Portal:Scotland/Selected article/Week 7, 2008

Rosslyn Chapel, properly named the Collegiate Chapel of St. Matthew, is a 15th century Episcopal church in the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland. The chapel was designed by William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness (also spelled "St. Clair") of the Sinclair family, a noble family descended from Norman knights.

The chapel, built 150 years after the dissolution of the Knights Templar, supposedly has many Templar symbols, such as the "Two riders on a single horse" that appear on the Seal of the Knights Templar. The layout of the chapel is cited as echoing the layout of the Temple of Solomon. It is also claimed that other carvings in the chapel reflect Masonic imagery, such as the way that hands are placed in various figures. One carving may show a blindfolded man being led forward with a noose around his neck -- similar to the way a candidate is prepared for initiation into Freemasonry.

The Chapel is a major feature in the last part of Dan Brown's 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code, though many incorrect assertions were made about the structure. For example, Brown's book states that the Chapel was built by the Knights Templar, and contains a six-pointed Star of David worn into the stone floor although no such star has ever been seen in the floor.