Apprentice Pillar
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The Apprentice Pillar, or Prentice Pillar, is a decorated column in the 15th-century Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. The pillar gets its name from a legend involving the mason in charge of the stonework in the chapel and his young apprentice. According to the legend the mason does not believe he can perform the complicated task of carving the column without seeing the original which formed the inspiration for the design, located in Rome. Upon his return he is enraged to find that the upstart apprentice has completed the column, and in a fit of jealous anger the mason strikes the apprentice on the head, killing him.
Rosslyn_Chapel_Princes_Pillar_1778.jpg
It is also referred to in as the "Princes Pillar" in 'An account of the chapel of Roslin' (1778) . On the architrave joining the pillar, there is the inscription Forte est vinum fortior est rex fortiores sunt mulieres super omnia vincit veritas: "Wine is strong, a king is stronger, women are stronger still, but truth conquers all" (Book of Esdras, chapters 3 & 4.)
Also of interest are the eight dragons at the base of the pillar, from whose mouths the vines spring that wind around the pillar. It is suggested that this is a reference to Norse legend, with eight dragons of Niflheim chewing at the base of the world tree Yggdrasil.
Popular culture
The Apprentice Pillar is also referenced in Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code.
External links
- Official website (http://www.rosslynchapel.org.uk/htm/architecture.htm)
- More from the same site (http://www.rosslynchapel.org.uk/carvings/carvings-page2.htm)
- Comparison of the chapel and Masonic legends (http://www.rosslyntemplars.org.uk/Apprentice_Pillar.htm)