THE MASON'S MARK
by Wallace M. Gage, PM The Maine Lodge of Research
A recent tour of England and Scotland included
visits to the beautiful and stately Salisbury
Cathedral, York Minster, Westminster Abbey,
and to Roslyn Chapel and Melrose Abbey. All
had many "Mason's Marks" carved in the stones
and can be found in many other buildings still
standing in Europe and the British Isles.
These old Mason's Marks help us to trace
Freemasonry's story from its early operative days
to the present, when it is used in a symbolic sense
in the first of Capitular degrees of the York Rite.
Putting aside the legends from the old Gothic
Constitutions perpetuated in our present day
rituals, which purport to trace Masonry from the
building of King Solomon's Temple, to Noah's
flood or to Cain and Abel, Masonic students in
the last century or so have been able to document fairly accurately the evolution of Freemasonry as far back as the mid-fourteenth century when the first attempt was made to
organize
the Mason's trade in England, and to establish
work rules for its government.
Our modern Freemasonry is an outgrowth of
those operative masons of the middle ages, the
builders of those ornate and beautiful examples
of the gothic school of architecture unsurpassed
in the builders' art. The mason's mark has been
found on structures far older than these, however, some going back to 2500 B.C. Little attention was paid to these carvings until 1841 when
a British archeologist Jist published an article on his studies. Masonic
students took an interest in the
subject, and perceled the link formed between
operative and speculative Masonry.
It is surprising how long a thing may remain
unnoticed until it has first been discovered. When
a number of mason's marks were pointed out to
an old priest, he remarked "I have walked
through this church four times a day, twenty
eight times a week, and never noticed one of
them. Now I cannot look anywhere but they flit
into my eyes."
The operative mason's mark was used for
purely practical purposes. During the period
when most cathedrals, abbeys and monasteries
were built, there were few who could read or
write. When he became a fellowcraft or journeyman, each mason selected his mark or design,
which was his for life, and was never to be
changed. The mark thus served as a signature.
He cut it into each stone he prepared, so that he
might be given credit and receive wages for his
labor, and also be held responsible for the quality
and proper execution of the work. The mason's
mark has a similar objective to a trade mark by
assigning responsibility for quality of work.
During the middle ages, the Roman Catholic
Church dominated the religious scene in Europe
and Britain, and most of the work done by the
operative masons of the day was construction of
cathedrals, abbeys and monasteries for the
church. With the coming of the Protestant reformation in 1517 however, the Roman church lost
much of its temporal power and influence, and
the building of religious works fell off sharply.
The operative masons found themselves facing
increased unemployment. Fewer apprentices
were accepted to learn the trade, and work for
the masons left was limited largely to military
construction and repair work requiring lesser
skills. This period of operative decline was the
beginning of a gradual change from guilds of
builders, to the moral and philosophical fraternity which today we call "Speculative Masonry."
Returning our attention to the mason's mark,
we find an early reference to it in the German
"Torgau Statutes" of 1462. They note that on
becoming a journeyman (equivalent of the fellowcraft), the mason "took his mark at a solemn
admission feast". Later in Scotland, in 1598, the
so-called "Schaw Statutes" were placed in effect.
A set of rules governing the operative mason's
trade were issued by William Schaw, Master of
the Work of King James VI of Scotland. These
contain the first known reference to the mason's
mark in the English/Scottish area from whence
our present day Freemasonry has descended.
These Statutes say:
"That no master or fellow of craft be received or admitted without their being
six masters and two entered apprentices present, the Warden of that lodge being one of
the six, and that the day of the receiving
of the said fellow of craft or master be
properly booked and his name and mark
inserted in the said book. . . "
The newly passed fellow craft had to pay the
lodge "one Scots merk" for such registration.
The fellowcraft was journeyman, fully qualified
to do mason's work, and the master was a contractor, or employer of fellowcrafts, and who
could take apprentices for training.
In 1634 an event took place which was to profoundly affect the future of the
Craft. The minutes of the Scottish Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) for July
1, 1634 notes that Lord Alexander, Viscount Canada; Sir Anthony Alexander; and Sir Alexander Strachan,
Bart were admitted members of the Lodge. This is the earliest record of the admission of non-operatives
into a lodge in Scotland or England, and it turned
out to be the opening wedge in the transition
from operative to speculative Masonry.
The earliest minutes of this Lodge are dated
July 31st, 1599, and show the mason's mark used
in conjunction with the signature of one of the
members present. By the following year, many
marks appear in the minutes, sometimes unaccompanied by a signature. Minutes of
other Scottish Lodges also show the use of the mark,
undoubtedly in conformance with the Schaw
Statutes requirement.
Following the admission of the three nonoperatives noted above, the practice spread
rapidly. In a period of decline for operatives,
more and more non-operatives came to be
accepted as members by most lodges, and the
character of Masonry underwent increasingly
rapid change. By 1670, for example, the Lodge
at Aberdeen shows minutes signed by some 49
members, about three quarters of whom were
non-operatives. Noteworthy was the fact that all
but two had marks shown beside their names
indicating that the practice of choosing a mark
was not restricted to the operatives.
During this period when activities are well
documented in Scotland, English records are
scarce regarding acceptance of non-operatives,
and make no reference at all to use of the
mason's mark. This dearth of records makes it
difficult to do more than guess at the chain of
events which immediately preceded the most
important event of all, formation of the first
Grand Lodge by four old lodges in London in
1717, generally accepted as the historical dividing
line between operative and speculative Masonry.
It established the basis of organizational pattern
followed by all regular Masonic jurisdictions
everywhere. Ireland followed suit, forming its
own Grand Lodge in 1725, and Scotland likewise
in 1736.
At that time, English lodges were almost
entirely made up of non-operatives, while in
Scotland the operatives were still strong, but
waning rapidly.
Ritual played a relatively minor part in operative Masonry, but with the transition to speculative, it developed and expanded, and soon
came to play an important role. We know little
of it until the publication of the first of many
"exposes" in 1724. None of them had anything
to say about the mason's mark, and the first indication we have of a ceremony or degree being
connected with it is in the September 1, 1769
minutes of Phoenix Royal Arch Chapter of Plymouth, England, where it states that six members
were made "Mark Masons and Mark Master
Masons," and each "chose their mark." While
the mark had been used in Scotland for many
years, the first time we hear of its ceremonial
aspect is in the records of St. John Operative
Lodge, Banff, on July 7, 1778. There is strong
evidence that the Mark degree was worked in
America as early as 1782, although documentary
proof is lacking.
The development of the Mark Master Mason
degree to its present day status is a story in itself.
At various times, it has been conferred in Craft
lodges, by the Scottish Rite, by Royal Arch
Chapters, by Templar Encampments and by
independent Mark lodges. In America, the
degree was gradually absorbed by the Royal Arch
early in the l9th century.
Over the years, there have been other degrees
based on the mark, such as the Mark Man, Mark
and Link, Fugitive Mark, Black Mark and others,
but these have disappeared, leaving only the
Mark Master Mason. Although the rituals vary
somewhat in different jurisdictions, they are
basically similar. As the ritual of the Mark
Master Mason degree developed, the mason's
mark came to take a somewhat subordinate role
to the Keystone and the theme of the building
of King Solomon's Temple.
The Mark degree now is a requirement for candidates for the R.A. degree in the United States,
Ireland and Scotland. The United Grand Lodge
of England at one time voted to recognize the
Mark degree as a "graceful addition to the Fellowcraft degree", but soon reversed itself, which
led to the formation of the "Grand Lodge of
Mark Master Masons of England, Wales and the
Dominions and Dependencies of the British
Crown" in 1856, which today has some 1200
Mark Lodges under its jurisdiction.
Only in Scotland is the Mark degree recognized as a part of Craft Masonry. It may be, and
usually is, conferred on Master Masons in the
Symbolic Lodge. It is also a requirement for the
R.A. degree, and the degree may be conferred
in the Royal Arch Chapter if the candidate has
not already received it in his lodge.
Our ritual for the three Craft degrees is clearly
based on the practices of operative Masonry,
with symbolic usage of the working tools, the
ashlars, the trestleboard, lessons in architecture
and many others. Why the mason's mark, an
operative practice from time immemorial should
have been omitted in favor of such things as the
anchor and the ark, the beehive, etc. is difficult
to understand. A possible explanation may be
that most of those who composed our early ritual
were English, who may well have been unaware
of the mark in the operative scheme of things.
Only in Scotland has it received recognition and
been given its rightful place as a part of Craft
Masonry.
Our Mason's Mark is the Masonic equivalent
of our signature. It represents our name, our
character, our integrity and our skills. When we
sign our name or apply our Mark to a document,
letter, painting, or to a stone for the building of
a cathedral, we stand up to be counted. By it we
say in effect "This is where I stand, this is my
work. I guarantee its quality, and am proud of
the workmanship it shows."
In addition to our own Mason's Mark, we
have a responsibility in regard to that best known
Mason's Mark of them all, the Square and Compasses. Almost all of us wear it or otherwise
display it thus identifying ourselves as Masons
to all we come in contact with. In doing so, we
cannot help but project an image of Masonry to
the public. When we wear this Mason's Mark,
the Square and Compasses, the world will judge
the Craft by our words and actions. Should we
feel unable to live up to the tenets and principles
Freemasonry stands for, we would be well advised
to leave the Masonic ring or pin in the dresser
drawer, rather than damage the good name of
the Fraternity.
It seems to be human nature for us to want
to leave some sort of a memorial, that future
generations will know we passed this way. We
find this in the graffiti scrawled on the walls of
Pompeii and in ancient Egypt, and on the subway cars in modern cities. It shows in the initials
carved in old school desks and in the "John loves
Mary" cut into tree trunks, and in the "Kilroy
Was Here" of World War II.
We sometimes hear it said of a person, that
"he left his mark", meaning he made a lasting
impression on some institution or field of
endeavor. Yet there are varying kinds of marks
left. George Washington and Thomas Edison
most certainly left their marks on our society and
civilization; so did Hitler and Stalin.
All of us can't be Washingtons or Edisons, but we can contribute toward the
building of a better world. Our ancient operative ancestor in cutting his mark
on a stone for Salisbury cathedral left a memorial which says "I had a part in
building this beautiful house of God." By being better citizens, better husbands, better fathers, we
can leave our mark on society by discharging our
responsibilities to God, to our country, to our
neighbor and to ourselves.
In our vocations, in our daily lives and in our
dealings with our fellow man, lets do our best
to leave our marks only on "good work, true
work, square work, just such work as is wanted
for the building of the Temple."
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