Rosslyn - a Templar mystery?

The Holy Grail, Dan Brown, and a Masonic murder

Greetings Gold and Silver Level Templar Knights! I was at Rosslyn chapel last month investigating that mysterious and beautiful sacred place on your behalf. So, what did I discover?

I arrived in Edinburgh last month on my way to board a cruise ship from the nearby port of Rosyth. As I had some spare time - and the city was full of people for the Edinburgh festival - I decided to get the bus out to Rosslyn. Takes about an hour to get from Edinburgh to Rosslyn but it’s worth the journey of course. You could get a taxi but save your money.

Rosslyn - Da Vinci Code theme park

When I first visited Rosslyn chapel several years ago, there were a few visitors but certainly not a crowd. Well, things have changed. I arrived for my timed visit and the talk by the guide saw the pews fully occupied with standing room only. The Da Vinci Code effect is not only still present but - nearly twenty years after the movie - going very strong.

You remember the Da Vinci Code? The Holy Grail is the womb of Mary Magdalene who had children with Jesus and that bloodline is being hunted by a vengeful Roman Catholic church using its assassins in Opus Dei. The novel and movie ends at Rosslyn where the bloodline is hanging out. While Mary Magdalene is buried under the Louvre in Paris. Or something like that.

If you turn up at Rosslyn expecting to be greeted by the bloodline of Jesus - I might want to let you down gently now. You’ll be greeted by the gift shop and a mediocre cafeteria. C’mon Rosslyn - sort the cafe out.

Rosslyn - Masonic messaging

Then there’s the Apprentice pillar - an ornate monument that does look curiously out of place. Almost like it has DNA strings curling up it. The story goes that an apprentice mason carved it while his boss, the master mason, was touring Europe looking for inspiration. When the boss returned, he was very upset to find his teenage apprentice had created something far better than anything he had in mind. So, he murdered the boy in a fit of rage. After a short trial, the master mason was hanged. A carving of his head was made and positioned to stare for eternity at the pillar that drove him to homicide. Here I am with said pillar.

Templar navigational map

Another story that does the rounds is that in the sacristy below the church, there is a navigational map scratched into the wall. It’s very faint and frankly, looks to me like a 1970s electricity pylon. Allegedly it depicts lines of longitude and the evening star - showing how Templars got to the New World with their treasure. In my view, it takes a big leap of faith to swallow that. But be my guest. Here I am in the sacristy.

Evidence that the Templars got to the New World a century before Christopher Columbus is provided by the carvings on the walls of Rosslyn that some say resemble maize and aloe vera - crops found only in the New World before Columbus. This is greeted with snorts of derision from historians.

Did I mention the Holy Grail is buried under the nave, packed in with sand brought from Jerusalem? Or that others believe it’s hidden within the Apprentice Pillar.

Another claim involves a very primitive depiction of the crucifixion high up on the church wall which some believe is not that at all. They argue that what we’re looking at is the burning of the last Templar grand master, Jacques de Molay - tied to a stake and about to be burned to death. Personally, I couldn’t see that. Looked like the crucifixion to me.

Sorry to be a party pooper!