The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring into literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers. Conspiracy theories abound on the nature of the grail and the final location. This list looks at ten of the possible resting places of this mysterious object.
The locals of the Accokeek area claim that a Jesuit priest stowed away on board Captain John Smith’s ship, as he sailed up the Potomac River sometime around 1606-07, and that this priest had ties all the way back to the Knights Templar.
The legend states that he had the Grail for years in England and Europe, possibly taken from #7 when treasure seekers started looking for Arthur’s grave. Somehow the Grail passed down to this nameless priest, who fled for environs where few people would care about the Grail.
Its location in the Accokeek area is not known.
“The Money Pit” was discovered by three teenage boys playing on the island, in 1795, or so the story goes, and over the centuries, 6 people have died attempting to excavated the mysterious treasure everyone is sure is down there.
The longer it took to excavate, the wilder imaginations ran, until today, the Pit is no longer thought to hold merely chests of gold doubloons, but the Holy Grail itself, hidden there by the Knights Templar in the early to mid-1300s.
This is no idle assumption, since there is, in fact, an arrangement of boulders on the island that forms a perfect cross 250 meters long by 100 meters wide, oriented so that the head points due East. It is on the north side of the island in a clearing only 50 square meters larger the cross. The Pit is due south through a woodlot.
The most compelling evidence seems to be the ingenious design of the Pit, which was fitted with a water channel booby trap leading up and out to the open water.
Whatever is down there lies at exactly 100 feet and has been described as “metal in pieces.” They say the mystery will not be resolved until one more person dies in the pit.
One of the legends used by Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code, this one centers on secret stone chambers and channels under the Collegiate Chapel of St. Matthew, on Roslin Hill, and there are tons of extremely strange carvings in and around the chapel that add ominous weight to this legend.
It was built starting in 1456 at the behest of its founder, William Sinclair, a nobleman and knight. He is rumored to have been a descendant of Knights Templar.
There are carvings of what appear to be Indian corn (maize) around the windows. Maize was unheard of in Europe at the time of the chapel’s construction.
There are carvings of “green men,” which seem to symbolize Celtic traditions regarding spring and summer (pre-Christian).
The Apprentice Pillar is the real stand-out. No one knows why it was carved as it was, and there are no other pillars like it in the chapel, or anywhere in Europe. The chapel’s carvings took 40 years to complete, so they must have been significant to the Sinclair, who died just before they were finished. The legend states that the Grail resides inside the Apprentice Pillar.
Or perhaps in the family crypt under the basement. This crypt is sealed shut. Sealed very well. The Sinclairs still own the chapel and refuse to let anyone go digging up their ancestors (who can blame them?), as this would necessitate tearing down the whole chapel.
Tor is Celtic for “conical hill,” and that is what Clastonbury Tor is. It is said to be the legendary Avalon, King Arthur’s current resting place, while he heals from wounds suffered at the hands of his evil son, Mordred, whom he killed in a duel.
It has been called “Ynys yr Afalon,” Old English for “the Isle of Avalon,” since at least 1100 AD, and tradition states that in 1191, Arthur and Guinevere’s coffins were uncovered at the top of the hill. No evidence exists to support this, but the hill did serve as a fort since the 600s AD.
The Arthurian and Templar legends are inseparable, and the legend goes that the Templars returned from the First Crusade with all the famous Biblical relics, and hid them throughout the British Isles. The Grail was buried somewhere on Glastonbury Tor, perhaps between Arthur and Guinevere’s coffins, the most poetic place.
Legend states that since the Holy Grail was NOT the Holy Chalice, which is correct, it was buried with Jesus somewhere near his Crucifixion site. This site is believed by some to have been a fissure between two rocks, one of which has since eroded away, the other of which is still there to be visited, at the top of the hill on which the Dome of the Rock now sits.
It is sacred to all three monotheistic religions: Judaism holds that Abraham almost slew Isaac on this rock; Christianity holds that Jesus’s cross was planted between this rock and another; Islam holds that Mohammed sprang to Heaven on a horse from this rock.
The Holy Grail is, properly, the cup, bowl, or plate that happened to be near the Cross and catch the blood of Jesus as he died. It was then buried with him, by one of his Disciples, or by his mother, or Joseph of Arimathea, in his tomb. The location of his tomb is not known, but is described in the Bible as nearby, which likely means somewhere on or around the hill.
The Grail may not be lost, but found, and on display to the public for free at the Cathedral of St. Lawrence, in Genoa. This relic is a bowl made of green glass, which was thought to be emerald, until it was broken in the time of Napoleon.
No one knows where it came from, but William of Tyre, in 1170, writes that it first turned up in a mosque in Caesarea, Israel, in 1101. It has not been carbon dated.
Another contender is on display at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Valencia, and this is considered the most likely. Skeptics claim that IF the Grail even exists, the Valencia Chalice is the best bet. It was carbon dated in 1960 to a date of somewhere between the 300s BC and the 100s AD, manufactured in the Middle East, so it is possible. Even if it isn’t the Grail, its age makes it extremely valuable.
It is made of dark red agate, and set in a gold stem, with another, upturned bowl of chalcedony as the base. It is the official Chalice of the Roman Catholic Church.
This legend ties in with the German Grail legend of Munsalvaesche, which is another name for Corbenic, the castle where the Fisher King lived, and where Sir Galahad was born.
“Munsalvaesche” is German for the Latin phrase “mons salvationis,” “the mount of salvation.” “Montserrat,” however, is Catalan for “jagged mountain.” The monastery and abbey are nestled in the mountain, and the Grail is said to be hidden somewhere under the church grounds, or elsewhere on the mountain. If so, it may well never be found, as the terrain is extraordinarily rugged and the mountain is gigantic. The peak, at 4,055 feet, is called
Sant Jeroni, “Saint Jerome,” who features prominently in several Grail legends. He may have traveled to the area in the late 300s AD and hidden the Grail there.
Not the same legend as that of #6, this legend states that the Knights Templar, of the First Crusade, never found either the Grail or the Ark of the Covenant, because the sewer system provided the finest hiding place on Earth at the time. Jerusalem has been attacked many times, and the Jews living at the time of the Ark’s disappearance from the Bible are sure to have lowered it into the sewers to protect it from Nebuchadnezzar, in 586 BC.
The Disciples may have known the location of the Ark and hidden the Grail with it, deep in the sewers, since the Ark had escaped notice for almost 600 years by then. Digging is expressly forbidden except for those professional archaeologists intent on uncovering sites of antiquity, not relic hunters. Digging may undermine the buildings above.
Yes, you read that right. This legend is based on the premise that the Bullion Depository is probably the single most secure place on the planet. Some of its security measures are a mystery, but it is known that no one, not even the President, is allowed on the property, except the U. S. Mint Police stationed inside.
The closest anyone can get to it is Highway 31, about 400 yards from the building. The security consists of multiple fences, the innermost electrified, alarms, cameras, armed guards, and the nearby Fort Knox units: 30,000 active troops who train every day with Apache helicopter gunships, M-1 Abrams tanks, armored personnel carriers and heavy demolition.
This doesn’t account for the unknown security measures, which probably include motion-activated minigun turrets, landmines, pressure sensors, snipers, and that’s before you even get inside.
Awful lot of security for some gold bricks, wouldn’t you say? Unless there are other things inside. The combination to the vault is not known by any one person, but is comprised of 10 combinations, each known by only one official working in the building. There are pistol ranges inside, a gym and dojo, and the vault is lined with solid granite. The gold resides in separate, small rooms each fitted with a solid steel door.
The main vault door is 22 tons of steel and can withstand a direct hit from a 2 kiloton nuclear warhead. The Depository has housed a copy of the Magna Carta, the Hungarian crown jewels, the Crown of St. Stephen, the U. S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and various other historical documents from all over the world.
The legend states that there is a special room somewhere in the vault that does not house gold or artifacts such as cited above, but houses, instead, the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant (complete with a “Do Not Touch” sign), satellite pictures proving that the Ararat Anomaly is Noah’s Ark, and the True Cross, complete with dried blood that has been analyzed as consisting of several strains of DNA, one of them encoded not on a double helix, but a triple helix.
@SaintAnger (105): Yeah, just go away man.
first list where Dan Brown’s name was used and JFrater didn’t make some stupid snide comment. Thanks!
I read this verbatim list before.
http://terselubung.blogspot.com/2010/02/10-possible-resting-places-of-holy.html
It’s an interesting list though, I thought so the first time I read it.
Very good list! I´ve become somewhat interested in the Holy Grail ever since the Da Vinci Code. But I still didn´t know a thing about it…
I´m thinking the money spent on the U. S. Bullion Repository could´ve had much better use though…
@davidm (123):
Give him time, I’m all for snide comments aimed at Dan Brown.
I’m pretty sure that Ynys yr Afalon is Welsh, not Old English.
Two points.
The first is that the overwhelming probability is that the so-called “Holy Grail” doesn’t exist.
The second is that the U.S. Bullion Repository doesn’t contain the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant, satellite pictures proving that the Ararat Anomaly is Noah’s Ark (because it isn’t), or the True Cross, complete with dried blood that has a triple helix.
Hell, I’m not sure it contains any bullion anymore. It might be empty except for the odd fly buzzing around.
@Alencon (128): True, it has been proven that the Ararat Anomoly is definitely not Noah’s Ark.
Complete rubbish list, cheers.
Only read No.1, and I stand amazed. Robbing banks is for pussies, rob that place if you have real guts.
Now I am waiting for a movie involving the Bullion Depository and a bunch of high-tech thieves(if there isn’t one already).
Good list. Although as an aetheist I dont think the holy grail will ever be found because it doesnt exist.
Although just incase God does exist Hes great isnt He? (I like to keep my bases covered)
We could always text Cha-Cha and find out its hidden whereabouts.
It’s in the Canyon of the Crescent Moon.
It was already found:
Holy Grail Found On eBay
(DM, 03/06/2004 2:27 PM)
After centuries of searching, the elusive Holy Grail, often considered the ‘Holy Grail’ of religious artifacts, was dicovered on eBay by a forty-member archeological team that was made up of top NASA scientists, students from Stanford University and sponsored by Doritos® brand snack chips.
“Throughout modern history, man has sought the Holy Grail”, said Shmelman’s School of Hair and Nails Professor Harley Sparkle. “I thought I saw it one time at a garage sale, but that turned out to be a Burger King collectible drinking glass.”
The team has traveled the entire globe searching for the cup reportedly used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper. “From Israel to Indiana, we have traveled the globe searching for the cup reportedly used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper.” said one team member who died during the expedition after eating some bad fish. Surviving team members said, “This victory really belongs to those that have passed in it’s making. Charlie, and Charles, and Chuck, and that other guy, and the twins, and that old dude that died when the bungee cord was too long.”
The team, dubbed the “Grail’s Angels” by this one guy I know, estimates it has spent over 40 million dollars to find the yellow plastic drinking cup of Jesus, and the search has cost the priceless lives of at least 4,789 people, 2 dogs, and a ferret.
Doritos® spokesman George Hamilton was credited for actually finding the Grail, after he logged on to eBay hoping to find a copy of his classic 1979 film “Love at First Bite’ on RCA laserdisc. From his Hollywood garden shed he told the tale, “I was looking for a copy of my classic 1979 film “Love at First Bite’ on RCA laserdisc, so I browsed throught the categories to ‘Everything Else > Weird Stuff > Slightly Unusual’ and right there under ‘Sponsored Matches’ was the Holy Grail. I heard from Gus Mixalot over at Doritos® something about 4,789 people, 2 dogs and a ferret getting killed over some ‘Grail thing’, so I gave him a call. It turned out to be just what they wanted.”
The Grail’s Angels have since relisted the item on eBay, along with a certificate of authenticity and a bonus cellphone antennae booster.
Terrible list. Same goes for the lame, brain dead comments, but what else is new…
@BishopWhiteT (136): if you’ve want some other way to waste your time you can always clean my flat!
@MamaBear2Cubs (124): I clicked on your link…yep same list. When I clicked on “older comments” at that site up came my recent list that Jamie published.
Apparently the site you have found likes to plagiarize others efforts.
So I would rest assured that FlameHorse IS the author of the list that you reference.
I think #2 or in some random persons house.
@WiseMenSay (35): + 10 for the Harry Potter reference.
@doesitreallymatter (137) if you dont like the lists/comments why read them?
An interesting read FlameHorse. I’ve always loved a treasure hunt story, though I do have some doubts about the Grail still surviving. Perhaps if it has been kept hidden in one place all this time, as opposed to repeated travels and hidings, it will be revealed some day.
Can’t say I’ve ever heard any scuttlebutt about the entry for Maryland.
As for Oak Island, I try to keep up on any new info about the place. The mystery has intrigued me since I was a young teen. If it’s not the Grail at the bottom of the pit, whatever it turns out to be will be interesting.
I hope I’m still alive when they do discover the “prize”.
All the religious sites seem like just another ploy to be the “one” most holy spot on Earth. And another attempt to keep the Grail hidden by playing the odds. Kind of like 3 Card Monty.
To those who want to sound off about Fort Knox being out of the running… Isn’t it possible that the place could be housing a couple of priceless treasures of foreign countries at the request of those countries?
I will admit I was charmed by the Rosslyn Chapel and visited their websitem but that’s just the artist in me.
Now a serious question. Why couldn’t the Grail exist, even if a person who doubts is an atheist? We’re talking about an artifact linked to a person who has been proven historically to have existed…not about the existence of God.
The Dixie cup comedy is great, and I’m just as dubious about the sanitary nature of bear smegs as the next guy…but why can’t there be a Holy Grail?
About it’s “miraculous” power though….please.
What about that temple in ethiopia that likes to tell everyone they have it without letting anyone in to see it?
@deeeziner (140): It’s really sad how rampant plagiarism is on the internet. I’ve seen listverse lists on other sites and the original source is not referenced. The latest one I saw was 10 Gamblers Who Beat The Casinos.
I think Number 4 forgot to watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. If they did they would know that Jesus was a simple man and would never drink from an embellished golden chalice.
Re #7, the bodies of Arthur and Guinevere was actually discovered, according to legend (but more likely propaganda instigated by the incumbents of Glastonbury Abbey) in the grounds of the Abbey just south of the Lady Chapel.On the order of the king, excavations were carried out and, seven feet beneath the surface, they found an inscribed leaden cross with the words ‘Hic Iacit Sepultus Inclitus Rex Artorius In Insula Avalonia’ translating as ‘Here lies the body of the renowned King Arthur in the Island of Avalon’. Digging further, an oak coffin was found which contained the bones of a very tall man, and at his feet the curled up skeleton of a small woman with a lock of golden hair, which crumbled at a touch.
The Holy Grail is reputed to be buried in Chalice Well, which lies just to the North West of the Tor, and is the source of the Red Spring which legend says runs red with the blood from the Holy Grail.
=:~)
Since everyone thinks I actually believe that the grail can heal bullet wounds, a la Sean Connery in The Lasht Crushade, let me just say that I don’t believe that, and I expect that the Grail was made of wood or stone, being the cup of a carpenter, who never bought or sold anything, and either borrowed it from someone else, or made it himself.
I would like to get into Fort Knox, though. I find it VERRRY intriguing that the Federal Reserve Bank of NYC has much less security, and much more gold, than Fort Knox.
@deeeziner (140): I’m FAMOUS! Hooooooo!
Nice list…but the entire concept of the Holy Grail is ridiculous. Then again, I believe the entire concept of Christianity is ridiculous!
Love the comments by bucslim (80)…think Jesus’ toothpick could be worth tracking down also.
Best part of the list (which I’m surprised no one seems to have commented on) is the DOJO in Fort Knox!?!? WTF!
@deeeziner (144): It is not historically proven that jesus existed, a lot of the “sources” about jesus were frauds. Right now I think there are 2 sources that account for him and historians are not sure if they are legit. Also the most important historian of that age, Herodot never even mentioned him, although he was in palestine at the alleged time of jesus working.
I am not trying to take away someones faith, I just find this extremely weird…
@FlameHorse (149): Me too?!?
Very interesting stuff. Some people take things too seriously. It really doesn’t matter if the Holy Grail’s existence is debated. This site makes for interesting reading. It doesn’t need to contain serious, peer reviewed research to make it worthy of reading. I love a good adventure. If I had the time and money I would spend my time treasure hunting and adventuring.
@Julius (151): It has become apparent to me that the subject of Jesus’s historical accurateness is just as debated as the subject of God’s existence.
Although I have no clue about God, I choose to believe in the historical existence of Jesus. But that’s just me.
And I guess that’s an answer to my own question. Of sorts.
@deeeziner (154): I also believe in the historical jesus and I like his teachings, from a philosophical point of view. I doubt somebody collected the blood dripping from a sidewound with a cup though. Its probably a metaphor, like most stories in the bible.
Psssh! Everyone knows its in Hayat! Gosh, didn’t you guys watch The Last Crusade?
… hhhmmm…
wow the quality of this site has gone waay down
Then why not write your own list and improve the quality, gay list (158)???
@Will (13): That would be St.Ives in Cornwall, pronounced from the back of the throat.
@Julius (151):
Julius, if ignorance were tits, you’d be Dolly Parton.
For the umpteenth time—we have little DIRECT evidence for ANYONE from the ancient world. Proof, rather, is through CONVERGENT evidence. And there is a great deal of convergent evidence for the existence of a real person we know as Jesus. You want to know more, go READ something instead of just assuming you know what you’re talking about. Because trust me, you don’t.
Oh, and by the way, knucklehead… Herodotus, the great Greek historian, predated Jesus by nearly FIVE HUNDRED YEARS. He therefore could not have been hanging around in Palestine when Jesus was operating. It’d be a neat trick if he had.
You’ve perhaps confused Herodotus with HEROD, which is the name of a family of kings of the Jews at the time of the Roman occupation.
In any case, it’s amazing that instead of looking this rather obvious stuff up, you choose to base your opinions on a complete absence of knowledge.
Wow, a lot of people seem to be confusing the Holy Grail with the Ark of the Covenant as far as the Ethiopia location goes. And it might interest people to know that the “Holy Grail” is not mentioned in the Bible as anything significant or having any miraculous powers. It’s just some kind of invented Church tradition, about as realistic as King Arthur and Merlin.
No need to be rude. I admit that I was wrong with Herodotus,I confused him with Josephus, but the fact is that we know very little about the historical jesus and the main biographical sources for him are the gospels (canonic and agnostic) which are neither contemporary nor authentic sources.
I have no doubt the historical Jesus existed i was just weirded out by what little we actually knew about him.
@Randall (161): “Julius, if ignorance were tits, you’d be Dolly Parton.”
No he’d be me
Nice list.
do some of u make these comments JUST to ***** people off? i don’t care if ur religious or not, but show some respect please. if u don’t CARE about the subject, doesn’t it seem logical to just look at a different list??
anyway! nice list! i really wanna get into #1, i hate not knowing!! like area 51, just gotta get in there!! but i’m actually happy that the grail and the arc haven’t been found, some things are better left hidden.
I doubt that the chalice of #4, as beautiful as it is, is the Holy Grail. Although it’s a fictional movie, I think “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” had it right that the chalice would have been simple and unassuming, as Jesus prior to his death and resurrection had the bearing of a servant of humanity, not a king.
@General Tits Von Chodehoffen (164): That. Was. Awesome.
@deeeziner (139): Yeah which is why unlike some other people sometimes I didn’t jumped on the “this list was stolen, stolen I say!” horse right away. I figured the possibility of it being the other way around. In which case, pffft thieves! I fart in your general direction!
@Randall (161): I had to look up CONVERGENT. Thank you for extending my vocabulary.
Jesus did not exist. Period.
Closest parallel- Yeshua di Notzri.
Look it up.
An insignificant man claiming to be a prophet who was eventually stoned and hung upside down from a tree.
Nazareth wasn’t even a real place until about 4 or 5 centuries after the supposed existence of Christ.
Outside of the Bible, there is no evidence of the existence of Jesus.
The quest for a historical Jesus will turn up just as much evidence as the quest for a historical Hercules.
@Sodamancer (171):
Sodamancer, if ignorance were an ass, you’d be Jennifer Lopez.
Whatever the hell name you pull out of the hallways of your empty head comes up with a giant zero. There’s more parallels between Richard Millhouse Nixon and Jesus that whatever you typed up.
Nazareth wasn’t even a real place until about 4 or 5 centuries after the supposed existence of Christ? What, was it a hologram or something before that? Did it rise up from the ocean from a command from Poseidon? What are you talking about dude?
“Outside of the Bible, there is no evidence of the existence of Jesus.”
Yeah, other than Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny, Suetonius, there appears to be no real evidence of Jesus’ existence.
Your quest for pulling your head out of your ass will obviously not succeed.
Some people think they are so cool by talking religious bull***** specifically a la#171
@bucslim (172): “Sodamancer, if ignorance were an ass, you’d be Jennifer Lopez.”
Or a Kardashian.
“Yeah, other than Josephus, Tacitus, Pliny, Suetonius, there appears to be no real evidence of Jesus’ existence.”
Except that those can be discredited since none of the “historical accounts” who wrote about Jesus didn’t know him. All writings of Jesus were done by people who did not know him, were written after his death based on stories of him.
I don’t get why there is so much secrecy around such religious artifacts, apart from the idea that they will fall into the wrong hands and be used to wield control over the world through the power of belief, but who’s to say? it could actually be a good thing for them to be known. Whoever has the Grail in possession should come out with it. Since it might still have traces of blood in it, the scientists will pounce on the chance to clone Jesus, which could be the second coming of the Christ, which could save the world from these stupid world leaders populating it.
PS: I’m Muslim, and we also have the belief that a saviour appointed by God will come to save mankind from… itself?
@abcdefg (176): You seem to be woefully ignorant of the info about Islam.
I think it went up with Graham Chapman when his ashes were made into fireworks.
Interesting List: However, 8 & 7 need commenting. It’s a pity ‘horse as up til now you’ve been pretty much on target.
8 – Dan Brown couldn’t even get simple geography correct in The Da Vinci Code: he has Langdon exit his hotel and travel for 15 minutes to the Louvre at the beginning, travelling south past the Opera along the way – However, the hotel Langdon is described as stying in is literally a 1-and-a-half minute walk from the Louvre across the Rue de Rivoli. In London when ‘The Teacher’ effects the death of the chauffeur outside the mustering yard of the Horse Guards Palace he leans on the bonnet of Sir ??? Jag and looks across St,James park at the spires oif the resting place of the answer to the riddle (Westminster Abbey). In fact neither Westminster Abbey OR its towers can be seen from that spot as the south-west wing of the palace is in the way (as are taller buildings beyond it) – as well as which, to even LOOK in the correct direction, the killer would have to stand, turn about 100 degrees to his left and THEN try to see Westminster Abbey – he’s looking in the wrong direction.
There are about 20 or 30 glaring geographical errors in the Da Vinci Code – so what makes us think Brown was even remotely orrect about the Grail.
He was also wrong with regards to almost everything concerning Rosslyn – there ARE hollows in the hill of Rosslyn – but they are normal geological ones which were identified years a via ground-reading soundwave technology – there are NO tunnels hinted at or discovered by the echolocation studies!
ROSSLYN CHAPEL: the Sinclairs of Rosslyn were granted their lands around Rosslyn about a century or so before the chapel was built – and before that they came from the western isles – isles of which NO individual was linked to or was a member or descendant of – the Templars.
quote: “There are carvings of what appear to be Indian corn (maize) around the windows. Maize was unheard of in Europe at the time of the chapel’s construction.”
Maize – is an AMERIND crop and as such would NOT have been known in Europe when the chapel was built/carved.
However: Indian (as in the country INDIA) WAS well known at that time and CORN – not maize – WAS exported to Britain from there and had been for a long time – it is different to maize in that it is predominantly multicoloured and not as full-bodied. Indian Corn (that is, corn from India) was even known to the Ancient Romans and Greeks!
quote: “There are carvings of “green men,” which seem to symbolize Celtic traditions regarding spring and summer (pre-Christian).”
Wrong: there is A ‘Green Man’ and he has nothing to do with the Celts. In fact it symbolises “man’s great capacity for goodness and the parallel scope for significant evil and it has its origins in the legends of Robin Hood and vice versa. The theme of which was a popular Maytide Play during the 15th & 16th Centuries in Scotland – plays usually performed by bands of roving Gypsies: a group of people for whom the original William Sinclair and his subsequent family have always had (and have) great sympathy to their plight” Thus the Green Man is Sir William’s tribute to both the legend of Robin, the Hooded Man and the Gypsies whoi were always welcomed in Rosslyn.
Finally – “The Apprentice Pillar is the real stand-out. No one knows why it was carved as it was, and there are no other pillars like it in the chapel, or anywhere in Europe.” What Rubbish!!!!!
The Apprentices Pillar was carved that way because the ‘Laird’ WANTED it carved that way. He had made a pilgrimage to Rome and seen the same pillar at the Vatican – he had had an accuratre MODEL of it made at the time and presented this to his Master Mason as a template for his chapel. The story then goes that the Master himself journeyed to Rome to do more detailed sketches and then returned to do the pillar, only to find his apprentice had dreamed the pillar and carved it perfectly from that dream. In rage, the master then murdered the apprentice, HIS pillar is different because it was intended to be so!
Thus – we DO know why it was carved, We DO know why it was carved the way it was and We DO know there IS another JUST like it in Rome!!!
Lastly – Point 8: “Ynys yr Afalon,” is NOT old English for “The Isle of Avalon”. “Ynys yr Afalon,” is WELSH GAELIC or Cymran (I hope I got that correct).
BTW – my dad grew up in the Rosslyn area and we still have family there.
If you want the story of Rosslyn – go there or at least buy a copy of the guide book and history of the chapel – I’ve done both.
Wow, this is one of the most interesting lists for my tastes that i’ve read here in a long while!
Excellent job with the list!
@yojimbo (64): Thanks, I knew it was a set – no access would ever be given to the real Fort Knox of course. Interesting info anyway
huh? i thought the Holy Grail is in the Vatican?