York
Rite Masonry
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Rosslyn Chapel Part I
By Companion Todd Jovonovich
Dear Companions, Brothers, Guests and Friends…welcome.
I would like to welcome you on journey back through time to a special place nestled in the rolling hills of Midlothian, and engulfed in the Scottish mists. I welcome you to Rosslyn Chapel, which is tucked snuggly away in the cozy and friendly town of Roslin Scotland.
Now, you might be thinking “Oh great, another one who claims to have the truth and know all of Rosslyn Chapel’s secrets.” Well, rest easy, I do not have all the answers and my only hope is to shed some Masonic light into the dark corners and flush out fact from fiction, and speculation from documentation. Many trees were harmed or died in the creation of a lot of published books that claimed to know the truth behind Rosslyn, or knew the truth behind it’s mysterious secrets. But, the truth eluded to in some of these works seems to be nothing more than a marketing gimmick, like the word “fresh” at fast food or restaurant chains. “Fresh” arrives in sealed plastic bags, processed or preserved, hauled by truck from some warehouse states or oceans away, and is usually kept in the fridge or freezer until the earlier fresher supply runs out…
Truth as we know it, trumps wine, kings, and women. It can stand alone and by “which is considered to be the supreme reality and to have the ultimate meaning and value of existence.” (Yahoo dictionary) Yet it seems the truth is still being discovered, and called into question. If this is the case, can it really be called truth if it cannot stand alone or if there is visual or document evidence to the contrary? Is this term truth just another way to keep things fresh? I will present my case and let you decided what is truth and what is just being fresh.
Prior to Dan Brown’s work, The Da Vinci Code, Rosslyn Chapel had been something of an undercurrent within the Masonic community for a great many years. In my mother Blue Lodge we have a tattered book from the 1850’s that references it in 3-4 lines as being unique due to its mythology or legend of the murdered apprentice and similarities to the third degree. It shows up in photograph from in some other older Masonic works. Some Brothers knew of it, heard of it, or had seen it first hand, but it was a small minority that discovered the beauty in the chapel - but lately that has changed and now the chapel has gone from off the beaten path of relative obscurity in a small Scottish town, to a major world landmark almost over night. Due to this renewed interest in the small chapel, it is time Brothers and others see it from a Masonic perspective. Yes, its been talked about in Masonic works, but at times within the same breaths it is linked to the head of Christ, Templar Treasure, the Holy Grail, the True Cross, Transdimensional portals, and an earth energy focus point, just to name a few. Yet, key carvings and Masonic history have not been fully explored or talked about. This is what this little area in the big world wide web is carved out for.
Now you are thinking, “What does this guy have that so special?” Actually I have a few things that lend a little weight to these claims. I am an architect by trade, and have quite the Chapel teacher who knows the chapel, castle and lands as well as he knows the lines in his hands. My sage mentor has taught me about the finer points in operative masonry, Scottish History, and Masonic History, all of which has lead to a deeper understanding and appreciation for the Chapel. He was kind enough to “hop the pond” a few years back and make our York Rite Night a huge success. After that lecture we started to dig again into leads, carvings, rituals, legends, construction technique and history. Our constant ongoing research within the last year has yielded many things that just might make the Masonic community look at the chapel in a new light, and might lead some to help in the preservation and restoration of the special Chapel.
The Masonic community should be made aware that there are original carvings, dating from the 1440’s, that have some semblance to current degrees, and others, which might be modern fabrications from the Victorian era which were created to reflect the degrees we have today in both the York and Scottish Rite. I know some of you more seasoned Brothers might be thinking I am full of it, since some of the degrees were not recorded, described, or put into writing until various times in the 1700’s up through Pike’s re-writes in the mid 1800’s.
I would like you to think on this idea before the next installation. Just how many brothers could read or write in the 1400’s up to the 1800’s. Would there have been any need to record or document degrees at this time, if it was common place and practiced mouth to ear? Just think on this, and this last little tidbit. There is evidence just a few hundred yards away from the chapel that a large majority of the Brothers of the mid 1800’s did not have the skill to even write their name on a petition. But I just ask that you think on these questions. I will present some photos, rough dates, and what some carvings might mean to the Craft and leave it to you to decide if there is any Masonic merit to these carvings or images.
You will just have to bookmark this page, attend my slide lecture or my mentors excellent in-depth lecture, and come back every so often to see images over 150 years of old missing carvings, a plastered over Master Mason’s pillar, and other things of interest. I know you want to see proof and hear more, but I cannot give away all the secrets in the first installment and the old comics were right…always leave them wanting more.
Oh, just as side note, there are carvings that may elude to events in the 3rd degree, and some that fall into rather grey, fuzzy areas which might be viewed or seen as a Masonic secret. So with that being said, some items I have to withhold due to the internet and this site being open to the general public and those which have not yet been raised to the sublime degree. I just ask for your patients and understanding if I hold back on things or do not write about an image or just let the image speak for itself.
Thanks for stopping by, and to borrow a line from the comics and adventure shows –
To Be Continued…