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Archiver > ORKNEY > 2004-05 > 1085933776


From:
Subject: Rosslyn Chapel (William St. Clair)
Date: Sun, 30 May 2004 12:16:16 EDT


The snippet below was in the Lanark List, and I thought that it might be of
interest to the Orkney List. Even though it does not mention Orkney, I believe
that I recognize parts of the story.

> Sat, 29 May 2004 19:36:18 -0700
> From: "maryegger" <>
> To:
> Subject: Scottish Snippets #2
>
> Scottish Snippets #2 May 27, 2004
> HISTORICAL AFFAIRS - Topical Items Relating to Scotland's Past
>
> ************************************************************************
>
> Rosslyn Chapel Film Project
>
> Glasgow-born artist Douglas Gordon, who won a Turner prize for his video
> art work, has been awarded a =A3100,000 scholarship from the Edinburgh
> College of Art to produce a film based on Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian,
> south of Edinburgh. Now based in New York, Gordon has been inspired by
> the 15th century chapel which was founded founded by Sir William St
> Clair. The chapel took 40 years to build and was originally planned to
> be part of an even larger building. Sir William drew the design of the
> chapel and the ornate carvings on timber boards, which the masons then
> copied. It is the amazingly intricate carvings, both inside and out,
> which make Rosslyn so unique. With associations with the Knights
> Templar, various claims have been made about the chapel, including that
> it houses the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant in a sealed crypt.
> Carving of what looks like maize is said to support the legend that Sir
> William's heir, Prince Henry, reached North America 100 years before
> Columbus. Douglas Gordon plans to make a film which explores the history
> - and the myths - of the building.
>
But I always thought that the building was a house, not a chapel, and was in
Orkney, not in Midlothian. And the bit about "William's heir, Prince Henry"
sounds like it should read "William's ancestor, Henry" (and where did the
"Prince" come from?).

Hossack's "Kirkwall in the Orkneys" tells part of the story, on pages 17 and
18, including saying that "In 1471, William St. Clair exchanged his earldom of
Orkney for a grant of the lands and castle of Ravenscraig in Fife, ...".
Later in the description, Hossack says "Earl William - who built Roslin Chapel,
.... was the last of the hereditary earls of Orkney."

Can anyone on the List comment on this?

Ken Harrison
North Vancouver, Canada

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