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Introduction As the Rosslyn Templars have now exceeded half-million (575,000) visitors (as at June 2007) to its web site it is an opportune time to reflect on the past and attempt to judge the future. What have we done well? What had we not done well? and where ought this site be in four years time? - the same length of time since it was created.
It is perhaps important to make clear some facts about this, the Rosslyn Templar site, so that no one is misled or mistaken as to its purpose and function. The Rosslyn Templars is a small group of Freemasons dedicated to researching Rosslyn Chapel. The group is self-funding and is entirely independent of any other group whatsoever. So, although all members are Freemasons they do not act for or represent any other group of Freemasons. Nor do they have any connection with any particular branch of Freemasonry such as the Scottish Masonic Knights Templar whose governing body is the Great Priory of Scotland. This decision was made in order to maintain a strict independence from any other Masonic organisation.
In order to make available the research conducted by the Rosslyn Templars to a larger audience it was decided soon after being formed to have a web site. This went online in 2002 with one specific aim in mind - to investigate Rosslyn Chapel and all the subjects which have come to be associated with it - such as Freemasonry, more particularly Scottish Freemasonry, the Knights Templar and book reviews on relevant subjects. The primary intention was to place the chapel in its historical and ecclesiastical context by providing relevant material (old and new) and then to analyse and discuss that material in an attempt to bring some clarity to the subject. The first step was to gather information about all the collegiate churches in Scotland and compare and contrast them with Rosslyn Chapel such as Crichton, Dunbar and Seton to name but a few. The initial task of identifying them and collating brief information on each was relatively straightforward and has been provided in tabular form as a comparison table. That table provides brief details of all the collegiate churches in Scotland and links to separate illustrated pages about each church. To go there click here or on the previous links. Whilst the comparison table is complete, page details of all Scottish collegiate churches are still being created. Of the 42 collegiate churches separate pages are available for 23. The delay in completing this project has been caused by a number of problems. For example, the decision to use photographs taken by Rosslyn Templars.
Other matters relevant to Rosslyn Chapel such as Freemasonry, the St. Clair family, the Knights Templar (as examples) were thought too important to be ignored and ought to be added to the site thereby delaying other parts of the site. The frequency of publication of books about Rosslyn Chapel was something never anticipated and came as something of a surprise. This phenomenon is a subject worthy of examination in its own right and a first step has been to list books which consider Rosslyn Chapel and Freemasonry. As mentioned elsewhere this modern phenomenon began as long ago as 1982 and shown no sign of abating. The Da Vinci Code (2003) is recent example (albeit a work of fiction) and The Rosslyn Hoax? (2006) is one of the latest works of non-fiction.
However, the main problem was simply due to the success of the site. A nice problem to have we admit, but the sheer number of enquires on a whole host of different subjects made serious demands on our time - time we never anticipated spending. We have tried to deal with as many queries as possible but with the best will in the world there is a limit to what a handful of people can do. To all those people out there who have sent e-mails and received no reply - we apologise. It has not been deliberate but we receive far more e-mails than we can cope with. It was thought that one solution to the problem would be to set up pages devoted to particular subjects such as those on the Knights Templar, the St. Clair (Sinclair) family, book reviews and much more besides. All that did was increase the number of visitors asking even more questions on subjects not previously covered by this site!
What then was the reason this site was created in the first place? It was created in 2002 as a direct response to the amount of material being published in the public domain about Rosslyn Chapel, Freemasonry, the Knights Templar, St. Clair family etc. Unfortunately, much of this discussed Freemasonry third hand, that is, by people who were not Freemasons and often almost as if Freemasonry did not exist in the modern era. This web site therefore has another subsidiary purpose - to have some Masonic input to the debate about Rosslyn Chapel and subjects which have come to be associated with that structure especially Freemasonry.
However, the creation of the group known as the Rosslyn Templars and its web site was no 'knee jerk' reaction to the writing of non-Freemasons on Freemasonry. The interest of non-Masons was created (certainly in the modern era) a little over 20 years ago with the publication of the book: The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail (1982) by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln but interest was dramatically increased with the publication of: The Temple and The Lodge (1988) by the same authors (minus Lincoln). That book was the first to argue (in great detail) that there was a link between Rosslyn Chapel and Freemasonry. These books spawned a large number of others on a similar theme. Interest in Rosslyn Chapel increased again with the publication of the novel: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (2003). The film by the same title was released on 19th May 2006 increased, yet again, visitor numbers enormously. The film did not do too well at the box office but it, together with the release of film on DVD on 16th October 2006, has had a further impact on the chapel. An example of this is that on 16th November 2006 Rosslyn Chapel Trust was forced to advertise for more guides to escort the increasing number of visitors. November is hardly the height of the tourist season! The number of visitors to the chapel in the summer of 2007 was enormous.
There can be no doubt that these books, fictional or otherwise (and now a Hollywood film), have asked a number of provocative, speculative, questions and these have stimulated a debate that would not have otherwise existed. In our view that is one of the most positive aspects of these publications.
Unfortunately, the plethora of such books, articles (and even a movie) for sale in the public, rather than the much more critical academic domain, has given rise to many untested hypotheses regarding Rosslyn Chapel, the Knights Templar, Scottish Freemasonry that it has become very difficult to separate fact from fiction. This web site is therefore also an attempt to bring some clarity to that muddled, debate. One advance in that respect is the publication of a new book: The Rosslyn Hoax? by the Curator of the supreme Masonic body in Scotland - the Grand Lodge of Scotland - the home of Scottish Freemasonry. More details about this will be found on the News page including links to an interview with the author of The Rosslyn Hoax? It is significant that a book about Rosslyn Chapel and Freemasonry (Scottish Freemasonry to be exact) has been written by an eminent Scottish Freemason as opposed to non-Masons.
The Rosslyn Templars are devoted, therefore, to the promotion of the interpretation and understanding of Rosslyn Chapel from a number of different disciplines. The profit motive has no part to play in the work of the Rosslyn Templars or this web site although we hope that some will be moved to make contributions to charity. Details of the Rosslyn Templars' appeal for such donations will be found on the page named CHARITY.
The site now contains information not only on Rosslyn Chapel and Freemasonry, particularly Scottish Freemasonry, but also the Knights Templars (or Templars, or KT) and other material considered to be in some way connected to Rosslyn Chapel. The need to set the chapel in its Scottish ecclesiastical and historical context by providing information on all the other Scottish Collegiate Churches is half way to completion. The site has therefore become much larger than originally envisaged.
Where then should this site be in another four years? First and foremost the provision of details on the remaining collegiate churches is a priority but is, we freely confess, progress painfully slowly. Reviewing all the books which deal with Rosslyn Chapel is also something that is desirable although that is a time consuming task. We have also been made aware that the site lacks internal links which would allow visitors to more easily move from page to page. Such links to, for example, Book Reviews are shown in this manner and will be added to more pages as the site is updated. If past experience is anything to go by then it is inevitable that something will come along to delay our plans but that ought not deter us from setting goals and plans to achieve them.
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Send mail to
Robert@RosslynTemplars.org.uk with
questions or comments about this web site. |
