Rosslyn Chapel: Is the Holy Grail hidden in a Scottish village?
Where is the Holy Grail? Could it really be stowed away at the unassuming Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland? Sky HISTORY’s Lost Grail with Alice Roberts investigates.
Image: One theory claims that the Holy Grail is held at Rosslyn Chapel on the outskirts of Edinburgh | Shutterstock.com
Where is the current location of the Holy Grail, the reputedly magical cup said to have been used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper? One legend is that one of his disciples took it to Britain and buried it under Glastonbury Tor.
Surprisingly, however, that’s not the only British place linked to the Holy Grail. One alternative possibility put forward is that the chalice is actually housed at Rosslyn Chapel, just outside Edinburgh.
This theory first gained major traction in the 1980s and has since been further popularised by bestselling mystery novel The Da Vinci Code. However, does it stand up to academic scrutiny?
That’s what we at Sky HISTORY wanted to find out. In our new series Lost Grail with Alice Roberts, Professor Alice Roberts even sees a bowl that could be key to solving the mystery…
Did the Knights Templar find the Holy Grail?
In the late 11th century, Christian hegemony was established over the previously Muslim-controlled Jerusalem, leading many Christians to make pilgrimages to the city. However, these pilgrims often found themselves assaulted by bandits on the way.
This led to the formation of the Knights Templar, a Christian military order which would protect the pilgrims during their trips. The Knights Templar were officially known as the ‘Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon’.
This name reflected their headquarters on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, where the Temple of Solomon had stood centuries earlier. It is said that, at Temple Mount, the Knights Templar unearthed a wealth of treasure, including the Holy Grail.
Did Scotland become a Templar refuge?
After Muslim forces recaptured Jerusalem in 1187, the Templars set up new headquarters in Acre. This Mediterranean seaport was itself lost by the Crusaders in 1291, marking the beginning of the end for the Knights Templar.
It has been suggested that, as the Templars retreated, they took their Solomon hoard with them. By the end of the 13th century, it was allegedly in Paris, where the Templars were then based. Unfortunately for them, however, the political climate in France was not conducive to their continued presence there.
As King Philip IV of France owed the Templars a crippling amount of debt, he devised an ingenious way to get it cancelled. Quite simply, he decided to have the Templars arrested on spurious charges. Though many Templars were indeed seized, others are thought to have fled with the treasure - including to Scotland.
How the Holy Grail allegedly ended up in Rosslyn Chapel
In 1307, Philip and Pope Clement V encouraged major crackdowns on Templar activity across Europe. Nonetheless, in some parts of the continent, Templars were shielded from persecution.
Some are thought to have been given refuge by Robert the Bruce, who ruled Scotland from 1306 to 1329. It has even been argued that Templar knights turned up at the Battle of Bannockburn to help Robert triumph over English invaders.
Robert, the story continues, was so grateful that he granted Scottish land to the Templars. Rosslyn Chapel was supposedly built as a repository for their treasure, including the Holy Grail.
Flaws of the Rosslyn Chapel theory
There are many reasons to doubt that the Rosslyn Chapel ever did hold the Holy Grail. For a start, there is no historical evidence that any Templars were actually at Bannockburn during that fateful battle in June 1314.
It is true that Scotland’s powerful Sinclair (or ‘St Clair’) family responsible for building Rosslyn Chapel had strong connections to Robert the Bruce. So, in theory, they could have extended a helping hand to the Templars. However, Rosslyn Chapel was not built until the mid-15th century, when Robert’s reign was no longer even in living memory.
The chapel’s interior is resplendent in elaborate carvings purportedly interweaved with Templar symbolism. Much of the stone imagery, though, is highly open to interpretation, and so cannot be seen as ‘proof’ of a Templar connection.
A mysterious wooden bowl surfaces at Rosslyn Chapel
Theorists have suggested that the Holy Grail lies in a closed-off vault beneath the chapel building. This area is unlikely to be excavated any time soon, as the chapel’s structural integrity could otherwise be at risk.
Some excavation work did go ahead in 1993, leading to the discovery of a mysterious wooden bowl under the chapel floor. The vessel features in Lost Grail with Alice Roberts, with Oxford University carefully analysing the material to discern its age.
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