapel was closed to public worship until 1861 when it was opened again as a place of worship according to the rites of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
In later years the Chapel has featured in speculative theories regarding Freemasonry and the Knights Templar.
The Chapel has also acted as a burial place for several generations of the Sinclairs — a crypt was once reachable from a descending stair at the rear of the chapel. This crypt has for many years been sealed shut, which may explain the recurrent legends that it is merely a front to a more extensive subterranean vault containing (variously) the mummified head of Jesus Christ, the Holy Grail, the treasure of the Templars, or the original crown jewels of Scotland. In 1837 when the 2nd Earl of Rosslyn died, his wish was to be buried in the original vault; exhaustive searches over the period of a week were made, but no entrance to the original vault was found and he was buried beside his wife in the Lady Chapel.
The Chapel also has many other interesting things like those shown in the following pictures.
The Chapel was undergoing a major maintenance project at the time of my visit. As a result, I could not see the exterior of the Chapel as a whole. However, it was also with this project that scaffolds were built and we were allow to climb up to see the roof, the sculptures and all on the exterior up close. Is this what they mean by when you lose something, you will gain some other things? Life's fair.
A really beautiful spiderweb.
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. The green men in Rosslyn symbolise the months of the year in progression from East to West in the Chapel. Young faces are seen in the East symbolising Spring and as we progress towards the setting sun in the west the carvings age as in autumn of man's years. There are in excess of 110 carvings of Green men in and around the Chapel.
Too bad no phototaking were allowed inside the Chapel. It was really interesting. Lots of unsolved mystery till date. I came here because of Da Vinci Code but I fell in love with this Chapel. Would love to came back here again when the maintenance is over. Really very interesting place. The free guided tour fed me with lots of interesting facts. Not to be missed.
Rossyln Town.
Back to Edinburgh City Center.
I went on a free walking tour and found out more interesting facts about little things around the city. Some of which I still remember, some of which I forgot. Here goes.
Someone is buried under this parking lot number 23
Mass killing happened outside this church.
All Scottish spits at this heart on the floor and avoid stepping on it at all means.
Sorry, dont remember the rest.
This has got something to do with witchcraft.
My free walking tour guide.
As night fell, I went for yet another not to be missed thing to do in Edinburgh - The Ghost Tour. There were many company conducting it, but I was really glad with the one I went with. Really good.
For many years, people living in the old town of Edinburgh did not know that there are actually numerous streets underground. Meaning to say, there is another city underground!! People living above the ground do not know about the people living underground and people living underground never get to see the sunlight! Why is it so? how come it is like that? Interesting isnt it?
This Ghost Tour takes me to this underground city and at the same time explains the horrors happening.
Here's a short video taken during this tour which depicts one of the many tortures.
With the cold at night, people deserted the streets and together with the mist, it made it more spooky.
After the tour, I went for a drink with a fellow traveller at one of the famous pubs for one of the famous drinks.
Then it was back to the chill out place which my host brought me to last night before heading back for a good rest. Had a long day.
*Click HERE to return to the Main Page of The Cold Journey.*
posted by ZeeVinCeZ at 11:33 AM
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