The doors of Rosslyn Chapel have shut behind the cast and crew of The Da Vinci Code. But grail tourists will continue to travel to this place of 21st century pilgrimage and walk in the footsteps of the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail. Behind all the fantastical nonsense there are lone voices asking us to put aside the hype, look inside the chapel and open our eyes to what it really is. They don't see heretic knights and ancient secrets but an important remnant of medieval architecture deserving of serious study that has been prostituted on the altar of commercialism.Just in case you've been asleep (or abducted by aliens) you may need a quick re-cap on current "theories" re Rosslyn. Revisionist historians consider Rosslyn to be a grail chapel. Built by Sir William Sinclair in 1446 as a copy of the Temple of Solomon, its intricate carvings hint at secrets passed down to the family since the fall of the Templars in 1307.

Depending on your inclination the chapel is the final resting-place for Jesus's head, Templar treasure or any number of outlandish ideas.According to the new book Rosslyn and the Grail by Mark Oxbrow and Ian Robertson, it is none of these things. The authors place the chapel firmly in its 15th century context and finally reveal the true meaning of the carvings. In doing so they seek to revisit the history of the Sinclair family and cast doubt on those who paint a 14th century William Sinclair as a Knight Templar."The Sinclairs were devout Catholics who were ruined by clinging to their Catholicism in the face of the reformation," says Oxbrow. "William Sinclair has been dead for (about) 700 years. There is no-one left to defend him, and to accuse him of being a Templar is appalling."

View: Full Article | Source: Scotsman