endlessrarities | The Devil's In the Detail!

Time for my final post on Rosslyn Chapel. This time I'm going to show some detailed views of the carvings.

For starters, here's part of a frieze featuring the seven deadly sins (the two lovers canoodling at the right hand side is a dead giveaway). Again, think of this in polychrome!!

Here's some beautiful carvings lurking round one of the windows:-

The pendant roof boss in the centre of the picture below represents the Star of Bethlehem, I believe, with characters from the Nativity featured above. As for the little ornate boxes... Current theories suggest that they may represent music. Evidently, experiments have shown that if a heap of sand is placed on a metal plate which is then made to resonate using a bow, the sand forms patterns similar to those shown on the boxes. I can't remember the details and I couldn't find a web-mounted source for the research, so I can't give you a faithful recounting of the argument, but when I saw a news report referring to it on the television a few years back, it seemed really quite convincing! A tune has been recreated using the patterns on the boxes, and used as the theme for the 'Rosslyn Motet'.

Now that's what I call good research!

And here's a close up of the boss itself:-

I added this one just for the heck of it, because I like it! More boxes, and the knots around the capital of the pillar are just lovely.

My second last shot is one of my favourites:-

And lastly... Where's the Devil, I hear you ask? Well, here's a carving of Satan bound, and plummeting down from the heavens...

That's all folks! Chapeau to the late 15th century masons, and to those who have, throughout the generations, fought so hard to preserve this wonderful place!

Oh, and as a postscript... The EBA dagger is actually a halberd. It's almost official. D'oh! Should've have followed my instincts and stuck with my initial interpretation!!

For more wonderful pictures of Rosslyn Chapel, either checkout this page of their website at http://www.rosslynchapel.org.uk/history.php or visit the Canmore entry in the National Monuments Record for Scotland at http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/51812/digital_images/roslin+roslin+chapel/?&sort_typ=archnum&sort_ord=asc&z=20