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THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF SPECULATIVE FREEMASONRY
by WM Don Falconer
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF SPECULATIVE MASONRY
Speculative foundations
Man in Pre-History
The earliest masons
The development of literacy
Monumental masonry
Classical masonry
Cathedral masonry
THE TRADITIONAL DEGREES IN FREEMASONRY
The Medieval Freemasons
Medieval Lodges
The Ceremonials of Medieval Lodges
The Foundations
The Solomonic Degrees
The First Temple
The Second Temple
Conclusion
THE SYMBOLS OF FREEMASONRY
Symbols in antiquity
Symbols in the Sacred Writings
The origin of Masonic Symbols
The scope of Masonic Symbols
The Mystical Theme
THE LEGACY OF OPERATIVE FREE MASONRY
Origins
Masonry through the ages
The Freemason and his Lodge
English operative lodges
Scottish operative lodges
Irish operative lodges
Early "non-operative" Masons
Early speculative lodges
The "Mason word"
Ceremonial
Tradition in perspective
THE WORKING TOOLS OF THE CRAFT
The Craft
Lodges of operative Masons
Training in operative Lodges
Speculative Lodges
Religious influence
Operative working tools
The Apprentice's working tools
The Fellow's working tools
The Master's working tools
The symbolism of the Square
The symbolism of the Level
The symbolism of the Plumb Rule
SPECULATIVE CRAFT FREEMASONRY
Guild Masonry
Operative influences
Modern speculative Freemasonry
The purpose of Freemasonry
HISTORY, A KEY ELEMENT IN MASONRY
Background
The Old Charges in summary
The liberal Arts and Sciences
The foundation of the Crafts
The two Pillars
Nimrod and the Tower of Babel
The call of Abraham
The Temple at Jerusalem
Masonry in France
Masonry in England
CEREMONIAL PREPARATION
Origins of the Rite
Operative background
Divestiture of the metals
The Hoodwink
The Cable Tow
The bare Right Arm
The bare Left Knee
The Slipshod Heel
THE JEWELS OF THE LODGE
The Jewels
Operative origins
Early Speculative Jewels
Speculative Tracing Board
FREEMASONRY AND RELIGION
The rise of civilization
What is Freemasonry
Early Masonry
Temple Masonry
Classical Masonry
Cathedral Masonry
Modern Freemasonry evolves
The Templar influence
Other influences on Freemasonry
Retrospect
THE PRECEPTS OF FREEMASONRY
In the Beginnings
The First Principles
Behaviour and Responsibility
Social Conduct
Integrety
Moral Virtues
Social Virtues
Intellectual Virtues
THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF SPECULATIVE
FREEMASONRY
SPECULATIVE FOUNDATIONS
Speculative freemasonry is a natural extension of man's spiritual and mental
attempts to unravel his origins, to comprehend the meaning of life and to
perceive his ultimate destiny, as well as to communicate his thoughts on these
matters to others. Although purely speculative lodges are of recent origin,
speculative freemasonry is as old as the operative art itself. Moreover, the
speculative rituals were not invented by those who established the first purely
speculative lodges, which led to the formation of the early Grand Lodges in the
eighteenth century. These early speculative freemasons were intellectual men who
saw great value in existing rituals, which they culled, collated and codified
into the form used speculative ceremonials. In so doing they were careful to
ensure that every passage of ritual was expressed appropriately in the best
language of the day. The resulting rituals neither did nor could include all the
available material, but they do provide a sound and effective basis for the
speculative ceremonials.
It must be emphasised that those who established the early speculative lodges
did not see the ritual work as an end in itself, but rather as a foundation for
philosophical discussion. The ceremonials used in the lodge room should provide
only an unobtrusive vehicle, subsidiary to the primary function of communicating
one's thoughts to others. These ceremonials have been standardised to relieve
the participants' minds of extraneous matters, that otherwise might impede clear
thought and hinder the delivery of the charges. Furthermore, word perfect
delivery of ritual has no value unless communicated to the recipient in such a
manner as to engage his mind, arouse his interest and incite his comprehension.
Nor are the words of the ritual intended to be the sole instruction, but rather
to provide a sound basis on which to establish discussion on a subject of
relevance and interest. Unlike other animals, man has an insatiable curiosity
concerning his origins and the environment in which he lives. Since recorded
history began some 6,000 years ago, there is continuing evidence of mythologies
and religions being developed in an attempt to provide answers to these
concerns, as does speculative freemasonry also. To appreciate better how masonry
assists man to contemplate his existence, it will first be helpful to consider
the origins and evolution of mankind.
MAN IN PRE-HISTORY
It is presently considered that the physical universe as we now know it has
existed for about 20,000 million years, but that our solar system was formed
only about 4,600 million years ago. Although the first living organisms on earth
probably came into existence about 3,500 million ago, they appear to have
remained unchanged for several thousand million years. Life first flourished in
the seas, but dry land was not successfully colonised until about 400 million
years ago, while all the present continents were still intact, forming a single
continent called Pangaea. It was about 100 million years ago when the present
continents began to split apart, reaching their present configuration around 40
million years ago at the height of the last Ice Age, when so much water was
locked up in the polar ice caps that the sea level fell, exposing most of the
continental shelf areas. The ice caps and glaciers had retreated to roughly
their present positions by about 8,000BC.
The most recent investigations of archaeologists and palaeontologists suggest
that the ramapithecines, which lived between fourteen million and eight million
years ago and flourished across Africa, Asia and Europe, might be our earliest
hominid ancestors, distinguishing us from all other primates. But this is by no
means certain, because the ramapithecines are followed by a gap of some four
million years in the fossil record, after which several hominid species begin to
appear. A more recent and more certain ancestor, called Homo habilis which
signifies "skilful man", lived in the East African Rift Valley around
two million years ago and survived for almost a million years. Our most recent
forebear, Homo erectus which signifies "upright man", seems to have
lasted for about one-and-a-half million years. Finally, Homo sapiens which
signifies "wise man", has existed for a mere 100,000 years or so. When
compared with the age of the universe, our occupation of the earth has been
short indeed.
The first 50,000 years of Homo sapiens existence was almost at the end of the
Old Stone Age, which had lasted for nearly 250,000 years. This was the period of
the Early Hunters, during which cultural advance was very slow. Nevertheless,
they made a wide range of stone implements and weapons and also achieved the
control of fire, although they could not kindle it. They could cut and stitch
fur clothing, approaching the standard of modern Eskimos, whilst both men and
women ornamented themselves with necklaces and bracelets of shells, teeth, ivory
beads, mother of pearl and stone. However, their most significant cultural
advance towards the end of this period, probably was that they buried at least
some of their dead with ceremony. It was not uncommon for graves to be marked
with stones or horns and for food and implements to be placed beside the bodies.
Thus, for the first time, man was manifesting a belief in some form of
after-life, heralding the "age of wisdom" signified by his name.
Henceforth man's development would accelerate at an ever increasing rate.
The Early Hunters usually lived in limestone and sandstone caves where these
were prevalent. In other areas they gradually learnt to use locally available
materials such as grass, reeds, mud and even mammoth bones to construct huts, as
well as to make tents from the skins of animals. Around the Mediterranean the
Early Hunters developed into Advanced Hunters between 35,000BC and 30,000BC, at
the height of the last Ice Age, then into the Late Hunters who preceded the
Agricultural Revolution which began between 10,000BC and 8,000BC from region to
region. The advanced Hunters developed a remarkable artistic genius and were the
originators of representational art. The Gravettians of eastern and central
Europe used ivory, bone, clay and even stone, to make small figurines of women
and also some lively animal carvings.
But the greatest achievement of the advanced Hunters was to develop painting,
principally in the south-west of France and in Spain. This was achieved by the
Magdalenians, who most probably were descendants of the Gravettians. These
paintings were made between 15,000BC and 10,000BC, mostly deep inside caves and
far from the hearth and living area. Many of the cave roofs are crowded with
paintings of bison and other animals in the polychrome style, using powdered
ochre, haematite and manganese applied moist with brush, pad or blowpipe. This
period also is noted for being the first when stone was used in construction,
albeit in the simplest form. Although natural caves are quite common in the
eastern Mediterranean, huts with circular stone footings were built in Palestine
and Syria, probably with light domed coverings made from twigs and daub. There
is evidence that at about the same time on the plains of Mesopotamia, where
there are no caves, shelters with stone footings were also used, probably with
superstructures of reeds. These people, the advanced Hunters of around 10,000BC,
therefore were the unlikely progenitors of architecture and masonry.
THE EARLIEST MASONS
These humble beginnings ushered in the Agricultural Revolution, which was
begun by the Late Hunters in the New Stone Age and provided the necessary
foundation for the growth of civilisation. True farming was first developed in
the uplands that sweep to the east and north on the flanks of the valley formed
by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. This was the natural area for development,
because the wild ancestors of wheat and barley, sheep and goats were native to
it and the upland valleys generally provided fertile soil and good water
supplies. The oldest known evidence of the domestication of sheep and goats is
to be found in this area, dating from 8,200BC and earlier. As the cropping and
grinding of cereals and the herding and domestication of animals developed, the
small upland settlements were extended down into the fertile valley, where
villages began to form around 6,000·BC. Mixed farming had been carried to the
fertile plain of Thessaly in Greece at about the same time, thence southwards to
the Peloponnese, as well as to Crete and Cyprus.
The population grew with these developments, with settlements becoming larger
and more permanent. As a result of this impetus, mud bricks were first made in
Mesopotamia and the Eastern Mediterranean and used in the construction of
houses. These bricks were first shaped by hand, as a Jericho, but later the mud
was rammed into moulds. The use of stone for walls and dykes also became more
prevalent. The largest villages may then have held up to 5,000 people, but
generally were much smaller. Jericho is probably the oldest city in the world
and when constructed around 8,000BC it occupied 4 hectares. It was surrounded by
a massive stone wall 3 metres thick and 4metres high, against which was
constructed at least one circular tower of rock 10 metres in diameter and 8.5
metres high, with a built in stairway, which presently is the world's oldest
known structure. The city was abandoned for a period, but was colonised again
about 7,000BC. The town walls were not renewed, but rectangular houses of mud
brick with high quality plastered walls and floors spread over the whole site.
Jericho was abandoned and reoccupied a number of times thereafter and perhaps is
best known for its destruction by Joshua in Biblical times.
Two other events in this period also were of particular significance, these
being the construction of some of the earliest known religious buildings at
Catal Huyuk in Turkey and the construction of "beehive" houses at
Khirokitia in Cyprus. The "beehive" houses were circular in plan,
around 8 to 10 metres in diameter, with high thresholds to keep out surface
water. Their foundations were of stone, which was carried to a height of about 2
metres, while the superstructures were corbelled vaults constructed of mud brick
and of sufficient height to accommodate a bedroom gallery accessed by ladder or
stairway. The ground level compartment was partitioned as required with mud
brick walls which also served as supports for the gallery. These houses
continued in use until supplanted by more conventional houses around 5,000BC or
even more recently. The mud brick vaulted arch was a significant advance in
architectural design and construction, paving the way for arch construction in
stone. The "beehive" houses in Cyprus thus reflected the greatest
advances of the earliest masons.
Catal Huyuk was occupied from about 6,500BC to 5,500BC and covers an area of
13 hectares. It is thought to have had a population of 6,000 in its heyday,
comprising three different races nowhere else found together in this period. The
houses were rectangular timber framed structures, with mud brick exterior walls
and flat mud rooves placed on closely packed timber poles supported by timber
rafters, furnished with hearths, platforms, benches and ovens. Among the houses
was a series of elaborately decorated shrines which were similar to the houses
in construction and furnishings, though frequently larger. Their sanctuaries
were decorated with wall paintings, plaster reliefs, cult statues and animal
heads. The richly coloured wall paintings frequently depicted hands and ritual
or magic hunting scenes, but the most unusual painting found was a unique
landscape depicting a terraced town of individual houses and blocks of houses
and shrines, with a volcano erupting in the background. The dead of successive
generations of the same family were buried within the platforms of the shrines,
together with appropriate grave goods. This indicates a significant advance in
religious thought, even though the rather crude and sometimes barbarous
manifestations within the shrines were in stark contrast to the great religious
inspiration of architecture and art that was soon to blossom with civilisation.
Masonry, by its very nature, is conducive to speculation in relation to
building work in progress, however primitive the building might be. It is
necessary to consider the suitability and dimensions of the available materials;
to determine the best location and orientation for the structure; and to prepare
sound and level foundations that will support the structure adequately and can
be properly drained. The dimensions must be delineated on the ground before
erection commences and walls must be plumbed, corners must be squared and tops
of walls must be levelled during erection to ensure that the structure is both
stable and pleasing to the eye. Even the earliest masons had to accomplish some
or all of these operations, requiring constructive thought that inevitably would
heighten their awareness to things other than their immediate requirements.
Having constructed walls of rough stones, for example, the first masons soon
comprehended the advantages of regular bricks and used their ingenuity to
provide them. Thus, in a practical sense, speculative masonry was born and soon
would also embrace moral contemplation through a natural association of ideas.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF LITERACY
The next important period of development, from 5,000BC to 3,000BC, roughly
coincides with the copper age and ushers in the first of the monumental
architecture in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Using the simplest of raw materials,
principally mud brick and imported timber, the local inhabitants achieved
remarkable results. Egypt concentrated on huge royal tombs. The mastaba tombs of
the First Dynasty are typical, being decorated externally to represent a
"palace facade". Efforts in Mesopotamia were concentrated on temple
building Their temples rapidly grew larger, more complex and externally more
impressive, as typified by Eridu, in Sumer, where a continuous series of temples
has been distinguished from about 5,500BC to 3,000BC. At Arpachiya, in northern
Mesopotamia, circular houses were constructed similar to the earlier
"beehive" houses of Cyprus, usually extended by a rectangular gable
roofed wing, the unit being called a "tholos". Another notable
development was the fortified settlement at Dimini in Greece, one of the
earliest towns known in Europe, dominated by the "megaron" palace with
its pillared porch. Dimini was surrounded by six concentric walls of undressed
limestone, with narrow gateways and passages which formed a defensive system.
Although great advances were made in architecture and the development of
cities during this period, the greatest achievement undoubtedly was the dawning
of literate civilisation. The Sumerians of the southern plain of Mesopotamia,
around 4,500BC, first drew cuneiform pictograms which represented actual
material objects, to assist in the recording of inventories for grain, cattle
and other commodities. The turning point came when it was realised that a sign
could also stand for a sound, when phonetic writing began. But as the scribal
profession and schools developed, the system of combined ideograms and phonetics
became extremely complicated and it was not until about 3,500BC that writing had
been forged into a practical vehicle for the communication of language.
Meanwhile the Egyptians were developing hieroglyphic writing, which incorporated
a combination of signs for both sounds and ideas when it was first used about
3,300BC. The Egyptian name for their writing meant "speech of the
gods", reflecting its original use for royal inscriptions for the divine
pharaohs, not for the keeping of accounts as cuneiform was originally used in
Sumeria.
With the continually increasing emphasis on the construction of larger and
more complex buildings, palaces, temples, shrines, monumental and sepulchral
structures, masonry was no longer a simple task for a small gang of men. It
must, therefore, have been during this period that skilled gangs of masons began
to develop. To enable the work to be carried out successfully it would have been
necessary for the chief of the builders, or master mason, to arrange training
and supervision for very large gangs of masons and allied workers. This must
have been an extremely difficult task, especially as written instructions could
not then be given in writing. The only means of tuition available to them was by
catechism, aided by sketches on slate or an earthen floor, which constituted
their tracing boards. Archaeological investigations have provided overwhelming
proof that, despite these difficulties, the early masons did indeed construct
many outstanding edifices that had a remarkably high standard of finish.
Masonic instruction could only have begun as outlined above, as it has
continued in principle to the present day. Moreover, the frequent if not
continual contact that masons through all ages have had with shrines, temples,
cathedrals, monuments and sepulchral buildings, must have induced masons to
contemplate the meaning of life and certainty of death, as well as to seek an
understanding of the hereafter, much more than would have been usual among the
general population. This would contribute significantly to the speculative
aspects of masonry and would also foster symbolic explanations of the mason's
implements of labour. As in the present day, so then had many relevant masonic
expressions become a part of the languages of those bygone days, which were
recorded with the advent of cursive script. Such philological evidence proves
beyond doubt that at least some elements of symbolism and speculative thought
must have been a part of masonic instruction from the earliest days of organised
masonry.
A host of symbolic references in masonic terms are to be found in the
Scriptures, of which many such as the following are very well known. During a
visit to Bethel about thirty years before the fall of Israel around 745BC, that
event is prophesied in Amos 7, v. 7-9, when the Lord measured his people Israel
with a plumb line and found them to be irremediably warped by sin. In the reign
of Manasseh, the murderous and idolatrous king who ruled from 696BC to 642BC,
the captivity of Judah by Babylon around 606BC is foretold in II Kings, Ch. 21,
v. 13, when the Lord said he would "stretch over Jerusalem the measuring
line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab". In Isaiah 28, v. 16,
written between 750BC and 700BC, the coming of Christ is foretold in the words
"Behold I am laying in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a
precious corner stone, of a sure foundation." This prophesy is referred to
in I Peter 2, v. 6-8 around 60AD, when the death of Christ is alluded to in the
following significant words added "for those who do not believe":
"The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the
corner, a stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them
fall". Other Passages from the book of Genesis, taken in conjunction with
some of the traditions preserved in Sumerian, Assyrian and Hebrew literature,
also provide some interesting sidelights on masonry.
In Genesis 4, v. 19-22, we read that Lamech a descendant of Cain had two
wives, Adah and Zillah. Adah bore two sons, Jabal and Jubal, the former being
recorded as "the father of those who dwell in tents and have cattle"
and the latter as "the father of all those who play the lyre and
pipe". Traditionally, Jabal is also said to be the founder of geometry and
the first mason who built stone walls and houses of stone. Zillah bore a son
Tubal-cain and a daughter Naamah, the former being recorded as "the forger
of all instruments of bronze and iron" and the latter being referred to in
the traditions as the founder of weaving. These four are thus credited with the
origin of civilised society. We also read of Nimrod in Genesis 10, v. 8-11,
where we are told that he was "the first man on earth to be a mighty
man", "a mighty hunter" and that "he built Ninevah . . . .
that is the great city". Traditionally, it is said that masons first became
of note at the building of the Tower of Babel, the first structure to be
mentioned in the Scriptures (Genesis 11, v. 1-9); also that Nimrod was a master
mason who loved the craft, formed his masons into lodges and gave them a charter
and a charge when he sent them forth to build all the cities in his kingdom.
Although it is impossible at present to date events such as these with any
accuracy, they must have occurred around the beginning of the Agricultural
Revolution.
MONUMENTAL MASONRY
By 3,000BC the Egyptians had developed a calendar with 365 days to the year,
from which time their historical records are accurate. The development of
writing and literature continued apace in Sumeria, but Egypt was supreme in the
visual arts and architecture. Civilisation began to flourish and monumental
masonry developed on an immense scale and with unprecedented complexity. The
three Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt and the huge Ziggurat of Urnammu in
Mesopotamia are typical of this period. Although the scale of architecture in
Mesopotamia was not as great as in Egypt, it was the Mesopotamians who were more
innovative in their use of the arch, which they used extensively in tombs. The
art of writing continued to develop and its use was becoming more widespread.
Signs unearthed at Byblos in Lebanon date from around 2,500BC and are in a
script similar to that then used in Syria. Pottery found at Byblos and Sidon,
also in Lebanon, from the period 2,100BC to 1,700BC, provide some of the
earliest evidence of the use of a linear script called pseudo-hieroglyphics.
This was an early form of non-Egyptian alphabetic script variously designated as
Canaanite, Sinaitic or proto-Phoenician.
This comparatively simple script progressively replaced the syllabic
cuneiform scripts of Babylonia and Syria, as well as the complex hieroglyphic
writing of Egypt, so that by about 1,500BC an alphabet was in general use. From
this alphabet were progressively derived the Phoenician about 1,000BC, early
Hebrew about 700BC, old Greek also about 700BC and formal Greek about 500BC
whence the Roman was derived. With the development of writing in an era of
prodigious monumental construction, coupled with the advances being made in
moral and religious teaching, albeit spasmodically, it must reasonably be
assumed that the speculative aspects of masonry also were developing and would
have received considerable impetus when the building of so magnificent an
edifice as King Solomon's Temple was commenced around 960BC at Jerusalem. The
later desecration of the temple and its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar about
587BC must have had a serious impact on the faith of masons in those days, but
that faith would have been renewed by the decree of Cyrus in 538BC, allowing the
captives in Babylon to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the house of the Lord,
initially under the leadership of Sheshbazzar, or Zerubbabel. The restoration
and enlargement of the temple by Herod in the period 20BC to 64AD, when 1,000
priests were trained as masons to build the shrine, must have significantly
enhanced speculative masonic thought.
CLASSICAL MASONRY
The emergence of Greece as a colonising nation and centre of learning, art,
and religious thought in the western Mediterranean, from around 1,100BC,
heralded the era of classical masonry. Their first stone temples were erected at
Corinth and Isthmia before 650BC, whence the Doric order originated, followed by
the temples at Corfu and Ephesuswithin the next hundred years, whence the Ionic
order originated. The Corinthian order was first used in Delphi around 390BC.
Until the ascendancy of Rome, even in Rome itself, Greek architecture prevailed
around the Mediterranean and temples proliferated. Without doubt the most famous
classical Greek structures are the Parthenon at Athens and its surrounding
structures, built between 447BC and 432BC. The emphasis which the Greeks placed
on the ancient Mysteries in classical times must have been a significant
influence on speculative masonic thought, still being reflected in some masonic
ceremonials. This influence continued into the turbulent period of Roman rule.
Rome began to expand her territory by taking Carthage and Corinth in 146BC
and Pergamum in 133BC. By 100BC Rome's territory nearly encircled the
Mediterranean and by 117AD the Roman empire was at its greatest in strength and
extent. During this period Rome developed cities and constructed amphitheatres
and temples apace throughout its region of influence, particularly in the Middle
East. Of the Roman era, the two most celebrated structures probably are the
Colosseum in Rome and the temple complex at Baalbek in Lebanon, between Beirut
and Damascus in Syria. The temple complex was built on the podium of an ancient
temple, progressively over a period of almost 300 years, being completed around
260AD. When it became part of Ptolemy's Egyptian empire in 332BC, until the
Roman occupation around 30BC, Baalbek was known as Heliopolis in Phoenicia and
was the religious centre of the region. Baalbek is remarkable for its size and
architectural finish, many foundation blocks being 4 metres square in section
and 20 metres long, weighing up to 800 tonnes. Many of the columns were
monolithic, of pink Aswan granite and having an overall height of 19.6 metres.
CATHEDRAL MASONRY
The decline and fall of the Roman empire heralded the beginning of the final
phase in speculative evolution, that period of almost continuous cathedral
building in Britain and Europe lasting from 500 until at least 1,700. Operative
or Guild Masons were organised in England with royal approval dating at least
from the Annual Assembly of 926, which was authorised and encouraged by King
Athelstan. The lodges of operative Free Masons were organised under the
guardianship of craft guilds, originally in the form of religious fraternities,
continuing in this manner until Henry VIII dis-endowed all religious
fraternities by the Act of 1547. Masters of lodges were responsible for the
moral and religious welfare of their indentured apprentices, as well as for
their practical training in the craft of masonry. The ancient charges testify to
this. It is clear from the old catechisms and other records that have come down
to us from the operative lodges, especially in Scotland where the Reformation
was less drastic in its effect, that moral instruction was an integral part of
the ceremonies. The working tools clearly were vehicles of moral instruction
from a very early date, as also were various aspects of a mason's work that were
converted to simple plays to communicate a message. These were adapted by Dr
James Anderson and other early speculative ritualists in the preparation of the
rituals in use today.
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THE TRADITIONAL DEGREES IN FREEMASONRY
THE MEDIEVAL FREEMASONS
To appreciate what may be called the traditional degrees, it is first
necessary to understand what is meant by freemasonry. The earliest known
recorded use of the word "freemason" dates from 1376, when it implied
an operative mason of a superior class, apparently the Master Mason in charge of
a building operation, or the Master Builder. Many early masonic writers could
not accept that the medieval Freemason, or Master Mason, was a man of superior
knowledge and skill, equally well versed in religious matters, the graphic arts,
sculpture and geometry as he was in the manual aspects of his trade. Writers as
eminent as A.E.Waite could not imagine how "horny handed labourers"
could have developed the symbolism and philosophy that has been incorporated
into modern speculative freemasonry. As a possible explanation, R.F.Gould
proposed that these "operatives" accepted "gentlemen" into
their ranks and that they transformed the operative craft into a speculative
art, but he could offer no logical reason for such an occurrence, which in any
event would have been socially unacceptable in those days.
Those writers seemed unaware that freemasonry was not restricted to the
quarrying, shaping and setting of stones, but that it included the geometry and
structural design of the building and also the multitude of associated trades
such as the sculpture, stained glass windows and all decorative work. These
freemasons had inherited and continually developed the ideas, teachings and
organisation that had long since crystalised as a Fraternity. They had a
multiplicity of emblems, an elaborate system of symbolism and many rites and
ceremonies, which they continued to use long after the decline of cathedral
building. The speculative art had developed concurrently with and had become an
integral part of operative practice. Manual dexterity was achieved by practical
"hands on" training, while the accompanying theory was imparted by
demonstration and catechism, including participation in appropriate dramatic
presentations to illustrate the use of the more sophisticated implements in
setting out and controlling the work.
Should there be any doubt as to the intelligence, technical capacity and
practical capabilities of the medieval Master Masons, it would be instantly
dispelled by a study of the design and construction of the world famous Chartres
Cathedral, which is considered to be the most authentic surviving example of the
spirit of the most spiritual of all periods in European history. In 1020 a
cathedral, almost as large as the present one, replaced a smaller church on the
site. In the 1130s it was extended at the western end by adding two bays, a
vestibule and two towers framing the Royal Portal and its renowned sculptures.
All except the western end and the crypt were destroyed by a dreadful fire in
1194. Reconstruction was commenced almost immediately, continuing unabated until
virtual completion during the 1230s, while more than a dozen other cathedrals
were also under construction in the vicinity.
Years earlier, the Council of Nicea had ruled that "the arrangement
belongs to the clergy and the execution to the artist". Accordingly, the
Chapter would have stated its requirements as to the form of the cathedral, the
size of the choir and the arrangement of the chapels, transepts and other
features. During construction some innovations almost certainly would have been
requested. However, although the church's involvement in the detailing and
structural problems would have been minimal, no architect was engaged to design
and supervise the work, only a permanent staff of clergy being provided to check
that requirements were being met and to provide the necessary funds. Nine
different Master Masons were engaged on the work cyclically throughout the
construction period, each being entirely responsible for the geometry, design
and construction of his sections of the work. In all there were more than thirty
successive contracts or "campaigns" to complete the cathedral. The
first Master Mason who prepared the original design, set out the building and
constructed the foundations, was only on site for less than a year. Each of the
nine contractors was engaged more than once, but the first and some others were
engaged several times. Each successive builder made some modifications, but
without altering the work already completed. The completion of such a
complicated and beautiful structure, so successfully and under such difficult
conditions, proves beyond doubt the capacity and integrity of the medieval
freemasons.
MEDIEVAL LODGES
The remarkable structural feats of the medieval freemasons can be seen and
appreciated, but their work and ceremonials within their lodges is not so
immediately evident. To achieve his objectives on successive sites year after
year, the Master Mason not only had to be talented himself, but also required a
talented, loyal and dedicated team that could be relied upon to follow him in
the search for and prosecution of the work. His team in fact was a family,
intensely proud of its skills and traditions, but jealous of its operating
methods and trade secrets. Skill, morality and fidelity were essential
ingredients for success, but constant training was necessary in all of these
aspects. The Master Mason was responsible for all of this training, which was a
primary activity of his lodge. Effectively his apprentices were his sons for
seven years and upwards, but usually for a lifetime. All members of the
Fraternity were brothers in the truest sense.
Instruction was required and provided in three ways. The necessary manual
instruction was carried out either in the stone yard or on the construction
site, according to the type of work. The theoretical instruction was usually
provided within the lodge, as was all moral instruction, for which purpose
lodges were convened each Saturday at midday. Prior to their acceptance into the
Fraternity, all those seeking apprenticeship were required to stand at the
entrance to the stone yard or work place for two weeks as the men were going to
and coming from work, so that the members could appraise their suitability and
raise any valid objections. If no objections were raised, the applicant was
balloted for by a show of hands in open lodge. If so accepted he was also
examined to ascertain his wholeness and soundness of body and limb, to ensure
that he was physically capable of carrying out the arduous tasks that would be
required of him.
To impress upon the candidate that purity of body and mind were to be
essential components of his life within the Fraternity, he was then required to
bathe seven times. After bathing he was prepared in a white cloak, "neither
naked nor clad", was blindfolded and conducted into the lodge under
restraint by four of the members. He was then required to kneel with his knees
bare on a rough ashlar stone and take an obligation of fidelity, on the
completion of which he entered into his bond of indentureship for at least seven
years. When his training was complete, the Indentured Apprentice was formally
released from his bond, was required to take another obligation as a Fellow of
the Craft and was entrusted with new modes of recognition as a fully fledged
craftsman. These initial stages in the life of an operative mason are the basis
of the first two degrees in modern speculative lodges, though there are
differences in detail of which some will be mentioned later. As a tradesman the
Fellow of the Craft was required to gain diversified experience progressively
over many years, during which his training continued in specialised areas of the
work.
At each new level of responsibility the craftsman would be tested and if
accepted would be required to take another obligation. He would then be
entrusted with the modes of recognition pertaining to his new station, to enable
him to prove his level of competence when required. After many years the
craftsman might become a Superintendent of Work, responsible for all of the work
in a stone yard, or on a construction site. When obligated and appointed, the
Superintendent was reminded that he must have and always maintain a good
knowledge of the work of all associated Guilds, but especially the carpenters,
iron workers, bronze founders, white smiths and gold smiths, as well knowing all
materials used in the work, the required standards of workmanship, the quality
of the work done, the time required and the cost. Eventually a very experienced
Superintendent might assemble a gang and become a Master Mason in his own right,
frequently starting as a subcontractor to his previous Master. In this way
freemasonry expanded to meet therequirements of the times. Some of these
progressive steps also are reflected in the degrees of modern symbolic craft
masonry.
THE CEREMONIALS OF MEDIEVAL LODGES
The medieval lodges operated during the centuries of intense religious
fervour, usually working closely with or under the surveillance of a religious
establishment. It was an era of great pageantry, when the church rituals became
fully developed and Passion Plays were a feature of religious life. During this
period, each branch of knowledge was considered to be a secret, which its
possessors must not communicate to anyone outside their own class or fraternity.
Every art, science and trade was called a "mystery" and was treated
accordingly. Indeed, concealment was often practised for the love of
concealment. It was inevitable that freemasonry would enhance its long
established methods of symbolic instruction by incorporating more drama and
ritual in its ceremonials, similar to those of its religious counterparts. These
ritualistic dramas developed along three distinct lines. The oldest theme
probably is that referring to early events recorded in the Book of Genesis. The
best known theme, which is the basis of most modern symbolic degrees, relates to
the temples at Jerusalem. The third theme is different in character, relating to
the early Christian era.
The Genesis theme is concerned with Noah and the flood; Lamech and his four
children, who are credited with the origin of civilised society; the tower of
Babel; and Nimrod, the first great builder mentioned in the Bible and the
traditional founder of operative masonry. The Genesis theme is the basis of the
first part of the "traditional history" of the operative free masons,
leading into the better known part that relates to the construction of King
Solomon's temple at Jerusalem. The moral presented in the Genesis theme is that
divine judgment is inevitable, but that a reconciliation is available to those
who repent, who will be preserved and with whom a new covenant will be entered
into. The only symbolic degree relating to this theme is the Royal Ark Mariner,
in respect of which the installation degree is significant. Several aspects also
are included in some degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Rite.
The best known theme, which also has a key role in operative masonry, is
based on the construction of King Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem, which was
completed about 950 BC; its destruction by Nebuchadrezzar in 587 BC and the
captivity and exile of the Jews to Babylon; their release from captivity in 538
BC under the Decree of Cyrus, the King of Persia who had captured Babylon; and
the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem under Zerubbabel, completed in 515EBC.
The degrees relating to this theme are usually called "Solomonic" and
are represented in symbolic Craft masonry, Mark masonry, Royal Arch masonry,
Cryptic Rite masonry and also the Allied Masonic Degrees, as well as in the
Ancient and Accepted Rite. In addition to its historical content and the
symbolism relating to the working tools of an operative mason and the
construction of the temple, this theme also provides an avenue for the
"search within", which includes the search for and discovery of the
"Lost Word".
It has been suggested that the New Testament theme may have arisen as a means
to distinguish operative craftsmen from the then "new fangled"
speculatives during the 1700s. There is no doubt that the modes of recognition
given in the degrees relating to this theme were of great importance to
operative masons travelling in search of work, but the content of the degrees
suggests an earlier origin and that recognition was not their primary purpose.
In particular, the morals presented teach fortitude, humility and universal
equality. The New Testament theme is represented in two of the Allied degrees.
St Lawrence the Martyr commemorates the martyrdom of the Saint in Rome in the
middle of the third century AD, when he displayed humility with extreme
fortitude. The Knights of Constantinople refers to an event during the reign of
Constantine the Great in the fourth century AD, when the Emperor curbed the
pride and arrogance of the nobility and rewarded the common people, his loyal
artisans and labourers in Constantinople.
THE FOUNDATIONS
The traditional degrees of speculative freemasonry are all those that were
derived from earlier operative practice, including those from the transitional
period in the 1600s and 1700s. They include the three degrees already mentioned,
as well as several others that will also be discussed. Of the others the first
two of the modern degrees, which are based on the induction of Indentured
Apprentices and the making of Fellows of the Craft in medieval lodges, are the
foundation of modern speculative freemasonry, also known as symbolic Craft
masonry. They will now be discussed in more detail. It will be evident from
earlier comments, that the ceremonials of these two symbolic degrees closely
resemble those of their operative precedents. Moreover, there also are many
similarities in the working tools and modes of recognition, although there are
some significant differences. For example, some of the operative signs have been
omitted and the words have been changed, even though the ancient penalties are
substantially the same. It is interesting to note that the new words, which have
no place in the old operative rituals, reflect the old emblematical signs not
used in the Craft, which suggests that their choice was not a mere coincidence.
Some masonic authors have advanced the opinion that the third degree of
symbolic Craft masonry was "manufactured" to fill an apparent gap,
that of Master Mason. As we have already seen, the fully qualified and
experienced craftsmen were masters of the craft in the true sense, while the
Master Mason was the manager ot proprietor of a workforce operating as a lodge
within the Fraternity. The Master Mason very often was a contractor, who engaged
and paid the craftsmen and labourers he required to carry out the work under the
terms of his contract with the client. In its present form the degree of Master
Mason includes a significant part of the old craftsman's ritual now referred to
as the "five points of fellowship", which then formed a discrete and
very relevant component of the Fellow's ritual. With some constructive
imagination, this was grafted onto an ancient operative drama that was enacted
during annual festivals, when a new appointee was invested as one of the three
Grand Master Masons to rule over the Fraternity. The drama could be attended by
all members of the Fraternity, because it highlighted the fortitude and fidelity
of the principal architect without revealing the secrets that had been entrusted
to him.
Of the other traditional degrees, that of Mark Master Mason is very important
because the principles it embodies were of great importance to the operative
masons. This degree not only emphasises the skill and precision required of a
craftsman, but also highlights the care that must be exercised by overseers when
inspecting the work, because the responsibility for acceptance or rejection is
entirely theirs and they will bear the blame for any error. In the operative
context the principles enunciated in the Mark degree are ancient indeed, but did
not only relate to the modern "keystone" ceremony. Speculatives in the
early 1700s were working at least seven degrees that included the word Mark, of
which some were intimately associated with the Ark which has already been
mentioned. In its original form as used in symbolic Craft lodges, the Mark
degree comprised two distinct sections, namely Mark Man for the Fellowcraft and
Mark Master for the Master Mason. In the fullness of time they were consolidated
into the present ceremony based on the "keystone". The operative
ceremonies, which included both the preparation of the stones and their erection
in the building, were covered in the ceremonials of two degrees. Again there are
some close similarities that clearly reflect the antecedents of the symbolic
Craft degree, but there are some significant differences.
These four degrees complete the "work oriented" components of the
old operative ceremonials, laying the foundation for the esoteric theme which is
the ultimate reason for all masonic ritual, the search for light and knowledge
and the allegorical discovery of the "Lost Word", which leads to the
ultimate truth. The esoteric theme is comprised in several degrees under the
various masonic orders previously mentioned, but no order includes all of these
degrees. In any particular masonic order, the degrees may not be arranged in
their correct chronological sequence, nor is there any coherent arrangement
between the orders. There also are differences in detail between some equivalent
degrees that are worked in different masonic orders, though their themes are
substantially the same. Having in mind the lack of communication in those days,
the similarities are more remarkable than the differences.
THE SOLOMONIC DEGREES
Although at first sight this group of degrees appears to represent a random
collection of unrelated incidents, a coherent narrative is achieved by arranging
them in their correct sequence. The following is the complete series of "Solomonic"
degrees currently worked under the various masonic orders, including the four
Craft and Mark degrees already discussed. They are arranged in their
chronological sequence and given their modern titles most commonly used, with
the approximate dates of a key event in the narrative of each degree:
- 1 Entered Apprentice Apprenticeship begins
- 2 Fellowcraft Qualified as a craftsman
- 3 Master Mason Esoteric theme established
- 4 Mark Master Mason 960 BC Preparation for building
- 5 Select Master 955 BC Construction of the vault
- 6 Royal Master 953 BC Deposition of the Word
- 7 Most Excellent Master 950 BC Dedication of the temple
- 8 Super Excellent Master 587 BC Destruction of the temple
- 9 * Knight of the Sword 538 BC Release from captivity
- 10 Excellent Master 536 BC Return, rebuilding begun
- 11 Royal Arch Mason 535 BC Word found, work stopped
- 12 * Knight of the East 520 BC Zerubbabel visits Darius
- 13 * Kt. of the East & West 516 BC Rebuilding completed
The three degrees marked (*) constitute the Red Cross of Babylon, or
Babylonish Pass in the Scottish and some other workings, which differs somewhat
from its counterpart in the Allied degrees. In addition to these degrees, there
are ceremonies of installation in the Craft, the Mark, the Royal and Select
Masters, the Red Cross of Babylon and the Royal Arch, all of which enhance and
amplify the narrative and help to bind it into a cohesive whole.
From the above summary it is evident that the narrative is woven round a
series of events recorded in the Old Testament and that the secret vault is an
essential ingredient. Jewish tradition also relates that a secret vault was
constructed beneath the temple, in which confidential meetings could be held and
all sacred treasures and secret documents could be stored. The construction of
such a vault under ecclesiastical and other buildings of importance was not
unusual in ancient times, the custom being continued into medieval times by
providing the crypts associated with most cathedrals and monasteries and the
castles of the Crusaders. Underground excavations carried out by the Knights
Templar between 1118 and 1125 and by the British Royal Engineers in 1895, as
well as modern Israeli archaeological surveys, all confirm the existence of
passages and vaulted chambers beneath the mosque erected on the original temple
site, but a more detailed investigation is not possible at present. A brief
resume will now be given of the narrative that is the basis of the esoteric
theme of the traditional or Solomonic degrees of freemasonry.
THE FIRST TEMPLE
The construction of the temple at Jerusalem is well documented in the Old
Testament and is the scene for the beginning of the narrative in the degree of
Mark Master Mason. Of special interest is this record in 1 Kings 5, verses 13 to
16: "King Solomon raised a forced levy from the whole of Israel amounting
to thirty thousand men .... Adoniram was superintendent over the whole levy ....
Solomon also had seventy thousand hauliers and eighty thousand quarrymen,
besides three thousand three hundred foremen in charge of the work who
superintended the labourers." We also read in 2 Chronicles 2, verses 13 and
14, a letter written from Huram King of Tyre to King Solomon, in which the King
of Tyre says: "I now send a skilful and experienced craftsman, master Huram,
the son of a Danite woman, his father a Tyrian .... who will be able to work
with your own skilled craftsmen .... to execute any design submitted to
him."
In the degree of Mark Master Mason the candidate represents one of the three
thousand three hundred foremen, who are responsible for ensuring that all stones
are properly prepared in accordance with the working plans and correctly fitted,
marked and numbered ready for erection at the site. The ritual is very dramatic.
The degree teaches that every diligent workman has a chance to distinguish
himself by preparing some special and superior piece of work that will
strengthen and adorn the structure and that he will be rewarded appropriately,
provided that he carries out the work strictly in accordance with the Divine
Plan.
As soon as the temple site had been prepared, twenty seven experienced and
trustworthy craftsmen were chosen, appointed as Select Masters and delegated to
construct the secret vault beneath the future location of the Holy of Holies,
with underground access from King Solomon's most retired apartment. In the
degree of Select Master the candidate represents Zabud, a particular friend of
King Solomon, who had some important business to communicate and inadvertently
gained admission. The unworthy guard whose laxity allowed Zabud to enter was
condemned to death and Zabud was pardoned and obligated as a Select Master. This
degree warns of the great danger of carelessness and teaches the need for
constant care, uprightness and integrity in the fulfilment of one's allotted
duties, coupled with justice and mercy. A similar legend, but with interesting
variations, is included in the Allied Masonic degrees and called the Grand
Tilers of Solomon.
When the secret vault was completed the three Grand Masters deposited therein
true copies of the holy vessels and an exact copy of the Book of the Law. It was
agreed that if any one of the three Grand Masters should die, the other two
would deposit the Word in the secret vault so that it could be restored should
the temple be destroyed. In the degree of Royal Master the candidate represents
Adoniram who wishes to know when he might receive the master's word. The third
Grand Master responds to Adoniram with an elegant and striking discourse, during
which he inadvertently reveals the place of preservation. Adoniram is told that
he must continually strive in his search for truth, but that only after the
temple of this life has been destroyed by death can the temple of the life
hereafter be built on its foundations.
The temple was completed shortly after the death of the third Grand Master.
When his death had been mourned, the holy relics from the tabernacle were moved
into the Holy Place and the Ark of the Covenant was put in the Holy of Holies
under the outspread wings of the cherubim, then the temple was consecrated in
all its glory and beauty. King Solomon resolved to reward the most skilful of
his workmen by creating them Most Excellent Masters, thus creating a new tie
with his faithful craftsmen. The degree teaches that faithful service will be
justly rewarded and that the tenets of freemasonry should bind us together in
one fraternal union.
The temple retained its original splendour for thirty-three years, but soon
after the death of King Solomon ten of the tribes revolted and formed the nation
of Israel, leaving Judah and Benjamin as the Kingdom of Judah in possession of
the temple. About 921 BC Shishak, King of Egypt, raided the temple and carried
away the treasures. Thereafter idolatrous rulers desecrated the temple and
allowed it to fall into decay, although it was partially restored by Josiah
around 635 BC. The ten tribes were captured and progressively deported into
captivity in Asyria from about 722 BC. The temple was destroyed in 587 BC when
Nebuchadrezzar plundered Jerusalem, taking the people of Judah captive to
Babylon. In the degree of Super Excellent Master, Zedekiah the last King of
Judah had already fled, leaving his people to their fate. He was captured by the
Chaldean army on the plains of Jericho, when his eyes were put out and he was
carried into captivity bound in chains of brass. Before their capture the loyal
craftsmen, including Gedaliah who was appointed and became the wise and gentle
governor of Judeah, pledged themselves to continue faithful to their trust, to
be true to their obligations and to be honourable on all occasions. The
objective of the degree is to inculcate true devotion to the God whilst striving
to enlighten our minds and purify our hearts.
THE SECOND TEMPLE
In 539 BC Cyrus, King of Persia, captured Babylon. He was a great and humane
ruler who gave permission to the Hebrew captives to return to their homeland and
rebuild their temple. To enable them to do this he issued the Decree that is
recorded in EzraE1, verses 2 and 3: "This is the word of Cyrus, King of
Persia: The Lord the God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth
and he himself has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah. To
every man of his people now among you I say, God be with him and let him go up
to Jerusalem in Judah and rebuild the house of the Lord ..... and every
remaining Jew, wherever he may be living, may claim aid from his neighbours in
that place ....." The setting for the degree of Knight of the Sword is in
the palace at Babylon. The candidate represents Zerubbabel who was born in
Babylon, his name meaning the "Exile", but he was known locally as
Sheshbazzar, the Prince of Judah. Zerubbabel obtains an audience with Cyrus and
requests permission to return to Judea to rebuild the temple, which is granted.
Cyrus sets Zerubbabel free and appoints him chief among his brethren, exacting a
tribute as evidence to the neighbours that Zerubbabel is still under the
protection of the King of Persia. Cyrus issues his decree and creates Zerubbabel
a Knight of the Sword, investing him with a sash and sword as the emblems of his
office. This degree concludes with the hazardous return to Jerusalem, including
the ancient drama of "crossing the bridge".
As the Decree of Cyrus applied only to the descendents of the captives from
the Kingdom of Judah, it was necessary to make sure that only they were
returning to work on the temple. So that the craftsmen working on the temple
could be identified easily, Zerubbabel decided to institute a new degree, that
of Excellent Master, founded on the history and traditions of their ancestors.
It was a relevant choice to relate this degree to their previous release from
Egyptian bondage, when the Lord called Moses from his exile to lead the Chosen
People out of captivity, as well as to their journeyings in the years that
followed. The portions of Scripture selected for this degree, as well as the
modes of recognition adopted, relate to those visions in which God gave to Moses
certain signs by which the people would know that he came with Divine authority.
There also are relevant aspects of the symbolism of the Tabernacle, which came
into existence during the wanderings of the Exodus, although those aspects are
not the basis of the degree. The degree was conferred on the craftsmen before
they left Babylon. They pledged themselves to serve God, their brethren and
their chosen leaders and were enjoined to journey through life with humility and
to render to God that honour and praise which are most justly due to Him. The
degree is commonly called the Passing of the Veils. There is no English
equivalent of this Scottish form of the degree, but in some other jurisdictions
variations of the Passing of the Veils are incorporated in the Royal Arch degree
as an essential preamble.
The records show that about 42,360 of the remnant in exile returned to
Jerusalem progressively, the first contingent under the leadership of Zerubbabel
in 535 BC, followed by Ezra in 458 BC and finally Nehemiahin 445 BC. Three
exiles from Babylon, having received the tokens of an Excellent Master and
wishing to avail themselves of the Decree of Cyrus and assist in rebuilding the
temple, presented themselves to the Sanhedrin on their arrival. They were
engaged immediately, to begin clearing away the rubbish from the first temple.
This is the setting for the Royal Arch degree. The three workmen detected a
hollow sound when digging at the site of the previous Holy of Holies. On further
investigation, after removing the keystone, they discovered the secret vault.
Access was gained through the opening and the items previously deposited were
recovered safely. Thus the Word was restored and the degree of Royal Arch Mason
was established. The candidate represents one of the workmen who made the
discovery, whose reward is exaltation as a Royal Arch Mason. He receives several
lectures on historical, philosophical and mystical aspects of the degree to
impress upon him that masonry is that great and universal science which includes
almost every other, but that more particularly it teaches us our duty to God and
to our neighbour and a knowledge of ourselves.
Shortly after work had commenced, the Samaritans in the surrounding areas
sought to join in the work, but were told that they were not among those who had
the right to build. Thereafter the Samaritans harassed the builders and also
enlisted the support of Tattenai, the Persian governor of Samaria. Cyrus died in
530 BC and Artaxerxes usurped the throne for a brief period. By the time the
site had been surveyed, the foundations laid and the walls commenced, Artaxerxes,
at the instigation of the Samaritans stopped the rebuilding of the temple in the
year 522 BC. Tattenai and another Persian officer of rank, Shethar-boznai, went
to Jerusalem and sent a fair report to the new King Darius, suggesting that a
search be instituted to learn whether the building was going on in accordance
with a royal decree. At the request of the Sanhedrin, Zerubbabel went to Persia
in 522EBC and visited King Darius to make a personal plea when Tattenai's report
was being considered, which is the central theme of the Knight of the East.
During his visit to Babylon, Zerubbabel was asked to participate in a debate
in the Persian court on questions posed by Darius, who asked which was the
strongest of wine, the king or women. Zerubbabel convinced Darius that women
were the strongest of those three, but that truth was stronger than all things,
which is the moral taught in this degree. Darius then accepted Zerubbabel as his
Kinsman who would sit by him and said that he would be happy to grant
Zerubbabel's requests, even beyond what was in writing. It was then that
Zerubbabel's statements concerning the rebuilding of the temple were verified by
the discovery of the original decree, in the personal records of Cyrus held in
the castle at Ecbatana in the province of Media. Accordingly Darius issued
written confirmation of the Decree of Cyrus and gave instructions that the
rebuilding was to be given every support and that no taxes should belevied.
Tattenai and his colleagues thenceforth applied themselves with vigour to
execute the royal commands. All of these events are recorded in the Scriptures.
Before returning to Jerusalem, Zerubbabel was constituted as a Knight of the
East by Darius, who also gave him all of the temple treasures not previously
recovered.
Rebuilding of the temple was recommenced in 520 BC and was completed in 516
BC, without any further problems from the Samaritans. As a reward for his
services, both his successful approach to Darius which resulted in the recovery
of the temple treasures and also his work on the rebuilding of the temple, the
Sanhedrin constituted Zerubbabel as a Knight of the East and West, this being
the highest masonic honour they could bestow. This is the theme of the degree,
which teaches that integrity and fortitude, as well as wisdom such as that
displayed by Zerubbabel when answering the questions of Darius, are essential
masonic attributes.
CONCLUSION
The foregoing degrees are but some of the many hundreds that came and went
during the transition from operative free masonry to speculative freemasonry in
its present form. They have stood the test of time and provide a coherent and
comprehensive avenue of masonic wisdom. In the York Rite of American masonry
they constitute the trunk that leads to the Knights Templar. There are several
other orders in freemasonry, but most of them stand more or less in isolation.
Some of them are Christian in orientation. The other major series is that of the
Ancient and Accepted Rite, under various jurisdictions. Variations of nearly all
of the traditional degrees are included in that Rite, but they are seldom worked
except in America and Canada. In the context of this review, it is worth
mentioning the Worshipful Society of Free Masons, Rough Masons, Wallers, Slaters,
Paviors, Plaisterers and Bricklayers, which is commonly referred to as "The
Operatives". Its rituals provide a great deal of background to the modern
speculative freemasonry that evolved from it.
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THE SYMBOLS OF FREEMASONRY
SYMBOLS IN ANTIQUITY
Symbols are not a recent innovation, but have been in use ever since the
first hominids endeavoured to communicate with their associates, even preceding
articulate speech. Before speech, the only available means of communication was
by gestures, with which it was sought to convey some physical need or personal
desire. As a natural reaction, sounds were uttered in conjunction with
particular gestures, in due course becoming recognisable as representing the
gestures themselves. Words thus evolved, providing a simpler means of expressing
needs and desires. From that time onwards the roles of sound and gesture were
reversed in communication, gestures being used only to give emphasis when
required. Variations of these basic words gradually came into use,
differentiating between objects and actions as well as qualifying them. Thus a
rudimentary grammar developed concurrently with the evolution of coherent
speech, which immutably incorporated symbolism as an integral part of everyday
life. Coherent speech soon fostered a desire to create visual records, leading
in turn to the development of the written word.
In its original form, writing was a series of crude pictograms that
represented individual words, again interchanging the roles of speech and
symbols. Thus were developed the cuneiform writing of Sumeria, the hieroglyphs
of Egypt, the conventionalised characters used in Chinese and Japanese writing
and the very simple pictograms of the American Indians. As language became more
sophisticated, pictographic and hieroglyphic methods of writing became
inadequate, because the embellishments of oral expression could not be recorded.
This gave rise to the development of the early scripts, such as the Sinaitic and
Hebrew, which were based on an alphabet having characters representing physical
objects. Alphabets developed over many centuries, from those of Assyria and
later of Egypt, which used several hundred symbols to represent syllables. These
were followed by the Sinaitic script and its Hebrew derivative, which used
symbols to represent consonants, leaving the vowels to be understood. These
symbols gradually became stylised in the final stage of writing, represented by
both the Greek alphabet and its Roman derivative, which have symbols for
consonants and vowels, allowing every nuance of oral expression to be recorded.
Language and writing are two of the greatest intellectual achievements of the
human race, without which all other achievements would not have been possible.
Language and writing transcend the realms of personal intercommunication and the
maintenance of records, facilitating both logical thought and rational
evaluation. This complex use of symbols enables the mortal mind to contemplate
the wonders of the creation and the Divine promise of a life hereafter, as well
as to explore and progressively to solve the mysteries of the universe. This
clearly distinguishes humankind from all other life on earth.
SYMBOLS IN THE SACRED WRITINGS
There can be no doubt that speech and writing, in the process of their
evolvement through the ages, have established themselves as the most pervasive
of all symbols in the modern world. But writing was derived from previously
acquired abilities to draft other symbols, utilising a variety of methods. For
example, the cuneiform script of Sumeria was an adaptation of the wedge shaped
imprints made by a stylus upon wet clay tablets, from about 3,200BC. The
hieroglyphic writing of Egypt was painted on papyrus from 2,800BC or even
earlier, using techniques similar to those first developed by the Magdalenians
for their cave paintings from as early as 15,000BC. Texts, such as the Canaanite
inscriptions on Ahiram's sarcophagus unearthed at the ancient city of Gebal, now
called Byblos, have been carved on stone from at least as early as 1,100BC,
using metal chisels and gravers. These and other practical aspects of the arts
and crafts have been interwoven with the technique of writing from its
inception, thus greatly enhancing the evolution of the symbols.
In the early stages of the development of articulate speech, symbols referred
almost entirely to those objects required for subsistence, augmented by a few
symbols reflecting actions of practical importance in everyday life. As speech
became more sophisticated and writing developed, additional symbols were
introduced to reflect the abstract ideas beginning to formulate in the human
mind. The earliest recording of abstract ideas relates to the concept of the
transmigration of the human spirit to a life hereafter when the body dies, as is
graphically illustrated by hieroglyphic inscriptions in the tombs of the
Egyptian pharaohs. With the advent of cursive writing abstract ideas could be
expressed even more vividly, as exemplified in Ecclesiasts, wherein the preacher
portrays the transitory nature and consummate emptiness of earthly life and the
certainty of death, counterbalanced only by the sure hope of the immortality of
the soul.
The sacred writings of all religions include allegories, or long and
elaborate stories, which illustrate moral principals that frequently are not
stated specifically, being left for the recipient to discover. Briefer parables
also are used, typically showing the application of a moral precept in a
familiar situation, so that abstract principles are represented in a concrete
and vibrant form. The relevant attributes of implements and other well known
objects are used in a similar fashion, to demonstrate the requirements for
proper moral conduct. This use of symbols to convey important religious messages
reached its culmination in the century preceding the Christian era, with the
introduction of the pesher technique. Pesher is a Hebrew word that signifies an
interpretation or explanation, being derived from peshitta, another Hebrew word
which means simple, or plain. Peshitta and its adjectival form, peshito, also
are Syrian words. They are used to designate the principal version of the Old
and New Testaments translated from the ancient Syriac and sometimes called the
Syriac Vulgate. Pesher in the Old Testament signifies "interpretation of
dreams", but in scrolls of the Christian era it is used to explain that a
section of text has a second or special hidden meaning. Many Old Testament texts
are used with the pesher technique to convey special messages, some having been
established by tradition over hundreds of years.
THE ORIGIN OF MASONIC SYMBOLS
The domain of freemasonry has included the design and construction of
ecclesiastical buildings throughout their history. This has demanded an intimate
and detailed knowledge of religious doctrines and tenets, which must be
reflected in the structure and especially in the detail of its ornamentation.
King Solomon's Temple, completed about 950BC after seven years and more under
construction, is a pre-eminent example of the vision and inspiration required in
the conception and erection of such a building. Every feature of that
magnificent edifice was of religious and symbolic importance. The details
provided in the first books of Kings and Chronicles preclude any doubt of the
comprehensive knowledge that the masons and their associated artificers had of
the symbolism embodied in the structure and its lavish furnishings, both inside
and outside. The renowned Jewish historian, Josephus, records that when Herod
the Great restored the second, or Zerubbabel's Temple, around the beginning of
the Christian era, not only did he carry out the work piecemeal to avoid
interrupting the usual ritual observances, but also trained 1,000 priests as
masons to build the shrine.
The restoration was completed in 64AD, but the temple was completely
destroyed by the Romans in 70AD. Operative masons were then engaged continually
in the massive construction projects of the Roman Empire, until the fall of
Rome, which was captured by the Visigoths in 410AD. This was followed by the
invasion of northern Italy by Attila the Hun in 452AD, then the sacking of Rome
by the Vandals in 455AD. However, Constantinople had become the Christian
capital of the Roman Empire in 330AD, in direct opposition to heathen Rome. As
the Byzantium Empire it established Christianity in the East, carrying out the
first great wave of Christian ecclesiastic building. These great works surpassed
even the efforts of the Persian renaissance, continuing unabated until
Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453AD. As the Dark Ages from the fifth to
at least the ninth century drew to a close in western Europe, an incredible era
of cathedral building was ushered in, spanning the late Middle Ages through the
Renaissance. Even in Britain, seriously hampered by the Reformation in the
mid-1500's, work on ecclesiastical buildings continued into the 1700's. Hundreds
of churches, castles and civic buildings were constructed. Chartres Cathedral in
France, the first in the "Gothic" style, is a renowned example. York
Minster in England is another prime example; frequently called "poetry in
stone", it was some two and a half centuries in building.
These events spanned almost 3,000 years, usually under ecclesiastical
influence or control, whence the underlying principles of speculative
freemasonry and its symbolism largely derived, developing in parallel with the
operative art. All extant records of the ceremonials in operative lodges confirm
that symbols played a vital part in the teachings of operative free masons,
which stimulated the development speculative contemplation. The incorporation of
symbols into the rituals of purely speculative lodges was a natural extension of
this long established practice. Indeed, having regard to the principles
actuating those who formed the first purely speculative lodges, this was an
inevitable outcome which prompted them to describe freemasonry as "a
peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by
symbols", aptly defining one of its central tenets.
THE SCOPE OF MASONIC SYMBOLISM
Freemasonry encompasses all of the symbolism deriving from the ancient
mysteries and the great religions of the world. This does not suggest that every
such symbol is used, or that the usages are identical, but that all important
aspects of symbolism have been incorporated in the teachings and rituals of
freemasonry. In particular, preparation in a personal sense is used to establish
an appropriate receptiveness for moral instruction; masonic implements and other
appropriate subjects are used as symbols to illustrate and teach specific moral
principles; parables provide ethical instruction in some of the shorter rituals;
the exoteric stories in some of the more expansive rituals are woven round
elaborate allegories, establishing a basis for the communication of fundamental
precepts; and the esoteric interpretations of several of these allegories are
concealed in a manner analogous to the pesher technique used in sacred writings
of the early Christian era.
The first symbol encountered in freemasonry is preparation, as in the ancient
mysteries. It combines mental disposition, meditation and symbolic purification,
coupled with the wearing of appropriate apparel and accoutrements. Darkness is
an essential precursor of light, which light is attained by trial through a
symbolic journey. All of these aspects are involved when initiating an
apprentice into a lodge of operative free masons, but the traditional degrees of
speculative freemasonry do not include any symbolic ablution except in one of
the installation ceremonies in the Royal Arch. Baptism by immersion was the
final step in admission to the early Christian church, as it still is in some
sects. But in most modern Christian sects, babies clothed in white are baptised
by sprinkling with water, under the guardianship of an adult, their symbolic
journey being completed later when they are taught the seven bitter agonies of
Christ, learn the creed and are admitted into communion. Muslims perform a
ritual ablution before entering their mosque for prayer, as well as completing
their symbolic journey perambulating round the Kaaba when performing their
pilgrimage to Mecca. All other important religions also include some form of
symbolic preparation, journey and acquisition of light, this procedure having
been regarded from time immemorial as a spiritual rebirth.
The various modes of recognition entrusted to candidates are symbols of
importance, most being of ancient origin when trade secrets were
"mysteries" and the knowledge of them had to be guarded jealously. A
wide range of the mason's working tools, materials, gauges and methods are used
symbolically to provide moral instruction, often, though not necessarily
referring to work on King Solomon's temple. The temple is a pre-eminent symbol
in freemasonry. It is an emblem of a glorious futurity, as was Ezekiel's
mystical temple for the Jews held captive in Babylon. Many aspects of the
temple's construction and dedication about 950BC, its final destruction by
Nebuchadnezzar in 587BC and the construction of the second temple by Zerubbabel
between 537BC and 515BC after the return from captivity in Babylon, are
incorporated in dramatic detail in parables in the traditional degrees. Features
of the temple, such as the two great pillars at the entrance, also are used as
symbols. Many of the symbolic interpretations are so well known as to have
become a part of everyday usage, some early enough to have been recorded in the
Hebrew Scriptures.
THE MYSTICAL THEME
An important mystical theme is hidden beneath the superficial moral theme of
the more important allegories, which are in the nature of the "Passion
Plays" of the Middle Ages. The first allegory relates to a late stage in
the construction of King Solomon's Temple, when several of the workers feared
that they would not be given the modes of recognition and therefore would not be
able to obtain work after the completion of the temple. When the principal
architect was accosted he remained true to his vows and was slain, so that
substitute modes of recognition had to be used thereafter. The superficial story
is that death is preferable to dishonour and that we must perform our allotted
tasks whilst we can, believing that we will be a rewarded appropriately in a
life hereafter. The esoteric message is that mortal death is only a gateway for
the resurrection of the spirit, which can be achieved by steadfast faith in the
Most High. The theme continues in a dramatic allegory in the cryptic degree of
Royal Master, with the promise that the "True Word" will be preserved
in a place of safety, esoterically signifying that the "True Word"
transcends all mortal delinquency and can always be found through faith.
The second allegory connects the foregoing allegories, also relating to the
construction of the first temple. In its various forms it relates to either the
great cornerstone or to the keystone required to complete the arch of the secret
vault. In the superficial story a diligent and faithful mason prepares a
beautiful piece of stonework, essential to complete the structure. Because it
can not be found on the plans it is rejected and work comes to a standstill.
When the missing stone is recovered and work continues, the skilful craftsman
receives his just reward. The esoteric meaning is that the acceptance or
rejection of this life's work is not within the province of mortal man, the
gates of victory being opened only through the grace of that living Stone which
the builders rejected, but which became the chief cornerstone, as foretold in
Psalm 118 and confirmed in I Peter 2.
A subsequent allegory relates to the period after the destruction of the
first temple, when the captives in Babylon are released by the Decree of Cyrus
and are instructed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. The ceremony
called "passing the veils" concerns three sojourners who journey to
Jerusalem and present their credentials to the Sanhedrin, asking to be given
work on the new temple. However, the veils allude to the Tabernacle erected by
Moses and the Scripture readings refer to the Exodus story, replicating a
ceremonial carried out every seven weeks by the Therapeutae Essenes of Qumran in
the first centuries BC and AD, exhorting obedience to the Covenant until the
second coming of the Lord. The moral is revealed in the allegory of the Royal
Arch, when the sojourners are put to work to clear away the rubbish in
preparation for the second temple. Through their diligence the "Lost
Word" is recovered, teaching that all men are equal in the sight of God and
that the lowest work will receive full and just reward if properly carried out.
The esoteric lesson is that salvation can be found only through a complete faith
in the "True Word", representing the present, future and eternal
"I Am".
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THE LEGACY OF OPERATIVE FREE MASONRY
ORIGINS
The seeds of masonry were sown when our primeval ancestors took their first
faltering steps on their path to civilisation. Masonry began as an entirely
practical enterprise, to satisfy the wants of day to day living. As civilisation
developed masonry became involved in the erection of tombs, shrines, temples and
other structures for religious purposes, reflecting mankind's growing
spirituality. Over the centuries, such an intimate association with moral and
spiritual influences naturally developed the speculative aspects of masonry
concurrently with the operative art. By medieval times, the moral teachings of
speculative freemasonry were well established and had become a significant part
of the ceremonial activities in operative lodges. It is generally accepted that
speculative freemasonry, as we know it today, owes its origin to operative
masonry, although there are few written records of the early stages of the
transition. In fact, the ways in which operative masonry came to be superseded
by speculative freemasonry were not the same in all places.
As those who established the first speculative lodges did not record their
reasons for doing so, we can only surmise that they valued the esoteric
teachings of the operative lodges. However, we know that Drs James Anderson and
John Desaguliers, influential Presbyterian clergymen and members of the Royal
Society, who were leaders in the reorganisation of the early lodges that
culminated in the establishment of the first Grand Lodge, both fervently
believed that speculative freemasonry should be part of the emerging philosophy
of Enlightenment and provide a forum for advanced thought and discussion. This
undoubtedly should still be freemasonry's prime objective.
In England, the medieval operative lodges were virtually defunct in the first
half of the 1600s because of the Reformation, although a few brave stalwarts
kept the speculative aspects alive, but hidden from public knowledge. A few
operative lodges were reassembled later for particular projects, but purely
speculative lodges seem to have emerged independently of them only a few decades
before four old lodges met in London in 1716 to form the first or
"Premier" Grand Lodge, establishing England as the home of speculative
freemasonry. In Scotland, where operative masonry continued to function into the
second half of the eighteenth century, the situation was quite different.
Operative lodges in Scotland generally were small and often were family
concerns, so that when there was a lull in the work, or work ceased to be
available altogether, many though not all lodges continued to function socially,
often becoming speculative lodges. Although operative masonry in Ireland was
active until at least 1700, there is no evidence that any operative lodges
became speculative lodges as in Scotland, all apparently being established
independently as in England.
MASONRY THROUGH THE AGES
To appreciate how operative lodges developed their speculative content,
providing a basis from which speculative lodges could develop, some
understanding of the origins of masonry, its functions and the scope of its
activities is desirable. The birth of the operative art occurred towards the end
of the Old Stone Age, when the Early Hunters began to move out of their caves
and learnt to construct huts from locally available materials. About 35,000
years ago at the height of the last Ice Age, the Advanced Hunters originated
representational art in the form of figurines and carvings. They also developed
painting around 15,000 years ago and became the unlikely progenitors of
architecture and masonry about 12,000 years ago, being the first builders to use
stone when they constructed circular huts with stone footings in Palestine,
Syria and Mesopotamia. These humble beginnings of civilisation heralded in the
Agricultural Revolution which the Late Hunters started in the New Stone Age.
The gradual development of settlements in Mesopotamia, Greece, Crete and
Cyprus provided the impetus for the first production of mud bricks and the use
of stone for perimeter walls and dykes, which were used in the construction of
Jericho around 8000 BC. By about 6500 BC masonry had developed sufficiently for
the circular "beehive" houses in Cyprus to be constructed with stone
foundations and walls that supported corbelled domes of mud brick. About the
same time in Turkey, construction of the town of Catal Huyuk was begun. It had a
peak population in the vicinity of 8,000 people and continued in occupation
until about 5500 BC, being the site of the earliest known religious buildings.
This ushered in almost 8,000 years of continuous and intimate association of
masonry with religion, commencing with the earliest period of temple and
monumental masonry in the Copper Age. This period began in Mesopotamia, where
progressively larger and more complex temples were erected. They were typified
by one continuous series discovered at Eridu in Sumer and dating from about 5500
BC to 3000 BC. Work during this period in Egypt is typified by the chambered
mastaba tombs constructed for royal burials.
A period of massive monumental masonry followed, typified by the huge
ziggurat of Ur-Nammu in Mesopotamia and the three great pyramids of Giza in
Egypt, dating from about 3000 BC to 2500 BC. Massive temple building continued
in Egypt, being represented by such well known complexes as those at Karnak and
Abu Simbel, completed since 2000 BC. Masonry carried out in this magnitude
required huge gangs of skilled workers, trained, organised and supervised by
master masons of great experience. The Biblical description of the construction
of King Solomon's Temple, about 950 BC, provides ample evidence of the work
force and skills required for such structures in those days. The classical
masonry of Greece that commenced around 500 BC and of Rome that commenced around
150 BC, required similar work forces and skills. This was followed by an
incredible period of cathedral construction in Europe and Britain, commencing
about 500 AD and continuing for more than a thousand years, during which
innumerable religious structures were built.
"Ecclesiastical" masonry was not confined to these regions, but
spread from the Levant throughout Asia, producing a vast array of religious
complexes and structures of monumental proportions, of which a few examples will
be mentioned. The intricate though massive temple of Borubudur in Java,
constructed around 800 AD, is the largest individual religious monument in
South-East Asia. The awe-inspiring temple-city complex of Ankor in Cambodia,
constructed around 1000 AD, occupies an area of almost 200 square kilometres.
The breathtaking Taj Mahal in India, constructed of pure white marble around
1650 AD and "designed to breathe an image of Paradise on earth",
undoubtedly is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Nor should we
overlook the remarkable structures in Central and South America, of which the
overwhelming city-temple complex at Tikal in Gautemala, constructed by the
Mayans around 500 AD, is a prime example. The citadel and city-temple complex of
Machu Picchu, constructed by the Incas at an elevation of almost 3,000 metres in
the Andes Mountains, around 1450 AD, also is well known. Such an incredible
array of ecclesiastical buildings, erected in so many places during the last
8,000 years, clearly show the intimate integration of masonry with religious
activities.
THE FREEMASON AND HIS LODGE
There are differing opinions as to the origin of the word
"freemason". The first known use of the word in England dates from
1376, when it specifically implied an operative mason of a superior class.
However, it is quite possible that when the word was first used in different
places, the reasons for its use and its interpretations could have been
different, therefore some of the various explanations are worth mentioning.
Bearing in mind the close association with France and the common use of the
French language in medieval times, the suggestion that the word is a corrupt
pronunciation of the French "frerè maçon", meaning "brother
mason", ought not to be dismissed lightly. Another suggestion is that it is
a derivative of the more general "freeman", that was used in the late
Middle Ages to distinguish those having personal liberty from serfs, slaves or
others subject to the restrictions then prevalent. The stonemasons who
specialised in using freestone to carve and sculpt decorative masonry for the
vaulting, tracery, columns and capitals in English cathedral building were first
called "masons of free stone", then "freestone masons",
which later was abbreviated to "freemasons". There is an entirely
different derivation in Scotland, dating from about 1600, when the minutes of
the Lodge of Edinburgh record that the Freedom of the Burgh had been accorded to
its "frie mesones", giving them the right to practice their Craft. In
1725 the same lodge is referred to in the Burgh records as "the Society of
Free Masons", again confirming their right to practice.
Operative masons held their meetings in their stoneyards or in suitable
buildings on the worksite. In operative practice the "lodge"
originally was the place of work, especially the stone yards. The word is
derived from the Old French "loge" meaning an arbour, later adopted
into Middle English to mean a stall, as in a modern theatre. The earliest known
reference to a "lodge" as a building occurs in the building accounts
of Vale Royal Abbey in 1277, when "logias" and "mansiones"
were erected for the workers, the site of the abbey being some distance from
habitation. "Logias" derives from Old French and "mansiones"
from Middle Latin, respectively signifying "to lodge" and "a
household", reflecting the use of French and Latin in England in those
days. There are many references to lodges in later operative documents,
including one from York in 1399 which clearly indicates that the lodge also
served as a repository for tools and implements. The body of masons comprising
an operative work force may also have been called a "lodge" in
medieval times, but there is no known record of that usage dating from then. The
earliest recorded uses of "lodge" to indicate a body of masons are
from operative practice in Scotland. They occur in the minutes of Aitchison's
Haven Lodge in 1598 and also in the "Schaw Statutes" of 1598 and 1599,
in which three organised bodies of masons are referred to as the Lodges of
Edinburgh, Kilwinning and Stirling. Thereafter it was common practice in
Scotland to refer to a body of masons as a lodge.
ENGLISH OPERATIVE LODGES
In England, a majority of the operative lodges worked under the immediate
control of a religious establishment such as a cathedral, often for periods
extending over several generations of their work forces. However, they also came
under the guardianship of craft guilds, originally in the form of religious
fraternities, which were organised to protect the interests of skilled workers
in the various trades. These guilds were well established in England in the
reign of Henry I, around 1153. The London Company, formed as a stonemasons'
guild around 1356, probably is the best known. Its original constitution,
recorded in the Regius Manuscript, dates from about 1390 and is the earliest
written record of such guilds in England. The guilds continued to operate very
successfully until the Reformation of 1530-1560, notwithstanding the statutes of
1360 and 1425 which forbade the organisation of masons, apparently to limit the
escalation of wages when labour was short. Although it did not become common
practice until almost a century later, apprentices were bonded under
indentureships to their masters from about 1230, when the earliest known London
regulation was issued.
In the final year of his reign, Henry VIII proclaimed and enforced the Act of
1547, which disendowed all religious fraternities. His son and successor, Edward
VI, confiscated any remaining guild funds. The available records indicate that,
of all the fraternities in England, the stonemasons probably suffered the worst
under this process of disendowment. Those fragmented guilds that survived the
Reformation developed into Livery Companies, many of which still exist in the
City of London. Prior to the Act of 1547 the old London Company was known
variously as "The Fellowship of Masons" or "The Worshipful
Company of Ffree Masons of the City of London". It was kept alive through
the Reformation, though hidden from official eyes, jealously guarding its
medieval craft doctrines and secrets. Although the Company's books and documents
prior to 1620 have been lost, the letter-books and other records of the City of
London confirm the Company's continuity through to 1655, when it changed its
title to "The Company of Masons". The records show that membership has
included several women, of whom one was apprenticed as late as 1713 for the
usual term of seven years.
SCOTTISH OPERATIVE LODGES
Although the operative lodges in Scotland developed in a similar way to those
in England, there were many more lodges in Scotland, usually much smaller than
those in England. There is no record of Scottish operative lodges having a
traditional history like that used in English lodges, but they had the
"Mason Word" which was guarded jealously. The organisation of
operative lodges in Scotland also differed from that of their English
counterparts, especially in the formative years of the trade. Operative lodges
in Scotland usually worked independently, the buildings generally being smaller
and more dispersed than in England, with travel both difficult and time
consuming. As a consequence, the whole mason trade in Scotland originally
revolved around individual lodges. However, the many territorial lodges in
Scotland were gradually organised under the supervision of head lodges, not all
of which were located in large towns. This system prevailed until Scotland was
disrupted by the Wars of Independence, 1286-1371, which caused extreme poverty
and forced the Mason Guilds to amalgamate with the organisations of other
Crafts, though not destroying their continuity.
Despite the continuing efforts of Parliament to suppress the travelling bands
of craftsmen, the lodges of masons in Scotland gradually rebuilt their own
organisation, which grew in power as the Merchant Guilds declined. By 1475 the
Masons and Wrights of Edinburgh were strong enough to obtain from the Burgh a
"Charter of Incorporation of Freemen-Masons and Wrights of Edinburgh",
called the "Seal of Cause", when Trade Regulations also were drawn up.
Thenceforth operative masonry in Scotland remained active and strong, despite
the Reformation, culminating with the drafting of the "Schaw
Statutes", first drawn up in 1598 and also revised in 1599 by William Schaw,
who had been appointed Master of Work and General Warden of the Masons by James
VI in 1583. The "Schaw Statutes" provided an elaborate code of
organisation and procedure within a regional structure. By the end of the
seventeenth century at least six "Seals of Cause" had been granted in
various localities.
IRISH OPERATIVE LODGES
Although there is ample visible evidence that stonemasons must have begun
working in Ireland about the same time as in England and Scotland, it is
Cormac's Chapel at Cashel, built by a Munster king in 1130, that is the first
positive connection with Irish operative masonry. The Chancel Arch at St Mary's
Cathedral in Tuam, which was built in 1152, is another fine example of the skill
of early Irish operative masons. The first evidence of guild activity in Ireland
is the Charter granted in 1508 to the Dublin Masons, in company with the
Carpenters, Millers and Heliers (Tilers). There is no evidence that Irish
operative lodges had a traditional history equivalent to that of their English
counterparts, but there is ample evidence that they were using their working
tools as symbols for moral instruction early in the sixteenth century.
EARLY "NON-OPERATIVE" MASONS
As long ago as the 1500's many Scots lodges welcomed local "lairds"
or landowners as honorary members. The Dublin Guild, chartered in 1508, also
accepted people who were neither operative masons nor craftsmen in any other
trade. Some time prior to 1600 the Lodge of Edinburgh, meeting in Mary's Chapel
at Holyrood House, admitted a gentleman by the name of John Boswell, the Laird
of Auchinleck. He was an ancestor of another famous mason, James Boswell, who
was Depute Grand Master of Scotland 1776-1778 and the biographer of Dr. Johnson.
The same lodge, then meeting near Newcastle in 1641, admitted as a member the
Right Honourable Robert Murray, General Quartermaster of the Scots army and
later Secretary of Scotland, who was buried in Westminster Abbey in 1673 under
the title of Sir Robert Moray. This is the earliest known record of an
initiation of a speculative Freemason on English soil.
Murray's initiation preceded by five years the initiation of first known
English speculative freemason, Elias Ashmole, who in 1646 was admitted into a
lodge at Warrington, in Lancashire. Research has identified the members of the
Warrington lodge as men of good social position, not one of whom was an
operative mason, but nothing is known of the dates and places of their
admissions into freemasonry. This lack of information is common in the minutes
of early English speculative lodges and accounts for much of the uncertainty
regarding their origins and activities, suggesting that English speculative
lodges may have been in existence longer than is generally assumed. This lack of
records probably was not through laxity, but to avoid persecution during the
political and religious disruptions that had plagued England since the
Reformation. From 1663 onwards, the records of "The Company of Masons"
in London also give details of the admission of several
"non-operative" members.
EARLY SPECULATIVE LODGES
A speculative lodge of unknown origin at Warrington has already been
mentioned. Four old lodges met at the Centre of Union and Harmony in London in
1716 to form the first Grand Lodge of England and elected Anthony Sayer as its
first Grand Master of Masons on 24th June 1717. They were all speculative,
although the lodge referred to as the "Original No 1", which met at
the "Goose and Gridiron", appears to have been composed primarily of
operative stonemasons. It probably was established by members of an operative
lodge formed for the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral, which was begun in 1675,
some nine years after the medieval cathedral had been destroyed in the
disastrous Great Fire of London. The earliest known reference to an Irish
speculative lodge is a witty passage contained in the "commencements
harrangue", or opening address, given in 1688 by John Jones at Trinity
College in Dublin, after the College had been overrun for several years by
operative masons erecting new buildings. When the Grand Lodge of Ireland, which
is the second oldest in the world, was formed in 1725, six "Lodges of
Gentlemen Freemasons" were represented, of which two are still in
existence.
By contrast with England and Ireland, most Scottish operative lodges
continued into the 1750's, some even longer. Many of them seem to have
transformed into speculative lodges almost as a matter of course. The strong and
continuing influence of the regional operative structure in Scotland, probably
helped to delay the formation of the Grand Lodge of Scotland until 1736. At
least two of the first lodges amalgamating to form that Grand Lodge, the Lodges
of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) and of Canongate Kilwinning, originally were
operative lodges and are still active. Several speculative lodges joining the
new Grand Lodge soon after, including Glasgow and Kilwinning, also have records
proving their continuity from operative lodges. Lodge Kilwinning, which is known
as "Mother Kilwinning", takes its name from the Abbey of Kilwinning
(the church of Wynin), about 35 kilometres south-west of Glasgow. The Abbey was
founded about 1150 on the site of a church built in the sixth century by the
Irish monk St Wynin. It originally was of considerable magnificence, but was
substantially destroyed in 1561. A lodge of Kilwinning is reputed to have
existed continuously since the fifteenth century.
THE "MASON WORD"
Although the ceremonial in the earliest operative lodges may not have been
elaborate, there is every reason to believe that the "Mason Word" was
well established in Scotland by 1550 and probably accompanied by the bestowal of
a mark, although the exact method of communication is not known. Nevertheless,
it is clear from various old catechisms that the word was conferred with some
form of ceremony similar to that of a present-day speculative Master Mason. A
fairly comprehensive explanation is given in the "Edinburgh Register House
MS", believed to date from 1696. There were several variations of the word,
very similar to those in use today. Having regard to the lack of literacy in
those days, it is remarkable that the words are recognizable. The earliest
published reference is in Henry Adamson's "The Muses Threnodie",
printed in Edinburgh in 1638: "For we are brethren of the Rosie Cross; we
have the Mason Word . . ." One of the earliest references to the
instruction of Fellows of Craft in the "Mason Word", as well as to the
instruction of "prentices" by Entered Apprentices, is found in the
minutes of Aitchison's Haven Lodge in 1598.
CEREMONIAL
A great deal of modern speculative ceremonial is derived from the practices
in operative lodges, including preparation of the candidate, entrance of the
candidate into the lodge room, perambulation within the lodge room and the use
of working tools and tracing boards. None of these is identical with its
operative predecessor, but sufficiently similar as to leave no doubt of its
origin. In Scotland an apprentice completed seven years (sometimes a longer or
shorter period) under indenture, after which he was "entered" in the
books of the lodge and became an Entered Apprentice. He was then allowed to do a
certain amount of work on his own account, although not allowed to employ
subordinate labour. After another seven years or so he became a Fellow of Craft
and could undertake contracts as an employer. This system was a feature of
operative free masonry in Scotland at least as early as 1598 and it has been
established beyond doubt that admission to the grades of Entered Apprentice and
Fellow of Craft was of an esoteric nature by then. In England the titles of
Entered Apprentice and Fellowcraft were not known until 1723, when they were
included in the first "Book of Constitutions" written by Dr James
Anderson, a Scotsman educated at Marischal College in Aberdeen.
Preparation of the candidate in operative practice included bathing and
examination by a physician to ascertain wholeness and soundness of body. The
candidate was blindfolded and "neither naked nor clothed", being
conducted into the lodge room under the restraint of cabletows. The challenge at
the door was similar to modern practice. Perambulations were clockwise around
the candidate's track during the induction ceremony, but all other movements in
the lodge room were by the most direct method, as is the practice in Emulation
lodges to the present day. The left heel slipshod comes directly from operative
practice, where it received even greater emphasis than it does in speculative
freemasonry, being used to remind the candidate of the binding nature of his
indentureship. This aspect of operative practice still survives in a familiar
mode of interrogation in Scottish freemasonry.
In Scottish lodges, until near the end of the seventeenth century, the
presiding officer was usually called a Deacon, Warden or Preses. After then his
title usually was Master Mason, perpetuating the operative title of Master which
referred to the mason who organised and took charge of the building work,
usually the proprietor of the lodge engaged as the contractor for the work. The
Grand Lodge of Scotland has always used the title of Grand Master Mason for its
chief presiding office bearer. In England, until the end of the seventeenth
century, Master and Master Mason were used only in reference to the Mason in
charge of a building operation. The earliest recorded use of the title is with
reference to John of Gloucester, who was Master Mason for the erection of
Westminster Hall from 1254 to 1262. It was in this sense that the title of
Master was used in the "Old Charges" that are set out in the Levander-York
MS, which is believed to have been written in 1560. It is interesting to note
that, when referring to the members of the lodge as distinct from its office
bearers, those "Old Charges" also distinguish between Apprentices,
Brothers and Fellows, though not as specifically as in Scottish operative
practice.
TRADITION IN PERSPECTIVE
In common with all ancient societies and religions, tradition plays an
important role in freemasonry. In this context tradition refers to knowledge and
doctrines transmitted to successive generations, rather than to ritualistic
procedures. Masonic traditions are primarily communicated in legends and
traditional histories. Traditions, such as those relating to the untimely death
of Hiram Abif, frequently are allegorical and should be considered in the light
of the truths they illustrate, rather than as historical fact. They should not
be rejected for the want of irrefutable evidence. It is of interest to note that
neither the Irish nor the Scottish operative masons had a traditional history
similar to that included in the Old Charges of English Freemasonry, but that
both used the working tools as vehicles of moral instruction.
The lectures given to English medieval stonemasons usually included a
mythological history of the Craft, tracing it back into antiquity. Although
these lectures varied considerably from locality to locality, they usually
emphasised the influence of Nimrod and dramatised the construction of King
Solomon's Temple. English tradition also features a supposed Great Assembly of
Masons held at York in 926 with the approval and encouragement of King Athelstan.
Whilst it is accepted that the traditional continuity of masonic patriarchs and
"Grand Masters" from Adam or Noah to the present has no basis in fact,
the medieval stories should not be dismissed arbitrarily because, like all
myths, they contain elements of truth.
For example, Nimrod is the first great builder referred to in the Old
Testament. He did establish a huge team of stonemasons and is recorded in
Genesis as the founder of Ninevah which has been occupied continuously since
5000 BC. Likewise the construction of King Solomon's Temple was a stupendous
task in its time. The Biblical record of the methods and workforce then used
reflect a remarkable affinity with those of the medieval cathedral builders.
Recent investigations at the temple site in Jerusalem support the existence of a
vault under the Holy of Holies, which traditionally is reputed to have been
constructed by King Solomon for use as a secret meeting room and repository.
There is no known record of the Northumbrian King Athelstan's influence on
masonry, but the "Venerable Bede", an historian of antiquity, records
at least as significant an event in York. Around 500 AD an earlier Northumbrian
King, Prince Edwin, was converted to Christianity by his Kentish wife with the
assistance of Bishop Paulinus. As a consequence of this, Prince Edwin built the
first church in York for Paulinus and it became the centre of the Bishopric,
after which the whole of Northumbria became Christian. Thus began a long and
auspicious association of York with English freemasonry, which has continued
unbroken to the present day.
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THE WORKING TOOLS OF THE CRAFT
THE CRAFT
A craft originally was an organisation of workers who had a range of skills
in a particular trade or vocation. Craft comes from the Old English craeft,
derived from the Old Saxon and Old German kraft. The word originally meant
"strength" and "skill" and its adjective craeftig, meaning
"crafty", signified "dexterous" or "expert". The
sinister aspects of "crafty", which include "cunning" from
the Old English cunnan meaning "to know", are modern usages of the
word. This change in usage is reflected in the Bible in different versions of I
Kings 7, verse 14, which records that Hiram Abif was sent by Hiram King of Tyre
to assist King Solomon at the construction of the temple at Jerusalem. In the
Authorised Version of King James, Hiram Abif is described as "filled with
wisdom and understanding and cunning to work all works in brass", whereas
in the New English Bible he is called "a man of great skill and ingenuity,
versed in every kind of craftsmanship in bronze".
Family peace guilds, called frith, existed in London about the middle of the
tenth century. The first merchant guild is believed to have originated in Dover
about the middle of the eleventh century, when the first weaver guilds also seem
to have been established. In medieval times the workers in many crafts
established fraternal associations for the mutual assistance of their members,
which they called guilds from the Old English gield and the Old Norman gildi.
There is ample evidence that the craft guilds were well established in Britain
around 1135, during the reign of Henry I. Although the craft guilds came into
existence to safeguard the interests of skilled workers in the various trades,
they also were religious fraternities whose members were required to attend
church on a regular basis and frequently. Under the protection of the guilds,
many families rose from serfdom to become employers within a few generations.
The operative masons who erected medieval ecclesiastical structures formed the
largest and most effectively organised of the craft guilds and became known as
free masons, or more familiarly as "the craft". The rough masons,
wallers, slaters, paviors, plaisterers, bricklayers, carpenters, bronze
founders, iron workers, gold smiths and white smiths, who worked closely with
the free masons on all important building works, often formed their own craft
guilds in the larger centres.
LODGES OF OPERATIVE MASONS
Although the members of most crafts could find work in the vicinity of their
homes, many members of the craft of free masonry frequently had to travel long
distances to find work and establish new project sites. This undoubtedly was a
significant factor leading to the establishment of lodges. In operative practice
the "lodge" originally signified the place of work, especially the
stone yard, being derived from the Old French loge meaning an arbour, which was
adopted into Middle English to mean a stall as in a modern theatre. The earliest
known reference to a "lodge" as a building occurs in the accounts of
the Vale Royal Abbey in 1277, when logias and mansiones were erected for the
workers because the site of the abbey was some distance from habitation. Logias
derives from Old French and mansiones from Middle Latin, respectively signifying
"to lodge" and "a household", reflecting the influence of
French and Latin on English. In England, operative documents often refer to
"lodges" as places of residence and sometimes also as repositories for
tools and implements, as at York in 1399. By association a body of masons also
became known as a "lodge", almost certainly in medieval times,
although the first known references in this context are to be found in relation
to operative practice in Scotland, in the minutes of the Aitchison's Haven Lodge
in 1598 and in the Schaw Statutes of 1598 and 1599.
In the earliest days many of the lodges must have worked independently,
because travel was very difficult and time consuming. Even so, there is evidence
that annual assemblages of free masons were taking place during the 1300s and
that these were the gatherings sought to be prohibited in 1436-1437 by the
Statutes of Henry VI. The guild system was highly successful until devastated by
the Reformation of 1530-1560, when Henry VIII confiscated most of their
possessions. The process of disendowment was completed by his son, Edward VI,
under the Act of 1547 by which any remaining guild funds that had been dedicated
for religious purposes were confiscated, as were the funds of all other
religious fraternities. The guilds that survived the Reformation became the
Livery Companies of the City of London, among the best known of which is the
"Fellowship of Masons". Until some time in the 1500s it was formally
entitled "The Worshipful Company of Ffree Masons of the City of
London", but in 1655 in the aftermath of the Reformation it was renamed
"The Company of Masons".
Within the operative lodges there also were officers such as foremen,
intendents, superintendents, wardens and deacons, who were responsible for
control of the various sections of the work. All were fully qualified craftsmen
who were promoted through the ranks as they gained experience and demonstrated
sufficient skill and ability to undertake progressively higher levels of
responsibility. Medieval guilds in England had wardens of the craft and wardens
of the mystery. In medieval lodges in Scotland the chief officer frequently was
a deacon who was often supported by wardens, although the two offices sometimes
merged into one or a warden alone was the chief officer. In some assemblages the
masons were under deacons and the lodges were under wardens. By the second half
of the seventeenth century Master Masons began to rule operative lodges in
Scotland, with Wardens as their deputies. Evidence suggests that English
speculative lodges had Wardens in the seventeenth century and that Deacons were
later introduced following the practice in Scotland.
TRAINING IN OPERATIVE LODGES
In medieval times in England, a youngster learning the mason trade was
indentured as an apprentice in a lodge of operative masons. He received training
nominally for a period of seven years. The earliest known regulation relating to
apprenticeships in London dates from about 1230, but it was not enforced
strictly for many years and almost a century had passed before apprenticeship
was in general use. In operative masonry apprentices were recruited from
suitable boys, usually aged between twelve and fifteen years. A boy seeking
engagement and acceptable to the members of the lodge was required to swear that
he would be obedient and learn the craft. He would then be bound over as an
Indentured Apprentice to a senior mason, who was his master for the period of
his indentureship. Whilst in training, the apprentice lived with his master and
gave him implicit obedience in all things, with little recompense other than
food, clothing and lodging. His place in lodge life was equally subordinate.
In England, an apprentice who had a good record was tested in the stoneyard
for practical proficiency at the end of period of his indentureship. If he
proved himself to be capable and passed an examination in the lodge, the members
voted on his admission into full membership. When accepted, he was regarded as a
fully qualified tradesman. However, as he did not then have sufficient
experience to take charge of construction, he would be required to work under
the guidance of expert craftsmen for up to seven more years, although the time
varied considerably. When he had proved his ability to take charge of building
work, he was accepted as a Fellow and was free to engage subordinate labour and
to carry out work in his own right. As a title, Fellow is first found in English
documents towards the end of the fourteenth century, when it clearly signified
membership of a fraternity, but did not appear to indicate a specific grade of
proficiency.
Records in Scotland, dating from the fifteenth century, show that youths were
apprenticed to monasteries for periods varying from five to nine years. When an
apprentice mason had satisfactorily completed his training in the stoneyard, he
was "entered" in the books of his lodge. This feature of Scottish
operative practice dates from 1598 and probably earlier. In Scottish lodges an
Entered Apprentice was put in charge of a small group of junior apprentices, but
he was still required to work for a few more years under the guidance of
experienced masons to develop his proficiency and leadership. In Edinburgh the
Trade Regulations incorporated in the Seal of Cause of 1475 provided for an
apprentice to serve a term of seven years, after which he was to be examined by
four searchers. If proficient he became a Fellow of the Craft, when he was
entitled to all the privileges of membership of his lodge. Fellows of the Craft
in operative lodges were fully qualified masters of their craft in all its
aspects, being allowed to engage labour and take charge of building work. In
operative times the title of "Master Mason" usually referred to the
master tradesman in charge of a building project, often the proprietor of the
lodge engaged to carry out the work.
It is of interest to note that the word "fellow" is associated with
the Middle English word fee, which signified a fief or payment, derived from the
Old High German fihu or fehu. It has an important cognate in the Scandinavian
group of Germanic languages, the Old Norman felag, which signified a laying
together of property and hence a partnership. From this came the Old English
feolaga, then the Middle English felaghe which later became felawe, whence the
English fellow, signifying an associate, a companion and an equal. Thus a Fellow
of the Craft was someone who held membership in his craft, for which a fee
usually was payable, in respect of which he accepted the duties and enjoyed the
privileges. The title of Fellow is now most commonly used to signify the highest
grade of membership in a scientific or technical institution; it also is used in
universities to designate the holder of a Fellowship.
SPECULATIVE LODGES
Records from the beginning of the 1500s indicate that Scottish and Irish
operative lodges accepted persons of stature as honorary members, even though
they were neither operative masons nor craftsmen in any other trade. This does
not seem to have occurred in England until "The Company of Masons" in
London established an inner fraternity known as the Acception, whose members
were not necessarily members of the Company. Although seven members of the
Company were enrolled in the Acception during 1620 and 1621, the King's Master
Mason, who also was the Master of the Company in 1633, was not enrolled in the
Acception until 1639! It is on record that several "non-operatives"
were enrolled in the Acception from 1663 onwards. The English craft guilds were
decimated by the Reformation of 1530-1560, after which period any lodges of
operative masons that were established were set up only for the duration of
specific projects. With the exception of an Assemblage at York, there are no
records of English lodges transforming from operative to speculative practice as
they did in Scotland, although many operative masons in England were involved in
the establishment of speculative lodges. By contrast with England and Ireland,
most operative lodges in Scotland continued well into the 1750s, some of them
much longer and many becoming speculative lodges almost as a matter of course.
The titles "Entered Apprentice" and "Fellow Craft" were
not used in English lodges until the 1700s, when both of these speculative
grades were adopted from operative practice in Scotland and were firmly
established in English speculative freemasonry by appearing in Dr James
Anderson's Constitutions of 1723. The first known use of these titles in England
was in that very old operative Assembly of Masons at York known as the York
Grand Lodge, which was independent from the Grand Lodges formed in London. The
earliest surviving minutes of the York Grand Lodge date from 1712, when it
already was in the process of becoming speculative. Of particular interest are
the minutes of its meeting held on the Festival of St John in 1725, because they
refer to the attendance of E.P. (Entered 'Prentice), F.C. and M.M., clearly
indicating that these three degrees were being worked at that time. Prior to
this meeting the Master was usually referred to as the President, but from that
meeting he was called the Grand Master and a Deputy Grand Master and Grand
Wardens also were elected. It has been established beyond doubt that admissions
to the grades of Apprentice and Fellow were of an esoteric nature at least as
early as 1598. The speculative degree of Master Mason follows the ceremonial of
the Ancient Drama in operative masonry that has been enacted annually from time
immemorial.
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE
Because so much of its work was carried out in an ecclesiastical environment,
the craft of free masons was subject to a stronger religious influence than any
other of the craft guilds. This no doubt explains why the old operative
ceremonies were based on stories from the scriptures and included extensive
moral instruction. In this respect the "Old Charges" were a key
element in the induction of candidates into English operative lodges, providing
a foundation for the ethical teaching carried out in the weekly meetings. An
essential part of the "Old Charges" was the traditional history, in
which the concurrent development of civilisation and masonry was recounted on
the basis of legends derived from biblical history, supplemented by allegorical
anecdotes of contemporaneous events. Erudite researchers have expressed the
opinion that the "Old Charges" probably were prepared by a learned
monk who was well acquainted with the usages and customs of the mason trade and
that the subject matter is much older than the earliest known manuscript, the
Regius MS that dates from around 1390. It is possible that much of the original
matter relating to the conduct of a mason may have been derived from the
earliest trade ordinances around the end of the eleventh century, of which no
copies have yet been discovered. No other medieval craft guild or religious
fraternity is known to have possessed a similar document.
Although the traditional history and charges were not identical everywhere,
they had a consistent theme and were regarded by the medieval operative masons
in England as the foundation of their craft in all ages and in all places.
Authentic copies constituted the authority under which operative lodges held
their meetings before warrants were issued. An interesting aspect of the
traditional history is the allegorical account of the establishment of masonry
in England by Charles Martel (688-741), who was known as Charles the Hammer in
France. Masonic legends in France include the anomalous assertion that Charles
Martel learnt the craft of masonry from a curious mason named Naymus Graecus,
who had been present at the erection of Solomon's temple. Scotland had a close
association with France that began when the Irish apostle and Benedictine monk
St Columba (521-597) established a monastery at Iona. St Columba converted the
northern Picts to Christianity and also worked in Brittany and the Vosges
district of France where he founded the great abbey at Luxeuil. Having regard to
this religious association, which was supported by a significant inflow of
operative masons from France to Scotland, it is surprising that Scottish
operative lodges did not have their own traditional histories. The few "Old
Charges" associated with Scottish operative masonry date from around the
time of the Edinburgh Seal of Cause of 1475 and obviously were copied from
English sources. Nor is there any evidence that Irish operative lodges had a
traditional history similar to that of their English counterparts, although
there is ample evidence that they were using their working tools as symbols for
moral instruction early in the sixteenth century.
Operative lodges traditionally met at noon on the sixth day of each week,
when they conducted their business, inducted their candidates and imparted moral
instruction. That time of meeting is the basis of the paradoxical answer to one
of the questions put to a speculative Entered Apprentice during his examination.
Operative masons were obligated under oath, subject to penalties that were
customary for the period. In operative lodges the candidate in each of the
several degrees represented a particular stone required in the construction of
Solomon's temple. The ceremonial and its inherent religious component was woven
around the preparation, testing and placement of that stone in the temple,
symbolising the erection of a spiritual temple. The perambulations of the
candidate around the lodge room also related to the erection of the temple.
Candidates were taught by charge and catechism and were required to learn much
by rote. From the earliest times, one of the most important components of the
ritual was a moral interpretation of the many working tools of a mason. This is
not surprising, because the names of so many of the tools express a moral
quality without requiring any further definition. The working tools presented in
the speculative degrees were not the only ones used by the Apprentice, Fellow
and Master in operative lodges, but were chosen to illustrate the teachings of
the degree.
OPERATIVE WORKING TOOLS
The Fabric Rolls of York Minster provide a detailed inventory of the tools
stored in the masons' lodge at the end of the year 1399, including stone-axes,
iron chisels, mallets, tracing boards, a hatchet, a big gavel, a compass and a
host of other tools. Some of the less familiar tools listed in early inventories
include stone-hammers and stone-axes in a large variety of shapes and weights;
setting-hammers with hollow heads for the hard stone hewers; scabbling hammers
for the rough layers; hammer-axes, brick-axes, pickaxes and mattocks; chisels,
puncheons and augers; crowbars, levers and wedges; and mallets, mauls and
trowels. The Fabric Rolls of York Minster of 1360 list a kevel, sometimes
incorrectly called a keevil, which was similar to a very large gavel or
stone-axe and was used to break and roughly shape stones in the quarry. The name
was used in Scotland and northern England until the early 1800s, but its origin
is obscure, possibly deriving from the Old Norman French keville which means a
key and from which "clavicle" is descended. The principal wooden tools
used by operative masons were the straight-edges, rules, squares, levels,
plumb-rules and heavy setting mauls required to ensure that the stones were
placed and set to the correct lines and levels during the erection of the
structure. They were wooden to avoid marking the dressed and polished stones.
Thus we read in I Kings 6, v 5 of the New English Bible that "no hammer or
axe or any iron tool whatever was heard in the house while it was being
built".
THE APPRENTICE'S WORKING TOOLS
The three symbolic working tools of an Entered Apprentice in a speculative
lodge are not the same as those presented to his operative counterpart when
first indentured. They were the metal straight edge, the maul or mallet and the
chisel, which were the first tools he would learn to use. As the metal straight
edge is used as a guide for the chisel, so it constantly reminds the apprentice
that he is required to maintain a straight and undeviating course of action in
his work and in his dealings with others. As the maul or mallet applies the
driving force to the chisel, so it reminds the apprentice that it is his duty to
work hard and diligently in the stoneyard and also in his private life. As the
keen edge of the chisel is accurately shaped to cut the stone, it impresses upon
the apprentice's mind that knowledge is essential in all activities. The three
tools in combination remind the apprentice that all difficulties can be overcome
if the correct approach is used with knowledge, hard work and perseverance.
During the course of his indentureship, the apprentice mason learned to use many
more working tools, including such implements as axes, bevels and squares,
calipers and compasses, gauges of various shapes, hammers, rasps and scrapers -
the range was limited only by the sizes and shapes of the stones he was required
to cut and dress. The 24 inch gauge of the speculative apprentice was introduced
to impress upon the candidate the importance of allocating his time properly, so
that it would be well spent. The operative apprentice had this aspect of his
duties impressed upon him throughout his training by the strictest adherence to
his daily schedule of practical instruction, his weekly attendance in lodge and
his regular participation in the religious services of the institution for or
under which his lodge was working.
The maul or mallet, which is also called a mell in northern England and
Scotland, must not be confused with the heavy setting maul, which is also called
a beetle or sledge hammer. The beetle is a very heavy wooden mallet with a long
handle used for driving wedges, crushing broken stone for a macadam road
surface, or beating down paving stones. The speculative ritualists replaced the
maul with a common gavel, which in fact is not used with a chisel. Moreover, as
the gavel is an emblem of power, it is not a very appropriate symbol in relation
to the duties of an apprentice. The similarly shaped implements used in
operative masonry was the much larger kevel and the stone-axe with a steel
cutting edge, with which the quarrymen broke and roughly shaped the stones. As
the stone-axe symbolises the force of conscience, the early speculative
ritualists might have intended the wooden gavel to be a miniature representation
of it. It is possible that later ritualists may have inadvertently called it a
gavel, a name of American origin in the nineteenth century that refers to its
gable-like shape. Unlike their speculative counterparts the master and wardens
in an operative lodge did not use gavels, but carried truncheons which have been
staffs of authority since early medieval times; the master also had a maul as a
symbol of his driving force in the lodge. In some Irish lodges the master's
emblem of authority was a stone-axe or hammer and the wardens carried
truncheons. In some Scottish and American lodges the master's emblem of
authority is a maul. In Scottish lodges the senior deacon's jewel is a maul and
the junior deacon's jewel is a trowel, indicating that the respective
responsibilities of the senior and junior deacons are to exercise control in the
work and to maintain harmony.
THE FELLOW'S WORKING TOOLS
Of the several wooden working tools used in operative lodges, the square,
level and plumb-rule were appropriated to the Fellowcraft in speculative
freemasonry. This is logical because his operative counterpart was a mason of
superior status who was directly responsible for ensuring that the building was
erected in strict conformity with the working plans. It should be noted that
three different squares were used by operative masons, each for a specific
purpose and each having an important though somewhat different symbolical
meaning. Each of these squares has an important place in the speculative ritual,
but as they are not differentiated in the ritual the subtle differences of
meaning in a charge might be missed by anyone who is not familiar with the
operative art. Attention will be drawn to these differences when discussing the
symbolism of the square. The working tools of a Fellowcraft freemason in a
speculative lodge are only miniature representations of the operative tools and
are made of metal as a matter of convenience, so that it may be difficult to
envisage the way they are applied in building construction.
The levels and plumb rules used by operative masons were closely related,
because each utilised a line and plumb bob to determine the vertical plane and
hence the correct attitude of the implement. In their simplest form, as used
continuously in operative masonry at least from the times of ancient Egypt, the
frames of both implements were constructed from stout wooden staves that could
be dressed perfectly and would not warp or twist. The level generally was in the
shape of an equilateral triangle constructed from staves about 2 cubits, or a
little over a metre long, with the line and plumb bob suspended from one apex.
When the plumb line hung vertically so as to bisect the base, the base was
horizontal and could be used either to lay levels, or to try and if necessary to
adjust horizontals. From the use of the level, in conjunction with the beetle or
heavy setting maul, is derived the expression "setting to a dead
level". The plumb rule usually was a stave about 2 cubits with its edges
dressed parallel. A line and plumb bob were suspended from the upper extremity
of the stave on its centre line to determine its verticality. Thus either edge
of the stave could be used either to set verticals, or to try and if necessary
adjust to uprights to the vertical plane.
As the apprentice in operative lodges learnt to use a wide range of tools
during his period of training, so also did the fellow during his first few years
whilst under the supervision of more expert craftsmen. In addition to the
square, level and plumb-rule, he learnt to use the wooden straight-edge, plumb
lines or plummets, string lines and skirrets, trowels and the Pythagorean square
composed of three graduated rods. String lines and skirrets are for setting out
lines, but the wooden straight edge is the implement used to test a course of
stones for straightness along a line. Plumb lines or plummets are used for
plumbing points in a vertical plane and also to line up intermediate points in
straight lines over long distances, but the plumb-rule is the implement used to
check the stones for verticality in successive courses. The Pythagorean square
is used for setting out a building, but not for checking right angles during
erection, for which purpose the gallows square is more appropriate. The working
tools of a fellow thus fall into two distinct groups, one for use during the
erection of a building and the other for use when setting out the building.
THE MASTER'S WORKING TOOLS
Most fellows could set out a building if given the location of a corner of
the building and one of the building lines commencing from that corner. However,
most stately edifices were required to be set out from a given centre point,
which only the most capable craftsmen were competent to perform. Thus it usually
was only the master of the lodge, the master mason himself, who set out the
building with the assistance of some of his most experienced craftsmen. For this
purpose he utilised plumb lines, string lines, skirrets and the Pythagorean
square. In the northern hemisphere the north-south axis could be determined by
sighting the Pole Star through a plumb line set up over the required centre
point, then lining in another plumb line at or beyond each of the required
northern and southern extremities. With a string line on the north-south axis,
the east-west axis and the required diagonals could then be established using
the Pythagorean square in conjunction with string lines drawn from a skirret at
the centre. The north-south axis can be established in both hemispheres by the
bisection of an equidistant transition of the sun from the eastern quarter to
the western quarter, sighted through a plumb line set up over the required
centre point. There are paintings at Thebes in Egypt, dating from 3000 BC or
earlier, that show masons using a stretched cord to draw a line.
In medieval times the master mason usually would be provided with only a
description of the required sizes and layout of a building he was required to
construct. More often than not the details would be developed progressively with
input from the owner over many years of construction. Thus another very
important duty of the master mason was to prepare layout plans of the building
for the owner's approval, from which he would prepare detailed designs and
working drawings. Usually he would also be required to provide detailed drawings
for all important components of the structure, even to the extent of detailing
the designs of the windows and the symbolic decorations incorporated in most
ecclesiastical buildings. As the pencil and compasses were essential implements
used by the master mason of an operative lodge when preparing designs and
drawings, it was appropriate to include them with the skirret and line as the
working tools of a Master Mason in a speculative lodge. The ancient use of the
measuring line is recorded in Jeremiah 31, v 39 of the New English Bible:
"The time is coming, says the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt in the
Lord's honour, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. The measuring line
shall then be laid straight out over the hill of Gareb and around Goath."
Then in Zechariah 2, v 1-2, when Zechariah saw a man carrying a measuring line
and asked where he was going he was told "To measure Jerusalem and see what
should be its breadth and length".
THE SYMBOLISM OF THE SQUARE
The three types of square used by operative masons were the square gauge, the
try square and the gallows square. The square gauge is an enclosed square of the
required inside dimensions to test a cubic ashlar or the cross section of the
running stone. The try square has two arms of equal length that include an angle
of 90°. It is not calibrated to measure lengths along the arms, because it is
only used to test the angle between the two faces of a stone along the arris
where they meet, to ensure that they subtend a right angle. The gallows square
is used to set out right angles and has two arms of unequal length that include
an angle of 90°. Both arms are calibrated on the inside and outside edges to
facilitate the measurement of dimensions when scribing stones for cutting. It is
also used to set out column bases, wall recesses and other details in the ground
plans of structures. The usual sizes of gallows squares used in operative lodges
were the small 2:3 ratio square having 12" x 18" arms; a general
purposes 3:4 ratio Pythagorean square having 18" x 24" arms; and a
large 2:3 ratio square having 24" x 36" arms that was useful for
checking corners and other wall intersections internally and externally.
When admitted for advancement as a Fellowcraft in a speculative lodge the
candidate is told that, being obligated within the square, he is bound to act on
the square to all mankind. This exhortation derives from the operative practice
of requiring the candidate to kneel with both knees bare on an ashlar stone
placed within the square gauge. The reason for the change is not recorded, but
the present method of supporting the candidate's elbow within the angle of a
small Pythagorean square was substituted for the operative practice at about the
time of the reconciliation between the Antients and the Moderns. The try square
is used in the traditional "Square and Compasses" emblem and is one of
the three great emblematic lights of Freemasonry. Because the try square is used
to test the angles of a perfect ashlar stone and is a universal emblem of
morality and justice that inculcates truthfulness, honesty and a strict
obedience to the law of God's Word, it is rightfully included in the three great
emblematic lights by which we shall be tried as "living stones". In
Isaiah 28, v 16 of the New English Bible we read "These then are the words
of the Lord God: look, I am laying a stone in Zion, a block of granite, a
precious corner-stone for a firm foundation; he who has faith shall not
waver". In Psalm 118, v 22 we also read that "The stone which the
builders rejected has become the chief corner-stone".
The gallows square, with arms in the 3:4 or Pythagorean ratio, is the
traditional emblem of the Master that has been used by operative masons from
time immemorial. It is still used as the Master's emblem by them and by most
Continental freemasons. As the gallows square is used to set out the work, which
is the Master's duty, so it is the most appropriate square to use as the emblem
of the Master's office. For some reason that has not been recorded, but
apparently in the 1830s after the introduction of Euclid's 47th Proposition as
the basis of an English speculative Past Master's jewel, the speculative
Master's emblem was changed to a try square. Perhaps it better suited the early
speculative ritualists' passion for symmetry. The Master's jewel is a symbolic
reminder that his lodge should be justly and properly ruled by his square
conduct and impartial decisions. The Immediate Past Master's jewel in English
speculative freemasonry is a miniature illustration of Euclid's 47th Proposition
suspended from a gallows square with sides of 3 units and 4 units and therefore
a hypotenuse of 5 units. Euclid's Proposition is general, but long before him
some skilful craftsman in ancient Egypt discovered the convenient right angled
triangle with sides of 3:4:5 ratios, although the discovery is traditionally
attributed to Pythagoras of Greece, who studied and worked in Egypt. These
ratios are the basis of the operative mason's Pythagorean triangle of rods that
is used when setting out a structure.
It is of interest to note that the jewels of Scottish Masters and Irish Past
Masters, as well as of many American Past Masters, incorporate the try square
and compasses combined. This is a symbolic reminder that, in addition to
conducting themselves squarely and taking impartial decisions, Masters must keep
all their actions within due bounds. The letter G within the square and
compasses is a common decoration on the flap of freemasons' aprons in Scotland
and America, combining the symbolism outlined above with the following
symbolism. In medieval Europe the shape of the gallows square with arms in the
ratio of 3:4 was used in ecclesiastical script to represent the capital letter
G, because it was exactly the same shape as the Greek letter Gamma and
equivalent to G in the Roman alphabet, standing alike for God and His great
attribute "Justice". In medieval paintings of the disciples, the
gallows square is often found embroidered on their vestments, as it is on some
priestly robes to this day. Eminent researchers have stated that the gallows
square was also used in early speculative lodges where the letter G is used
nowadays, thus at the same time representing God the Grand Geometrician of the
Universe and also showing that the square is the most important moral instrument
of the Craft.
THE SYMBOLISM OF THE LEVEL
As a working tool of an operative mason, the level is used to set all
required points to the same level on a construction site. From this is derived
its symbolic interpretation, which is equality. Such equality does not refer to
wealth or poverty in the financial sense, nor to social distinction, civic
responsibility or service to mankind. The symbolism of the level relates to
humanity in its broadest sense, that is to the internal rather than the external
qualifications of a human being. It refers to that fraternal quality which, in
recognising the Fatherhood of God, also accepts as a necessary corollary the
Brotherhood of Man.. The level reminds us that we are infinitesimal creatures in
God's grand scheme of the universe. It naturally follows that all human beings
must appear the same in His sight, in which sense we are all equal and subject
to the same infirmities and vicissitudes of life, seeking the same immortal
mansion and preparing to be judged by the same immutable laws. The equality of
brethren in the lodge is that of the dignity and worth of the human soul, which
is the same for everyone regardless of man-made distinctions. Masonic equality
also recognises that one man may have greater potentialities for service, for
life or for reward than another, but also it denies that any such differences
should preclude any man from aspiring to any height, no matter how great. The
level demonstrates that, as we have all sprung from the same stock and are all
partakers of the same nature, so we are all sharers of the same hope. The level
is an appropriate emblem of the Senior Warden, because when the lodge is at
labour all are under his immediate supervision and therefore are on a common
level of subordination.
THE SYMBOLISM OF THE PLUMB RULE
Plumb lines and plumb rules are implements used to determine a vertical
plane, often called plummets in the scriptures. Each depends upon a line from
which a heavy plumb bob is suspended, so that when hanging freely the line is
perpendicular. They are one of the oldest emblems and have the same symbolic
interpretation. The plumb is a symbol of truth and rectitude of conduct. It
inculcates that integrity of life and undeviating course of moral uprightness
which alone can distinguish a good and just man. When erecting temporal
structures the operative mason pays strict attention to the vertical, as
determined by the plumb, because any deviation from the upright contributes to
instability. So the speculative freemason should be guided by the unerring
principles of right and truth symbolised by the plumb, neither succumbing to the
pressures of adversity nor yielding to the seductions of prosperity. We read in
Isaiah 28, v 17 of the New English Bible that the Lord said "I will use
justice as a plumb-line and righteousness as a plummet; hail shall sweep away
your refuge of lies and flood-waters carry away your shelter". In Amos 7, v
7-8 we also read that the Lord said "I am setting a plumb line to the heart
of my people Israel; never again will I pass them by."
It is interesting to note that, from the most ancient times, many common
words used in everyday speech have had a symbolic meaning related to the
practical usage. Thus the Hebrew word "tsedek" denotes rightness and
straightness in a physical sense, whilst signifying what is right and just in a
moral sense. The Greek word "orthos" in the physical sense means
straight, erect or standing upright, whilst in the ethical sense it signifies
right, correct, proper and equitable. In Latin the word "rectum"
denotes something straight or upright and also someone of honesty and integrity.
In English the word "right" has a similar duality, in one sense
denoting something that is just, fair or equitable, whilst in another sense
indicating that something is straight, or perpendicular, or with reference to an
angle that it is formed by a right line or plane perpendicular to another right
line or plane thus forming an angle of 90°, a right angle. All of these
interpretations are represented in the symbolism of the plumb rule, which
therefore is appropriate as the jewel of the Junior Warden, because it is
emblematic of the upright conduct which should always distinguish the brethren
during refreshment when symbolically they are under his control.
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SPECULATIVE CRAFT FREEMASONRY
GUILD MASONRY
The origins of Speculative Craft Freemasonry can be traced directly and
indirectly to the craft practised by the operative Free Masons, who flourished
in the Middle Ages under the auspices of the guild system. The skill of the
medieval Free Masons was outstanding and they were renowned for the cathedrals
they built. Their work was the pinnacle of operative masonry, reflecting the
experience gained by masons throughout the evolution of civilisation over some
12,000 years, working in brick and stone to construct every conceivable building
from the humblest dwellings to the stateliest edifices. In the present context
Freemasonry distinguishes the purely speculative art from the practical craft
that was the province of the Free Masons. However, it should not be inferred
that there was no speculative component in the work carried out in the lodges of
operative free masons, because they had developed their own rich tradition and
ceremonials, some of which were similar in presentation to the Passion Plays of
the Middle Ages. As all medieval guilds were highly secretive in respect of the
private proceedings of their fraternities, information concerning their
ceremonials is somewhat sketchy. Because very few relevant records have survived
from before the formative days of purely speculative lodges in England, masonic
writers all too frequently have said that operative masonry had no speculative
component and therefore that speculative freemasonry could not be a derivative
of it. Having regard to the circumstances prevailing in those times, it is
remarkable that any documentary evidence has survived and been discovered!
Lodges of operative masons must have worked independently in the earliest
days, because travel was difficult and time consuming. However, some time in the
twelfth century the operative masons appear to have been organised under the
protection of the craft guilds that came into existence to watch over the
interests of skilled workers in the various trades. The guilds were known as
Fellowships or Fraternities and with the exception of the operative masons their
constituent trades worked under the provisions of relevant ordinances. Guilds
were also religious fraternities, whose members were required to attend church
frequently, if not regularly. Frith, or family peace guilds, existed in London
around the middle of the tenth century. The first merchant guild is believed to
have originated in Dover around the middle of the eleventh century, when the
weaver guilds also appear to have been formed. There is no doubt that many craft
guilds were well established in England during the reign of Henry I, by around
1135. There is evidence that annual assemblages of masons were being held from
the 1300s onwards and that they were the gatherings which Henry VI
unsuccessfully sought to prohibit by the Statutes of 1436-1437. Under the guild
system many families rose from serfdom to become employers in a few generations.
The system was highly successful until the Reformation, when Henry VIII enforced
the Act of 1547 that disendowed all religious fraternities, including the
operative masons. Henry VIII confiscated most of the guilds' possessions. His
son Edward VI seized nearly all of the remaining guild funds that had been
dedicated to religious purposes, when most guild records were destroyed to
conceal the identities of those who might otherwise have suffered persecution.
The masons appear to have been the worst affected by the confiscations of
property and funds.
As in the other craft guilds, lodges of operative masons were subject to a
strong religious influence and their ceremonials had a religious component.
Practical work and its related instruction took place in the stone yards, but
all moral and ethical instruction and matters relating to general conduct, as
well as the modes of recognition, were imparted in the ceremonial lodges held
weekly on Saturdays at high twelve. All apprentices were obligated and
indentured in the ceremonial lodges, where candidates for promotion also were
examined, tested for proficiency in the non-manual aspects of their work,
obligated and entrusted. Lodges of operative masons were unique, because the
rules and regulations for their establishment and operation were set out in
documents called "charges". The possession of an authentic copy of the
"charges" was the authority under which a lodge worked. The
"charges" included a traditional history, rules governing work
practices and codes of conduct for behaviour at church, in the home and in
company. The oldest known record of the Antient Charges of operative masonry is
a document written by a priest, comprising thirty-three vellum sheets and
entitled the "Poem of the Craft of Masonry". It is believed to have
been based on a much older document and is known as the Regius or Halliwell MS,
No 23,198 in the British Museum. It was discovered in 1839 and was thought to
have been written about 1390, which was later revised to 1410. In modern
terminology it is classified as dating "from the first quarter of the
fifteenth century". The rules and regulations set out in the Regius MS are
stated to have been established at a great assemblage of masons ordered by King
Athelstan. They are arranged under fifteen "Articles" for ye maystur
mason and fifteen "Points" for felows and prentes.
Prior to the Reformation, the guilds and other religious fraternities
undoubtedly were the guardians of centuries-old traditions and esoteric
ceremonies, carefully concealed from public scrutiny. The guilds that survived
the Reformation became the Livery Companies still operating in the City of
London. Livery comes from the Anglo-French liver, meaning "handed
over", derived from the Latin liber,re meaning "to free". Among
them was The Worshipful Company of Ffree Masons of the City of London that had
existed for several hundred years before the Reformation, continued through the
Reformation hidden from public view, then resurfaced after the Reformation.
Before the Reformation it was commonly called The Fellowship of Masons, but in
1655 changed its name to The Company of Masons. Because all of the Company's
books and documents were destroyed during the Reformation, those in existence
only date from 1620. Fortunately, various letter-books and other records of the
City of London confirm that The Company of Masons had an unbroken existence from
late in the thirteenth century until the middle of the seventeenth century.
OPERATIVE INFLUENCES
The unbroken existence of The Company of Masons over some four hundred years
maintained the continuity of operative lodges in England, even through the
fifteenth century persecutions, which enabled their traditions and practices to
be preserved. Possibly other operative lodges also survived, though hidden from
public view. Entries in the books of The Company of Masons in 1620 and 1621 show
that the membership then included "accepted masons" and
"operative masons", but no records have been found to indicate when or
why any of the masons were "accepted". Entries in 1648 and 1650
clearly indicate that the Company had an inner fraternity, known as the
Acception, that could be entered only on being made a freemason, but there are
no details of the ceremonials associated with admission so it is not known
whether they were of an esoteric nature. It therefore is a matter of conjecture
whether the "accepted masons" were speculative in the modern sense,
but it is reasonable to assume that some special benefit of membership was
perceived. From 1663 onwards the Company admitted to membership a number who
were not craftsmen, including several women. One woman was apprenticed as late
as 1713 for the usual term of seven years.
The usages and customs of operative masons that have come down to us in
speculative craft freemasonry include various traditions concerning the
construction of the temple at Jerusalem, the symbolic use of the working tools
to impart moral instruction and the modes of recognition used in the various
grades of membership. When persons other than tradesmen were first received into
operative lodges, men of learning and public stature no doubt would have been
welcomed because of their erudition and the influence they could bring to bear
in the community for the benefit of the members. Those who had been received
into membership also would have benefited from the widening of their interests
in the new avenues of tradition and knowledge that were then available to them.
As long ago as the 1500s many Scots lodges welcomed local lairds as honorary
members. Although they would not be regarded as speculative freemasons in the
modern sense, they were the forerunners of the many who joined Scots operative
lodges when work declined. The minutes of the Lodge of Edinburgh record the
attendance in 1600 of James Boswell, the Laird of Auchinleck and in 1634 they
also record that Lord Alexander, Sir Antony Alexander and Sir Alexander Strachan
were admitted as Fellows of the Craft.
In England the Civil War of 1642-1646 led to the domination of Oliver
Cromwell, which was followed by a very turbulent period until the settlement of
1689 when William of Orange and Mary acceded to the throne of England. The few
surviving records that have been discovered now show that this was the formative
period of modern speculative freemasonry in England. This is in contrast with
Scotland, where records reveal that many of the operative lodges progressively
became speculative lodges. Of particular interest during that period is the
first known initiation on English soil of someone who was not an operative
mason. It was the admission of the Right Honourable Robert Moray, General
Quartermaster of the Scots army, into the Lodge of Edinburgh at a meeting held
near Newcastle in May 1641. The lodge also has the appellation "Mary's
Chapel". Robert Moray later became Secretary of Scotland and in 1673 was
buried in Westminster Abbey under the name Murray. The earliest known record of
an Englishman initiated on English soil is of Elias Ashmole, who was made a
mason in a lodge at Warrington in Lancashire in 1646. Nothing is known of the
admissions into freemasonry of any of the members at that time, but there is
reason to believe that they included Royalists and also supporters of
Parliament. There is no record of any of the members being an operative mason,
although one may have been.
In England some operative masons, such as the members of lodges engaged on
the construction of the York Minster, could work for a lifetime on a single
project. Other lodges could work for many years on smaller cathedrals before
having to move to a new work site, often in the same district. However, there
always were small lodges that had to move frequently, as well as many itinerant
masons moving from site to site in search of work. In Scotland the whole mason
trade revolved around smaller operative lodges, of which there were many more
than in England. The territorial lodges in Scotland were organised under the
supervision of head lodges, which were not always in large towns. The
repressions of the Reformation were less severe in Scotland than in England, so
that a large number of Scots operative lodges were able to become speculative
lodges, a development that had no direct parallel in England.
Throughout the Middle Ages and thereafter until well into the eighteenth
century, travel in Britain was greatly restricted and very hazardous. Although
the more affluent residents could make journeys on horseback or by horse and
coach, ordinary persons were usually confined to travelling on foot, commonly
called going "on tramp". Robbery under arms was commonplace, so that
the general population avoided travel whenever possible, but because of their
vocation the operative masons frequently had to travel long distances in search
of new work. A unique custom in the craft was that an itinerant mason, when
seeking work in an operative lodge, had either to be given employment for an
appropriate minimum period or to be provided with sufficient sustenance to reach
the next nearest place of work. To facilitate their travel in safety, the
operative masons in those days had unobtrusive distinguishing signs enabling
them to seek out members of the craft at roadside hostelries, as well as modes
of recognition with which to establish their credentials with a prospective
employer. Some masonic researchers hold the view that the possession of masonic
credentials for safe travel was a primary objective of those who were
"made" masons in the seventeenth century. This has been called the
"passport theory" for the development of speculative craft freemasonry
and might have been a contributing factor, but it would not explain why the
working tools and procedures of operative masons were adopted as the basis of
moral instruction in the speculative art.
MODERN SPECULATIVE FREEMASONRY
It is now generally accepted that modern speculative freemasonry began to
emerge in the seventeenth century, which is when operative lodges in Scotland
already were transforming into speculative lodges, when Elias Ashmole the
renowned antiquary was made a mason in England in October 1646 and when The
Company of Masons in London had been admitting non-masons to the Acception from
around 1648. Of particular interest is a note in Elias Ashmole's diary in March
1682, that records his attendance at "a lodge held at Masons Hall
London". He states that he was the "Senior Fellow among them",
that six gentlemen were admitted into the "Fellowship of Free Masons"
and that afterwards they dined at a tavern in Cheapeside "at a Noble dinner
prepaired at the charge of the New-accepted Masons". Excepting the new
admissions, all but three of those present were members of The Company of
Masons, including its Master and several who had been Master in previous years.
References in various pamphlets and periodicals between 1676 and 1710 confirm
that Londoners then were more familiar with Freemasonry than with The Company of
Masons or the Acception. It is not known how many speculative lodges had been
formed in England before June 1717, when four or possibly six among the oldest
of them assembled in London and established the first Grand Lodge, claiming
jurisdiction over all lodges meeting in London and Westminster. Its sphere of
jurisdiction included at least sixty-four lodges by 1726, when it had become
known as the Grand Lodge of England and its first two Provincial Grand Masters
had been appointed. Of the founding lodges, the Original No 1 is recorded as
having been constituted in 1691, but it is believed to have had an earlier
origin and that its members almost certainly had been members of an operative
lodge involved in rebuilding St Paul's Cathedral from 1675 to 1710.
Unlike the situation in Scotland, only one lodge of operative masons in
England that is known to have become a speculative lodge is still in existence.
Originally it was located at Stalwell in County Durham and accepted a warrant
from the Grand Lodge of England in 1735. It continued to work as an operative
lodge for another twenty years before becoming speculative and moving to
Gateshead, where it still meets as the Lodge of Industry No 48. By way of
contrast another lodge of operative masons meeting at Alnwick in Northumberland,
that had been in existence long before the Grand Lodge of England was formed,
did not accept a warrant and appears to have ceased to function around 1763. Its
minutes from 1703 onwards are still in existence, together with a copy of the
Old Charges and a code of rules devised by the lodge in 1701. When Dr James
Anderson drafted the original Constitutions for the Grand Lodge of England in
1723, not more than ten copies of the Old Charges were available for his
reference, although more than a hundred have now been found and classified. The
Cooke MS is the oldest copy of the Old Charges used in the compilation of the
Constitutions. It is the second oldest known to be in existence and is in the
library of the British Museum. As its date of origin has been assessed to be
around fifty years after the Regius MS, it also was in use before the Act of
1547 that disendowed all religious fraternities. These two documents have many
similarities, although the Cooke MS was intended primarily as a history. The
third oldest copy of the Old Charges is the Grand Lodge MS No 1, dated 25
December 1583. Written after the Act of 1547, it is significant because it
reflects a distinct transition from the purely operative nature of earlier
documents to include much of a speculative nature.
In 1725 an operative lodge of great antiquity in York, then in the process of
becoming speculative, proclaimed itself a Grand Lodge. In the following year it
claimed to be the "Grand Lodge of All England" under its
"undoubted right", thus disputing the superiority of the Grand Lodge
of England, although its authority never extended beyond Yorkshire. It was
dormant from 1740 to 1760, and finally ceased to operate around 1792, but was
never formally dissolved. In Ireland there is no record of any operative lodge
becoming a speculative lodge. The earliest reference to a speculative lodge is
in the opening address given in 1688 by John Jones at Trinity College in Dublin.
The Dublin Weekly Journal in June 1725 reports that six "Lodges of
Gentlemen Freemasons" met and elected a new Grand Master. This is the
earliest record of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, because all official records
prior to 1760 have been lost. This contrasts with Scotland where most operative
lodges continued into the 1750s and even longer, although by then many of them
had become speculative. The Masters and Wardens of four old lodges that were or
had been operative met in Edinburgh in October 1736 and formed the Grand Lodge
of Scotland. Two of those lodges and several others joining soon after still
exist and have records substantiating their continuity from operative days. In
1752 the Grand Lodge of Antients was formed in protest against the apathy and
neglect being displayed by the Grand Lodge of England which they dubbed
"the Moderns", as well as through dissatisfaction with the rituals
being used and the ceremonials being practised. The Antients and the Moderns
finally settled their differences and their two Grand Masters signed and sealed
twenty-one Articles of Union in 1813. These were quickly ratified by the two
Grand Lodges representing 647 lodges, thus establishing the United Grand Lodge
of England. There can be no doubt that the rituals of modern speculative
freemasonry were greatly enhanced under the influence of the Grand Lodge of
Antients.
Modern freemasonry has many branches, with a multitude of complementary
degrees that are progressive along a variety of paths. The constitutions and
laws of modern Grand Lodges usually refer to their members as Antient, Free and
Accepted Masons. Most constitutions define Pure Antient Masonry as comprising
the three degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason, commonly
with the stipulation that it also includes either or both of the Honourable
Degree of Mark Master Mason and the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch, even
though the constituent degrees usually are not worked under the auspices of the
Grand Lodge. The traditional degrees of freemasonry include all of the foregoing
and several others that are based on the story of the construction of King
Solomon's temple at Jerusalem; its subsequent destruction when the Jews were
exiled to Babylon; and its rebuilding by Zerubbabel under the provisions of the
Decree of Cyrus. The narrative of these degrees is woven around a series of
events recorded in the Old Testament. Other important orders in modern
freemasonry are the Royal Order of Scotland, the Ancient and Accepted Rite, the
Red Cross of Constantine, the Knights Templar and the Knight Templar Priests,
which have Christian aspects, as well as several others. Of particular relevance
is "The Worshipful Society of Free Masons, Rough Masons, Wallers, Slaters,
Paviors, Plaisterers and Bricklayers", commonly called The Operatives,
which was founded in 1913 by the few remaining members of some English operative
lodges that were rapidly becoming defunct, so as to ensure that the traditions
and ceremonials of the operative masons would be perpetuated instead of being
lost.
THE PURPOSE OF FREEMASONRY
Although the catechism that every initiate in the Craft is required to learn,
defines freemasonry as a peculiar system of morality veiled in allegory and
illustrated by symbols, there are many misconceptions about the purpose of
freemasonry. A significant factor contributing to this dilemma is the reversal
in the roles of two key elements in the practice of the speculative art. The
available records clearly show that the founders of Speculative Craft
Freemasonry in England regarded a lodge meeting as a forum for philosophical
discussion, wherein the members could discourse upon a wide range of relevant
topics, more or less in the fashion of meetings of the Royal Society to which
many of them belonged. Before an application for membership would be considered,
the petitioner was required to demonstrate that his interests were compatible
with those of the members. Admission into the various degrees was to ensure that
all members had a common foundation for their activities in the lodge, as well
as establishing a basis for assessing the credentials of strangers wishing to
attend meetings. This followed the precedents established in lodges of operative
masons and other trade and religious fraternities that had been in existence for
many centuries. In contrast, modern freemasonry places the greatest emphasis on
the working of the various degrees, which in the great majority of lodges is
almost to the exclusion of philosophical discussion.
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HISTORY - A KEY ELEMENT IN MASONRY
BACKGROUND
In operative lodges, history was a key element used to illustrate the moral
teachings of masonry. Tradition also was an essential component in the
instruction of apprentices and craftsmen at all levels of competence. Although
the details differ and the English language has changed, the charges and
traditional histories of modern speculative freemasonry are derived from the Old
Constitutions of the lodges of operative masons in medieval England, from when
the craft guilds were established during the reign of Henry I around 1153, until
during the Reformation when all lodges were prohibited by Henry VIII's Act of
1547 disendowing all religious fraternities. In operative practice the Old
Constitutions, usually referred to as the Ancient Charges or Old Charges, were a
central part of the ceremonial and the basis of moral instruction in lodges. An
authentic copy of the Old Constitutions was the authority under which operative
lodges worked. They included the Traditional History, the Charges of Nimrod and
the Ancient Charges, which admonished candidates to behave in an appropriate
manner, cautioned them to preserve the rights and privileges of their craft and
warned them not to reveal their trade secrets and modes of recognition to
strangers not entitled to receive them.
No other medieval craft or religious body is known to have possessed
documents similar to the Old Constitutions. Their content and character differed
greatly from the Guild ordinances of other trades and clearly reflected the
moralising influence of the ecclesiastical environment in which most operative
masons worked and lived. A fundamental part of the Old Constitutions was the
traditional history, which recounted the development of civilisation and
highlighted the important part played by masonry in the improvement of mankind.
Although some of the anecdotes were allegorical, most were based on biblical
history. The ancient charges and traditional histories were not identical in all
copies of the Old Constitutions, nor were they handed down in unvarying form,
but they did have a common theme. The standardised lectures and traditional
histories that are used in modern speculative lodges do not include all of the
material incorporated in the Old Constitutions.
The oldest known copy of the Old Constitutions is a document written by a
priest, comprising thirty-three vellum sheets entitled the "Poem of the
Craft of Masonry". It is believed to have been based on a much older
document and is known as the Regius or Halliwell MS. It was discovered in 1839
and was thought to have been written in about 1390, which was later revised to
1410. In modern terminology it is classified as dating "from the first
quarter of the fifteenth century". The rules and regulations set out in the
Regius MS are arranged under fifteen "Articles" for ye maystur mason
and fifteen "Points" for felows and prentes. They are stated to have
been established at a great assemblage of masons ordered by King Athelstan,
reputedly held at York in 926, though there is no known record of the event. The
Regius MS and the Cooke MS, which was written about fifty years later, are both
held in the British Museum. A later copy is The Grand Lodge No. 1 MS held by the
United Grand Lodge of England and dated 1583, after Henry VIII had prohibited
all lodges. Probably transcribed in secret to preserve the old traditions, it
reveals a distinct transition from earlier copies of the Old Constitutions,
because it includes much of a purely speculative nature.
THE OLD CHARGES IN SUMMARY
The Old Charges were voluminous documents. Some of the older as well as a few
of the more recent copies are in book form, but many are written on skins and
stitched end to end to form rolls. The text is usually in three parts. The first
part is a prayer invoking a blessing, usually of the Holy Trinity, but El
Shaddai and other appellations also are used when referring to God, though
mainly in obligations and charges. The second part is an extended historical
statement which usually culminates with the requirement for the candidate to
take an obligation on the Holy Book, sometimes in Latin. The final part
comprises the actual Charges, which are very comprehensive. They were rehearsed
to the candidate, who was then required to take a vow to keep them well and
truly and to the utmost of his knowledge and ability, which he ratified by
saluting the Holy Book. As the prayer, the actual Charges and the associated
obligations are not historical in character, they are not relevant to this
discussion. Aspects of the traditional history will now be examined in respect
of their historical content without referring to any specific copy of the Old
Charges, but having regard to the usual context in which they are used.
THE LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES
It is not known when the seven liberal arts and sciences were first
incorporated into the Old Charges, but they are an important component in nearly
all of the known copies. A discourse on the characteristics of the arts and
sciences and how they are utilised by the various crafts may be given in the
opening statement, but it usually appears later in the traditional history
following the legend relating to their preservation on two pillars that together
would resist the ravages of fire and water. This discourse concludes by
emphasising that, in reality, all of the arts and sciences are dependant in some
way upon measurement and therefore that they are all founded on the one science,
that is called Geometry, which in medieval days was synonymous with masonry. The
references to the liberal arts and sciences included in the rituals of the
Second Degree of modern speculative freemasonry clearly evolved from the
discourse in the Old Charges. As the liberal arts and sciences were the
foundation of the curricula in all institutions of advanced learning in medieval
times, their inclusion in the Old Charges is to be expected and confirms that
the medieval master masons were men of considerable learning and skill. They
proved their ability by transforming the visions of their employers into the
glorious cathedrals and other stately edifices they designed and constructed.
This knowledge was regarded as an essential part of a craftsman's training,
especially geometry, because measurement is the foundation of a mason's work.
The history proper begins with the biblical story of how the various crafts came
into existence, which is paralleled in the legends of other peoples and has been
confirmed by archaeological investigations.
THE FOUNDATION OF THE CRAFTS
This section is about the beginnings of history, after the creation and
before the flood, commencing with Lamech, a descendant of Adam through Cain. It
is taken directly from the book of Genesis, chapter 4, verses 19-22, which in
the New English Bible translation says: "Lamech married two wives, one
named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah bore Jabal who was the ancestor of
herdsmen who live in tents; and his brother's name was Jubal; he was the
ancestor of those who play the harp and pipe. Zillah, the other wife, bore
Tubal-cain, the master of all coppersmiths and blacksmiths, and Tubal-cain's
sister was Naamah." The biblical exposition is amplified in the traditional
history by including the Hebrew tradition that Jabal, while tending his sheep in
the fields, was the first to construct walls and later houses of stone, thus
founding the craft of masonry. It also ascribes the founding of the craft of
weaving to Naamah, thus completing the requirements for the rise of civilisation
and urban dwelling.
Until about a century ago chronologers calculated the Old Testament dates
solely on the recorded genealogies, which do not provide all of the required
details. It was on this basis that in 1650 Archbishop Ussher dated the creation
of the world and the appearance of Adam at 4004 BC, from which the Year of Light
in speculative freemasonry was derived and by adding 4,000 years to the Common
Era date. Modern research, supported by archaeological discoveries, indicates
that the earliest biblical records relate to man at about 10,000 BC or possibly
earlier, with the flood probably before 5000 BC, the development of Noah's
descendants into nations around 5000 BC, the erection of the tower of Babel
around 4800 BC and the first great buildings in Babylonia very soon after. As
writing was invented many centuries after the events and the genealogies were
based on oral tradition, such differences in dating are to be expected. It is of
particular interest to note that archaeological investigations reveal that stone
fences and footings in houses were first used in Palestine, Syria and
Mesopotamia about 12,000 years ago, when the domestication of wild sheep and
goats also began, coinciding in place and time with those of Lamech and his
children.
THE TWO PILLARS
This section is the original legend of the pillars and deals with the
preservation of the arts and sciences. The legend is not of masonic origin and
bears no relation to the two pillars erected at the entrance to King Solomon's
temple. The Greek historian Berosus transcribed the legend around 300 BC,
reputedly from a Sumerian account that had been recorded in cuneiform around
1500 BC. Flavius Josephus, the eminent Jewish author who lived in the first
century and wrote in Greek, also included the legend in his History of the Jews.
Ranulf Higden, a monk of Chester who died about 1364, copied the legend from
Josephus when he wrote his world history, Polychronicon. It is not known whether
the legend was included in the Old Charges before then, but in view of masonry's
close ecclesiastical connections in those days it seems likely. The legend is no
longer referred to in speculative craft freemasonry, but it is still a part of
the tradition in the Royal Ark Mariner and the Ancient and Accepted Rite.
The tradition records that Lamech's four children, who were the founders of
the crafts, "knew well that God would do vengeance for sin, either by fire
or water", thus foreseeing the flood of Noah's time. They therefore
determined to preserve the seven liberal arts and sciences against such a
calamity by inscribing them on two pillars, one which would survive a fire and
the other which would survive a flood, although accounts of the two materials
vary. Some say marble that cannot be burnt and laternes (laterite - a stone
formed from clay) that cannot be destroyed by water, whilst others more
correctly say that brick resists fire and either marble or brass resists water.
Archaeological discoveries reveal that the smelting and casting of copper and
the open hearth firing of earthenware were being used in the area by around
7,000 years ago, which is before what probably would be the earliest period of
the flood, so that either method of preservation would have been possible.
Tradition relates that the knowledge thus preserved was providentially recovered
after the flood by Hermes, called the "father of wisdom" and reputedly
a descendant of Noah through Shem, who applied it to the benefit of mankind. The
moral of this ancient legend is that knowledge and truth must be preserved, but
that corruption will be punished.
An apparent problem with this tradition is that the oldest cuneiform
inscriptions presently known date from about 5,200 years ago and hieroglyphs
from a century or so later, which is after the likely period of the flood. But
some pre-flood inscriptions have been found, including a pictographic tablet
found by Dr Langdon under the flood deposit at Kish, seals found by Dr Schmidt
under the flood layer at Fara and pre-flood seals found by Dr Woolley at Ur. One
of the ancient Babylonian kings, Hammurapi who promulgated the famous code of
laws around 1750 BC, recorded that "he loved to read the writings of the
age before the flood". Hammurapi was a contemporary of Abraham and is
usually identified with Amraphel in Genesis 14. When Assur-ban-apli founded
Nineveh's great library around 600 BC, he also referred to "inscriptions
before the time of the flood". Around 300 BC, the Greek historian Berosus
recorded a tradition from the Sumerian accounts, which said that before the
flood Xisuthrus, the Babylonian equivalent of Noah, buried the Sacred Writings
at Sippar on tablets of baked clay and dug them up afterwards. Finally, there is
a tradition among Arabs and Jews that Enoch invented writing and left a number
of records.
NIMROD AND THE TOWER OF BABEL
This part of the traditional history is derived from the biblical account of
events that took place in the first few hundred years after the flood, taken
from two sections of the book of Genesis, chapter 10, verses 8-13 and chapter
11, verses 2-9, which in the New English Bible translation say: "Cush (who
was a son of Ham and a grandson of Noah) was the father of Nimrod, who began to
show himself a man of might on earth; and he was a mighty hunter before the
Lord, . . . His kingdom in the beginning consisted of Babel, Erech and Accad,
all of them in the land of Shinar. From that land he migrated to Asshur and
built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah and Resen, a great city between Nineveh and
Calah." "As men journeyed in the east, they came upon a plain in the
land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, 'Come, let us make
bricks and bake them hard'; they used the bricks for stone and bitumen for
mortar. 'Come', they said, 'let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its
top in the heavens and make a name for ourselves; or we shall be dispersed all
over the earth.' . . . So the Lord dispersed them from there all over the earth
and they left off building the city. That is why it is called Babel, because the
Lord made there a babble of the language of all the world; from that place the
Lord scattered men all over the face of the earth."
Archaeological investigations reveal that the ziggurat known as the Tower of
Babel was constructed in the manner described in Genesis. Ziggurat is derived
from the Assyro-Babylonian word ziqquratu which means a pinnacle or mountain top
and denotes a sacred temple tower. The traditional site of the tower is one at
Borsippa, about 15 kilometres south-west of the centre of Babylon (ancient
Babel). An inscribed cylinder found by Sir Henry Rawlinson in a foundation
corner states that a former king completed the tower to a height of 42 cubits,
but that it fell into ruins in ancient times. It further states that the
brickwork and roofing tiles were rebuilt as new at the behest of Marduk,
restoring the tower as it was in remote days. Marduk or Merodach was the
Babylonian God that Nimrod was said to be in human form. Tradition records that
masons were first made much of at the building of the Tower of Babel and that
Nimrod, the great King of Babylon, was himself a Master Mason who loved the
craft and made the masons Free Men and Free Masons in his kingdom. Tradition
also records that when Nimrod sent sixty lodges of masons to build Nineveh and
the other cities of the east, he gave them a Charter and the Charges of Nimrod,
which reputedly are those set out in the Old Charges. When an apprentice was
indentured in an English operative lodge, his obligation traditionally was
called the "oath of Nimrod".
THE CALL OF ABRAHAM
The traditional history relates how Abraham, who was born at Ur of the
Chaldees in southern Babylonia about 2160 BC, responded to the Lord's call
recorded in the New English Bible translation of the book of Genesis, chapter
12, verses 1-4: "The Lord said to Abraham 'Leave your own country, your
kinsmen and your father's house and go to a country that I will show you. I will
make you into a great nation, I will bless you and make your name great . . .'
And so Abraham set out . . ." Although he lived in a world of idolatry
Abraham was not an idolater, but believed in one God. He set out from Ur in
search of the land where he could build a nation free from idolatry, reaching
the ancient caravan city of Haran 1,000 kilometres to the north-west about 2110
BC, where he stayed for many years. After the death of his father Terah, he
travelled south-east and reached Shechem in Canaan about 2085 BC, where he built
an altar to God as he did later at Bethel and also at Hebron. Because of the
famine in Canaan he continued on into Egypt.
Tradition says the patriarchs taught the seven liberal arts and sciences in
Egypt, where Euclid was a worthy scholar who subsequently was commissioned by
the king to teach the sons of royalty the science of geometry and the practice
of masonry and all manner of worthy works. This is entirely allegorical, because
Euclid was not born until about 330 BC. In fact, one of the first Greek scholars
to visit and study in Egypt was Thales of Miletus, who was born about 630 BC.
When he returned from Egypt he was well versed in the techniques of Egyptian
geometry. The Egyptians knew from their experience in building that a triangle
with two sides of equal length also had two equal angles adjacent to them. They
also knew that a triangle with sides three, four and five units long had a right
angle opposite the long side. Thales devised a practical proof for the
properties of an isosceles triangle, but it was Pythagoras, born about sixty
years after Thales, who was credited with being the first to prove the famous
theorem of a right angled triangle, that the square of the hypothenuse equals
the sum of the squares of the other two sides. However it was Euclid who
formulated the theorems, including his Forty-seventh Proposition for a
right-angled triangle, which are still used as a basis for teaching classical
geometry.
THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM
This major episode in the traditional history could be regarded as the
culminating component, because it is a foundation for all instruction in moral
precepts that were imparted in the degrees of operative masonry. To appreciate
this section of the traditional history in its proper context, it would be
pertinent to comment on the ceremonials within which the degrees of operative
masonry were conferred. They were conducted in a specifically historical setting
in which the candidate personified a "living stone" being wrought from
the rough, as prepared in the quarry, to a state of perfection fit for erection
in the most glorious of all temples. In each degree the candidate represented a
particular stone in the construction of King Solomon's temple at Jerusalem. He
was required symbolically to undergo the preparation of that stone, its testing
prior to use and its erection in the temple. Each degree related to relevant
passages in the scriptures and was explained in practical terms with reference
to the work of an operative mason. The appropriate working tools also were
introduced and their practical uses and moral interpretations were explained.
The discourse in the traditional history is taken directly from the
scriptural record of King David's desire to build a temple at Jerusalem, the
preparations he made for its construction and its construction by King Solomon
with the assistance of Hiram King of Tyre and Hiram Abif, the son of a widow of
the Hebrew tribe of Dan and of a Tyrian father. Hiram Abif was the man of great
skill and ingenuity sent by King Hiram to execute the principal works of the
interior of the temple and the various utensils required for the sacred
services. Adoniram was the official appointed by King Solomon to superintend the
monthly levies of ten thousand men working in relays in Lebanon. All of this is
described I Kings chapters 5-10, I Chronicles chapters 21-22 and 28-29 and II
Chronicles chapters 1-9. The following especially relevant extracts are taken
from the New English Bible translation of II Chronicles chapter 3 verse 1, I
Kings chapter 5 verse 17 and I Kings chapter 6 verse 7: "Then Solomon began
to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had
appeared to his father David, on the site which David had prepared on the
threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite." "By the king's orders they
quarried huge, massive blocks for laying the foundation of the Lord's house in
hewn stone." "In the building of the house, only blocks of dressed
stone direct from the quarry were used; no hammer or axe or any iron tool
whatever was heard in the house while it was being built."
The Old Charges variously refer to the master of geometry and chief master of
all masons as Aynon, Agnon, Ajuon or Dyon, whom they call the son of the King of
Tyre, although the context suggests that Hiram Abif is the person referred to.
It seems that the word could have been a corruption of the Hebrew word Adon
which signifies Lord, so that the title could refer to Adon Hiram, or even to
Adoniram with whom he is sometimes confused, though the latter seems less
likely. Another possible interpretation is the old use of Anon or Anonym
signifying one whose name is not divulged and from which the modern anonymous is
derived. Whatever the derivation of Anon, he takes on a purely allegorical
mantle after the completion of the temple at Jerusalem and is credited with
travelling to many lands with other masons to practice and teach the craft, thus
introducing masonry into Europe and Britain.
MASONRY IN FRANCE
The allegorical story of Aynon is taken up in France under about twenty-five
different variations of what most probably was intended to be the same name,
among which Naymus Graecus and Maynus Grecus possibly are the best known,
although in the second edition of the Constitutions of the premier Grand Lodge,
Dr James Anderson refers to him as Ninus. When Pythagoras established his famous
school at Crotona in about 530 BC and later in other cities, Greece was known as
Magna Graecia, or "Greater Greece", which included Asia Minor,
southern Italy and Sicily and continued from the settlement of Syracuse around
750 BC until the Punic Wars 264-241 BC. Pythagoras, who taught geometry and
philosophy and established a comprehensive system of symbolism to explain his
esoteric teachings, has a legendary connection with masonry which he is supposed
to have introduced into France.
It seems highly likely that Naymus Graecus and its variants were corruptions
of Magna Graecia, arising from the legendary connection between Pythagoras and
masonry. In any event, the legend says that "a curious mason named Naymus
Graecus, who had been at the making of Solomon's Temple, came into France and
there taught the craft of masonry". The legend then includes an anomaly
similar to that of Euclid in Egypt, asserting that a person of French royal
blood, Charles Martel, had learned the craft from Naymus Graecus and "loved
it well", establishing masonry in France with good methods of payment.
Charles Martel (688-741) was known as Charles the Hammer and although not
actually the king of France, he was a notable soldier and ruled France under the
title "Mayor of the Palace".
MASONRY IN ENGLAND
The historian Rebold says of Charles Martel that "at the request of the
Anglo-Saxon kings, he sent workmen and masters into England", which is the
reason why medieval operative masons in England regarded Charles Martel as one
of their patrons and included him in the traditional history. The traditional
history continues with an allegorical account of the establishment of masonry in
England and the fixing of good rates of pay. Briefly, it says that England was
pagan and had neither masonry nor the ancient charges until the time of St
Alban, when a worthy knight who was chief steward to the king constructed the
town walls. He is said to have cherished the masons for their good work, on
which account he obtained from the king and his counsel a charter, naming the
masons an Assembly. He also gave them charges and doubled their wages, which
previously had been only a penny a day throughout the whole land. The early
background to St Albans is worth recounting.
St Albans is the successor of the important Roman-British town of Verulamium,
which according to the records of the Roman historian Tacitus may have been one
of the few examples in Britain of a municipium, wherein the inhabitants had the
same rights as the citizens of Rome. The town owes its name to St Alban, a Roman
soldier who was the first Christian martyr in England, beheaded in 303 for
giving refuge to St Amphibalus, the priest who had converted him to
Christianity. In about 793 Offa, the king of Mercia, founded a Benedictine abbey
in honour of St Alban. It rose to such great power end wealth that its abbot was
the premier abbot in England from 1154 to 1396. Another contemporaneous legend
says that the emperor Gordianus (244-238 BC) sent many architects into England,
and that they constituted lodges and instructed the craftsmen in the true
principles of freemasonry. It also says that a few years later, when Carausius
(293-287 BC) was emperor in Britain, he was a lover of the craft and appointed
Albanus as Grand Master of Masons, who employed the fraternity in building the
palace of Verulamium. Despite the obvious discrepancies in the dates, it is a
fact that architecture and the craft of masonry were first encouraged in England
during the third century and that the earliest masons came from Europe.
In the light of the early history of St Albans, it is not surprising that its
establishment features in the traditional story of the origins of operative
masonry in England. Some researchers are of the opinion that the increase in
wages attributed to the time of St Alban was the increase that came into effect
after the period of the Black Death, the bubonic plague that swept through Asia
and Europe and reached England in 1348. Because of the unprecedented demand for
labour in the aftermath of the Black Death, a Statute of Labourers was enacted
in 1350 to regulate wages and prevent extortionate pricing. The wages of a
master freestone mason were then fixed at four pence per day and of other masons
at three pence per day, which are much higher than those referred to in the
traditional history, strongly suggesting that there were two different events,
that in the traditional history occurring much earlier. Some have expressed the
opinion that the Statute establishes that the traditional history is a product
of the period shortly after the Black Death, but it seems most unlikely to have
been compiled at a time of such misfortune and labour shortage. In any event, it
almost certainly is a collection of oral traditions that had evolved over a long
period.
The traditional history concludes with the legend of an Assembly held at York
in 926 during the reign of King Athelstan, whose half-brother Edwin (often
called his son), had learnt geometry and the mason's craft, then prevailed upon
the king to issue a Charter for the masons and a Commission to hold an annual
Assembly. There is no known record of the Assembly, but a tradition handed down
for many centuries often has a basis in fact. In any event, the continuing
association of York with masonry began with the conversion to Christianity of
the Northumbrian king, Prince Edwin, by his Kentish wife. He was baptised on
Easter Day 627 by Paulinus, the first Bishop of York, in a wooden chapel on the
site of the present Minster. The Venerable Bede, a renowned historian who lived
in the Jarrow monastery on Tyneside from 682 until his death in 735, records
that Edwin replaced the chapel with a stone church which became the centre of
the Bishopric, but it was burned down about 741 and replaced by a magnificent
stone church ruined around 1080, following the Norman Conquest. After
progressive rebuilding, the York Minster was erected between 1220 and 1474.
back to top
CEREMONIAL PREPARATION
ORIGINS OF THE RITE
Ceremonial preparation is an ancient rite that has its origins shrouded in
the mists of time. In every period, from the primeval ages of the most primitive
races to this modern era of diverse and sophisticated peoples, some form of
preparation has been required and continues to be required of candidates for
acceptance into many of the broad spectrum of our religious organisations, sects
and societies. Lengthy and arduous preparation, which usually involved fasting
and frequently involved danger, was a prerequisite for admission into the
ancient Mysteries. Severe personal trials also must be completed for initiation
into many African, Australian, South American and other aboriginal tribes.
Ceremonial preparation frequently includes washing, or an equivalent symbolic
purification, followed by the wearing of a special garment such as a white robe
to signify that the candidate has completed the purification process. Ceremonial
preparation is an integral part of many religious ceremonies as diverse as the
Jewish bar mitzvah, Christian baptism and the Islamic hadj.
In the Mysteries of Osiris in Egypt, Mithras in Persia, Eleusis in Greece,
the Druids of Britain and Gaul and many others, as much care was taken with the
preparation of the candidate as with the initiation ceremonies that followed. It
is recorded in the Scriptures that great care also was taken in respect of the
personal condition of every Israelite who entered the tabernacle or temple for
Divine worship. In a similar manner, Muslims are required to wash their hands
and remove their shoes before entering the mosque for prayers. The traditional
preparation of a candidate for initiation into modern speculative Freemasonry
obviously has been influenced by these ancient practices, although it was
derived more directly from the usages and customs in operative lodges, which
have been modified and extended. The mode of preparation is entirely symbolic,
with every part conveying an important message. It is an essential part of a
candidate's initiation and is one of the most delicate duties to be performed,
because of the lasting impression it will create in the candidate's mind.
OPERATIVE BACKGROUND
The rituals of the operative Free Masons were based on Biblical events.
Nimrod, the renowned hunter who also was the first great builder mentioned in
the Scriptures, plays an important role in the ancient traditions. The floor
work in the several operative degrees is based symbolically on the procedures
used during the erection of the temple at Jerusalem for King Solomon. In each
degree the candidate personifies a particular stone used in the construction of
the temple, on the basis of which he receives moral instruction, is gauged and
must pass the test. Whilst being conducted around the candidate's track, from
which the perambulations in a speculative lodge were derived, the candidate is
required to take steps that symbolise either the placement of the stones in a
particular course or the measurement of the relevant dimensions. The steps used
in a speculative lodge to approach the altar for obligation are not used in
operative lodges.
In operative lodges the initiate was "neither naked nor clad" and
wore a special white garment or "toga candida" to give effect to that
description. "Candidate" derives from the Latin and originally meant
"clothed in white", from the Roman custom of requiring candidates for
office to wear a "toga candida" in the form of a white robe. In the
old operative lodges, candidates were examined by the Fraternity's physician to
ensure that they were "perfect in all their parts". If found to be
whole and physically fit and accepted by the brethren and fellows of the lodge,
the candidate was required to bathe seven times and to be clothed in the
"toga candida". He was then conducted around the lodge to prove to the
brethren and fellows that he was "properly prepared" and "fit and
proper" to be admitted to the Fraternity. In contrast to speculative
practice, candidates in operative lodges were specially prepared only for their
initiation, being clothed in the apron of their degree for later advancements.
DIVESTITURE OF METALS
In operative lodges the candidate for initiation usually was a young teenager
seeking his first employment, who therefore was poor and penniless. Towards the
end of the initiation ceremony the new apprentice would be asked how he would
subsist until he drew his first wages. On receiving the inevitable response, the
master would have a collection taken on the new apprentice's behalf, relieving
him of his embarrassment and illustrating the generosity of the Fraternity. The
apprentice then received a brief homily on the importance of service and charity
in the Fraternity. As candidates for initiation in speculative lodges cannot be
in a similar situation, they are divested of all metals so that a similar moral
can be imparted. The lesson simply is that a man should not be esteemed on
account of his worldly possessions, but that when he is in need he should be
assisted to the extent that prudence and the capacity to assist will allow.
THE HOODWINK
In all of the ancient Mysteries the aspirant was shrouded in darkness for
long periods, most commonly deep within a cave, when he was required to fast and
undergo a series of trials and afflictions. In the rites of Mithras around
5000EBC and in the Eleusian rites around 1800EBC, the aspirants endured fifty
and twenty-seven days respectively in darkness, to remind them of their
inherently wicked nature and prepare them by solitary contemplation for the full
light of knowledge. The hoodwink represents that darkness and also is a mystical
reminder to the candidate that he is lost without the light that comes from
above. The removal of the hoodwink signifies that the candidate has acquired the
right attitude of soul that will lead him quickly from darkness to everlasting
light, as symbolised in JohnE1,EvE5, which in the New English Version of the
Bible says: "The light shines on in the dark and the darkness has never
mastered it". The hoodwink is also a symbol of silence and secrecy.
THE CABLE TOW
In operative Lodges the candidate was fully restrained and guided by pairs of
ropes held by four members, who thus conducted him into and around the Lodge.
One of the ropes was a cable tow, which seems to have been used the same way in
the ancient Mysteries. This symbolism is very old and has been found around the
world. In some Temples in Egypt, the bas reliefs show candidates being led into
the Mysteries by a cable tow. A vase found in Mexico depicts several candidates
going through a similar ceremony, each having a cable tow with a running noose
round his neck A cable tow was also used by the ancient Israelites when leading
their victims for the burnt sacrifice to and around the altar, whence it became
known as an emblem of death.. The cable tow obviously provides a means of
restraint until the candidate has taken his obligation. As an emblem of death
the cable tow also signifies that the candidate is prepared to sacrifice his old
life to gain a new and higher one, that spiritual rebirth achieved in his search
for the Light and symbolised by his initiation.
After admission into the Fraternity, the cable tow should be a continuing
reminder to every freemason that he is bound to attend and serve his Lodge,
"if within the length of his cable tow". This is derived from
operative practice, in which the cable tow was replaced by a blue cord after the
candidate had been obligated and had signed his indenture. The Indentured
Apprentice was required to wear that cord for the full seven years of his
apprenticeship, as a constant reminder of his bond to the Fraternity. The blue
colour of the cord was a token of the universal friendship the Apprentice would
always find within the Fraternity. In the Irish working the candidate wears the
cable tow as an emblem of servitude until he is about to take his obligation. It
is then removed by the conductor and thrown contemptuously onto the floor behind
the candidate, who is informed that none but a free man may be made a freemason.
In some old Scottish and related workings the cable tow is wound three times
round the neck in the first degree, twice in the second degree and once in the
third degree, symbolising a progressive reduction in the "bondage of
ignorance".
THE BARE RIGHT ARM
The use of the right hand as a token of sincerity and as a pledge of fidelity
is ancient and universal. For example the members of many Indian tribes of
Central and North America, when preparing for their sacred dances, apply the
mark of the right hand to their naked bodies by smearing them with white or
coloured clay, to demonstrate their sincerity and allegiance to their Deity. We
also know from the Scriptures that the Israelites, from the time of Abraham to
the days of Saint Paul, considered the right hand to be an emblem of truth and
fidelity. Among the Hebrews "iamin" signified the right hand, which
was derived from "aman" meaning to be faithful. Among the Romans
"jungere dextras" meant to join the right hands and thereby to give a
mutual pledge. Among the Persians and the Parthians the right hands were joined
by those entering into a pact, to signify that they had taken an inviolable
obligation of fidelity. In ancient days, before printed books were available,
operative masons took their obligations with their right hands placed on a cubic
stone on the altar. This was the custom in Biblical days, when it was deemed
essential that nothing should be interposed between the flesh and the stone.
When printed books became available, operative masons were obligated supporting
a copy of the Holy Book on the left hand with the right hand placed upon it,
from which is derived the Scottish practice.
In masonic preparation the right arm is made bare as a token of sincerity and
to signify that an obligation of fidelity is being taken. The right arm is used
for the reasons already mentioned and also because, from time immemorial, the
right side has been regarded as the stronger or masculine side. Plato was the
first to rationalise this belief, when he expressed his opinion that the right
side is the stronger because it is used more than the left. By way of interest,
this is supported by statistics, which indicate that at least 90% of the members
of the human race use their right hand as their working and therefore stronger
hand. The bare right arm also demonstrates that no weapon of offence or defence
is being carried, because neither is required when within the lodge. Whilst the
usual convention is for a sword to be worn on the left side so as to be readily
available for use in the strong right hand, it is a traditional belief that
small weapons usually are concealed in the right sleeve.
THE BARE LEFT KNEE
As a corollary to the ancient belief that the right side is the stronger, so
the left side is considered to be the weaker. In the symbolism of Freemasonry,
the candidate is taking his first or weakest step when he is being initiated,
therefore it logically follows that an apprentice is typified by the left side.
It is for this reason that in speculative lodges the initiate kneels on his bare
left knee. The progressive kneeling postures adopted in speculative lodges were
not derived from operative practice, but they probably are intended to reflect
the symmetry of nature and to symbolise the progressive character of
freemasonry, as well as reminding the candidate of the posture of his daily
supplications that are due to the Creator. In operative lodges the candidate was
required to kneel with both knees bare on the rough ashlar stone, so that
nothing was interposed between his flesh and the stone. This perpetuated the
ancient concept that the strength and stability of the stone would thereby be
communicated to the candidate, so that an oath taken on a stone would be
inviolable.
THE SLIPSHOD HEEL
From the most ancient times it has been customary, as a token of respect, to
remove the shoes before stepping onto holy ground. The practice is mentioned
many times in the Bible, on the first occasion when Moses saw the burning bush
and the angel of the Lord said to him: "put off thy shoes from off thy
feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground". In most Eastern
countries it is customary to remove the shoes before entering a temple, as the
Muslims do before entering a mosque. The Druids practised the same custom when
celebrating their sacred rites. The ancient Peruvians are said always to have
removed their shoes before entering their magnificent temple consecrated to the
worship of the sun. In Freemasonry the candidate is considered to be on holy
ground when taking his obligation and therefore symbolically is required to
"slip his shoes from off his feet". It also was an ancient custom
among the Hebrews, when sealing a bargain and "confirming all things",
to hand over a shoe, as recorded in the Bible in relation to Boaz and Ruth.
Symbolically, the "slipshod heel" might be regarded as equivalent to
removing the shoes on holy ground, as well as ratifying the obligation taken by
the candidate. The custom is derived only indirectly from the practice in
operative lodges, where the candidate for initiation must slip off both his
shoes at the appropriate time in the ceremony. Later he is also required to
remove and hand over his left shoe to confirm his obligation.
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THE JEWELS OF THE LODGE
THE JEWELS
Under most jurisdictions, every speculative craft lodge has three movable and
three immovable jewels, on which the brethren are intended to moralise. They are
the square, the level, the plumb rule, the rough ashlar, the perfect ashlar and
the tracing board. An eminent masonic writer, the Rev Dr George Oliver
(1782-1867), said they are called jewels because "they have a moral
tendency which renders them jewels of inestimable value". It is interesting
to note that the square, the level and the plumb rule are called movable jewels
in the English system, because they are transferred to the incoming master and
his wardens each year, whereas in the American system they are called immovable,
because the square is assigned to the east of the lodge, the level to the west
and the plumb rule to the south. In the English system the ashlars and the
tracing board are called immovable jewels, probably because in the early
speculative period they tended to be located in particular parts of the lodge,
but in the American system they are called movable, because they may be placed
in any convenient position which varies from lodge to lodge.
Having regard to the allegorical importance assigned to the jewels of the
lodge, it is surprising that the authors of the early speculative rituals did
not indicate what they considered to be the most appropriate positions for the
immovable jewels to be placed in the lodge. Nor has the United Grand Lodge of
England ever issued a ruling on the subject. As a consequence, enquiring masons
cannot find a definitive answer to their questions concerning the placement of
the tracing board and the ashlars. In practice they are to be seen in various
locations, which often is only a matter of convenience, but may be part of the
tradition relating to the particular ritual being worked or the custom in the
individual lodge, district or jurisdiction. In this regard it is interesting to
note that Irish lodges do not have a tracing board.
OPERATIVE ORIGINS
The jewels of modern lodges of speculative freemasonry have come down to us
from the usages and customs of operative free masons in earlier times. In
operative lodges a particular stone was used as an emblem in each of the working
degrees. The candidate was told, at an appropriate stage in the ceremony, that
he represented that stone being wrought from its rough hewn condition, as
brought from the quarries, to a state of perfection suitable for erection as a
"living stone" in that most glorious of all Temples, "that house
not made with hands eternal in the heavens". Each degree also had a
representative jewel, which was a miniature representation of one of the gauges
used to test the stone and the work of the degree. The ceremonies in operative
lodges reflected the various stages in the preparation, testing and erection of
stones in the temple of King Solomon at Jerusalem, emphasising their purpose and
importance in the structure. The symbolic teachings also were based on the
preparation, testing and incorporation of the stones in the structure. The
several types of stones and the working tools and gauges used in their
preparation, testing and erection, therefore were of particular significance to
the operative mason.
During his progress through the several degrees, the candidate in a lodge of
operative free masons was tested on the work he had prepared in the preceding
degree, before being instructed in the work and the use of the gauges in the
next degree. When a Fellow of the Craft had proved his ability to produce
perfect ashlar stones, he was entrusted with the square, the level and the plumb
rule as proof of his ability, but not as jewels of the degree. Operative degrees
beyond that of a Fellow of the Craft were related to increasing levels of
supervision, with special duties and responsibilities attaching to the rank. A
Fellow of the Craft in operative free masonry was a master mason in respect of
his capabilities, but the title of Master Mason was usually reserved for the
mason who had overall responsibility for a job. The Master Mason frequently was
the chief officer of a lodge carrying out work under day labour in England, or
the proprietor of a lodge carrying out work under contract in Scotland. Some of
these operative aspects are reflected in the degrees of other branches of
freemasonry, for which membership of a speculative craft lodge is a
prerequisite. However, the direct relationship between the purpose for which a
particular stone is used and its symbolic meaning is no longer a significant
part of the work in speculative craft freemasonry. Nor do the speculative craft
degrees have jewels equivalent to those of the operative degrees.
The jewels of the master and wardens of modern speculative lodges are derived
from the insignia of office worn by their counterparts in the old operative
lodges. They also are the working tools of a speculative Fellowcraft Freemason,
which might seem to be an anomaly, but it must be remembered that in operative
days a Fellow of the Craft was a fully qualified craftsman. In operative lodges
the rough ashlar typified the Apprentice and the perfect ashlar typified the
Fellow of the Craft. Candidates for admission as an Apprentice were placed in
the north-east corner, but qualified Fellows of the Craft seeking further
advancement were placed in the south-east corner, from which is derived the
practice of seating speculative Apprentices and Fellowcrafts in those corners.
In speculative lodges the rough and perfect ashlars are often placed in the
north-east and south-east corners, but in some lodges they are placed in front
of the Junior and Senior Wardens respectively. In some constitutions the jewels
of the deacons also are derived from operative practice, such as the maul of the
senior deacon and the trowel of the junior deacon in Scottish lodges.
EARLY SPECULATIVE JEWELS
One of the earliest known references to the jewels of the lodge is to be
found in the records of operative free masonry in Scotland, the Edinburgh
Register House MS dated 1696, which is endorsed "Some Questions Anent the
Mason Word". It is a catechism which sets out fifteen questions that must
be put to a mason who claims to have the Word, as well as the answers he was
required to give before he could be acknowledged as a mason. To the question:
"Are there jewells in your lodge?" the reply was: "Yes three,
perpend esler, a square pavement and a broad ovall." Every freemason will
be familiar with the square pavement, but the other two may not be known to him.
The perpend esler or ashlar is an important stone used in the construction of
masonry walls, but it is not the perfect ashlar stone required to be produced by
a Fellow of the Craft as a test piece in operative lodges. Nevertheless the
early speculative freemasons called it a perfect ashlar, possibly mistaking
perpend for perfect. In speculative lodges the perpend ashlar was later replaced
with the finely polished cubical stone used in modern lodges. The square
pavement, to which a great deal of symbolism attaches, is no longer called a
jewel and is included in the furniture of the lodge. The broad ovall is one of a
multitude of names by which the broached thurnel appears to have been known and
will be discussed later.
The perpend ashlar is commonly called a header and is usually three units
long and one unit square in cross-section. It passes through the wall from the
inside face to the outside face, tying the leaves of the wall together for added
strength. The end faces of a perpend ashlar are dressed to conform with the
surface finishes of the exposed faces of the walls, but all other faces are
broached or scabbled to provide a good bond with the courses of stone through
which it passes. The running stone used in wall construction is a similar stone,
but it is broached for bonding on all faces except those to be exposed, which
are dressed accordingly. At the end of his training in the old operative lodges
and before he could be passed as a Fellow of the Craft, an apprentice was
required to produce a satisfactory rough dressed ashlar, usually three units
long and one unit square in cross-section, suitable for finishing as a perpend
ashlar or a running stone. Before being allowed to take charge of the fitting
and marking of stones for erection in the structure, an experienced Fellow of
the Craft was required to prove his capabilities by producing a perfect ashlar
as a test piece. It was similar to the rough dressed ashlar, but fully dressed
and polished on all faces.
In the early 1700s, when an apprentice was being tested on the catechisms in
a speculative craft lodge he would be asked: "What are the immovable
jewels?", to which the answer was: "The trasel board, rough ashlar and
broached thurnel". The word trasel, which is sometimes corrupted to tarsel,
comes from the Old French through the Middle French trestel, which signified a
bar or beam supported by legs, whence is derived the English trestle. The trasel
board was the trestle table on which sketches were drawn, or over which the
plans were spread. The trasel must not be confused with the indented tassel or
indented tarsel in the old catechisms, which comes from the Old French tassel
through the Middle English, among other things signifying an ornamental piece of
fabric, the tassel or ornamental tuft of threads in modern English. It is
interesting to note that a torsel, which is a plate supporting the end of a beam
in a brick wall, is also called a tassel, but it comes from the French tasseau
signifying a bracket. Although most of the practical aspects of these jewels
have been omitted from the speculative explanation, the philosophical aspects of
the instructions given in operative days have been incorporated and expanded
upon.
It is generally accepted that the rough ashlar refers to a rough hewn stone
as brought from the quarries, which in olden times was cut one eighth to one
sixteenth of an inch over the required finished measure. However, the meaning of
the broached thurnel in the catechism is uncertain. It seems most likely to have
been derived from the Scottish operative masons to whom broach meant to rough
hew, or to groove or scarify. A broaching thurmal, broaching thurmer or
broaching turner was the chisel used to carry out broaching work. One form of
the broaching thurmal is a narrow serrated chisel similar in many respects to
the scutch, a cutting and dressing tool used by a bricklayer, probably is
derived from the Old French escousser meaning to shake off. Thus the three
immovable jewels referred to in the old catechisms of an apprentice logically
symbolised the instructions he received for the work, represented by the trasel
board; the tools he used to execute the work, represented by the broached
thurnel; and his finished product, the rough ashlar. Another possible derivation
of thurnel is as a variation of the French tournelle, which means a turret,
because the word was in common use in England in various forms from about 1400
until at least the 1750s.
Yet another suggested derivation is from the German thurm, which means a
tower, because that word also was in general use in England during the same
period. Moreover, it is likely that the French tournelle and German thurm have a
common ancestry, from which the Scottish thurmal or thurmer may also have been
derived. In any event, the cutting face of one form of the chisel used as a
broaching thurmal is somewhat similar in appearance to a small castellated
turret when viewed from above. Very early French tracing boards and some of
their contemporaneous English counterparts depicted a cubical stone surmounted
by a pyramid, not unlike a squat church tower with a tall spire, which also was
called a broached thurnel in English speculative lodges. This stone is still
retained on French tracing boards, but long ago disappeared from English tracing
boards. French freemasons have always referred to this stone as "la pierre
cubique a pointe", literally meaning a pointed square stone. The original
French ritual, still in use, explains that it is a model of a spire or turret,
whose various outlines provide a means of teaching the apprentice the forms of
the square, triangle, cube and pyramid. Whatever the derivation and intended
symbolism of the broached thurnel in the old English lodges and the broaching
thurmal in the old Scottish lodges, it had disappeared from use by 1720.
The sequence of events by which the rough ashlar and the cubical perfect
ashlar became jewels in modern speculative lodges was progressive in nature,
varying from location to location and from lodge to lodge, with no clear
boundaries between one usage and another. Not only are the available records
scarce, but such as are available often do not record the actual dates when one
custom lapsed or another was introduced. It is not clear why the perpend ashlar
came to be replaced by the cubical perfect ashlar, nor when the change was made.
All that can be said with certainty is that the cubical perfect ashlar seems to
have been in general use in English speculative lodges by 1800. The perpend
ashlar is an emblem of perfection and strength, coupled with the bonds of
brotherly love. This is much more expressive than the cubical perfect ashlar as
a symbol which illustrates the advancement of an apprentice from the rough and
unpolished state to the state of discipline and education that is the hallmark
of an experienced craftsman. As the bonding of men in friendship is an important
objective of speculative freemasonry, it is a great pity that the perpend ashlar
of operative masonry is no longer one of the jewels of the lodge.
SPECULATIVE TRACING BOARDS
Tracing boards were an important piece of equipment in all lodges of
operative free masons. The inventory of stores recorded in the Fabric Rolls of
the York Minster in 1399 include "ij tracying bordes". In lodges of
operative free masons the locations of the tracing boards was entirely a matter
of convenience to suit the work, but there would be at least one in the office
the Super Intendent of Work in the stone yard and at the building site. During
the construction of large buildings, such as cathedrals, there usually were
drafting offices as well as the site offices. The practical tuition given in
conjunction with the ceremonial work of an operative lodge, customarily
commencing at noon on the sixth day of the week, was carried out with the aid of
a plan sketched on the floor or a drawing laid on a trestle board, usually in
the centre of the lodge room so that those under instruction could gather round
it.
In operative lodges the tracing board was used to give practical instruction
to the candidates in the development of the required shapes of stones, in the
preparation of the required templates and in the marking out of stones
appropriate to the work of the degree. It was also used to illustrate the
setting out of the work and to show how the stones should be assembled in the
structure. In the early speculative lodges it was customary to draw a plan on
the floor of the lodge room using chalk, charcoal and any other suitable medium,
much as would have been done in an operative lodge. Like the drawings of the
operative masons, they were placed in any convenient location where the members
could gather round. This practice continued until painted or printed pictures of
the "floor drawings" or "floorcloths" first became available
around 1744 in France and 1760 in England. The location of modern tracing boards
at the western end of the squared pavement, or in any other position offering a
clear view, has become acceptable and is in keeping with ancient practice.
The oldest known set of speculative tracing boards in Great Britain belongs
to Lodge Faithful, which was founded at Norwich in 1753 and now meets at
Harleston in Norfolk. These boards are dated 1800 and depict the modern form of
rough and perfect ashlars on the First Degree board. The modern ashlars are also
depicted on a set of tracing boards painted by William Dight in 1808 for the
Lodge of Unanimity and Sincerity, which meets at Taunton. A set of tracing
boards painted for the Chichester Lodge in 1811 by Josiah Bowring, a portrait
painter of London, also depicts the modern ashlars. These boards appear to be
the prototypes of the famous set painted by John Harris in 1821, from which most
modern tracing boards are derived. The rough ashlar on tracing boards is usually
placed at the foot of the Corinthian column representing the Junior Warden, who
traditionally is in charge of the apprentices. The perfect ashlar is usually
placed at the foot of the Doric column representing the Senior Warden, who
traditionally is in charge of the craftsmen.
During the evolution of speculative freemasonry, there was a significant
tendency to rearrange the symbolism and related rituals of operative free
masonry, in what might best be described as a perceived orderliness and
regularity. This may have been the underlying objective in replacing the perpend
ashlar with the cubic perfect ashlar, perhaps influenced by a work entitled The
First and Chief Groundes of Archytecture published by Ihon Shute, Paynter and
Archytecte in 1563 and reprinted in 1912. Early speculative freemasons included
many erudite scholars who shaped our rituals in conformity with the literary
English of the day. Among them, no doubt, would have been some who were familiar
with Shute's work, in which he offers the injunction that "Ye shall make a
four square stone like unto a dye" and continues with a description of the
origin and rise of the architectural orders, which is repeated in virtually the
same language in some of the old masonic lectures.
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FREEMASONRY AND RELIGION
THE RISE OF CIVILISATION
Civilisation began when the stone age hunter gatherers first captured wild
animals for domestication, established grazing and developed agriculture. From
that time, the development of civilisation was directly related to the
progressive improvements in masonry that enabled better buildings to be erected
and more effective irrigation schemes and other facilities to be constructed.
With the advance of civilisation, humans developed a consciousness of their
mental and emotional life and also began to differentiate between their physical
beings, their minds and their spirits. This evolution of the human psyche
awakened a belief in the existence of some higher controlling power which,
though unseen, was felt to have a direct connection with emotion and morality.
Thus evolved the concept of god and a complementary human soul. Various rites of
worship developed as a natural outcome of these emotional and spiritual
processes, whence religions came into existence. As the nomads developed a more
settled life, religious leaders soon demanded permanent and more substantial
places of worship, which only the masons could construct. Hence masonry, which
first evolved to supply some of mankind's material requirements, also became an
indispensable agent of religion to provide for some of mankind's spiritual
needs.
WHAT IS FREEMASONRY
In the context of this discussion, freemasonry means the system of moral
teaching and its associated traditions and rituals that, in earlier times, were
a significant component of day to day life in lodges of operative masons and are
now incorporated in the ceremonies of modern speculative Freemasonry. When
compiling the rituals used in modern Freemasonry, the emerging speculative
masons defined freemasonry as a peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory
and illustrated by symbols. The authors based the ceremonial procedures on those
used in operative lodges, adapting them for use in social surroundings instead
of in a working environment. Although the fundamental elements of operative
practice were retained, the explanations became more erudite and were expressed
more verbosely. When operative masons were receiving instruction, the practical
applications of their working tools and the methods to be used when carrying out
the work were of primary importance, but those applications and methods were
also used symbolically to give moral instruction. In speculative lodges the
emphasis is reversed.
The ability of medieval operative masons to devise ceremonials similar to
those used in modern speculative lodges has often been questioned. Even a
masonic writer as eminent as A.E.Waite could not imagine how "horny handed
labourers" could have developed a system of symbolism and philosophy to
give moral instruction within the lodge. A most improbable solution was offered
by R.F.Gould, the renowned masonic historian, who thought that operative masons
might have accepted "gentlemen" into their ranks to transform the
operative craft into a speculative art. Both writers seem to have overlooked the
fact that the members of medieval operative lodges included many skilled
artificers who were required to work as much with their brains as with their
hands. They were supervised by Master Masons of superior knowledge and skill,
well versed in religious matters, the graphic arts, sculpture and geometry, as
well as in the manual aspects of their trade. It should also be remembered that
medieval operative masons were living in an era when the rituals of the church
were becoming established, when Passion Plays were a regular feature of
religious observances and pageantry was a part of everyday life. All of these
factors would have encouraged the development of ritual within the lodges. The
undoubted capabilities of the operative masons in all aspects of the design,
construction and symbolic adornment of ecclesiastical buildings were confirmed
by the Council of Nicea in 787, when it ruled that "the arrangement belongs
to the clergy and the execution to the artist".
EARLY MASONRY
Compacted earth was first used by Advanced Hunters of the Near East to
construct primitive circular dwellings about 12,000 years ago. They soon added
stone footings, set in hard clay, which improved stability and provided
protection against the exceptionally high runoffs that were occurring during the
melt down after the last great Ice Age. With the discovery of mud brick
production, building erection was greatly enhanced, ushering in the Agricultural
Revolution started by the Late Hunters in the New Stone Age. A pre-eminent
example of early advances in masonry is a township of some four hectares
constructed at Jericho around 8000 BC. It included a group of round beehive
houses of mud brick, at least one round defensive stone tower and a massive
stone wall surrounding the development. Undressed water-worn stones were used,
but they were split to provide a stable laying surface and were carefully set in
hard clay. The earliest known religious buildings were constructed around 6500
BC at ?atal H?y?k in Turkey. The intimate association of masonry with religion
was firmly established in Mesopotamia when the Sumerians constructed a
continuous series of temples at Eridu, dating from 5500 BC or earlier until
about 3000 BC.
The first religious structure mentioned in the Bible, the temple-tower or
ziggurat called the Tower of Babel, also was constructed during that period,
probably some time before 4000 BC. Sumerian tombs in the Royal Cemetery of Ur,
constructed between 2700 BC and 2370 BC, are of particular interest because all
were roofed in stone and buried deep in the alluvial flood plain. They were of
composite construction using limestone masonry, mud brick, kiln fired brick and
timber, because the nearest source of rock was at least 60 kilometres away. The
earliest tomb had a corbel vault, but later tombs had either barrel vaults or
domes with pendentives, the spherical triangular segments that connect square
corners to true arches. In Egypt during the same period, massive chambered tombs
for royal burials were being constructed of mud brick with flat roofs, called
mastaba tombs from the Arabic mastabah meaning a bench. Imhotep, the renowned
architect of the pharaoh Zoser, is credited with the invention of stone masonry
in Egypt. He was responsible for what is reputed to be the first pyramid
constructed of dressed stone, the Step Pyramid built for Zoser at Saqqara around
2650 BC. This was an abrupt departure from the mud brick construction previously
used in Egypt.
The three pyramids of Giza are reputed to have been built for Khufu (Cheops),
Khafra (Chephren) and Menkaura (Mycerinus) during the period 2500 BC to 2400 BC,
but their ages and their assignment to specific pharaohs is based solely on
doubtful circumstantial evidence. Mounting evidence implies that these pyramids
might date from as early as Tep Zepi, or the First Time of Egypt around 10450
BC. The construction of these three pyramids differs from and is vastly superior
to that of all other pyramids in Egypt, most of which have deteriorated badly,
many having collapsed into rubble. Unlike the later pyramids, the pyramids of
Giza did not contain mummies or funerary objects, nor did they have any
hieroglyphic inscriptions or other adornments. There is compelling evidence that
the arrangements of the chambers, galleries and shafts in the Great Pyramid of
Khufu are of religious significance, reflecting ancient Egyptian beliefs
concerning the rebirth of the pharaohs and the transmigration of their souls to
the astral plane of the heavenly Duat. The pyramids of Giza incorporate 12
million tonnes of dressed stone, or forty percent of the total mass of the
eighty pyramids built in Egypt. Khufu's pyramid is the largest stone structure
in the world, incorporating 2.5 million limestone blocks weighing up to 12
tonnes each and laid in 203 courses, accurately fitted without mortar. The
68,000 square metres of external surface was clad with polished limestone facing
blocks weighing 15 tonnes each. The Grand Gallery, climbing on a slope of 26.5o
to the King's Chamber, is constructed of 30 tonne black granite blocks from
Aswan, 750 kilometres to the south. The walls of the King's Chamber comprise 70
tonne blocks of red granite, supporting a flat ceiling of 50 tonne blocks. The
Queen's Chamber is constructed of white limestone blocks and has a gabled
ceiling exactly on the east-west axis.
TEMPLE MASONRY
Subsequently many magnificent temples of dressed stone also were constructed
in Egypt, of which the remarkable complexes at Karnak commenced around 1990 BC
and at Abu Simbel commenced around 1200 BC probably are the best known. The
first permanent religious structure described in the bible is the temple at
Jerusalem, built by King Solomon with the assistance of Hiram King of Tyre and
his building specialists and completed around 950 BC. Although the temple
building itself was only about 30 metres by 10 metres, very much smaller than
any of the temples in Egypt, its opulence has never been surpassed. The layout
of the temple was based on an extensive series of Canaanite temples dating from
as early as 2500 BC and a later series built by the Phoenicians in Syria from as
early as 1400 BC. The Phoenicians then were renowned for their building
activities in the Levant and culturally were much more advanced than the
Hebrews.
Three centuries after its construction, in the time of Josiah, King Solomon's
temple needed extensive repairs which had to be financed by the worshippers.
Then in 587 BC the temple was destroyed by Nebuchadrezzar, when he sacked
Jerusalem, removed the Ark of the Covenant and deported the remainder of the
Hebrews into Babylonish captivity. When Cyrus the Elamite king conquered Babylon
in 539 BC and founded the vast Persian Empire, Judea became one of its provinces
and remained so for the next 200 years. In 538 BC Cyrus issued a decree
releasing the Israelites from their captivity and allowing them to rebuild their
temple. Under the leadership of Sheshbazzar or Zerubbabel in 535 BC, Ezra in 458
BC and Nehemiah in 445 BC, about 42,360 Israelites returned to Jerusalem.
Rebuilding of the temple soon began under Joshua the high priest, but the many
difficulties that were encountered necessitated Zerubbabel's visit to Cyrus and
delayed completion of the temple until 515 BC. This second temple, usually
called Zerubbabel's, was similar to Solomon's though much less ornate. However
it survived for almost 500 years, until the Roman general Pompey captured
Jerusalem in 63 BC and the Roman consul Crassus plundered the temple nine years
later.
When Antipater, a Jew of Idumaean descent, was appointed procurator of Judea
by Julius Caesar in 47 BC, he appointed his son Herod as military prefect of
Galilee. The Romans were so impressed by Herod's abilities that they appointed
him "King of the Jews" when the Parthians invaded Syria and Palestine
in 40 BC. After three years of fighting, culminating with the defeat of
Cleopatra and Mark Antony in the battle of Actium, he established his position
and ruled as Herod the Great from 37 BC until his death in 4 BC. Herod was an
indefatigable builder, who decided to demonstrate his own grandeur by restoring
Zerubbabel's temple as a much more beautiful building of twice the area, set in
a complex of courtyards covering an area of some ten hectares surrounded by a
massive stone wall constructed using blocks usually 1.25 metres high and 4.6
metres long. Herod trained 1,000 priests as masons and also had the work carried
out in stages, so that the ritual observances were not interrupted. Although the
work was begun in 20 BC and the main structure was completed within ten years,
the whole complex was not completed until 64 AD. The temple was burned when
Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman armies in 70 AD.
CLASSICAL MASONRY
Greece emerged as a colonising nation around 1100 BC, soon becoming the
centre of learning, art and religious thought in the western Mediterranean. The
era of classical masonry began with the erection of the first of the Greek stone
temples at Corinth and Isthmia some time before 650 BC, where the Doric order
originated. The Ionic order was established during the next hundred years, with
the construction of the temples at Corfu and Ephesus. The Corinthian order was
first used in Delphi around 390 BC. Without doubt the most famous of the
classical Greek structures are the Parthenon and its surrounding structures on
the Acropolis in Athens, built between 447 BC and 432 BC. The Parthenon was
about 115 metres long and 55 metres wide, with a pitched roof and completely
surrounded by a colonnade of forty six massive Doric columns. The Parthenon
typified the monolithic unity of Greek temples and was the ultimate expression
of the Greek city-state. The emphasis which the Greeks placed on the ancient
Mysteries continued into the turbulent period of Roman rule and must have had a
significant influence on the development of speculative masonic thought, because
it is still reflected in masonic ceremonials. Roman architecture owes much to
Greek architecture, but it is not simply an extension of it. Probably the two
most significant differences are the greater magnitude of the Roman buildings
and the more elaborate decoration of their interiors which are designed to match
their exteriors and to reflect their imperial pride and growing self awareness.
One of the most interesting examples of Roman masonry is the temple complex
at Baalbek, on the site of an ancient holy place of the Canaanites. To provide
for greater public participation around 1200 BC, the Canaanites constructed a
raised stone court surrounded by a stone wall, thus creating a sanctuary at the
centre of which they erected a sacrificial altar, similar to the forecourt used
some 250 years later by the priests of King Solomon's temple. Alexander the
Great defeated the Persian Empire and entered Egypt in triumph in 332 BC, when
the Beqa'a valley became part of the Egyptian Empire and the Ptolemies proposed
building a huge temple at Baalbek. However, construction was delayed by
disputations with the Seleucids, who won the Beqa'a valley in 198 BC under
Antiochus the Great. When the Roman general Pompey occupied Phoenicia in 64 AD,
an immense podium with an area of about 17,000 square metres was nearing
completion at Baalbek. The Temple of Jupiter on the podium had been under
construction for about four years. The structure was completed around 70 AD, but
embellishments continued for at least another sixty years. The sandstone
foundation courses were laid with the largest stones ever used in masonry
construction, perfectly fitted without mortar. They were up to 20 metres long
and 4 metres square in cross-section, weighing as much as 800 tonnes each. The
temple was surrounded by a colonnade of fifty four of the tallest monolithic
columns that exist from antiquity. They were of pink granite from Aswan in upper
Egypt, having shafts 16.6 metres high and 2 metres in diameter and weighing 135
tonnes.
The Temple of Bacchus at Baalbek was adjacent to the Temple of Jupiter and
similar in construction, but only about half the area. Nevertheless the Temple
of Bacchus was larger than the Parthenon of Athens and is still the best
preserved of all Roman temples. Also in the Baalbek complex were the much
smaller Temple of Venus and Temple of the Muses. The Emperor Constantine
declared Christianity to be the religion of the Roman Empire in 313 AD and a
Christian church was built in the township, but it was destroyed in 361 AD when
Julian "the Apostate" came to power. When Theodosius came to power in
379 AD he destroyed the altar of sacrifice and the observation tower in the
Great Court and replaced them with a Christian Basilica that was 63 metres by 36
metres and raised on a podium 2 metres high. However, when Syria became an Arab
state in 637 AD, the Basilica was converted into a palace and the Temples of
Jupiter and Bacchus were converted into a huge walled fortress with a
surrounding moat. The fortress was only abandoned when Baalbek became part of
the Ottoman Empire in 1517 AD. To this day the precinct is known to the Arabs as
the Kala'a, meaning a fortress.
CATHEDRAL MASONRY
The final phase in the evolution of speculative freemasonry followed the
decline and fall of the Roman Empire. In addition to their work constructing
castles, fortifications and other public facilities, the operative masons in
Britain and Europe were engaged on an intensive program of cathedral building
that continued almost without a break from around 500 until at least 1700. It is
not known how many cathedrals were built in Britain and Europe during those
1,200 years of intensive construction, but there were several hundred as well as
an even greater number of priories and other ecclesiastical buildings. Most of
the finest of those cathedrals have survived the ravages of man and nature and
are still in service. The operative or Guild Masons in England were organised
with royal approval from at least as early as the Annual Assemblage of 926,
which was encouraged and authorised by King Athelstan. The lodges of operative
masons assembled under the guardianship of craft guilds, which originally were
in the form of religious fraternities that continued until Henry VIII disendowed
all religious fraternities by the Act of 1547. It is evident from the old
catechisms and the Ancient Charges, that the masters of operative lodges were
responsible for the moral and religious conduct of their apprentices and
fellows, as well as for their welfare and practical training in the craft of
masonry. It also is clear that the tools and procedures employed by operative
masons in their work were woven into simple dramas that were enacted to
illustrate moral principles, which in turn were adapted by Dr James Anderson and
others for incorporation in the speculative rituals still used in modern lodges
of Freemasonry.
York and its Minster are of special importance in the annals of English
masonry. The present York Minster is on the site of a wooden chapel erected for
the baptism of Edwin of Deira, King of Northumbria, together with the members of
his court, by Paulinus the first Bishop of York on Easter Day in 627. The King
had been converted to Christianity by his Kentish wife, who previously had been
converted to Christianity by the Roman mission led by St Augustine, who arrived
in Kent in 597. The renowned historian known as the Venerable Bede, who lived in
the Jarrow monastery on Tyneside from 682 until his death in 735, records that
Edwin soon replaced the chapel with a stone church, which became the centre of
the Bishopric and continued as such until the church was burned down about 741.
It was replaced by another magnificent stone church about 55 metres long and 17
metres wide, that was commenced by Archbishop Albert around 767. When this
church was ruined with the city during the troubles following the Norman
conquest, its rebuilding was begun around 1080 by the first Norman Archbishop,
Thomas de Bayeux. About a century later the choir was rebuilt by Archbishop
Roger de Pont-l'Ev^que.
The last church was replaced by the present York Minster progressively and in
distinct stages. The first work was the addition of the south transept that was
commenced in 1220, followed by the addition of the north transept that was
commenced in 1241. Work on the new nave, chapter house and vestibule was
commenced in 1291 and completed by about 1345. The Norman choir was then
replaced, commencing in 1361. The final stage of construction was the erection
of a central tower begun in 1400 and completed in 1423, followed by the erection
of the western towers 62 metre high, begun in 1433 and completed in 1474, when
construction had been in progress for some 250 years. The choir was badly
damaged by fire in 1829 and the nave also was damaged by fire in 1840. After
almost 500 years of continuous use, investigations revealed that the central
tower and west end of the Minster were in danger of collapse, as a result of
water erosion and fatigue in the building materials. Extensive remedial works
carried out since the 1960s have restored the foundations fully and strengthened
the fabric of the building.
The development of the Gothic style of cathedrals in France, where the height
of the building almost became an obsession and flying buttresses were used to
support the main aisles, completes the story of the close association between
freemasonry and religion. The Cathedral of the Notre-Dame in Paris probably is
the best known example of this style, begun in 1163 and completed with the
erection of the western towers around 1240. It is noted for the lightness of the
stone skeleton and the richness of its glowing glass, which captures the genius
of Gothic architecture. However, the world famous Chartres Cathedral is
considered to be the most authentic surviving example of that most spiritual of
all periods in European history. It is a cathedral church in the middle of a
town, which distinguishes Gothic cathedrals from the earlier monastic churches
that were set in the French countryside and had enclosures of cells and
cloisters. Originally there was a small church of unknown age on the site, which
by 1020 had been replaced by a cathedral almost as large as the present one. The
cathedral was extended at the western end in the 1130s, when two bays, a
vestibule and two towers framing the Royal Portal and its renowned sculptures
were added.
A dreadful fire that razed much of the township of Chartres in 1194, also
destroyed all of the first cathedral except the western end and the crypt.
Reconstruction was commenced almost immediately and continued unabated while a
dozen other cathedrals were also under construction in the vicinity. No
architect was engaged to design and supervise the work, which was carried out
under more than thirty successive contracts, or "campaigns",
controlled by nine different Master Masons engaged cyclically throughout the
construction period. The first Master Mason prepared the original design, set
out the building and constructed the foundations in less than a year. Each of
the Master Masons was engaged more than once, but the first and some others were
engaged several times. Each successive builder made some modifications in the
details of the design, but without altering any of the work already done. The
cathedral was completed during the 1230s. The successful completion of this
complicated and beautiful structure under very difficult conditions, coupled
with the proven durability of the building, demonstrates beyond all doubt the
remarkable ability, integrity and capacity of medieval freemasons.
MODERN FREEMASONRY EVOLVES
Many hypotheses have been advanced about the evolution of modern speculative
Freemasonry. One suggestion is that Freemasonry was invented by members of the
four speculative lodges in London who joined to form the first Grand Lodge of
England in 1717. Another suggestion that once received strong support perceives
Freemasonry as a direct offshoot of the Rosicrucian movement. Two of the more
tenable claims are that Freemasonry is either a direct or an indirect derivative
of the medieval lodges of operative masons. It also has been asserted that
Freemasonry was founded in antiquity and revived by the Knights Templar in the
Holy Land. Although the extensive association of the Knights Templar with
operative masons does not appear to account for the emergence of modern
speculative Freemasonry, it undoubtedly influenced the speculative aspects of
operative masonry. It is surprising that the protagonists who advance one or
another of these theories, usually do not acknowledge the possibility that
modern speculative Freemasonry could have evolved from more than one source. A
brief review of these theories will help to put the relationship between
freemasonry and religion in its proper perspective.
It is significant that the key episodes on which the rituals are based in the
degrees of the Craft, the Mark, the Royal Arch, the Cryptic Council and their
associated orders are all biblical events recorded in passages of scripture in
the Old Testament. A well known example is the Hiramic legend relating to the
untimely death of the architect during the construction of King Solomon's temple
at Jerusalem. Although not detailed in the Old Testament, the narrative of the
legend is ancient and many variations and amplifications of it are to be found
in the Judaic apocrypha and the earliest Talmudic traditions. In The Hiram Key,
Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas describe extensive investigations they
carried out, from which they conclude that the Hiramic legend originally
referred to the murder, around 1600 BC, of Seqenenre Tao a Theban pharaoh. They
also give an interesting Egyptian derivation of the substitute word. The name of
the central figure in the Hiramic legend is not always the same in the various
versions of the Traditional Histories of English operative masons.
It is clear from the Cooke MS of about 1410, that the architect of King
Solomon's temple and the events concerning the construction of the temple
already were firmly established in the traditions of the guilds of operative
masons. If speculative Freemasonry had been invented in England during the
period of religious fervour and intolerance that prevailed for about two
centuries prior to the formation of the first Grand Lodge, the Hiramic legend
probably would not have been included and the degrees almost certainly would
have had a strong Christian emphasis based on events taken from the New
Testament. However, the orders that include degrees with a Christian basis did
not appear until the 1750s and 1800s, after the first Grand Lodge of England had
been established. Although it is believed that some members of the lodges
forming first Grand Lodge were Rosicrucians, who would have exerted a strong
Christian influence on modern speculative development, there is no evidence of
any direct connection between the Rosicrucian movement and freemasonry.
The weight of evidence supports the view that speculative Freemasonry was
derived indirectly from the ceremonials of English operative lodges, through
speculative lodges that probably had some operative masons as members, at about
the same time as many Scottish operative lodges were making a direct transition
to speculative lodges. The early development of operative masonry in England and
Scotland was similar, although the lodges in Scotland were smaller and more
dispersed, with much of the work carried out under contract instead of by direct
labour. In London the Fellowship of Masons, probably established around 1356,
had an inner conclave from the 1620s that was known as the Acception, whose
members included operative masons and also many who were not tradesmen. The
conditions that prevailed during the Reformation and the need to maintain
secrecy within organisations, explain the dearth of records in England, which is
the reason why it is much more difficult to establish the evolution of
Freemasonry in England than in Scotland.
In 1441 King James II appointed Sir William St Clair (now Sinclair), the
Laird of Roslin, as hereditary patron and protector of Scottish masons. In
Edinburgh in 1475 the Seal of Cause was issued, establishing trade regulations
for masons in Scotland about a century earlier than any similar regulations were
issued in England. The Schaw Statutes of 1598 and 1599 strengthened those
regulations and formalised arrangements for the management of Scottish operative
lodges. With the express permission of William Schaw, the St Clair Charters of
1601 and 1628, signed by representatives of many widely dispersed lodges,
confirmed that the Lairds of Roslin had been for ages and would continue to be
patrons and protectors of the mason craft in Scotland. Records of Scottish
operative lodges from 1598 onwards indicate that ritual work was being carried
out and they frequently record the admission of non-masons as members. In 1736
four old Scottish operative lodges associated in the formation of the Grand
Lodge of Scotland. The thirty-three lodges that met later in the same year and
elected William St Clair, the Laird of Roslin, as the first Grand Master Mason
of Scotland also were or had been operative lodges. This differs significantly
from the formation of the first Grand Lodge in England by four speculative
lodges, of which few if any of the members had been operative masons.
It would be appropriate now to consider the "de-Christianising of the
Craft" often mentioned by masonic authors. Any Christian influence stemmed
from the fact that, when purely speculative Freemasonry was being organised,
Christianity was the only religion recognised in England. For centuries in
England and on the Continent it had been the custom of the old crafts and
guilds, including the masons, to have their patron saints on whose days
festivals were held. Many ancient lodges held a festival on June 24, the summer
solstice that had been a day of heathen rejoicing, but which in early Christian
times became St John the Baptist's day. They also held a festival on December
27, the winter solstice which also had been a day of heathen rejoicing, but
became St John the Evangelist's day. Although other saints were held in high
regard by masons, including the Four Crowned Martyrs known as Quatuor Coronati
in Latin, the two Saints John were adopted as the patron saints of Freemasonry,
giving rise to such old expressions as "a St John's Lodge" and
"the St John's Men". In the early days of speculative lodges the
officers were installed every six months, usually on the days of the Saints
John. Nowadays the annual festivals in England are held on St George's Day and
in Scotland on St Andrew's Day.
Some authors have expressed the opinion that prior to the Constitutions of
1723 masons were expected to be Christians, but it is not known whether there
was any firm basis for that opinion. There is no record that any of the Craft
rituals referred to Jesus Christ, but it has been suggested that some of the
symbolism might have been given a Trinitarian explanation. The records of some
catechisms in the early 1700s include references of a Christian character, more
particularly in the Royal Arch. The "precious corner-stone for a firm
foundation", from Isaiah 28, verse 16 and the tau cross used as "a
sign of the righteous on the foreheads of the Lord's people", from Ezekial
9, verse 4, also came into question because of their later Christian
connotations. Even the pentalpha, a magical sign used in ancient times as a
talisman against the danger of fire and adopted in Freemasonry as an emblem of
the five points of fellowship, was questioned because it became a Christian
symbol alluding to the five wounds of Christ. Fortunately these and other
symbols of ancient origin, like the triple tau, survived the "de-Christianising
of the Craft". From the early 1720s the Jewish membership of lodges
steadily increased and any Christian overtones that had been in the ritual were
progressively eliminated. These superficial changes, which reflected a desire
for Freemasonry to be open to all men believing in God irrespective of their
creed, were fostered by the Duke of Sussex who was a Hebrew scholar, a member of
Jewish learned societies and also a supporter of Christian Emancipation.
THE TEMPLAR INFLUENCE
There is strong evidence in Scotland of an association between the Knights
Templar and Freemasonry, especially in relation to the Mark and the Royal Arch.
Extensive studies carried out on this and related subjects in the 1980s and
1990s are described and commented on by the investigators in two excellent
books. The earlier book is The Temple and the Lodge by Michael Baigent and
Richard Leigh and the other is The Hiram Key already mentioned in relation to
the Hiramic legend. The association between the Knights Templar and Freemasonry
will be summarised briefly for reference. The Poor Soldiers of Christ and the
Temple of Solomon, known as the Knights Templar, were established in France in
1118 or earlier. It is significant in the later history of the Knights Templar
that their first Grand Master, Hugues de Payen, was married to Catherine de St
Clair, a Scottish woman of Norman descent, who set up the first Templar
preceptory outside the Holy Land on her family's property a few kilometres south
of Edinburgh. This was the Preceptory of Balantrodoch, in the village now called
Temple, not far from where Rosslyn Chapel was built later.
When Hugues de Payens first went to Jerusalem with eight other knights, it
was ostensibly to protect Christian pilgrims on their journeys in the Holy Land,
but the French historian Gaetan Delaforge, who made a special study of the
Knights Templar, states in his book The Templar Tradition in the Age of Aquarius
that their real task was to obtain relics and manuscripts containing the secret
traditions of Judaism and ancient Egypt. Hugues de Payen persuaded King Baldwin
I to give him a section of the royal palace that was in the area of the Temple.
The nine knights apparently spent their first nine years on this project and
carried out extensive excavations under the Temple, but no record of the results
is available. In 1895 Lieutenant Charles Wilson led a contingent of Royal
Engineers from Britain to explore and map the passages and chambers under the
ruins of the Temple. In his book, The Excavation of Jerusalem, Wilson states
that many discarded relics of the Templars were found underground and that many
of the passages and chambers were vaulted with keystone arches. Official reports
of modern Israeli archaeological investigations also support the proposition
that the knights were searching the Temple ruins for something special.
The Knights Templar included many operative masons in their establishment and
also engaged local masons to work with them constructing a wide range of
castles, hospitals and ecclesiastical buildings in the Holy Land over about 150
years. During that time the Templar masons must have acquired a sound knowledge
of the customs and traditions of the local masons, whose direct lineage extended
back through the Phoenicians to the Sumerians and also the Egyptians. The
Templar castle constructed around 1217 at Athlit, about fifteen kilometres south
of Haifa, was their last great stronghold to be abandoned when al-Ashraf, with
an army of a quarter of a million men, finally defeated the Knights Templar in
1291. The cemetery at Athlit contains two of the oldest known masonic graves,
with well preserved headstones each having a large Templar cross carved
vertically in the centre, between a kevel on the left and a Master Mason's
gallows square on the right. When Philippe IV, King of France, ordered all
Templars to be seized in October 1307, the large Templar fleet escaped,
reputedly around Ireland to Argyll in Scotland, where there are many Templar
relics. In March 1314 after intensive interrogation, torture and trial by the
Inquisition, the Grand Master Jacques de Molay was roasted to death over a slow
fire.
Meanwhile a large number of Templars had escaped to Scotland and are reported
to have provided the force of horsemen that swung the battle in Robert Bruce's
favour at Bannockburn on 24 June 1314. After Bruce died in 1329 and in
accordance with his dying wish, Sir James Douglas, Sir William St Clair, Sir
William Keith and two other knights set out with Bruce's heart in a silver
casket to be buried in the Holy Land. All except Sir William Keith died in Spain
supporting King Alfonso XI in his campaign against the Moors at Granada. Sir
William Keith, whose arm was broken, brought the casket back to Scotland and
Bruce's heart was buried under the east window of the chancel in Melrose Abbey.
The close association of the Lairds of Roslin with the Knights Templar and
masonic tradition culminated when a later Sir William St Clair decided to build
a large collegiate church. The foundations were laid in 1446 and Rosslyn Chapel
was completed in the 1480's, although the main church was never built. The
chapel is a remarkable structure, with a foundation plan similar to the temple
at Jerusalem and external rows of spires that appear to be modelled on the
drawing of the "Heavenly Jerusalem" by Lambert of St Omer who died
about 1121.
Rosslyn Chapel incorporates two highly ornamented pillars representing Jachin
and Boaz and it is ornately decorated inside with Celtic, Templar and masonic
symbols. The embellishments include a wounded head relevant to the Hiramic
legend, a Latin inscription quoting part of Zerubbabel's discourse when he
sought Cyrus's support during the rebuilding of the temple and symbols of
significance in the Royal Arch. Rosslyn Chapel also has a scroll shrine in the
form of a vault sealed under a metre of rock, the contents of which are unknown,
but which Knight and Lomas believe may contain relics from the vaults under the
Temple at Jerusalem. A remarkable feature of the interior decorations are the
accurate representations of maize and aloe plants from the New World that must
have been carved into the columns and arches around 1470, although Columbus's
first landing on the mainland was not until 1498. This gives weight to the
belief that, after its arrival in Scotland, the Templar fleet sailed west in
search of the land that is called Merica in the Nasorean scrolls and marked by a
star. It seems that the Templars almost certainly landed on the New England
coast of America early in 1308 and after settling there journeyed back to
Scotland more than once. This contention is supported by the famous image of a
fourteenth century knight carved on a rock at Westford in Massachussets and also
by the stone tower at Newport in Rhode Island, constructed like a round Templar
church, that was recorded as an existing "Norman Villa" by the Italian
navigator Giovanni de Verrazano, who was thought to be the first European to
discover that part of the coastline.
OTHER INFLUENCES ON FREEMASONRY
Several other organisations and ethical systems have been put forward from
time to time as the progenitors of freemasonry. It is unlikely that any of them
would have been the direct ancestor of modern speculative freemasonry, although
several probably influenced the course of freemasonry directly or indirectly.
Among the more tenuous possible associations are the Druids and the Culdees
whose influence, if any, would have been similar to that of the Rosicrucians
mentioned earlier. The ancient Celtic priests of Germany, Gaul and Britain,
called the Druids, are not known to have had any association with the craft of
masonry and very little is known of their rites and ceremonies, so their
supposed influence on freemasonry at best is conjectural. We do not know what
contact the Culdees, a fraternity of monks who lived in isolation in groups of
cells in Scotland from the 700s, had with the craft of masonry, so their
supposed influence also is conjectural though possibly more tangible. The
Mithraic cult was devoted to the ancient Persian light-god, whose worship became
popular in the Roman Empire. As the Persians and Babylonians were pre-eminent
among the ancient builders, whence there was a continuous line of descent over
several thousand years through the Canaanites and Phoenicians to the Roman
builders in the eastern Mediterranean, it is reasonable to assume that the
Mithraic cult influenced the development of ancient esoteric freemasonry. The
systems of morality taught for several thousand years through the symbolism and
elaborate rituals of the ancient Mysteries of Egypt and Greece, also must have
influenced ancient freemasonry. The Essenes, who were closely connected to the
Pythagoreans, probably had a greater influence. Menahem, a Diaspora Essene,
founded the Magians whose name reflects their Babylonian culture. They shared
the traditions of the Palestine Essenes, but did not enforce seclusion nor have
the same strict views on morality. The Jewish historian Josephus records in War
that Menahem told the young Herod he would become king, for which Herod held him
and all Essenes in honour and trusted them throughout his reign. The Diaspora
Essenes supported restitution of the Davidic rule, but they could accept another
king with the David in a subordinate role, which was more acceptable to Herod
than the proposals for the priesthood in the Temple Scroll prepared by the
Palestine Essenes when Herod announced around 21 BC that he would rebuild the
temple. Herod's decision to train 1,000 priests as masons probably was in
deference to Menahem's influence. The preparation and obligation of candidates
and the degrees and allegorical instruction they received at Qumran, as detailed
in the scroll called the Manual of Discipline or Community Rule, are closely
mirrored in freemasonry.
Socio-religious craft clubs called the Collegia flourished at the height of
the Roman Empire and probably accompanied the Roman armies and masons to
Britain. During the reign of Emperor Henry III (1039-56), the Pope is said to
have issued a diploma to an Italian group, the Travelling Architects, to build
churches all over Europe. The Comacine Masters of Italy and the Steinmetzen or
stonecutters of Germany also are supposed to have been established by Papal
Bulls, but none of these documents has been found. In 1260 the stonemasons of
France received their code and privileges from Charles Martel who appears in the
Ancient Charges of English masonry, which suggests a positive connection. A code
of masons issued in France in 1407 and the later Compagnonnage of journeyman
masons have similarities with English masonry.
RETROSPECT
The foregoing historical summary briefly outlines the key role that has been
played by operative masonry in the support of religion during the progress of
civilisation over almost 12,000 years, from the beginnings of operative masonry
until its decline and replacement by modern Freemasonry. By its very nature,
operative masonry takes into account the practical experience of previous ages,
builds upon it and passes its new found knowledge on to succeeding generations.
The intimate association of operative masonry with the ancient priesthoods and
later with the Medieval and Renaissance ecclesiastical fraternity, must have
influenced the masons' lives sufficiently to mould their beliefs into the true
principles of freemasonry. It is an inevitable consequence of operative practice
and traditions, that the system of moral teaching and its associated rituals
used in speculative freemasonry, also would have been acquired progressively,
developed and passed on, even as language itself has evolved through the
centuries.
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THE PRECEPTS OF FREEMASONRY
IN THE BEGINNING
A study of man's evolution, especially in relation to the development of his
thought and speech concurrently with his growing awareness of things beyond his
day to day existence, reveals an intimate connection with the development of
freemasonry. Having achieved an ability to eke out a frugal subsistence within
their natural environment, the primitive hunter gatherers then turned their
thoughts to improving their personal comfort. With the erection of their first
rudimentary shelters, the seeds of masonry were sown, heralding the imminent
birth of speculative freemasonry. Articulate speech became an ever more pressing
necessity, as man sought to communicate his thoughts and wishes to others and
his mind strived to fathom the significance of his mortal existence. From its
earliest Stone Age beginnings, operative masonry and its speculative counterpart
have mirrored man's physical and intellectual progress, as well as the
development of his spiritual conception.
As primitive man strived to comprehend his place and purpose in the universe,
the spiritual aspects of his existence began to exercise his mind. He
progressively evolved his perception of a creator, a supreme being, the
controlling force from which all things emanated and upon which they depended
for their continuing existence. In an endeavour to express his thoughts, man
drew on the experiences of his physical existence. When explaining the concepts
he was developing, masonry provided him with many useful examples, with which he
could portray his unfolding appreciation of the spiritual elements of his life
and illustrate the moral principles he was formulating. The speculative aspects
of masonry became a natural extension of man's vocabulary, enabling him to
expound his moral precepts simply and graphically.
THE FIRST PRINCIPLE
First and foremost among the precepts of freemasonry is a belief in a divine
creator, the one true God. This belief is the foundation of all masonic
teaching, the cornerstone of every branch of freemasonry and the keystone which
unites its many component parts. It is the first principle of freemasonry, from
which all else derives. Thus it is that no man can be accepted into freemasonry
unless he has freely expressed a belief in God. Whilst a man's religion is
immaterial to his acceptance into freemasonry, being only a factor of his
upbringing or a matter of personal choice, nevertheless his belief in God is of
paramount importance. Every degree in freemasonry acknowledges the existence of
a supreme being, whose blessing is supplicated at the opening and closing of all
proceedings. As in all religions and the ancient mysteries, the various titles
used for God in masonic rituals reflect those of His attributes relevant to the
particular ceremonial.
An essential element of the faith embodied in this first principle is that a
man's spirit does not perish with his mortal frame but, as so eloquently
expressed by the preacher in Ecclesiastes: when "the dust shall return to
the earth as it was, the spirit shall return to God who gave it". The
freemason is exhorted to contemplate this aspect of his ultimate destiny and to
regulate his life and actions according to God's will, so that at the end of
this transitory mortal life he may confidently hope to be raised to those
"immortal mansions, eternal in the heavens". Although various moral
issues are expounded in the three degrees of craft freemasonry, the fundamental
substance of their teachings concerns the immortality of the soul and its
ultimate return to the divine creator.
As did the neophyte in all ancient mysteries, so also in masonry does the
apprentice enter the lodge in a state of indigence, being reminded of his
defenceless condition and of his absolute dependence upon his creator.
Symbolically he is reborn into freemasonry and is exhorted to lead a just and
upright life henceforth. As a fellow of the craft, the freemason is taught that
labour is the lot of man, but that every good and faithful servant in due course
will receive his just reward. The master mason obtains a fleeting glimpse of the
promised reward, but is told that he must continue his search for the ultimate
truth. A closely related theme is the important concept that all men are equal
in the sight of God. This fundamental tenet of freemasonry is illustrated in
many of its degrees and is the main topic expounded in one of the Allied masonic
degrees, the Knights of Constantinople.
BEHAVIOUR AND RESPONSIBILITY
The crucial importance of obeying God's commands is a central theme in the
teachings of freemasonry, of such importance that it is introduced to the
apprentice. The theme continues with the fellow of the craft and is expanded in
the degree of mark master mason. Strict obedience, the exercise of skill and
ability, careful attention to detail and the importance of being responsible for
one's own actions are impressed on the mark master mason in a practical example
of the operative free mason's work. The candidate is taught that he alone is
responsible for his own actions, but that he will receive his just reward in the
hereafter if he lives in strict accordance with the divine commands. Obedience
to God's commands is of such vital importance and so closely allied to the
belief in the immortality of the soul, that it merits being ranked as second
among the precepts of freemasonry.
SOCIAL CONDUCT
It will be evident from the foregoing discussions that the fundamental
precepts of freemasonry are so closely interwoven that they cannot be subdivided
into distinct and separable compartments. Nevertheless, brotherly love, relief
and truth must be regarded as third among the important precepts of freemasonry,
being closely interrelated with the principle that all men are equal in the
sight of God. Indeed, we are taught that brotherly love, relief and truth are
the grand principles on which freemasonry is founded. In this context the
teachings are based on concepts established by the operative free masons, who
were charged with the responsibility of caring for the members of their
fraternity, especially if they were out of work or suffering indigent
circumstances, as well as to respect and protect all members of the families of
their brethren. They also were enjoined to regard their employers with due
deference and to serve them well, in return for which they were promised regular
employment and adequate recompense.
Brotherly love, relief and truth are described as the grand principles on
which freemasonry is founded. They are said to shine with greater splendour than
any other masonic emblems. The concept is introduced to the apprentice in his
impoverished state, when his principles are in some measure put to the test. He
is then admonished to practise brotherly love and relief cheerfully as a virtue,
should a distressed brother fairly claim his assistance. However, it is not
until he is a master mason that the full implications of the virtue are
clarified in the old operative terms , partly in the obligation and partly under
the five points of fellowship which, in operative days, were imparted to fellows
of the craft. The importance of truth is taught in various degrees, but under
the Red Cross of Babylon it is the central theme in the degree of Knight of the
East, which is set in the Persian court as graphically portrayed in the Bible in
the first book of Esdras.
INTEGRITY
Closely allied with truth is integrity, which depends upon truth for its
fulfilment. Integrity and rectitude imply a rigorous compliance with a code of
ethics, based on an undeviating honesty that ascribes virtue to the subject.
Rectitude also signifies a strict adherence to the rules of right and justice
that strongly suggests self-discipline. Both integrity and rectitude are
distinctive features of goodness that also have a close affinity with morality,
righteousness, purity and virtue. None of these attributes can be considered
alone, because each influences the other. Even benevolence, generosity, good
will and kindness, which relate more specifically to brotherly love and relief,
have a bearing on integrity. Thus there can be no doubt that integrity merits
its high standing among the precepts of freemasonry. It is an important theme in
many of the degrees in freemasonry. In particular the degree of Select Master,
in the Cryptic Rite, teaches that constant care and integrity are essential when
carrying out one's duties, but at the same time it emphasises that integrity
must always be tempered with justice and mercy.
THE MORAL VIRTUES
Of the many moral virtues fostered by freemasonry, the three principle ones
are said to be faith, hope and charity. Faith has been defined as the evidence
of things not seen, the substance of things hoped for. Faith is the pillar of
civilised society, being the bond of amity and the foundation of justice. Hope
has been defined as an anchor for the soul, which enters into that which is
within the veil, suggesting that we may look forward to a positive and
favourable outcome to our lives and actions, if carried out in accordance with
God's commands. Charity is described as the brightest ornament that can adorn
masonry, because it is lovely in itself and also the best test and surest proof
of sincerity. Charity, or brotherly love in its truest sense, is said to
comprehend all of the virtues. The principles illustrated in these moral virtues
are essential elements of brotherly love, relief, truth and integrity and are
important precepts that should always activate a freemason's heart in his
relations with others.
THE SOCIAL VIRTUES
Temperance, fortitude, prudence and justice are described as the four
cardinal virtues of freemasonry. Their close relationship with the three moral
virtues would justify their inclusion among the important precepts of
freemasonry, but some further comments are worth making. In its correct usage,
temperance indicates a wise moderation in the indulgence of personal pleasures,
though it is often used to signify their complete rejection. Temperance is the
appropriate restraint of our passions and affections that will ensure proper
self control and overcome immoderate temptation. This virtue ought to be the
constant practice of every mason, enabling him to resist worldly temptation and
to avoid excess. Temperance is an essential element in the exercise of true
justice.
Fortitude signifies that firmness and strength of mind which will enable
obstacles and ordeals to be faced courageously, with a brave and unswerving
resourcefulness that is neither rash nor cowardly. Fortitude is closely allied
with prudence, which suggests that any action that is taken has due regard to
wisdom gained by experience. Prudence enables us to regulate our lives and
actions with due regard to the dictates of reason. Fortitude and prudence are
both essential elements in the exercise of justice, complementing that
impartiality, rightness, integrity and mercy signified by "justice",
all of which must be maintained when determining what is due in a particular set
of circumstances. The principles of masonic behaviour are unmistakably reflected
in the four cardinal virtues.
THE INTELLECTUAL VIRTUES
The three great pillars that symbolically support a freemason's lodge are
called wisdom, strength and beauty. Wisdom denotes those mental qualities that
enable us to understand situations, anticipate their consequences and make sound
decisions. Wisdom implies the highest and noblest exercise of all the faculties
of the moral nature and the intellect, suggesting a combination of discretion,
maturity, keenness of intellect, broad experience, extensive learning, profound
thought and compassionate understanding. Strength signifies power, might, force,
solidity, toughness, fortitude, courage and many other things. Beauty signifies
elegance, grace, symmetry, seemliness, fairness and a wide range of related
attributes. The freemason is exhorted to apply wisdom in all his undertakings,
to bring strength of character to bear when in difficulties and to adorn his
inward self with beauty. These precepts provide a fitting conclusion to this
study.
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