The
Tradition: In the Chapel of Roslin in
Lothian stands a most remarkable carved pillar, known as the
"Prentice Pillar". It is said that the design for the chapel
pillars was created by the local master mason, but the scheme was so
intricate that he did not have the skills to carve them. So he travelled
abroad in an attempt to learn the necessary expertise. On his return,
however, he found that his apprentice had completed the first pillar and,
on their Lord's instructions, had hidden the secret Grail within
it. In a fit of jealous rage, the mason killed the poor boy! The murderer
had, however, failed to learn the continental skills he had hoped for and,
with the talented apprentice dead, the "Prentice Pillar"
remained unique.

The
Theory:According
to Wolfram Von Eschenbach's "Parzival," the Grail was kept in a
Holy Temple where it was guarded by formidable force of fighting men known
as the Templiesen. Knight and Lomas believe that this was the
Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, where the treasures of the Jewish people
were buried before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 68. The Templiesen
are the Monastic Order of the Knights
Templar, supposedly heirs to
this hidden treasures which they recovered while on Crusade a thousand
years later. The most precious object salvaged was the Holy Grail, which
the Templar's Grand Master, Hugues de Payen, brought to Scotland to
entrust to his wife's uncle, Henry Sinclair, Earl of Orkney. It remained
with the family until the 3rd Earl built the present chapel at Roslin
Castle in 1446. It was constructed as a replica of the original Temple of
Solomon, and the Grail was encased in the beautiful Prentice Pillar
there.

Possible
interpretations & Criticism: The
Knights Templar were a mysterious order of monks-cum-soldiers under the
protection of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. During the Crusades of the 13th
century, they undertook a quest to recover a piece of the True Cross
from the Saracens in the Holy Land. They consciously promoted this as a
parallel to the Grail Quest, and may have even had the Grail legends
rewritten to suit their own bizarre rituals.

The Sinclairs were
indeed a well-connected family with close links to both the Order of the
Knights Templar and the later Freemasons. The Chapel at their Castle of
Roslin is certainly unique, not only housing the "Prentice
Pillar" but a singular collection of fascinating imagery and
symbolism which may well have been inspired by their Templar beliefs.
Perhaps the pillar itself was so very complicated to complete that its
mason never made another, but the Grail connection appears to be mere
speculation on the part of local tradition.