The Rosslyn Chapel, formerly known as the Collegiate Chapel of Saint Matthew, is a 15th-century Scottish Episcopal Church chapel located in the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland.

The Chapel is dedicated to Saint Matthew the Evangelist and was founded on a small hill above Roslin Glen as a collegiate church (with between four and six ordained canons and two boy choristers) in the mid-15th century. The chapel was founded by William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness of the Scoto-Norman Sinclair family. Rosslyn Chapel is the third Sinclair place of worship at Roslin, the first being in Roslin Castle and the second (whose crumbling buttresses can still be seen today) in what is now Roslin Cemetery.

Sinclair founded the college to celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours throughout the day and night, and also to celebrate Catholic Masses for all the faithful departed, including the deceased members of the Sinclair family. During this period, the rich heritage of plainsong (a single melodic line) or polyphony (vocal harmony) were used to enrich the singing of the liturgy. Sinclair provided an endowment to pay for the support of the priests and choristers in perpetuity. The priests also had parochial responsibilities.

After the Scottish Reformation (1560), Catholic worship in the chapel was brought to an end. The Sinclair family continued to be Catholics until the early 18th century. Of note, while the Sinclair (surname) has its origins in Scotland, it is actually a derivation of the French surname de Saint-Clair.

           Read more ...

7 May 2024 – Premiership of John Swinney

The Scottish Parliament votes to elect John Swinney as First Minister of Scotland with 64 votes in favour and seven abstentions from the Scottish Greens. (BBC News)

6 May 2024 – 2024 Scottish National Party leadership election

John Swinney is elected leader of the Scottish National Party following the resignation of First Minister Humza Yousaf. (The Guardian)

4 May 2024 – International reactions to the Israel–Hamas war

Palestinian doctor and rector at the University of Glasgow Ghassan Abu-Sittah is denied entry into France after landing at Charles de Gaulle airport on his way to speak at the French Senate. Last month, he was denied entry into Germany. (Al Jazeera)

1 May 2024 – 2024 Scottish government crisis

The Scottish National Party administration survives the vote of no confidence earlier this week, prompting the party to seek a replacement for outgoing First Minister Humza Yousaf. (Al Jazeera)

29 April 2024 – 2024 Scottish government crisis

Ahead of a planned vote of no confidence, Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf announces that he will resign from office. (CNBC) (The New York Times)

25 April 2024 – 2024 Scottish government crisis

Premiership of Humza Yousaf

Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter. He recorded more than 28 albums and toured extensively from the 1960s to the 21st century.

Jansch was a leading figure in the 1960s British folk revival, touring folk clubs and recording several solo albums, as well as collaborating with other musicians such as John Renbourn and Anne Briggs. In 1968, he co-founded the band Pentangle, touring and recording with them until their break-up in 1972. He then took a few years' break from music, returning in the late 1970s to work on a series of projects with other musicians. He joined a reformed Pentangle in the early 1980s and remained with them as they evolved through various changes of personnel until 1995. Until his death, Jansch continued to work as a solo artist.

Jansch's work influenced many artists, especially Jimmy Page, Mike Oldfield, Paul Simon, Pete Hawkes, Nick Drake, Donovan, and Neil Young. He received two Lifetime Achievement Awards at the BBC Folk Awards: one, in 2001, for his solo achievements and the other, in 2007, as a member of Pentangle.

           Read more ...

• ... that Jewish tartans have been made for the Jewish community of Scotland?
• ... that Mary Earle was born near Ben Nevis, and although she became a professor of food technology in New Zealand, she never forgot her Scottish roots?
• ... that George Balanchine's ballet Scotch Symphony, set to Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony, evokes the style of La Sylphide, a romantic ballet set in Scotland?
• ... that the Jubilate by Benjamin Britten was written in 1961 for St George's Chapel at the request of the Duke of Edinburgh, and performed there for some of his birthdays and his funeral?
• ... that today the Bishop of Edinburgh plays a ceremonial role at the coronation of Charles III and Camilla as a representative of the Walker Trustees?
• ... that visitors to Balmaclellan in Scotland can stay in a historic watermill that is "remarkable" for the preservation of its internal workings?
• ... that Scottish inventor and music teacher Anne Gunn was granted the first British patent for a board game in 1801?
• ... that within the graveyard of the Category A–listed Crossmichael Parish Church, there is a memorial to William Gordon of Greenlaw that is itself designated Category A in its own right?