A Pragmatic Masonic History

[Raum Sariel]

A Pragmatic Masonic History
by Leo Zanelli, MPS

A Lodge Elder introduces a new piece of ritual into his lodge
workings. How long does it take to become "time immemorial" in the
eyes of the members of that lodge? It could be two years or less

It’s this ability to pull the wool over our own eyes that bedevils
masonic history. The study of masonic history in particular, requires
an approach which includes Applied Logic and Social Psychology – two
disciplines usually missing in masonic histories, but which I have
attempted here.
Someone once wrote: "…nothing vexes people so much, and hardens them
in their unbelief and in their dogged resistance to reforms, as
undeniable facts and unanswerable arguments." This, I feel, applies in
particular to much attempted masonic historical writing.
This paper is an attempt to outline (no more) a very brief history of
Freemasonry, from an obscure starting point, through 1717 A.D. – at
the formation of the premier Grand Lodge by four London lodges, at the
Goose and Gridiron tavern in the shadow of St Paul’s - to the present.
It applies particularly to the English Constitution – although the
basic history is of interest to all constitutions.
As we are trying to avoid "fairy tales" here, it must be pointed out
that the insistence by the United Grand Lodge of England that "pure,
antient Freemasonry consists of three degrees only…including the Royal
Arch…" is almost certainly historically inaccurate. Grand Lodges are
of course entitled to decide for themselves exactly what their ritual
consists of. Thus if the UGLE says it consists of three degrees
including the Royal Arch, then they have that right – but I think it
is confusing to suggest that their (modern) version is "pure,
antient…" because this tends to distort the facts.
A Question of Definition
First, let me define what I think "pure, antient" Freemasonry ritual
is: It is quite simply the ritual that existed in 1717, when the
premier Grand Lodge was formed. Surprisingly, we do have a pretty good
idea what that ritual was – it’s just that many masonic historians
stick their head in the sand and concentrate on an undefined period a
few years later, when another degree came into existence. This is an
illogical approach. If we accept the date of 1717 as being the start
of organized Freemasonry as we know it, then the original ritual must
be that which was practiced in 1717. Anything else has to be an
addition or innovation.
Do we have any idea of what this ritual was composed of? Almost
certainly yes. The most valuable material here is Knoop, Jones and
Hamer’s book The Early Masonic Catechisms (1975, edited by Harry
Carr). This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the
evolution of Craft ritual.
Unlike the Old Charges, which seem to have originated as operative
"trade union" charters, and which lodges seemed keen to keep as an
indication of history, Early Masonic Catechisms concentrates on what
are virtually scraps of paper (one is a mere 20cm by 15cm sheet of
paper) upon which are written a form of ritual of a catechism
(question and answer) nature. These include the Edinburgh Register
House MS (1696), the Chetwode Crawley MS (1700) and the Kevan MS
(circa 1715). All, you will note, immediately before 1717.
Having studied the above three manuscripts in detail, the authors
state: "These three texts are so much alike in minute detail that it
is quite certain that they all purport to describe the same
procedure."
In fact, these catechisms have far more in common with our ritual than
the Old Charges, which lodges seemed to possess to give themselves a
patina of age. Now the point about the Old Charges, is that one could
make a case for them being a saleable item; if every lodge were
supposed to have one, there would have been steady jobs for scribes
producing them. Not so the manuscripts mentioned above; they are loose
leaves of paper, usually showing many folds and signs of great use,
and which were not designed to appeal to anyone. Just like the
scribbled bits of ritual masons have made up for centuries – to this
day. In other words, there was no need to produce them except for use
- which to me makes them pretty genuine.
What do they teach?
Now the amazing thing about these manuscripts, is that the average
mason will find much to relate to: the method of placing the feet;
mention of a "prentice" and "fellow-Craft"; the Five Points of
Fellowship; the mention of the square, compasses and the Bible in the
same context; the porch of Solomon’s Temple; the basic penal sign; and
of having a part of your body cut out and buried on the beach or
thereabouts - there is much to recognize here. This really is beyond
coincidence. There’s sufficient evidence for it to stand up in a court
of law! But only two degrees are mentioned.
The two-degree theory has been accepted for many years. For example
take Lionel Vibert’s Prestonian Lecture for 1925, titled "The
development of the Trigradal System". Early in the lecture, Vibert
writes: "By the days of Grand Lodge (1717) this had come to be a
system of two degrees only, the Acceptance and the Master’s Part."
Later he says: "...and by 1730 the trigradal system was definitely
established."
More up to date, in his article "Masters Lodges" in the September 1997
issue of the masonic magazine The Square, Yasha Beresiner writes:
"Although we have no evidence of the degree work undertaken in Craft
lodges before 1730, we know, beyond doubt, that there were only two
degrees: that of the Entered Apprentice and Fellow of the Craft (or
Master) as the second."
So we have two top masonic historians, with papers separated by over
70 years, agreeing that in 1717 the Craft ritual consisted of only two
degrees; most serious historians agree with them.
So, at this point all the evidence points to the existence of only two
degrees in 1717. Also, the early masonic catechisms mentioned,
describe significant portions of the ritual as we know it today. Thus
it is logical to assume that in 1717, speculative masons worked a two-
degree system, along the lines of the masonic catechisms described by
Knoop, Jones and Hamer.
It is of course interesting to speculate where these original two
degrees came from. The Edinburgh House MS (1696) was, we know, an old
document from the Court of Session, Edinburgh, found in 1808; the
Chetwode Crawley (c. 1700) was discovered around 1900 in Ireland;
while the Kevan MS (c. 1714) was discovered in 1954, in Scotland.
Looking through The Early Masonic Exposures, it seems likely that the
earliest catechisms derive from Scotland, and slowly filtered through
the rest of Britain.
There is a school of thought which suggests that there is a shortage
of early English catechisms because they were committed to memory.
This is totally illogical; such a system would have meant a great deal
of change over the years because of the vagaries of human memory –
whereas the amazing thing about the early catechisms mentioned above,
is that so much still fits into our current ritual. This could only be
achieved by writing the ritual down.
Enter a Third
Serious historians also agree that the third degree was devised or
introduced around 1725. It was certainly established by 1730, because
it was published in Pritchard’s Masonry Dissected on that date, and
became the unofficial ritual book of freemasons for decades. This is
also virtually the first mention we have of the Hiramic legend.
However the storyline itself is mirrored in non-masonic legends down
the ages. It’s hardly original. But who developed this third degree,
how, and why?
The noted Scottish masonic historian Murray Lyon (died 1903),
described Desaguliers as the "co-fabricator and pioneer of the system
of symbolical masonry." He had a point. Certainly Desaguliers was just
about the most influential mason of the period, being Grand Master in
1719, and Deputy Grand Master in 1722 and 1726. This was the period in
which the third degree was introduced into the ceremony of the premier
Grand Lodge – and logic tells us that Desaguliers, and his masonic
friends in the Royal Society, just had to be responsible. Certainly,
nothing could have been introduced without their approval.
In fact the Craft changed dramatically while Desaguliers was on the
scene. The original Grand Lodge, so far as we can tell, was little
more than an annual get-together for a feast or festival. They didn’t
even keep minutes. The Desaguliers era saw the introduction of the
keeping of minutes, an improvement in administration – and the
introduction of the third degree.
In fact, a curious set of minutes of Grand Lodge (24 June 1723) tell
us that the Duke of Wharton, Grand Master, declined to name his
successor, and referred the nomination to the Grand Lodge. Most
unusual. This resulted in the nomination of the Rt Hon the Earl of
Dalkeith. Dalkeith then stated that in the event of his election, he
would nominate Desaguliers as his deputy. Wharton then immediately
asked for the Grand Lodge to approve Desaguliers (contrary to
regulations). The minutes state: "A division of the (Grand) Lodge was
called…there were 43 Ayes in favor of Desaguliers and 42 Noes.
Dalkeith was then elected Grand Master – whereupon Wharton declared he
had some doubt as to whether the tellers had reported the Desaguliers
vote accurately…" (Manchester AMR Transactions LXXXIII).
There seems little doubt that almost 50 per cent of those present –
not just Wharton - were not in favor of Desaguliers; an indication of
distention without doubt. Could this have been because he was
"plugging" for a change of direction? People trying to change things
are never popular.
How was the third introduced? After all, the slightest alteration in
ritual is liable to create hysteria among masons. But remember that
these were early days, when the brethren had few lines of
communication and were thus ill-informed. I suggest it was introduced
as the "revival of the third degree". I say this because almost every
degree or order in Masonry is, at the point of origin, declared a
"revival". This automatically imparts on the degree/order an
artificial veneer of age. Even with the premier Grand Lodge, within a
few years "historians" were writing that it was really a revival of an
older system. I maintain it would have been easy to introduce a third
degree, if it were described as something more ancient that masons had
used in the past.
Why? That’s more difficult. This was around the time the premier Grand
Lodge ceremony and outlook started to become de-christianised. The
number three is more evocative than two; it may have been no more than
that. What is interesting, is that there is a link – King Solomon’s
Temple is mentioned in the original two-degree system, and of course
in the Hiramic legend; although this does not prove a connection.
If the above assumptions are correct, then it means that three-degree
Masonry as we know it, derived from two sources. We know that much of
our heritage comes from the material mentioned in the two-degree
system outlined in The Early Masonic Catechisms because most of it is
still in our ritual. But at some point, a group introduced additional
material (the third degree) that is unlikely to have had any real
historical connection to the early ritual. It seems probable that
Desaguliers and his companions introduced this additional material for
a specific reason. Why? I suggest that a closer look at Desaguliers
and the Royal Society, in this period, might shed some light on the
subject.
The Degree Explosion
The point is that it happened – and I contend that it set in motion a
chain of events that reverberate to this day. Because from this point,
degrees and orders proliferated until, around 1800, there were
literally hundreds – possibly a thousand – degrees. It became a sort
of fashion. Indeed, many of the other orders that sprung up in the
1700s, such as the Buffaloes, Druids and Oddfellows, still exist to
this day. Social psychologists could have a field day here, for if one
traces these degrees/orders downwards from their peak, you arrive back
at the period in which the premier Grand Lodge introduced the third
degree – causing a virtual tidal wave of fashion for such societies.
In fact Sandbach, in his Talks for Lodge and Chapter writes: "We have
to bear in mind the revolution which the coming of the Hiramic (third)
degree must have achieved…What it did was turn Freemasonry into a new
path." It did indeed. What it did not do is make it "pure, antient".
And Then There Were Four
Some time around 1730, the ceremony we now know as the Royal Arch was
developed. We know little about its origin, except that it was a great
favorite with a group of mostly Irish masons who became known as the
Antients. Anyone wishing to research the Antients, should read
Sadler’s Masonic Facts and Fictions.
We must bear in mind, again, that the introduction of degrees and
orders at this time was starting to become a phenomenon. Most of the
degrees that have been passed down to us, or of which we have evidence
of the ritual, seem to slot somewhere into a biblical chronology of
sorts. They are basically similar in construction.
To my mind the introduction of the Royal Arch could have been
something extremely simple: if we accept that the premier Grand Lodge
introduced the third degree, in which the word was lost – then the
next logical progression would be to find it again: the vault and the
Royal Arch.
In fact the storyline was already circulating. In one of his lectures,
titled "The Mark and the Royal Arch", the noted historian Wallace
McLeod writes, regarding the RA. "Actually the story…comes from the
ancient Greek historian Philostorgius of Cappadocia (circa 400 AD) who
wrote a History of the Church. Philostorgius tells the following
story: The Roman Emperor Julian ordered the Temple at Jerusalem to be
rebuilt…when the foundations were being readied, one stone, that had
been laid in the bottom of the course was dislodged and revealed a
cavern built into the rock…they could not see inside…The overseers
wanted to know the truth, so they fastened one of their workmen to a
long rope and let him down…feeling around, in the centre he discovered
a block of rock projecting…when he put his hand on it he found a
scroll. He picked it up and gave a signal to be pulled up…the scroll
astonished both Gentiles and Jews, for when it was opened it displayed
the words In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God…"
McLeod goes on: "…it (the story) was picked up by the French
journalist and writer Louis Travenol. He published it in 1747 in a
revelation of the so-called Masonic secrets…"
Then McLeod adds, in a masterpiece of understatement "This is
certainly a tale calculated to raise our eyebrows". Indeed, I can see
no other alternative but to assume that the Antients, desperate to
keep a Christian influence in Masonry, came upon the Greek story and
immediately adopted it to fill in the "loss" described in the new
third degree.
An Antient Heritage
As mentioned, "degree fever" eventually become a social phenomenon of
the 1700s. But not with the premier Grand Lodge (called the "Moderns")
because they insisted, for over 70 years, that Masonry consisted of
three degrees only – and that most certainly did not include the Royal
Arch. To take just one example among many, in 1767 Samuel Spencer,
Grand Secretary of the premier Grand Lodge, replying to a query about
the Royal Arch, wrote: "The Royal Arch is a society which we do not
recognize and which we hold to be an invention to introduce innovation
and to seduce the brethren."
It’s almost certain that Spencer himself didn’t know the truth when
decrying the Royal Arch as an innovation, because the premier Grand
Lodge called the Antients "innovators" – when in fact they had lit the
fuse themselves with the introduction of the third degree. On the
other hand, the Antients – and others – embraced the degree ethic with
enthusiasm.
The Antients used to open in a "fourth degree" and in this mode worked
many other degrees until, around 1800, they had a degree structure of
around 26 – and many more optional. We know this from the works of the
likes of John Knight, who detailed the degrees and rituals in many
hand-written books. It is also recorded that quite a few Moderns
lodges used to work many, if not all of the Antient degrees – it is a
fact that Knight himself was technically a "Modern" (he was a friend
of Dunkerley) even though he worked the Antient structure and even
Druid ceremonies.
As mentioned, the plethora of degrees and orders that sprung up show
an amazing similarity in structure. Many masonic writers have
commented that our antient brethren had fertile imaginations; whereas
in truth they were virtually devoid of imagination. The format of
obligations etc all show signs of emanating from the same source, with
the same monotonous regularity. There is rarely any attempt at
originality. Even as these other degrees developed, they retained a
"traditional" structure. To this day, most of these "outside" degrees
are similar in form and are recognizable; even repetitive. Even the
orders outside the Craft suffer the same fate. The Gardeners
(originated in the 1700s) for example possessed three degrees: the
first featured Adam, the second Noah and the third King Solomon. In
the Improved Order of Red Men (American), the opening shows the same
structure as that of Freemasonry – and this is repeated through all
the Red Man degrees.
The fact that most degrees or orders – within and without Freemasonry
– are so similar in structure, is further evidence that they were
created in a wave of "fashion". They all intimate that there are great
secrets to unfold to the dedicated follower; yet none of them have
fulfilled their promise – and that includes the "blue" degrees.
An examination of the Antient structure seems to show that it was
decidedly chivalric, with a preponderance of "Knight of…" degrees. In
my opinion it still exists in a reasonably recognizable form in the
American York Rite, which seems to contain many of the Antient degrees
and orders, with the main exception of the Rose Croix or Rosy Crucian,
which now languishes for some reason in the Ancient and Accepted or
Scottish Rite. In England many of the remaining degrees are scattered
around several other orders, such as the Holy Royal Arch Knight
Templar Priests. But this is an avenue we shall go into at some future
date.
Such was the success of the Antient structure, that many Moderns
lodges performed them, totally disregarding what the premier Grand
Lodge said. So much so that in 1766 a group within the Moderns forced
through a "Charter of Compact" or separate Royal Arch Grand Chapter.
This enabled Moderns lodges to carry out Antient degrees without
having to compromise their "three degrees and no more" philosophy.
A Time for Compromise
This Antient structure – from the fourth or Royal Arch onwards – was
the main stumbling block towards the union of the Moderns and Antients
in England in 1813.
The Moderns – the premier Grand Lodge – had for 70 years insisted that
Freemasonry consisted "of three degrees only" and of course it would
have been a loss of face for them to have accepted any other. The
Antients, on the other hand, insisted that the Royal Arch was the very
essence of Freemasonry – and of course the key to the highly prized
chivalric orders.
In the end a "nonsense" compromise was created in Article II of the
Act of Union, which said that Freemasonry "…consists of three degrees
and no more, viz., those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft,
and the Master Mason, including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal
Arch…" I quite honestly believe that such a ridiculous compromise
could only have survived in Freemasonry – in any other organisation it
would have been "laughed out of court". But this, it must be
emphasized, applies only within the English Constitution so far as I
know; and there is no doubt that this bizarre compromise was the only
one which could have saved the Union.
However, this was not the end of the story, because the political
machinations within the premier Grand Lodge were still active. They
had literally been forced to accept the Royal Arch, but were
determined to go no further. As Sandbach points out in his Talks for
Lodge and Chapter: "…if we look at the original statement in the Act
of Union, we find that the quotation (…three degrees and no more,
including the Royal Arch…) is incomplete, because Article II in fact
goes on to say: "But this Article is not intended to prevent any Lodge
or Chapter from holding a meeting in any of the Degrees of the Orders
of Chivalry according to the constitutions of the said orders." Those
words quite clearly gave permission to Lodges and Chapters to confer
degrees additional to the three Craft degrees…" Yet this has never
been allowed by the United Grand Lodge of England – despite the fact
that I have seen no evidence to suggest that it was ever rescinded.
Why?
It is patently obvious that, having fudged a compromise of sorts, the
Moderns were determined to sweep aside all those "orders of chivalry"
into oblivion. This they did with regard to the Craft; but luckily the
Knights Templar and others had by this time developed administrative
structures of their own, and mostly survived. But that is another
story.
A Precis
Bearing all the above in mind, we are now able to construct a brief
example history of Freemasonry. It certainly won’t please everyone;
but it is a pragmatic reasoning – not one based on fairy stories
A fairly simple, two-degree masonic ceremony originated in Scotland,
and gradually spread throughout England. This was the one in general
use in 1717, when the premier Grand Lodge was formed in London.
Around 1725, Desaguliers and others within the premier Grand Lodge,
decided that the ceremony needed to be dechristianised – possibly to
make it attractive to a wider membership – and they added a third
degree.
Several years later another group – termed the Antients – added a
fourth (Royal Arch) degree; and in this "mode" also carried out a wide
variety of decidedly Christian and chivalric ceremonies. None of these
were accepted by the premier Grand Lodge (Moderns).
However the Antient structure proved so popular with many Moderns
lodges, that in 1766 the premier Grand Lodge formed a separate Royal
Arch Grand Chapter, so that their members could conduct "Antient"
degrees without infringing the Craft ceremonies. Indeed, so popular
was this "Antient" practice of a multitude of degrees, that there were
dozens, perhaps hundreds, created outside Freemasonry.
In 1813 the two rival English Grand Lodges came together, and achieved
the compromise of "fusing" the Antients’ Royal Arch onto the Craft
third degree – then proceeded to ignore the rest of the Antient
degrees.
Some Conclusions
It has to be emphasized again that the 1813 "compromise" applies only
to the English Constitution. Everywhere else in the world, it is
recognized that the Craft consists of only the three "blue" degrees,
without the Royal Arch. However, the rest of the world has also got it
wrong, because "pure, ancient" Freemasonry consisted of two degrees
only. All the rest is innovation!
What are we to make of the above, on the assumption that it is
reasonably correct? The main one is that there is no Grand Design. The
first and second degrees almost certainly originated from a different
source to that of the third; and the Royal Arch also came from
somewhere else. It seems highly likely that the Royal Arch story
originated in Greece around 400 AD – and the third degree could well
have been adapted from one of many biblical stories.
This is important, because there is a general acceptance among masons
(even Grand Lodges) that our ceremonies have a fixed, if slightly
esoteric, meaning taken as a whole. That our ceremonies have been
passed down unaltered through the centuries – and that there is a
message, even a great secret, bound up in the complete "parcel". This,
obviously, is not the case, because as we can see from the above, the
overall picture is derived from several different sources, and the
whole structure "just grew" – it really wasn’t planned.
What we originally had, has been expanded dramatically over the
centuries. It is generally recognized that the three degrees as
"exposed" in Pritchard’s Masonry Dissected, are a fair representation
of the degrees at that time (1730). Just compare them with the three
degrees we have now, and it’s obvious that something which was
originally fairly simple, became repetitive, convoluted, pompous and
bloated in the period from 1717 to 1813. We have not – most definitely
not – "always done it that way". Bearing in mind the considerable
decline in membership of the major masonic countries (USA, Britain,
Australia etc) could it be time to get back to basics?
What is needed now, is to concentrate on the three distinct divisions
of masonic ritual – the first two degrees; the third; and the Royal
Arch – and work out the history of each as a separate entity. In that
way we may start to unravel the complex structure that is Freemasonry.
To attempt to imagine the first, second, third and Royal Arch as an
integral whole historically, is inaccurate and will only tend to
confuse – unless you prefer fairy tales…