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THE LEGACY OF OPERATIVE FREE MASONRY
CHAPTER IV
Masonic essays (1998)
W.M. DON FALCONER
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 In fact, the ways in which operative masonry came to be superseded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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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