Rosslyn Chapel - featured in Davinci Code

Rosslyn Chapel - featured in Davinci Code

Hi dear friends, I visited the Rosslyn Chapel today in Edinburg, Scotland. It's... such a bizarre chapel, I thought I'd share it with you'll before I forgot all that I'd absorbed. You can click on the links to view the pictures. The interior is really ornately decorated, which isn't at all strange for a cathedral. Many of the carvings too are based on biblical references: alot of angels, of Jesus and Mary, Star of Bethlehem etc..

But it's the other carvings placed right alongside these traditional images that are sooooooo strange. Out of no where, there's a length of carvings called "Dance of Death", pretty freaky actually, it depicts different kinds of people being led away by skeletons (symbolizing death), supposed to represent man's powerlessness against death. (I totally didn't understand why this was in a church where one of the main messages is Christ's victory and therefore our victory over death). And nearby to this is a small carving of Lucifer, as you can see the angel is upside down, showing his fall. These are not the strangest things yet ok. Behind these 2 carvings are 2 pillars depicting the Apprentice's Story: where supposedly the Master Mason in charge of building this chapel killed the Apprentice for deciding to build a pillar on his own. Oh and their 'heads' happen to 'hang' above the seats on top of pillars. (This is the grieving mother of the killed Apprentice).

I'm not exactly sure how this is featured in the Davinci Code since I neither read the book nor the movie but there really are alot of puzzles and legends in that place. There was a carving of a Knights Templar on the floor but it was too faded to take a picture. There was also a carving of St Margaret and the Knight who supposedly found the 'holy rod', I think that's supposed the cross that Christ was hung on, although I think they didn't state that clearly. And then there were carvings of the Seven Virtues and the Seven Deadly Sins, except that Greed was swopped with Charity so that Greed appears under Virtues. It's either a very silly error or a very bizarre message.

It's really a very strange condensed puzzlebox, the main chapel was only the size of... our fellowship room + kitchen I think. And I haven't mentioned the strange mythology there as well. At the bottom of the Apprentice's Pillar are snakes and according to the information panel, this was just like there would be snakes under the Yggardysil Tree (ok i have no idea how to spell this)

Yup so just thought I'd share with you'll this place since I think the Davinci Code is still being discussed now and then. *yawn* ok gotta go folks. I need to wake up early to do laundry, joy.
(Also writing about this is kinda freaky when I think about the stuff >____<)