FAQ: Where did Masons come from?
Larry the Mason from Holbrook
Version 1.0
August 2006
This Frequently Asked Question comes from the weekly USENET MASONRY FAQ, posted to alt.freemasonry every Friday at 08:00 Pacific. Please refer to the weekly FAQ for other resource and contact information.
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Where did Masons come from?
A fascinating question! And, alas, impossible to answer within the
confines of this FAQ. There are a number of theories, a lot of debate,
and a lot of musty history books. Some of the books listed in question
15 of this section should be of help. As a *very* brief overview, here
is part of an essay by Henry C. Clausen, a noted Masonic author. This
is, of course, just one point of view -- many other theories exist,
but Clausen nicely covers the basics:
"Our Masonic antiquity is demonstrated by a so-called Regius
Manuscript written around the year 1390, when King Richard II reigned
in England, a century before Columbus. It was part of the King's
Library that George II presented to the British Museum in 1757.
Rediscovered by James O. Halliwell, a non-Mason, and rebound in its
present form in 1838, it consists of 794 lines of rhymed English verse
and claims there was an introduction of Masonry into England during
the reign of Athelstan, who ascended the throne in A.D. 925. It sets
forth regulations for the Society, fifteen articles and fifteen points
and rules of behavior at church, teaching duties to God and Church and
Country, and inculcating brotherhood. While the real roots of Masonry
are lost in faraway mists, these items show that our recorded history
goes back well over 600 years. Further proof is furnished through
English statutes as, for example, one of 1350 (25 Edward III, Cap.
III) which regulated wages of a "Master...Mason at 4 pence per day."
The Fabric Role of the 12th century Exeter Cathedral referred to
"Freemasons."
The historical advance of science also treats of our operative ancient
brethren who were architects and stonemasons of geometry. It is
apparent from this portrayal that they had a very real and personal
identification with the Deity and that this fervent devotion provided
energy to build cathedrals. They embraced the teachings of Plato and
understood and applied Pythagorean relationships. Just as there is a
beauty of harmony credited to mathematical relationships on which
music is based, in precisely the same way these master geometricians
treated architecture. The architects and stonemasons became the
personification of geometry, performing extraordinary feats with
squares and compasses. Geometrical proportion, not measurement, was
the rule. Their marks as stonemasons were derived from geometric
constructions. The mighty works they wrought, cathedrals with Gothic
spires pointing toward the heavens, and especially their
"association," were not without danger and opposition, bearing in mind
the Inquisition established in 1229, the Saint Bartholomew's Eve
Massacre of 1572, and the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685.
These historical points remind us of the need for our cautions against
cowans and eavesdroppers.
Our operative Brethren of the Middle Ages thus were the builders of
mighty cathedrals throughout the British Isles and continental Europe,
many of which still stand. These skilled craftsmen wrote in enduring
stone impressive stories of achievement, frequently chiseled with
symbolic markings. With these architectural structures of these master
builders there was a companion moral code. These grew up together. Out
of this background modern Freemasonry was born.
Although "Lodges" had existed for centuries, four of the "old" Lodges
met in London on St. John the Baptist's Day, June 24, 1717, and formed
the first Grand Lodge of England, thereafter known as the Premier
Grand Lodge of the world. No longer operative as of old, the Masons
carried on the traditions and used the tools of the craft as emblems
to symbolize principles of conduct in a continued effort to build a
better world.
The American colonial Masonic organizations stemmed from this Grand
Lodge of England and were formed soon after 1717. Its then Grand
Master appointed Colonel Daniel Coxe as Provincial Grand Master of New
York, New Jersy and Pennsylvania on June 5, 1730, and Henry Price of
Boston as Provincial Grand Master of New England in April 1733."
-- Henry C. Clausen