로슬린 채플 내부 안내(Rosslyn Chapel)

로슬린 채플 내부 안내(Rosslyn Chapel). 스코틀랜드(Scotland)

 

rosslynchapel.org.uk

 

" Being stung with envy, the mason slew the apprentice."

You are now standing between the two most elaborately decorated pillars in the Chapel which contain one of the most famous and fascinating riddles of the building. on your left is the Mason's Pillar ⓐ and on your right, the Apprentice Pillar ⓑ

 

The Lady Chapel

Look out for...

ⓐ Mason's Pillar

ⓑ Apprentice Pillar

 

 

 

 

  

             ⓐ Mason's Pillar                                ⓑ Apprentice Pillar

The story goes that the master mason working on Rosslyn Chapel carved the pillar on your left. Before attempting to carve the pillar on your right, the mason decided to travel abroad to seek inspiration from similar designs. In his master's abscence, the apprentice driven by a dream, carved the pillar himself - the results of which you see today.

 

When the master mason returned and saw the masterpiece which the apprentice had created, he flow into a jealous rage and struck the apprentice with a mallet, killing him outright. You will see carvings of the heads of the mason, who was hanged for his crime, and the murdered apprentice later in your visit.

 

The carving of the Apprentice Pillar is also significant because of the eight carved dragons winding around its base. In Scandinavian mythology eight dragons live at the roots of the Yggdrasil tree, an ash tree which bound together heaven, earth and hell with its branches. Perhaps the presence of this carving relates to the St Clair family's Norse roots.

 

 

Detail of dragons at base of pillar

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 Forte est vinu. Fortior est rex.

Fortiores sunt mulieres: sup om vincit veritas.

1 Esdras 3:10 12

 

The South Aisle

Look out for...

ⓐ King Darius Lintel

ⓑ Seven Virtues

 

This puzzling phrase lies above your head. Look up; on your left there is a lintel joining the Apprentice Pillar to the wall, bearing this Latin inscription in Gothic lettering. It translates as: 'Wine is strong. The king is stronger, Women are stronger still: but truth conquers all.'

 

ⓐ Engraved lintel

These words arose from a trial of wisdom ⓐ for the Biblical King Darius. You can see him asleep on your far left. Three of his trusted bodyguards each wrote what they thought was the strongest in life and placed their notes under the king's pillow. When the woke up, King Darius judged each statement, deciding that truth is strongest of all.

 

Another moral lesson is depicted on the lintel directly opposite this inscription, on your right. Here, a set of seven scenes show figures carrying out good deeds. They are sometimes called the Seven Virtues, or more accurately the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy ⓑ.

 

ⓑ Seven Virtues

1. Helping the needy                                      2. Clothing the naked

3. Looking after the sick                                 4. Visiting prisoners

5. Displaying greed                                        6. Feeding the hungry

7. Burying the dead

 

You may think that displaying greed is not a particularly 'merciful' act, and indeed it is one of the seven deadly sins which appear on the reverse of this slab. Greed has been swapped with charity.

 

Did the mason make a mistake, or is this a reminder of the potential for good within evil, and evil within good ?

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"Sir William Sinclaire... a man faire of face surnam'd the Seemly, whom King Malcolm made cupbearer to his Queen."

Genealogie of the Sainteclaires of Rosslyn, 1835

 

The South Aisle

Look out for ...

ⓐ Knight on Horseback

ⓑ Green Men and Foliage Carvings

 

ⓐ Knight on horseback

 

Another St Clair family reference can be found in the botton left-hand corner of the window in front of you. The handsome knight on horseback ⓐ may be William 'the Seemly' St Clair, the first of the St Clairs to settle in Scotland. He is said to have broght a portion of the True Cross or 'Holy Rood' to Scotland.

 

You can see a figure holding a small cross just behind the knight and this may represent Princess Margaret of Hungary who journeyed to marry Malcolm Canmore, King of Scotland, in 1070.

We know that Margaret owned a piece of the True Cross and that William was one of the knights who escorted her on that journey. It was King Malcolm who encouraged the St Clairs to settle in Scotland,m partly by awarding William the Barony of Rosslyn as thanks for escorting his Queen.

 

Carvings of flowers and foilage

 

If you look straight ahead, you will see an eerie face staring back at you. This is another example of the many Green Men ⓑ carvings in the Chapel. The Green Man appears quite often in medieval churches. The vines sprouting from its mouth represent nature's growth and fertility. Indeed nature;s fruitfulness is depicted all over the Chapel. This aisle in particular has many lively carvings of native and exotic flowers and plants. All around there are carvings of ferns, curly kale and oak leaves. 

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 "A poem of stone... powdered with stars."

Thomas Ross, from a paper read at Rosslyn Chapel, 1914

The Choir

Look out for...

ⓐ Figure of Christ

ⓑ The Apprentice

ⓒ The Mason

ⓓ Grieving Mother

 

Ceiling with flowers and stars

 

Standing here you are looking over the choir, the central part of the Chapel. Look up at the ceiling which is divided into five compartments, each with a different motif: daisies, lilies, roses, simple flowers and stars. The different flowers show the Chapel's theme of nature on a grand scale but they also carry other layers of meaning. Lilies and roses are associated with the Virgin Mary.

 

Look up at the stars. Hidden amongst them are four angels and a small figure of Christ ⓐ raising his hand in blessing.

You may also be able to find carvings of the sun, a crescent moon and a dove.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ⓐ Figure of Christ

 

Look across to the wall containing the entrance to the baptistry for a final reminder of Rosslyn's apprentice story. Two stone heads peer out from the corners just below the organ loft; on the left is the apprentice ⓑ, bearing a scar over his eye, and on the right, the mason ⓒ, A third head, that of the apprentice's grieving mother ⓓ, is further along the south wall.

ⓑ The Apprentice                                        ⓒ The Mason

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ⓓ Grieving Mother 

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"William, with his age creeping upon him... it came into his mind to build a house for God's service, of most curious work."

Father Richard Augustine Hay, Genealogie of the Sainteclaires of Rosslyn, 1835

 

The Choir

 Look out for...

 ⓐ Willaim St Clair

 

In 1446 Sir William St Clair, 3rd Prince of Orkney and 11th Baron of Rosslyn, founded this Chapel as the first phase of the Collegiate Church of St Matthew to spread intellectual and spiritual knowledge, and to ensure his place in heaven.

 

A tiny carving of William St Clair ⓐ sits at the top of the pillar above the door leading to the baptistery.

ⓐ William St Clair

 

The Chapel itself took some forty years to build. What you see today is only one part of a larger scheme, but William died and the larger building he had planned was never realised. Excavations in the 1800s uncovered foundations stretching a further 30 metres (91 feet) beyond the west end of the Chapel.

 

The legacy which Sir William St Clair left in this building is truly remarkable. There is nothing else like it. Stretching 21 metres (69 feet) in length and standing nearly 13 metres (42 feet) high, practically every surface of the Chapel is carved in an outstanding display of craftsmanship.

 

The building of the Chapel required a large number of workmen and the village of Roslin grew up to accommodate them. All kinds of craftmen came from far and wide to work here: quarriers hewed the stone, masons carved it, blacksmiths sharpened tools, and carpenters modelled in wood before the stone was sculpted by masons.

 

This illustration shows what the Chapel may have looked like if Sir William's original design had been completed.

 

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"Seem'd all on fire that chapel proud, Where Roslin's chiefs uncoffin'd lie."

Sir Walter Scott, The lay of the Last Minstrel. 1805

 

The North Aisle

Look out for ...

ⓐ Earl of Caithness tombs

ⓑ Burial stone

 

Two memorials to early members of the St Clair family are found in this corner of the Chapel.

The large monument on your left is the tomb of George, 4th Earl of Caithness ⓐ. 1533-1582. He built the Castle of Mey which overlooks the Pentland Firth and in 1567 is said to have chaired the jury that acquitted Mary Queen of Scots' soon-to-be third husband, James Hepburn, of the murder of her second husband, Lord Darnley.

 

 

ⓐ Tomb of 4th Earl of Caithnes                                             

                                         

The engraved slab on your right is the burial stone of 'William de Sinncler' ⓑ who died fighting the Moors in Spain in 1330 while on a quest to take the heart of Robert the Bruce to Jerusalem. The slab bears a floriated cross which is often associated with the Knight Templar. It is believed to be the tomb marker from an earlier chapel.

 

ⓑ Burial stone of 'William de Sinncler'

 

Sir Walter Scott's famous poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel refers to the legend that upon the death of a St Clair family member Rosslyn Chapel appears on fire, but is always found to be untouched. Many put this phenomenon down to the effect of a setting sun bathing the Chapel in fiery re rays. But tales of occurrences like this are known to have Norse origins and may derive from the family's early traditions.

 

The Tomb of Merlin by Joseph Michael Gandy, 1815

 

History recounts at least ten Rosslyn barons being laid out in their armour in a vault beneath the Chapel. Coupled with the notion of the blazing Chapel such stories conjured up fantastical scenes. In 1815 Joseph Michael Gandy painted The Tomb of Merlin in which he incorporated recognisable features of Rosslyn Chapel, like the Apprentice Pillar, into an imaginary scene. Here, Merlin's tomb glows, miraculously lighting the darkened interior.

 

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"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

John 1:29

 

The North Aisle

Look out for...

ⓐ Lamb of God

ⓑ Angel with Engrailed Cross

ⓒ Knight

 

The tops, or capitals, of the pillars all around you carry extraordinary carvings. Many have serveral layers of meaning. Look at the carving of the angel holding a seal of the Lamb of God ⓐ at the top of the pillar against the wall on your left. As well as being an obvious Christian reference, this symbol may also relate to the Knights Templar who were founded by a group of 'warrior monks' in the early 1100s. Their aim was to protect pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land during the Crusades. Many stories surround the Knights and their quest to find and protect the treasures of the ruined Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.

 

ⓐ Lamb of God

 

There are lots of references to the St Clair family throughout the Chapel. Look at the window in front of you whre an angel holds a shield containing an 'engrailed' cross ⓑ in the bottom left-hand-hand corner. This is the coat-of-arms of the St Clair family. You will see this motif repeated many times around the Chapel.

ⓑ Angel with engrailed cross

 

Turn around and look down at the floor behind you to see an engraved slab ⓒ set in the floor between two pillars. Although worn, you should be able to make out the image of a knight with a shield by his head and a greyhound curled up at his feet. This slab probably marks a burial place although the identity of the knight remains uncertain.

 

It may be the final resting place of William St Clair who died in 1330 and famously owned two hounds 'Help' and 'Hold'. A more likely theory is that the slab represents Alexander sutherland of Dunbeath, the founder's father-in-law and grandson of King Robert the Bruce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ⓒ Knight with hounds 

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The Lady Chapel

Look out for...

ⓐ Dance of Death

ⓑ Fallen Angel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

You are now standing in the Lady Chapel. one of the mos significant carvings here is the string of figures caught in the 'Dance of Death' ⓐ. Sixteen characters from different social backgrounds are each accompanied by Death, represented by a skeleton. Look up to the corner of the ceiling and you will see them all along the vaulted rib.

 

        

ⓐ Dance of Death                                  ⓑ Detail from Dance of Death

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Now look straight ahead of you. To the right of the wall pillar an angel is hanging upside down, bound with rope. This is the fallen angel, sometimes called Lucifer ⓑ

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

ⓑ Fallen Angel

 

As you walk through the Lady Chapel, look out for the carved cubes that protrude from the ribs and arches above your head. Each one is carved with individual symbols. Various theories suggest that these represent musical notes of keys to a secret code.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carved cubes

 

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"The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing."

 

The Lady Chapel

Look out for ...

ⓐ High Altar

ⓑ Indian Corn

 

In front of you to your left is the high altar ⓐ, one of four altars in the Lady Chapel which were dedicated in 1523. The altar takes its name from its elevated position over the stair leading to the sacristy. The principal altar would have been situated in the main body of the Chapel.

ⓐ High altar in the Lady Chapel

 

Standing here you can see one of the most intriguing carvings in Rosslyn Chapel. Look past the pillar on your right to the second window of the aisle. Along the arch above the window there is a beatiful carving of what appears to be maize or Indian corn ⓑ. Its presence in the Chapel raises many questions: not only is it an exotic plant but it originates from North America, a country traditionally thought to have been discovered by Columbus in 1492, almost 50 years after Rosslyn Chapel was built.

 

It is believed that in 1398 a group of knights reached North America, spending the winter with the Micmac Indians in Westford, Massachusetts. Legend tells that Sir Henry St Clair, grandfather of William St Clair who founded the Chapel, may have been one of the knight on that voyage. Could these carvings of Indian Cron be proof that Scottish knights reached North America long before Columbus ?

 

Standing here at the end of the Lady Chapel, take this chanbe to look back and appreciate its abundance of carvings and the amazing skill of the masons who sculpted such delicate stonework.

 

ⓑ Indian Corn

 

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"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host parising God."

Luke 2:13

 

The Lady Chapel

Look out for ...

ⓐ Angel with Bagpipes

ⓑ Star of Bethlehem

ⓒ Green Man

 

Look up to see the angels with their musical instruments at the top of the three pillars facing you. one is playing the bagpipes ⓐ just to your right. Bagpipes first appeared in Scotland from the mid-1400s and this is one of the earliest images of the instrument.

ⓐ Angel playing bagpipes

 

The angels are celebrating Christ's birth: if you follow the rib that rises from the angel with the bagpipes, you will see it forms a hanging boss that depicts the nativity. Stand undermeath this boss and look up to see the eight-pointed Star of Bethlehem ⓑ. Clockwise around its sides are eight figures thought to represent the Virgin and child; the manger; the three wise men; and the three shepherds.

 

ⓑ Star of Bethlehem

 

Rosslyn is renowned for tis many carvings of the Green Man ⓒ. Over 100 Green Men can be found in the Chapel. one of the best examples is on the wall directly behind you. Why there are so many Green Men at Rosslyn and what they represent remains a mystery.

 

Also known as Foliate Heads, Green Men have been around since pagan times, but are represented throughout Medievel Christian Church architecture. They most often appear as a male human head surrounded by foliage, or with foliage emerging from the mouth. In pagan beliefs the Green Man illustrates the unity between humankind and nature and is a symbol of fertility - the male counterpart to Mother Earth.

ⓒ Green Man

 

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"... he made the carpenters carve them... and he gave them for patterns to the masons, that they might cut the like in stone."

Father Richard Augustine Hay, Genealogie of the Sainteclaires of Rosslyn, 1865

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Crypt

Look out for ...

ⓐⓑ Paterns for the carvings incised on the walls.

 

The markings on the walls are over 550 years old. Please do not be tempted to touch them as each fingerprint causes lasting damage.

 

You are now in the Crypt, or Sacristy. This is the oldest part of the Chapel and it is likely that it was used as workshop during the forty years when the upper Chapel was being built. The biographer of the St Clair family records that in roder that.

 

'the work might be more rare, first he caused draughts ［plants］to be drawn upon eastland boards ［imported Baltic timber］, and he made carpenters carve them according to the draughts thereon, and he gave them for patterns to the masons, that they might cut the like in stone.'

 

This suggests that before the stonemasons started work, designs were drawn on timber boards creating templates for the intricate three-dimensional carvings. Remarkable evidence of these designs has survived for over five centuries on some of the walls in the crypt.

 

Look carefully at the wall to your left and you might be able to make out a drawing incised into the stone ⓐ. Look for the pointed arch shape with a series of inner circles. This may be a design for one of the cusped arches from the choir. The incised design on the wall opposite may be a prototype for the pinnacles which line the roof of the Chapel ⓑ.

ⓐ This drawing was made by the Chapel's masons 550 years ago

 

Look up at the barrel-vaulted ceiling and you can see a series of engrailed crosses, which run the 10 metre length of ceiling. The engrailed cross forms the coat-of-arms of the Sinclair family and also forms part of the coat-of-arms of the Earls of Rosslyn. It is repeated many times throughout the building. The angel carvings may have been added during the 1880s restoration work of the 4th Earl. The stained glass window shows the transfiguration of Christ on the mountain. It was added in 1954 in memory of James Francis Harry, 5th Earl of Rosslyn.

One of the drawings may be a design for these roof pinnacles.

 

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 "In addition to identifying Rosslyn by name, the verse made references to several of the chapel's renowned architectural features."

Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code, 2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Crypt

Look out for...

ⓐ The altar

ⓑ The vestry - the side room where the priest changed into his official robes

ⓒ The aurnbry - a stone recess where the church vessels were stored

ⓓ The fireplace

ⓔ The piccins

 

In 2003, the crypt rose to fame in its starring role in The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, and again in 2006 when it featured in the film's finale with actors Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou. Attempting to unravel a series of baffling codes, a final clue leads characters Rober Langdon and Sophie Neveu to Rosslyn Chapel where Sophie discovers her past.

 

Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou enter Rosslyn Chapel's crypt

 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the crypt which features in the film looks somewhat different from the one you are standing in. Most of the action takes place in the little side room off to your left, known as the vestry. This is where the priest would have changed into his ceremonial robes. Today this room houses stones from the building of the Chapel. These were found around the grounds and offer up their own clues to the past. Some have been shaped but never used, others have remnants of mortar clinging to them: important clues that thave helped today's stone masons learn about the building methods of their counterparts some 500 years ago.

This still from the film shows the characters discovering a secret door in the floor of the vestry which leads into an underground chamber. This vault does not exist in the Chapel, or if it does, it has yet to be found.

 

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