VISITING SCOTLAND? OF INTEREST TO FREEMASONS, 6 MILES SOUTH OF EDINBURGH IS ROSSLYN CHAPEL The Mystery What is it that brings so many people to this out-of-the-way chapel? Not only is Rosslyn Chapel (or, to give it its official title, the Collegiate Church of St Matthew) a stunning example of late medieval architecture and the stonemason’s art, but it contains many clues that it is more than just a place of worship – and even that it was never intended to be simple a Christian church. History of Rosslyn Chapel The mastermind behind the project was Sir William St Clair, known as 'Prodigus', 3rd Prince of Orkney. Sir William was the grandson of Prince Henry St. Clair of Orkney, known as 'the Navigator', who many believe led an expedi- tion to America a hundred years before Columbus's 'discovery' of the New World. Many Masons' marks can be found in the fabric of the building, which is not surprising given the number of stonemasons employed on the project. But the obvious symbolic design of the building, and of the carvings, attests to a more speculative bias. Other parts of the building also point to a speculative masonic - i.e. Freemasonic - intent . There is, for example, the legend attached to the Apprentice Pillar, which echoes the Masonic legend of the murder of Hiram Abiff during the building of the Temple of Solomon. As Rosslyn was the personal project of Sir William St Clair, from conception and design to construction - all the carv- ings having to be personally approved by him - his own knowledge and regard for the art of sacred geometry is abundantly clear. Knights Templar & Masons Rosslyn Chapel is seen by many as the 'missing link' that demonstrates continuity between the Knights Templars and the Freemasons. A few miles to the south-east of the Rosslyn Chapel lies the village of Temple, the former site of Balantrodoch, the Templars' headquarters in Scotland The Da Vinci Code Rosslyn Chapel came to worldwide prominence through The Da Vinci Code, a novel written by Dan Brown, published in 2003. In the story, the main characters, Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu, investigate a murder in the Louvre and, in doing so, follow a set of clues to unravel a mystery, taking them to London and then to Rosslyn Chapel. In 2006, a film was made, based on the book in which most of the interior scenes of the Chapel were filmed there, Further Reading The Museum Library has a book for loan 'Hiram the Key' which covers Masonic information within Rosslyn Chapel. .