The finest masons from all over
Europe came to build Rosslyn.
Standing in the sacristy, where some of their original sketches are
still visible on the walls, you can imagine them at work,
chattering in a babble of languages, trading ribald jokes,
competing with each other to produce the most dazzling
carvings.
The Apprentice Pillar is a beguiling monument to rivalry run amok.
According to legend, the master mason charged with carving it
traveled to
Rome looking for inspiration. On his return, he found
that his apprentice had sculpted the pillar into a fabulous Tree of
Life, coiled with serpents and vines. The master flew into a rage
and struck his pupil dead on the spot. Elsewhere in the chapel
there is a carving of a young man with a gash in his right temple,
which may be the fallen apprentice.
Some think the Apprentice Pillar actually contains the Holy Grail,
perhaps in the form of a chalice holding Christ's blood. Though
recent scans found no metal inside, visitors still approach the
pillar with awe, running their hands over it in search of secret
doors or tapping it for signs of hollowness.
Like Loch Ness with its monster, the Rosslyn Trust is happy to
trade on the myths surrounding the chapel. The gift shop sells
books about the Holy Grail, the Templars, and the Freemasons, as
well as copies of
The Da Vinci Code.
The downside is that staff face a stream of visitors with more
enthusiasm than knowledge. Many forget that
The Da Vinci
Code blends fact and fiction. One example: Brown invented a
Star of David etched on the chapel floor. "We tell people it's not
there, but some won't take no for an answer," sighs Stuart
Beattie, the chapel's
director. "They want us to pull up the
carpets to prove it."