Rosslyn

Brandon worked on Saturday night and got home late so we slept in, made breakfast and then made our way towards Princes Street. We stopped at the visitor’s centre to find out where to catch a bus, and then made our way out to the tiny town of Roslin to see Rosslyn Chapel. This was a must for me since it was one of my most favourite memories from when Colin and I came here in 2008. Back then, out of all the churches we saw, Rosslyn was the only one where I felt God present. It was a Place for me. And I couldn’t wait for Brandon to see it.

We got on the bus at George Square and it took about 45 minutes to get there. It seems very odd for the city busses to go out into the small towns but it’s terribly handy! We walked down the road a bit and into the tiny chapel. It was very busy and we’d just missed the beginning of a formal talk about the chapel so we wandered around looking at all the carvings. At the back, in the Lady Chapel area, we talked for quite a while to a guide about all the cubes that come down from the arches. They all have a pattern carved on them – 13 different patterns that repeat in a pattern around this part of the chapel. One theory is that they represent musical notes and combine into a piece of music. This makes a lot of sense when you consider all the carved angels playing instruments that appear just below the cubes. We also talked about the green man carvings throughout the church. It’s a common theme in many medieval churches since it represents nature and rebirth and the early missionaries used it to help convert the pagan religions. But while most other churches have one or two, Rosslyn has 110. There’s one in the centre of each of the window frames and more hidden all over inside and out. As you make your way around the church, the green men under the windows get a little older until the last one which actually resembles a skull. The simplest theory for these guys is that they represent the life of man from birth to death. A more involved theory is that they follow the life of Christ.

We listened to the next talk about the chapel, learning about its history and some of its legend. One very well-known is the story about the apprentice pillar. The story goes that the master mason finished carving one of the pillars behind the alter and before he started the next one, he convinced William St. Clair, the man building the church, to let him go abroad to gain inspiration for the next one. While he was gone, his apprentice had a vision in which God showed him how to carve the pillar. Somehow he got permission and completed it before the master came back. When he did come back and saw that what was going to be his masterpiece was already finished, he flew into a fit of rage. Which of course was made worse by the fact that it wasn’t another well-known and respected mason who’d done it – it was an insolent apprentice! He bashed the apprentice’s head in with his awl and for that was himself hanged. Now, it’s thought that a likeness of the master mason’s face is carved into a front corner of the chapel and it’s positioned so that it’s looking directly at the apprentice pillar – quite the bit of extra punishment!

We also learned that the chapel was closed up for nearly 250 years during the reformation. The alters were destroyed and it’s thought that some of the more valuable and important statues were removed and hidden, but they’ve never been recovered. In 1650 it was actually used by Oliver Cromwell’s troops for stabling their horses so some damage was done then. But for some reason, Cromwell saved the chapel instead of destroying it as he did so many others. There is a theory that it was because he was a Mason and there is much Masonic imagery both inside and outside the chapel.

And of course, the Holy Grail and the Arc of the Covenant are both reported to have been hidden there inside the chapel. The guide said that the crypt and tombs below the church itself are at least as deep as the roof is tall, but they’ve long since been sealed up and if that’s where these treasures are held, they’ll never be found. The family refuses to open up the tombs since after all, it’s their ancestors that are buried down there; some of them knights in their full armour. Brandon and I decided that it’s a much better story to believe that something really important actually is down there and it’s been a heavily guarded family secret passed down from generation to generation that they keep hidden.

There are sadly no records that explain any of the imagery or the theories surrounding the chapel. They were all destroyed in a fire hundreds of years ago. Or maybe that’s part of the secret! There’s so much there that it makes me wonder how long they planned before they started building. Everything is placed so perfectly and nothing seems to have been added on a whim. It took only forty years to build, but how many years did they plan and draw and carve first? And get this: there are foundation stones in the ground to mark where the church was eventually going to be added onto. If Sir William’s son continued, the church would’ve actually been at least three times larger. We decided that we would like to go back as often as we could because 600 years of history is too much to take in all at once.

You can take a bit of a walk down into the glen behind the chapel to the ruins of a small castle. Part of it is still usable and it’s actually rented out as a holiday cottage when the family aren’t using it. Around it there are small paths that you can follow into the trees and under the old castle walls. Brandon found a great place where a tree has completely covered over a quiet corner. We joked that he should’ve waited and proposed there! There was amazing scenery up and down the sides of the valley with every colour of autumn in full glory.

One thing that’s very different here is that many shops and restaurants are closed on Sunday. Especially in small towns apparently. We were starving but there wasn’t anything open so we bought snacks at the little grocery store and waited for the bus. We made it back home to the flat by about 6:30 and then finally got to Skype with my mom and dad. We had a fabulous day.

I should mention that Brandon has a job! He’s signed on with a temp agency that specializes in chefs only. He’s worked twice now at the Marriott Hotel and the recruiter said he should be able to keep Brandon busy. He also has two more interviews tomorrow so we`ll see what comes out of those.

As for me…well, I don`t really want to talk about it. Instead, I’d like to share this list of things that I’m starting to miss. In no particular order:

Tim Horton’s breakfast sandwiches and steeped tea double doubles
Clothes dried within an hour instead of hanging up for two days
Baking – well, having an oven at all
Charlie
All our kitchen tools and gadgets
Coffee dates with my friends
My family
My clothes and shoes
Driving
A queen sized bed
Books
Country 105
Dill pickle chips
The Highlanders

Not too bad I guess…most of these things I can do without anyway!