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Rosslyn: The Story of Rosslyn Chapel and the True Story Behind the Da Vinci Code
The mysterious history of Rosslyn Chapel and the Knights Templar is revealed in this authoritative volume by a descendent of its first patrons.
In the 15th century, William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness and Baron of Roslin, built a Catholic chapel in the Midlothian region of Scotland. Famous for its esoteric symbolism, this flamboyant Gothic church was of great importance to the Knights Templar, who formed a third Temple of Solomon with the patronage of the Sinclair lairds.
Historian Andrew Sinclair, whose own family lineage traces back to William, explores the rise and fall of Rosslyn over the course of centuries. It is a tale of religious conflicts and ancient relics, of epic battles and secret societies. Along the way, he dispels the many myths and misinterpretations that have grown up around Rosslyn, as the fortunes of the Sinclair family declined and the Church and Castle fell into ruin.
In the 15th century, William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness and Baron of Roslin, built a Catholic chapel in the Midlothian region of Scotland. Famous for its esoteric symbolism, this flamboyant Gothic church was of great importance to the Knights Templar, who formed a third Temple of Solomon with the patronage of the Sinclair lairds.
Historian Andrew Sinclair, whose own family lineage traces back to William, explores the rise and fall of Rosslyn over the course of centuries. It is a tale of religious conflicts and ancient relics, of epic battles and secret societies. Along the way, he dispels the many myths and misinterpretations that have grown up around Rosslyn, as the fortunes of the Sinclair family declined and the Church and Castle fell into ruin.
Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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About the author
Andrew Sinclair
185 books32 followersAndrew Sinclair was born in Oxford in 1935 and was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. After earning a Ph.D. in American History from Cambridge, he pursued an academic career in the United States and England. His first two novels, written while he was still at Cambridge, were both published in 1959: The Breaking of Bumbo (based on his own experience in the Coldstream Guards, and later adapted for a 1970 film written and directed by Sinclair) and My Friend Judas. Other early novels included The Project (1960), The Hallelujah Bum (1963), and The Raker (1964). The latter, also available from Valancourt, is a clever mix of Gothic fantasy and macabre comedy and was inspired by Sinclair’s relationship with Derek Lindsay, the pseudonymous author of the acclaimed novel The Rack (1958). Sinclair’s best-known novel, Gog (1967), a highly imaginative, picaresque account of the adventures of a seven-foot-tall man who washes ashore on the Scottish coast, naked and suffering from amnesia, has been named one of the top 100 modern fantasy novels. As the first in the ‘Albion Triptych’, it was followed by Magog (1972) and King Ludd (1988).
Sinclair’s varied and prolific career has also included work in film and a large output of nonfiction. As a director, he is best known for Under Milk Wood (1972), adapted from a Dylan Thomas play and starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Sinclair’s nonfiction includes works on American history (including The Better Half: The Emancipation of the American Woman, which won the 1967 Somerset Maugham Award), books on Dylan Thomas, Jack London, Che Guevara, and Francis Bacon, and, more recently, works on the Knights Templar and the Freemasons.
Sinclair was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1972. He lives in London.
Sinclair’s varied and prolific career has also included work in film and a large output of nonfiction. As a director, he is best known for Under Milk Wood (1972), adapted from a Dylan Thomas play and starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Sinclair’s nonfiction includes works on American history (including The Better Half: The Emancipation of the American Woman, which won the 1967 Somerset Maugham Award), books on Dylan Thomas, Jack London, Che Guevara, and Francis Bacon, and, more recently, works on the Knights Templar and the Freemasons.
Sinclair was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1972. He lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 19, 2017
interesting,
although some major history left out, as well some confused history.
And the author jumps from Scottish gaelic to english all through the book, I don't know why.
The author has some historical characters in the wrong roles.
Poorly written for such a book.
although some major history left out, as well some confused history.
And the author jumps from Scottish gaelic to english all through the book, I don't know why.
The author has some historical characters in the wrong roles.
Poorly written for such a book.
June 24, 2020
This was more of an information dump of names and dates and I was hoping for more of a cohesive narration and expected it to be more about the chapel itself than the family. Also, there were so many William Sinclairs that I got very confused haha. Still, it had some neat facts.
May 29, 2021
Woe, Woe, Woe is me…..
Woe be to him who picks up this book. Probably created my own woe. As a Mason I see Rosslyn Chapel and think myth, lore and history of the craft. Although the book cover describes it as information behind the Da Vinci Code I paid little attention. Sinclair includes the history, myth and legend of Scotland and tacks comments re: the Chapel here and there throughout the book. Disappointing read, but my own fault. And not amention of good scotch.
Woe be to him who picks up this book. Probably created my own woe. As a Mason I see Rosslyn Chapel and think myth, lore and history of the craft. Although the book cover describes it as information behind the Da Vinci Code I paid little attention. Sinclair includes the history, myth and legend of Scotland and tacks comments re: the Chapel here and there throughout the book. Disappointing read, but my own fault. And not amention of good scotch.
April 21, 2023
Okay read
Does not talk about chapel as much as I as looking for. This is more of a family tree of the St. Clair. Talks about alot of wars wbich gets confusing at time. Everyone knows that the Da Vinci code was a written thiller, so a review at the end ( spoiler alert ) was really not needed.
Does not talk about chapel as much as I as looking for. This is more of a family tree of the St. Clair. Talks about alot of wars wbich gets confusing at time. Everyone knows that the Da Vinci code was a written thiller, so a review at the end ( spoiler alert ) was really not needed.
September 8, 2015
An academic work written with concise first-hand knowledge of one of the great mysteries of all time regarding the Templar Knights and their treasure and the secrets of Rosslyn Chapel which featured in the Da Vinci code.
The author is a kinsman of the Sinclairs who may well have in the past absconded with a vast fortune taken by the Templars, of whom the Sinclairs were closely connected, and so the account need be taken with a pinch of salt, since the treasure's whereabouts have never been revealed, or otherwise disguised.
With matters of the occult nothing is ever as it seems.
The author is a kinsman of the Sinclairs who may well have in the past absconded with a vast fortune taken by the Templars, of whom the Sinclairs were closely connected, and so the account need be taken with a pinch of salt, since the treasure's whereabouts have never been revealed, or otherwise disguised.
With matters of the occult nothing is ever as it seems.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews