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Rosslyn Chapel |
In the same year that the first great Italian Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi died in 1446, the foundation stone of the Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew was laid by Sir William St Clair third and last St Clair Prince of Orkney, his ancestry weaving its way back to Orcadian, Norwegian and French families.
Today this Collegiate Chapel is better known as Rosslyn Chapel, six miles south of Edinburgh in the village of Roslin, just off the A701 road to Penicuik and Peebles.
Taking 40 years to build, it is suggested that this architectural gem never realised its intended size, as its patron Sir William died in 1484 leaving the building work unfinished. Original plans for the chapel do not exist, however, foundations excavated in the 19th century indicate that a much larger nave was considered.
From this, it would appear, Sir William, like his contemporary Italian Renaissance princes, was eager to make his mark as a learned man, as the purpose of the chapel, and others like it, was to spread intellectual and spiritual knowledge.
Unbeknown to Sir William, at that time, was that the setting for his chapel, Roslin Glen, would prove to be one of the most sought after locations for the Romantic artists, writers and poets of the late18th and early19th centuries. Like bees round a honey-pot they came to be inspired by a
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In this month's issue Alan Cochrane writes about new penalties for wildlife crimes. Do you think it would be fair to ban keepers for life for certain wildlife crimes?
