-
Articles/Ads
Article THOUGHTS ON THE NEW HISTORY. Page 1 of 2 Article THOUGHTS ON THE NEW HISTORY. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Thoughts On The New History.
THOUGHTS ON THE NEW HISTORY .
Bv BRO . JACOB NORTON . THE statutes relating to Freemasons I examined in 1875 , and I then camo to the conclusion that some of the laws in the Halliwell Constitution referred to some of these statutes . Bro . Gould , I see , differs from my conclusion ; I shall , therefore , proceed to explain the matter . But , for the information of those who have nofc read the
new history , I must say something lirst about the origin of the tatutos . An epidemic known as tbe "black plague" killed half of the population of England in 1343 . Hence , in tho ensuing year , there was a short supply of labourers and artiznns ; and hence higher wages wero demanded by working men , which employers were
compelled to pay . In 1319 and 1350 , a series of statutes were enacted fixing the rate of wages to remain as it was in the twentieth year of the reign of Edward III ., and fines and imprisonment to be inflicted on working men who refused to work at tho said rates of wages . These laws were , however , disregarded ; hence , in 1360 , more stringent laws wero enacted , and the statute of that year , as I
pointed ont in my last paper , proves that Masons aud carpenters were then organised as a " Trade Union , " having ordinances , oaths , & o . Not only did Parliament attempt to limit the amount of wages to the working men , but it also limited the prices that shopkeepers should charge for victuals , shoes , & o . ; but as the lawmakers were landowners , they of course took good care not to limit the price of
corn , and as during that period thero were years of scarcity of food , when the working men had to pay ten times as much for a measure of corn as they paid in years of plenty , they , therefore , had good reason to be dissatisfied with the " statutes of labourers . " Add to which , in 1351 , Edward III . depreciated the currency ; some coins were reduced in value about 121 per cent ., and other coins near
25 per cent ., which of course reduced the purchasing power of the new currency j that is , au article that could be bought iu 1350 for a shilling , they had to pay in 1351 , say , 15 per cent . more . These , and other oppressions , brought on the Wat Tyler rebellion , and the Government , therefore , undertook to tinker the laws once more , and King Richard II ., in 1389 , issued the following proclamation : —
" Item . —It is ordained aud assented that the statutes aud ordinances made in the last parliament , holden in Canterbury [ or Cambridge ] , as well as of servants , labourers , artificers , and victuallers , as well as of all other things , saving the exception of the next article before , touching justices of the peace , and also all other statutes and ordinances made before this time and nofc repealed , shall be firmly kept ,
and duly executed . But , forasmuch as man cannot put the price of corn and other victuals in certain , [ Query , why not corn as well as wages ?] it is accorded and assented , justices of the peace in every county , in two of their sessions , to be holden betwixt E . ster and St . Michael , shall make proclamation , by their discretion , according to the dearth of victuals , how much every mason , carpenter , tyler , and
other craftsmen , workmen , and labourers by the day , as well as in the harvest as in other times of the year , after their degree , shall take by the day , with meat and drink , or without meat and drink , between the two sessions beforeaaid , notwithstanding the statutes thereof heretofore made , and that every man obey such proclamation , from time to time , as a thing done by statute . "
Briefly , then , the wages had thenceforth to depend on the price of victuals , and discretion was left fco justices of the peace to regulate the rates of wages accordingly . But , as a matter of course , the justices of the peace were landowners , or employers in some other branches of industry , and tbe working people got but scant justice from those worthies ; tho statutes , therefore , remained dead letters ;
hence , in the seventh year of Henry 17 . ( 1405-6 ) , after con . firming the statutes of Edward III . and of Richard II ., it was ordained that , once a year , " labourers and artificers , dwelling in the same leet , shall be sworn to serve and take for their service after the form of tbe statute ; " that is , that the labourers and artificers . should swear , once a year , to abide by the decision of the justices of the
peace in their respective cities , towns , or counties . I must here add , that the sheriffs and officers were ordered to look after the laws and regulations drawn up by the guilds for their own government , Bro . Gould says ( p 347 ) , that , in the twelfth year of Richard II ., writs were sent to . all the sheriffs in England to make proclamation for the . sending up of the returns from guilds and
crafts , called for by the parliament of Cambridge . The masters and wardens of guilds and brotherhoods were required to furnish full information as to the manner and form of fche oaths , gatherings , feasts , and general meetings of " the brethren and sisters . " Such being the case , wo need not feel surprised to find that those who drew np fche Masons' code of laws were more or less acquainted with
the statutes above quoted . For instance , the Matthew Cooke MS ., though it makes no mention of the meetings held by justices of the peace twice a year , as enacted by statute in 1389 , nor of the annual swearing by the labourers and artificers before the said justices , as enacted in 1406 by Henry IV ., yet , in one part , tbe writer of the Cooke MS . quotes the idea and the very words of the
statute of 1389 . On p 107 , be says , " And not give more pay to no mason than what he may deserve , after the dearth of com and victuals in the country . " The last paragraph shows that the author meant tbe statute of 3389 . We need not , therefore , feel surprised to find in the older code , regulations corroborating and affirming obedience to the statutes of the realm . Now , we infer from the above quotation ,
wbich I italicise , that the Cooke MS . was written after 1389 . Iu a similar manner , the Halliwell poem refers to the statutes of 1389 and 1406 , hence the poem must have . been written after 1406 . Tbe following quotations from the said poem , copied from a modernised version in the Masonic Magazine , vol . ii . p 14 , will explain my meaning . The twelfth point is of greafc royalfcy . There as the assembly holden shall be ,
Thoughts On The New History.
There shall be masters and fellows also , And other great lords many more ; And also the mayor of that city . Knights ancl squires there shall be , And other Aldermen , as yon shall see , Such ordinances as they make there , They shall maintain it whole together . #####
The fifteenth point is full of good lore For them that shall be there sworn , Such ordinances as the assembly was layd [ provided ] Of great lords and masters before said . For thy ike [ every one ] that be disobedient for certain
Against the ordinances thafc there is Of these articles , that were moved there , Of great lords and masters all together . kvA if they be proved openly . #####
The sheriff shall come there soon And put their bodies in deep prison , For the trespass they have done And take their goods and their cattle Into the King ' s hand every deli [ every portion ] Ancl let them dwell there full still As long as it be our liege King ' s will . "
Now , these two sections , viz ., of the twelfth and fifteenth " points " in tho code as given in the poem , refer to an assembly of magistrates , who were empowered to ordain regulations for workins * men , which is in accordance with the statute of Richard II . in 1389 . Here also is plainly stated , that " masters and fellows" had to appear before that assembly of magistrates , and hacl to swear to abide by the
ordinances there aud then made , which law was not enacted before the seventh year of Henry IV ., or tbe year 1406 . Consequently , the poem must have been written after the year 1406 . Such wat my opinion in 1875 , when I examined the statutes . ( See Masonic Magazine , vol . iii . p 135 , and snch is my opinion still . Bro . Gould believes first that the poet himself waa tha author or
originator of the Masons' code in the poem ; and that the whole posm , laws , and all , " was evidently in use by a single guild , craft , or fraternity " ( note 3 , p 359 , Gould ' s History ) . And , second , that whereas the twelfth and fifteenth points , above quoted , do not style the assembly in the Parliamentary words of " Justices of the Peace , " but merely designates them with tbe poetic titles of " greafc lords ,
many more , " " the mayor of that city , " knights , " and " squires , " and " aldermen , " & o . therefore Bro . Gould concluded that the said points or regulations in the poem do not refer to the statutes , and hence he assigns the origin of the poem to the fourteenth century . Now , first , Mr . Halliwell says of the poet , " Ib would appear that the writer , who was a priest , had access to some documents concerning the history of the Craft , " which means be copied the legends
and laws from old documents . Second , poetry was never used for the composition of laws , nor is it well adapted for such use ; nor has any government , guild , society , or Lodge ever ordered a poefc to draw up for their use and guidance an original code of laws in rhyming verses . And third , the poet himself , in his description of the Athelstan assembly , ascribed the fifteen articles and fifteen points to Kinq Athelstan , thus :
" An assembly then be known let make , Of divers lords in their state , Dukes , earls , and barons also , Kni » hts , squires , and many more , And the great burghers of the city . They were there in all their degree .
These were there each one in every way , To ordain for their Masons' estate . There they sought by their wit , How they mi ? ht govern it . Fifteen articles there they sought , And fifteen points there they wrought . "
And again nnder fche beading , " Alia ordinacio arfcis geraetriae , " fche poefc says : " There they shall be all sworn That belongeth to this Craft ' s lore , To keep these statutes every one , That be ordained by King Athelstan . "
Further down in the same paragraph he says : " Also at every assembly that ye hold , That you come to yonr liege king bold ; Beseeching him of his high grace , . To stand with you in every place , To confirm the statutes of King Athelstan . "
Well ; having shown that tbe poefc was nofc the originator of the code of laws in the poem , and tho very fact that he ascribed the said laws to Athelstan , proves that the original document must have looked very old . True , it might not have been older than thirty years , but the constant handling , by working men , of a MS . for that pr'rind , made it look older than it really was ; hence , the poet
ascribed it to the days of Athelstan . As to bow the poet got possession of that document . It is not unreasonable to suppose that he may have been chaplain of the guild , or otherwise formed the acquaintance of a Master Mason , from whom he borrowed the MS ., and being endowed with a talent for rhyming . be went to work , and transformed the code into poe-try , snch
and added thereto some new Masonic trimmings of his own fancy , as tie Euclid and Athelstan legends , the seven sciences , and the sermon ; which trimming was afterwards introduced into the Mason ' s ritnal . I have no doubfc thafc tbe poet ' s code was never designed for the nse of a Lodge . The old prose code doubtless defined the laws better and more cleverly than the crude written code
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Thoughts On The New History.
THOUGHTS ON THE NEW HISTORY .
Bv BRO . JACOB NORTON . THE statutes relating to Freemasons I examined in 1875 , and I then camo to the conclusion that some of the laws in the Halliwell Constitution referred to some of these statutes . Bro . Gould , I see , differs from my conclusion ; I shall , therefore , proceed to explain the matter . But , for the information of those who have nofc read the
new history , I must say something lirst about the origin of the tatutos . An epidemic known as tbe "black plague" killed half of the population of England in 1343 . Hence , in tho ensuing year , there was a short supply of labourers and artiznns ; and hence higher wages wero demanded by working men , which employers were
compelled to pay . In 1319 and 1350 , a series of statutes were enacted fixing the rate of wages to remain as it was in the twentieth year of the reign of Edward III ., and fines and imprisonment to be inflicted on working men who refused to work at tho said rates of wages . These laws were , however , disregarded ; hence , in 1360 , more stringent laws wero enacted , and the statute of that year , as I
pointed ont in my last paper , proves that Masons aud carpenters were then organised as a " Trade Union , " having ordinances , oaths , & o . Not only did Parliament attempt to limit the amount of wages to the working men , but it also limited the prices that shopkeepers should charge for victuals , shoes , & o . ; but as the lawmakers were landowners , they of course took good care not to limit the price of
corn , and as during that period thero were years of scarcity of food , when the working men had to pay ten times as much for a measure of corn as they paid in years of plenty , they , therefore , had good reason to be dissatisfied with the " statutes of labourers . " Add to which , in 1351 , Edward III . depreciated the currency ; some coins were reduced in value about 121 per cent ., and other coins near
25 per cent ., which of course reduced the purchasing power of the new currency j that is , au article that could be bought iu 1350 for a shilling , they had to pay in 1351 , say , 15 per cent . more . These , and other oppressions , brought on the Wat Tyler rebellion , and the Government , therefore , undertook to tinker the laws once more , and King Richard II ., in 1389 , issued the following proclamation : —
" Item . —It is ordained aud assented that the statutes aud ordinances made in the last parliament , holden in Canterbury [ or Cambridge ] , as well as of servants , labourers , artificers , and victuallers , as well as of all other things , saving the exception of the next article before , touching justices of the peace , and also all other statutes and ordinances made before this time and nofc repealed , shall be firmly kept ,
and duly executed . But , forasmuch as man cannot put the price of corn and other victuals in certain , [ Query , why not corn as well as wages ?] it is accorded and assented , justices of the peace in every county , in two of their sessions , to be holden betwixt E . ster and St . Michael , shall make proclamation , by their discretion , according to the dearth of victuals , how much every mason , carpenter , tyler , and
other craftsmen , workmen , and labourers by the day , as well as in the harvest as in other times of the year , after their degree , shall take by the day , with meat and drink , or without meat and drink , between the two sessions beforeaaid , notwithstanding the statutes thereof heretofore made , and that every man obey such proclamation , from time to time , as a thing done by statute . "
Briefly , then , the wages had thenceforth to depend on the price of victuals , and discretion was left fco justices of the peace to regulate the rates of wages accordingly . But , as a matter of course , the justices of the peace were landowners , or employers in some other branches of industry , and tbe working people got but scant justice from those worthies ; tho statutes , therefore , remained dead letters ;
hence , in the seventh year of Henry 17 . ( 1405-6 ) , after con . firming the statutes of Edward III . and of Richard II ., it was ordained that , once a year , " labourers and artificers , dwelling in the same leet , shall be sworn to serve and take for their service after the form of tbe statute ; " that is , that the labourers and artificers . should swear , once a year , to abide by the decision of the justices of the
peace in their respective cities , towns , or counties . I must here add , that the sheriffs and officers were ordered to look after the laws and regulations drawn up by the guilds for their own government , Bro . Gould says ( p 347 ) , that , in the twelfth year of Richard II ., writs were sent to . all the sheriffs in England to make proclamation for the . sending up of the returns from guilds and
crafts , called for by the parliament of Cambridge . The masters and wardens of guilds and brotherhoods were required to furnish full information as to the manner and form of fche oaths , gatherings , feasts , and general meetings of " the brethren and sisters . " Such being the case , wo need not feel surprised to find that those who drew np fche Masons' code of laws were more or less acquainted with
the statutes above quoted . For instance , the Matthew Cooke MS ., though it makes no mention of the meetings held by justices of the peace twice a year , as enacted by statute in 1389 , nor of the annual swearing by the labourers and artificers before the said justices , as enacted in 1406 by Henry IV ., yet , in one part , tbe writer of the Cooke MS . quotes the idea and the very words of the
statute of 1389 . On p 107 , be says , " And not give more pay to no mason than what he may deserve , after the dearth of com and victuals in the country . " The last paragraph shows that the author meant tbe statute of 3389 . We need not , therefore , feel surprised to find in the older code , regulations corroborating and affirming obedience to the statutes of the realm . Now , we infer from the above quotation ,
wbich I italicise , that the Cooke MS . was written after 1389 . Iu a similar manner , the Halliwell poem refers to the statutes of 1389 and 1406 , hence the poem must have . been written after 1406 . Tbe following quotations from the said poem , copied from a modernised version in the Masonic Magazine , vol . ii . p 14 , will explain my meaning . The twelfth point is of greafc royalfcy . There as the assembly holden shall be ,
Thoughts On The New History.
There shall be masters and fellows also , And other great lords many more ; And also the mayor of that city . Knights ancl squires there shall be , And other Aldermen , as yon shall see , Such ordinances as they make there , They shall maintain it whole together . #####
The fifteenth point is full of good lore For them that shall be there sworn , Such ordinances as the assembly was layd [ provided ] Of great lords and masters before said . For thy ike [ every one ] that be disobedient for certain
Against the ordinances thafc there is Of these articles , that were moved there , Of great lords and masters all together . kvA if they be proved openly . #####
The sheriff shall come there soon And put their bodies in deep prison , For the trespass they have done And take their goods and their cattle Into the King ' s hand every deli [ every portion ] Ancl let them dwell there full still As long as it be our liege King ' s will . "
Now , these two sections , viz ., of the twelfth and fifteenth " points " in tho code as given in the poem , refer to an assembly of magistrates , who were empowered to ordain regulations for workins * men , which is in accordance with the statute of Richard II . in 1389 . Here also is plainly stated , that " masters and fellows" had to appear before that assembly of magistrates , and hacl to swear to abide by the
ordinances there aud then made , which law was not enacted before the seventh year of Henry IV ., or tbe year 1406 . Consequently , the poem must have been written after the year 1406 . Such wat my opinion in 1875 , when I examined the statutes . ( See Masonic Magazine , vol . iii . p 135 , and snch is my opinion still . Bro . Gould believes first that the poet himself waa tha author or
originator of the Masons' code in the poem ; and that the whole posm , laws , and all , " was evidently in use by a single guild , craft , or fraternity " ( note 3 , p 359 , Gould ' s History ) . And , second , that whereas the twelfth and fifteenth points , above quoted , do not style the assembly in the Parliamentary words of " Justices of the Peace , " but merely designates them with tbe poetic titles of " greafc lords ,
many more , " " the mayor of that city , " knights , " and " squires , " and " aldermen , " & o . therefore Bro . Gould concluded that the said points or regulations in the poem do not refer to the statutes , and hence he assigns the origin of the poem to the fourteenth century . Now , first , Mr . Halliwell says of the poet , " Ib would appear that the writer , who was a priest , had access to some documents concerning the history of the Craft , " which means be copied the legends
and laws from old documents . Second , poetry was never used for the composition of laws , nor is it well adapted for such use ; nor has any government , guild , society , or Lodge ever ordered a poefc to draw up for their use and guidance an original code of laws in rhyming verses . And third , the poet himself , in his description of the Athelstan assembly , ascribed the fifteen articles and fifteen points to Kinq Athelstan , thus :
" An assembly then be known let make , Of divers lords in their state , Dukes , earls , and barons also , Kni » hts , squires , and many more , And the great burghers of the city . They were there in all their degree .
These were there each one in every way , To ordain for their Masons' estate . There they sought by their wit , How they mi ? ht govern it . Fifteen articles there they sought , And fifteen points there they wrought . "
And again nnder fche beading , " Alia ordinacio arfcis geraetriae , " fche poefc says : " There they shall be all sworn That belongeth to this Craft ' s lore , To keep these statutes every one , That be ordained by King Athelstan . "
Further down in the same paragraph he says : " Also at every assembly that ye hold , That you come to yonr liege king bold ; Beseeching him of his high grace , . To stand with you in every place , To confirm the statutes of King Athelstan . "
Well ; having shown that tbe poefc was nofc the originator of the code of laws in the poem , and tho very fact that he ascribed the said laws to Athelstan , proves that the original document must have looked very old . True , it might not have been older than thirty years , but the constant handling , by working men , of a MS . for that pr'rind , made it look older than it really was ; hence , the poet
ascribed it to the days of Athelstan . As to bow the poet got possession of that document . It is not unreasonable to suppose that he may have been chaplain of the guild , or otherwise formed the acquaintance of a Master Mason , from whom he borrowed the MS ., and being endowed with a talent for rhyming . be went to work , and transformed the code into poe-try , snch
and added thereto some new Masonic trimmings of his own fancy , as tie Euclid and Athelstan legends , the seven sciences , and the sermon ; which trimming was afterwards introduced into the Mason ' s ritnal . I have no doubfc thafc tbe poet ' s code was never designed for the nse of a Lodge . The old prose code doubtless defined the laws better and more cleverly than the crude written code