In the 1446 century Sir William St. Clair ordered the building of a chapel now to be found just outside Edinburgh near the village of Roslin (and the Roslin Institute where Dolly the sheep was cloned). The chapel was intended to be only a small part of a much larger church, but this was never completed. The small chapel is renowned largely for the ornate decorative stone-carving of its interior, carried out to Sir William’s specifications and finished forty years later, shortly after his death.
The carvings attract comment because they depict not only biblical scenes, but also Norse dragons, dense foliage and over a hundred ‘green men’. As a collegiate church the chapel was always intended as a place of learning rather than worship (Although it is now an Episcopalian church). Some symbols found in the chapel are specifically linked to the Knights Templar and to Freemasonry – adding further density and mysticism to the symbolism. When the chapel, was built the Knights Templar had already been suppressed by the Catholic Church, and the chapel carvings are argued to support the idea that the Freemasons grew out of an underground Templar movement. Some carvings are open to many meanings. An upside-down bound angel is identified at the chapel as fallen Satan, but by others as Shemyaza, the leader of the Gregori or 'Watchers' of the strange Book of Enoch. The Rosslyn chapel is also associated with rumors of Nazis, an occult group called the Thule Society, Druids, ley lines, the holy grail, buried treasure or relics (including Christ’s head!) and holy clones; each new theory peeling back another layer of speculation and possibility..
As I approached the chapel I was struck by its small size – tall, but no broader than a studio apartment. The whole structure is currently protected by a metal framework and roof, as protective work is carried out. A Victorian organ loft is tacked on one end, no more than a step deep but two stories high. The rest is one large pillared chamber with a vaulted roof and three altars at the far end. Carvings are everywhere and the more you look the more there are to see, particularly the green men which are hidden everywhere.
Many have claimed striking spiritual experiences at the Rosslyn chapel. For my part I felt respect for a venerable building and I appreciated the delicate warmth given off by a place respected and treasured by those who care for it, use it, or merely visit. But as an artist would I say the carving was skilled, profuse and clever… decoration. There is no doubt that St. Clair was connected to Templar families and knew something of many different mystical traditions. It is known that he meticulously oversaw all of the carving, demanding that each piece be carved in wood and presented for his approval before being replicated in stone. Yet the final effect seem to be an open celebration in which nothing is hidden and obscurity came only with time, not sinister intent.
St. Clair lies at rest in the chapel he built. But my intuition suggests that he built it to be beautiful and to serve as a place of teaching and learning – is that not enough?. That he saw this duty as straying beyond the boundaries of merely Christian thought is an extraordinary credit to him, although as a prince he was more educated and allowed to think freely than most. I think there is very little that is hidden in the Rosslyn Chapel, in fact it is profusely open and available to the eye.
One of the dangers of being involved in the occult is that it can lead to looking for more layers than the onion in question actually has. In insisting on so many mysteries and glittering treasures I think we demean what the chapel openly offers, a house of worship, a piece of history, a place of learning, and a piece of art. It is a beloved icon for Christian, pagan and freemason alike – isn’t that extraordinary enough?
Links:
(Official site)
(Hess)
(Good overview)
(Another visitor’s more spiritual experience)
(Cloning)
(Freemasonry and the Holy Grail)
(Christ’s head)
Emily Veinglory is an animal psychologist who also dabbles as a freelance writer and illustrator. She is a life long scientist and a born again pagan. Emily works with totems, cards, herbs, and spiritual symbolism in its broadest sense.
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