The History Of Freemasonry.

weeks . " Omn-Iacroix , m his Histoire des Ancicnnes Corpoiations d'Arts et Metiers " states that " a capitulary of Charlemagne decrees that the corporation of bakers shall he maintained in full efficiency in tho provinces , and an edict of 864 mentions tbo gild of goldsmiths . "

Thierry remarks , "The inhabitants of Rheims preserved w the twelfth century the recollection of tho Roman origin of their municipal conncil . The citizens of Meta prided themselves on having exercised civil rights before tho Duchy of Lorraine existed ; they used to say , ' Lorraine is

young and Metz old . ' At Lyons , Bourges , and Boulogne , the citizens maintained that there had existed for those cities a right of free justice and administration before France became a kingdom . Aries , Marseilles , Periguenx , Angouleme , and even smnller cities in the south that bad

been mere castles under the Roman Empire , believed their semi-republican organisation to be anterior to the Frankish conquest , and to all the feudal holdings of the Middle Ages . Toulouse gave itself a capitol after the manner of Rome . " Levasseur again says : " The true origin of the

corporation is found in the social life of the Romans , and amongst the vanquished Gauls , who always formed the principal population in the cities , and faithfully preserved under their new masters the remembrances and traces of their ancient organisations ; " and also : " In the majority

of cities the organisation of the craft guilds preceded that of the commune ; the proof of it is , that in almost all the communes the political system and the election of magistrates were based on the division of the citizens into trade corporations . " The following from MM . Renouvier and

Ricard is also to the same purport : "In the south the trade guilds followed the same development as the communes ; although only recognised feudally in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries , they existed from time immemorial . Survivals of the old Roman organisation , the

corporations sought refuge in the church , and attained to public life and independence at that period when order commenced to be established in the relations between the commune , the feudal lord , and the Church . " In the preface to Monteil's " Histoire de VIndnstrie Francav e , " it is

stated that " Roman civil architecture , industry , art—in one word , the whole Roman tradition was perpetuated in France till the tenth century . Even the German conquerors , whilst preserving their own national laws , customs , and

usages , accepted the Gallic industry much as they found it . " And again , "The Middle Ages invented nothing , bnt thev gathered together from the preceding Civilisation its traditions , of which they carefully preserved the memory ; and in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries the

industries still flourished which had created the opulence of Roman Gaul , generally in the very districts which had given them birth . " The facts adduced from these quotations , in Brother Gould ' s opinion , " go far to show the great probability of a virtual and direct descent from the

Roman colleges and municipalities to the French trade guilds and communes of the early Middle Ages ; " and later on , while admitting that " there is no direct proof obtainable that these corporations were the descendants , in unbroken continuity , of the Roman colleges , " he considers tbat " tho balance of probability seems to affirm it . "

In the changes that Avere introduced under tbe Carlovingian dynasty , when the country was reduced to a state of greater dependence on the central authority , " the trade guilds retained the greater part of their previous importance , and were deftly woven into the new fabric . " Under

the feudal system , the cities became subject to the bishop or lord paramount , and then followed struggles on the part of the municipalities to recover their independence . In tbe reign of Philip the Fair , the cities were possessed of their ancient privileges , and about the same period the

Craft guilds were able " to produce documents confirming and . settling their ancient privileges , " and the fees and fine previously paid to the feudal lord were payable to the King . " In Paris , " we are further told , "the rise of the municipality is characterised by a singular feature—tbe

government of the city being Tested , not in the delegates of all the guilds , but in the officers of one huge guild only , that of the Hanse , " tbe progress of which is described , after which he directs his attention to the trade guilds and their regulations , the

first attempt to introduce order and uniformity among them having been made in the latter half of the thirteenth century by Etienne Boileau , provost of Paris . Of course , it is not surprising that the regulations should contain much that is curious ; as , for instance , in the case of the

baker's guild on the reception of a new master . Of the ceremony on this occasion we have the following : " On the day agreed upon , the candidate leaves his house followed by all the bakers of the city , ancl coming to the master of tbe bakers , presents to him a new jar full of nuts , saying ,

' Master T hatfo done and accomplished my four years ; behold my pot full of nuts . ' Then tho master of the bakers , turning to the secretary ( clerc ecrivahi ) of tbe craft , demands to know if that is truly so . Upon receiving a reply in the affirmative , the master of the bakers

returns the jar to the candidate , who smashes it against the wall , and—behold him master . " In the case of the millstone makers , who belong to the same category as the stonemasons , we read : " A banqueting hall was prepared , and above that a loft , whither , whilst the masters were

partaking of good cheer below , the youngest accepted master , with a broomstick stuck into his belt in lieu of a sword , conducted the candidate . Shortly after , there issued therefrom cries which never ceased , as though he were being cudgelled to death . "

We next come to the fraternity , which was closely allied to the craft guilds . Indeed , says Bro . Gould , " every craft guild belonged , as a body , to some fraternity , maintained an altar in some neighbouring church , and decorated it with candles , to supply which it levied on its members fines

and fees to be paid in wax . From this wax candle the fraternity was sometimes spoken of simply as le ciercje , ' the candle . '" This fraternity , which , though composed of the same members as tbe Craft , and for that reason often difficult of distinction from it , " was always a distinct entity ,

and was often legislated for separately , " we are told , " provided for the assembly of the brethren at stated periods , for religious exercises and social pleasures ; those of the table

occupying a large share , " and as " the newly received Master was expected to provide the members of tbe fraternity with a banquet , " it is not surprising to read that " it was the excess to which the feastinsr was carried which

eventually formed one of the great hindrances to becoming a master . " Again , " Provision was made for a due attendance of members at tbe nuptials and obsequies of one of their number , and it afforded a convenient meeting-place for secret political purposes , and for maturing farther

restrictions in favour of tbe existing masters . " But " their most useful sphere of action was the sustenance and relief of aged and poor masters , their widows , and children , the assistance rendered to members in cases of illness , and to companions on their travels . The members appear to have

belonged solely to the body of masters , although apprentices entering on their indentures , and companions working in the city , were required to contribute to the funds . In return , they were assisted from the treasury , and shared the benefit of the religious services . " It is also noteworthy that " there were sometimes several frateraities in one

craft , at other times several crafts united to form a fraternity . " The earliest documentary evidence we have of these " craft fraternities " ( not guilds ) relate to " the Hanse "already mentioned— " 1170 , the Clothworkers of Paris ,

1188 , the barber surgeons , 1270 , and the notaries , 1300 ;' and Bro . Gould quotes the " Statutes regulating the Fraternity ( cierge , candle ) of the masons' trade ( du Mestier de Maclwnnerie ) of Amiens , bearing " date 15 th June 1407 , which is preserved in the archives of that city .

As to the building trades , Bro . Gould remarks that "the oldest code which has been preserved is probably that of Boileau ( aboutl 260 ) . Initwe findthemalreadysubdivided into many branches , which of itself presupposes a much earlier existence , as the division of labour always marks a

considerable development of a trade . This code unites , under the Banner of St . Blaise , the masons , stonemasons , plasterers ( both makers and users ) , and the mortarers ( both makers and users of mortar ) . From other sources we know that the quarry-workers and the tylers

( but not the tyle-makers ) owed allegiance to the same banner , and also the millstone-makers . " Of the twentyfour articles contained , in the code , those of interest to the brethren are quoted and commented upon , where necessary . He also gives evidence of the corporate existence at

an early date of the building trades . Thus at Amiens the Masons took part in the municipal elections for the first time in 1348 , and in 1387 the municipality had a city architect . In 1244 " Paul Olivier , maistre de peira

( Master Mason ) , " is mentioned in the archives of Moncpellier . " The statutes of the proles homines of Avignon regulate , in 1423 , the pay of the stonemasons . " Then , " in 1208 , Ingelram was architect of Rouen Cathedral ; in