There are depictions of Trillium, Indian Corn, and Aloe Vera indicating the sculptors of the chapel were familiar with these plants, even though Western Explorers weren’t supposed to have reached North America and India, where these plants originate, until at least 10 years after the carvings were crafted. There are also representations of an elephant and a camel, although the carvers would not have seen these animals first hand.
Rosslyn is well-known for its representations of The Green Man, a pagan symbol that some people believe was included in the chapel, so that non-believers would be familiar with at least some of the features they saw, and hence, would be more likely to feel they could identify with what the chapel was about. The Green Man was being used as an enticement to get non-believers to visit this Christian chapel. There are over 100 carvings of the symbol, starting with a young-looking boy in the north-east corner and then proceeding 360 degrees in a clockwise direction around the chapel until the final face, so wizzened and haggard.
Julian Worker Fiction Writing 