Roslin (formerly spelt Rosslyn or Roslyn;

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

: Riasg Linne) is a village in

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinbur ...

, Scotland, 11 kilometres (7 mi) to the south of the capital city

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore o ...

. It stands on high ground, near the northwest bank of the river North Esk.

The name

The name Roslin (recorded in 1138 as ''Roskelyn'') appears to derive from

. The second element is clearly ''linne'' usually meaning a pond or a lake, but here probably means a waterfall and refers to the nearby Linn of Roslin. The first element is more obscure, but may derive from ''riasg'' meaning a peat moor. The theory that it is a corruption of '' Roseline'', a supposed medieval meridian passing through

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and Rosslyn Chapel, is fanciful. Roslin is believed to be the source of the name for the Village of Roslyn, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

, in the U.S.

State of New York New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...

; its location reminded officials of the hills in Roslin. Roslindale, Massachusetts is also named after Roslin.

History

Legend has it the village was founded in 203 A.D. by Asterius, a

Pict The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ...

. In 1303 Roslin was the site of a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

of the

First War of Scottish Independence The First War of Scottish Independence was the first of a series of wars between English and Scottish forces. It lasted from the English invasion of Scotland in 1296 until the ''de jure'' restoration of Scottish independence with the Treaty ...

. In 1446, Rosslyn Chapel was constructed, under the guide of

William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness William Sinclair (1410–1480), 1st Earl of Caithness (1455–1476), last Earl (Jarl) of Orkney (1434–1470 de facto, –1472 de jure), 2nd Lord Sinclair and 11th Baron of Roslin was a Norwegian and Scottish nobleman and the bu ...

. Roslin became important as the seat of the St Clair (or Sinclair) family. In 1456 King James II granted it the status of a

burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs ...

. Coal mining has been a major occupation from the twelfth to the late twentieth centuries. From the 19th century onward, the attractions of the Glen, Castle and Chapel developed Roslin as a popular tourist destination. Notable visitors included J. M. W. Turner,

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ...

(who wrote a poem in the chapel whilst escaping a storm) and his sister Dorothy, who wrote "I never passed through a more delicious dell than the glen of Rosslyn".

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

visited in March 1887, noting in his Socialist Diary that Roslin was "a beautiful glen-ny landscape much spoiled... by the misery of Scotch building and a manufactory or two". On the north-western side of the village used to be Roslin Institute, a biological research establishment, where in 1996 Dolly the sheep became the first animal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell. She moved to Easter Bush in 2011.

Places of interest

The village sits on the west side of Roslin Glen, now a country park. Overlooking the Glen are Rosslyn Chapel and

Roslin Castle Roslin Castle (sometimes spelt Rosslyn) is a partially ruined castle near the village of Roslin in Midlothian, Scotland. It is located around 9 miles south of Edinburgh, on the north bank of the North Esk, only a few hundred metres from the f ...

. The elaborately carved chapel has long been associated with the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon ( la, Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order, o ...

and the Grail legend, and featured in the best-selling book ''

The Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon: the first was his 2000 novel ''Angels & Demons''. ''The Da Vinci Code'' follows symbologist Robert Lang ...

''. The popularity of the book and the use of the chapel as a location in the subsequent

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

greatly increased the number of visitors to the village. Rosslyn Castle, owned by the family of the Earl of Rosslyn since the 14th century, is in partial ruins. The habitable parts are let as holiday accommodation. A monument cairn erected by the Roslin Heritage Society at the end of last century, marks the site of the Battle of Roslin.

Notable residents

* James Gillespie (1726–1797), snuff-maker and philanthropist. * David Gray, scored the winning goal in the 2016 Scottish Cup Final for Hibernian, their first win since 1902. * John Lawson Johnston the inventor of

Bovril Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick and salty meat extract paste similar to a yeast extract, developed in the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston. It is sold in a distinctive bulbous jar, and as cubes and granules. Bovril is owned and distribu ...

, was born in Roslin in 1839.

References

External links