Rosslyn Chapel

This weekend, Kyle & I set out on another adventure in Edinburgh and went to visit Rosslyn Chapel. Rosslyn Chapel is on the outskirts of Edinburgh and was founded in the mid-15th century. It's situated in the quaint little town of, you guessed it, Rosslyn. It is also featured in the recent film, 'The Da Vinci Code'. I didn't actually know that until we went there, but Kyle & I promptly went home last night and rented it and sure enough it's true!

Outside the grounds of the chapel is a large cemetery and a path leading to the ruins of Rosslyn Castle.

Footpath to the Castle ruins

Rosslyn Castle ruins- destroyed during the War in the 16th century

The Chapel is in much better condition than the Castle, although it is under restoration for the next year and a half. Due to large levels of dampness inside the Chapel, a "steel umbrella" has been erected over-top the Chapel to protect it from all the lovely rain that Edinburgh gets each year. This 'umbrella' is helping to dry the church out from the damage the dampness is causing. You aren't allowed to take photographs inside the Chapel, but it was incredibly impressive. It is best known for it's extensive stone carvings.

Kyle outside of Rosslyn chapel

Flying Buttresses

One of my favorite carvings inside the Chapel is called a 'green man'. Green men are carvings of men with leaves or greenery growing out of them. Rosslyn Chapel has over 110 green men mixed into their carvings. The Chapel also contains 213 boxes that are protruding from pillars which are known as the 'musical boxes'. It is believed, by some, that the intricate carvings on the boxes represent musical notes and have been translated into a musical score. Another interesting carving is a depiction of the crop maize. At the time of the Chapel's construction, Columbus had not 'discovered' America, thus it is intriguing that there are carvings of maize in the Chapel (since it does not grow in Europe). Some speculate that this is evidence that others may have discovered America before Columbus. Who knows, but interesting none the less!

In the movie 'The Da Vinci Code' Rosslyn Chapel is credited with containing the records of Jesus' blood line and at one point the Holy Grail. This of course is not true- or is it? However, the Chapel is owned (and always has been) by a private family, the Sinclair's, and therefore no one actually knows what is stored in the underground area of the Chapel. The family has not allowed anyone to view the family vaults. They did allow the Chapel restorers to do a 'depth' test to see how deep the vaults were and they were able to see images of bodies of knights buried in their armor underneath the floor, which is as deep as the Chapel is tall. You certainly can't say that Scotland doesn't have it's history!

-Stacie