-
Articles/Ads
Article NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF THE MARK DEGREE. ← Page 2 of 3 Article NOTES ON THE HISTORY OF THE MARK DEGREE. Page 2 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Notes On The History Of The Mark Degree.
" Imperial Georgo Lodge , No . 115 ( sic ) , " Hare and Hounds , " Middleton , Feb . 29 , 1824 . " Being a Lodgo of Emergency for making Mark Masons . " " Tho Lodgo was opened in duo form afc 3 o ' clock . " Bonj . Isherwood was made Mark Mason . ( Then follow other names . ) "This Lodgo was closed in peace and good harmony at 5 o'clock .
I believe that , in a short time , I shall bo in possession of actual transcripts of earlier Mark minntes in the North of England , but tho difficulties in obtaining access to old minntes aro very great , and thoso of inducing local Brethren to mako copies aro , as a rule , still greater . From the published " Directory" of tho Minerva Lodgo , No . 250 ,
at Hull , which contains a sort of analysis of the old minntes , I gather that in 1802 the following Degrees wero worked in that Lodgo " Threo Degrees of Craft Masonry , Mark Masonry , Royal Arch , Knight Templar , Old English Horodim or Grange Masonry , and Ark , Mark and Link . " From enquiry of Bro . M . C . Peek , the Secretary ,
I gather that no regular Mark minutes wero kept , but tho marks wero entered in the Craffc minute book . Thero is nothing to prove thafc tho Degree was then worked in extenso , and previous to 1853 , tho W . M . of the Minerva Craft Lodgo was ( if a Mark Mason ) W . M . of tho Minerva Mark Lodgo ( ex officio ) . Separate and distinct certificates for Mark Master Masons wore issued for many years boforo distinct Mark Lodges woro established ,
and I possess ono formerly issued by tho " Old York" Lodge , at Bradford , which at ono timo formed an integral portion of the ° Hopo Lodge , held in that town , and which worked under a " Dispensation " from York . In this ono tho Brother ' s mark was placed in the centre , and the certificate was written according to tho taste of the W . M . in the margin .
The York Mark Lodge was one of those Timo Immemorial Lodges which was long in recognizing the authority of tho Grand Mark Lodgo of England , although overtures of recaption on favourable terms were early mado to it . Its records do not extend further back than 1852 , and in this old centre of Masonry I do nofc think the Mark had any existence as a separately worked Degree at any former period .
According to tho oldest edition of tho By-Laws , which I possess , it is called tho " York Lodge of Mark Masons , attached to tho Union Lodge , No . 236 " ( now called the " York" Lodge , No . 236 ) , ancl these By-Laws made the Mastership conditional on membership in the Union Lodge . No doubt in this stronghold of Freemasonry there has formerly been a practice of selecting marks , but there is no
evidence of its having been worked as a separate Degree , indeed , tho Templar is the only extraneous working beside tho Royal Arch , of which we have any recorded evidence at York . In the minutes of tha Lodgo of Perseverance , No . 371 , at Marypovfc , in Cumberland , thero is an entry dated 9 th July 1844 , to the effect
that certain Brethren "took the Degree of Mark Master Mason , and had their Marks duly registered in the Book of Marks , " and Bro . Lamonby says that he has found no earlier entry of the Mark in the counties of Westmoreland and Cumberland . There was no Mark Lodge , however , as wo understand the term , ancl the oldest Mark Lodgo in thafc District , at tho present time , was warranted in 1863 .
I suspect that south of the Trent , Mark Masonry fell out of fashion at tho beginning of this century , and thafc this was one reason why it was not inclnded as a portion of " Pure and Ancient Masonry afc tho Union . " Thenceforth the Degree must havo been preserved in the South by a very slender thread , which would account for the Bon Accord Lodge in London , in 1855 , applying to Scotland for a
Mark warrant ; for the six members who applied for the warrant from the Bon Accord Royal Arch Chapter in Scotland would scarcely have dono so had they been able to advise with any known Mark Master ' s Lodge of repute in London on the subject . Ifc was then thafc a Committee of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of England took the matter into consideration , as to whether the Mark Degree shonld
be taken over by that Body as in Scotland , but thafc Committee decided that tho Mark was a portion of the Fellow Craffc Degree , and had no connection with the Arch . The Committee even recommended that the Mark should bo added to the Fellow Craffc , and tho recommendation was accepted by the Grand Lodge of England .
Some of the members of tho Grand Lodge , however , became frightened at the prospect of any change , however slight , regarding ifc as the thin end of the wedge , and consequently tho declared opinion of the Grand Lodge was regularly reversed , and matters were left ; in the same condition as before , and in which they have remained over since .
The Bon Accord Lodge in London was the first ; body to move in the formation of an independent Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons ( Lord Leigh being their head ) , and they gathered round them , in 1857 , tho other Lodges in the Sonth and some in tho North of England , working the Degree as English Lodges , ancl formed a Grand Mark Lodgo of England . In this they were perfectly constitutional ,
and were only following tho example of the Craft Lodges in 1717 . Ifc had been previously agreed that any Mark Lodge in working existence before Juno 1856 should be considered a " Time Immemorial" Lodge , and should take rank accordingly . In 1858 most of the Mark Lodges working under warrants from tho Grand Chapter of Scotland transferred their allegiance to tho Grand Mark Lodgo of England , which ,
from that date , has held an increasingly prosperous existence . Bat it is to Scotland that I think wo must look for the birth-placo of the Mark Degree as a speculative working . No ono who has mado even the mosfc cursory examination of tho remains of ancient ecclesiastical and military bniklings conld fail to acknowledge that a
system of Masons' marks has been in vogue as long as the art of building itself , bub between such a system and the speculative system of Mark Masonry there is moro difference than between tho mediaeval Abbey Builders and ourselves as Free and Accepted Masons . The Abbey Builders had a system of speculative teaching , a code of general morality which they taught their initiates , but which , as far
Notes On The History Of The Mark Degree.
as wo know , had no special reference to Masons' marks . Tho mark was selected by a Brother as soon as ho had served his time and was mado freo of tho guild , just as tho monastic devotee of this day , on assuming tho cowl , adopts a name by which ho is known amongst his brotherhood . I feel suro that the Mark Degree camo into a " working" existence towards the close of the last century , when
fchero was a rage for the multiplication of orders , and when , doubtless , it was seen by the leaders of the Craft , as now , that a certain hiatus existed between the Second ancl Third Degrees . It may even have beon tho case that originally some kind of mark working , though of course nofc tho samo as at present , once formed an integral part or complement of tho Second Degree , just as somo Masons imagine the
Royal Arch did of tho Third Degree , and that for tho sake of abbreviating the ceremonies , both were divorced and fashioned into separate and distinct workings under newly invented names . In consequence of the action of a Blue Lodge in Glasgow in the year 1860 , which conferred tho Mark Degree under its Craffc war . ranfc , the Grand Lodge of Scotland felt compelled to examine into
tho whole question of tho status of Mark Masonry , and tho result of its inquiries is very important , as showing what conclusion tho heads of Masonry in that country camo to after careful investigation ancl abundant evidence . The following was tho minute entered into between the Grand Lodge ancl tho Grand Chapter of Scotland , and though rather long is well worth quoting in its entirety :
" Tho committeo appointed by the Grand Lodgo and Supremo Grand Royal Arch Chapter having hold a conforenco with a view to carrying out tho remit to thorn , unanimously agree that what ia generally known under the name of tho Mark Master's Degree waa wrought by the operative Lodges of St . John ' s Masonry in connection with tho Fellow Craft Degree before tho institution of the Grand
Lodge of Scotland . That since that date it has continued to be wrought in the Old Operative Lodges , but in what may be called tho Speculative Lodges it never was worked at all—or at all events in a very few . That this Degree being , with the exception of the Old Operative Lodges above mentioned , entirely abandoned by the Lodges of St . John's Masonry , tho Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter
resumed the the management of it as tho Fourth Degree of Masonry in order to complete tho instrnction of their candidates in tho preliminary Degrees before admitting them to tho Royal Arch . Thafc this Degree , whether viewed as a second part of the Fellow Craffc Degree or as a separate Degree , has never been organized or worked in England , Ireland or the Continent , or in America , as a part of St
John s Masonry ; and that it is now mosfc desirable that an arrangement may bo made which will reconcile tho differences between tho Grand Lodgo and Supremo Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland , and which will admit of tho threo first Degrees of St . John ' s Masonry being worked in the Lodges in Scotland in a manner similar to thafc allowed by sister Grand Lodges . Resolve to recommend the Grand
Lodge of Scotland and tho Supremo Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland to enact ancl declare as follows : —I . That all Lodges holding of the Grand Lodge of Scotland shall be allowed to work this Degree in virtue of the charters which they already possess . II . That to prevent confusion with Brethren belonging to Lodges out of this kingdom or with sister Grand Lodges , this Degree , although held by the
Grand Lodge to be a second part of tho Fellow Craft Degree , shall only be conferred on Master Masons , and the secrets shall only be communicated in presence of those who have taken it either from a Lodgo or Chapter entitled to grant it . III . Thafc the Grand Lodge of Scotland ancl tho Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland shall adopt the same ritual in conferring the Degree , being that now
adjusted by their respective committees . IV . That any candidate applying to be admitted to the Royal Arch Degree , if he has received this Degree in a regular Lodge of St . John ' s Masonry , shall not be required to take it a second time from the Chapter into whioh he seeks admission , but in event of his nofc having received ifc he shall be obliged to take ifc from that Chapter . Y . Thafc as regards the
Royal Arch Degrees , this Degree shall be reckoned the Fourth Degree in Masonry . VI . That nothing contained in these regulations shall interfere with the superintendence which the Supremo Grand Royal Arch Chapter claims over Mark Masonry out of Scotland or with the Lodges holding of it in England or abroad . " Now this is a register of opinion of the highest value , and when
added to that of the Grand Lodge of England , in 1856 , that the Mark Degree was " not positively essential , but a gracef al appendage to the Degree of Fellow Craft , " and to the fact thafc the Mark Degree occupies a similar position in Ireland to that which it does in Scotland , it gives to tho Degree the imprimatur , as ifc were , of tho highest Masonic authorities in tho United Kingdom . Ib signifies nothing
thafc the Grand Lodgo of England declined to take charge of the Degree . That was objected to merely on the technical ground of Article II . of the Articles of Union in 1813 , and nofc because the Grand Lodgo of England regarded tho Mark Degree as unworthy of inclusion in Craft Masonry . The objection was similar to thafc which now pervades the minds of English Churchmen at the idea of any
alteration in tho Book of Common Prayer . It is felt thafc if onco a breach is mado in tho Rubric , which have stood tho test so many years , there is no telling where it would end . The Grand Lodge of Scotland refused to recognize the Grand Mark Lodge of England until June of 1879 , only because they were so con . vinced thafc the Degree belonged to the Fellow Craft , that it seemed
to them as reasonable to form a Grand Fellow Craft s Lodge as a Graud Mark Lodge , and it was only when it became quite evident that tho Grand Lodge of England would never recognize , or take charge of the Degree , that they accepted tho inevitable . In 1864 , the Scotch Committee , before spoken of , sent their adopted report lo Grand Lodge and Chapter of England , ancl asked if those Bodies were
prepared either to take over the Mark Degree , or to recognise the Grand Mark Lodge of England , but the reply was in the negative , nor have subsequent conferences and communications altered matters . At tho present moment the Grand Mark Lodge of England is so strong , and occupies such an independent position , thafc there would bo no possible chance of amalgamation with either Graud Lodge or Grand
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Notes On The History Of The Mark Degree.
" Imperial Georgo Lodge , No . 115 ( sic ) , " Hare and Hounds , " Middleton , Feb . 29 , 1824 . " Being a Lodgo of Emergency for making Mark Masons . " " Tho Lodgo was opened in duo form afc 3 o ' clock . " Bonj . Isherwood was made Mark Mason . ( Then follow other names . ) "This Lodgo was closed in peace and good harmony at 5 o'clock .
I believe that , in a short time , I shall bo in possession of actual transcripts of earlier Mark minntes in the North of England , but tho difficulties in obtaining access to old minntes aro very great , and thoso of inducing local Brethren to mako copies aro , as a rule , still greater . From the published " Directory" of tho Minerva Lodgo , No . 250 ,
at Hull , which contains a sort of analysis of the old minntes , I gather that in 1802 the following Degrees wero worked in that Lodgo " Threo Degrees of Craft Masonry , Mark Masonry , Royal Arch , Knight Templar , Old English Horodim or Grange Masonry , and Ark , Mark and Link . " From enquiry of Bro . M . C . Peek , the Secretary ,
I gather that no regular Mark minutes wero kept , but tho marks wero entered in the Craffc minute book . Thero is nothing to prove thafc tho Degree was then worked in extenso , and previous to 1853 , tho W . M . of the Minerva Craft Lodgo was ( if a Mark Mason ) W . M . of tho Minerva Mark Lodgo ( ex officio ) . Separate and distinct certificates for Mark Master Masons wore issued for many years boforo distinct Mark Lodges woro established ,
and I possess ono formerly issued by tho " Old York" Lodge , at Bradford , which at ono timo formed an integral portion of the ° Hopo Lodge , held in that town , and which worked under a " Dispensation " from York . In this ono tho Brother ' s mark was placed in the centre , and the certificate was written according to tho taste of the W . M . in the margin .
The York Mark Lodge was one of those Timo Immemorial Lodges which was long in recognizing the authority of tho Grand Mark Lodgo of England , although overtures of recaption on favourable terms were early mado to it . Its records do not extend further back than 1852 , and in this old centre of Masonry I do nofc think the Mark had any existence as a separately worked Degree at any former period .
According to tho oldest edition of tho By-Laws , which I possess , it is called tho " York Lodge of Mark Masons , attached to tho Union Lodge , No . 236 " ( now called the " York" Lodge , No . 236 ) , ancl these By-Laws made the Mastership conditional on membership in the Union Lodge . No doubt in this stronghold of Freemasonry there has formerly been a practice of selecting marks , but there is no
evidence of its having been worked as a separate Degree , indeed , tho Templar is the only extraneous working beside tho Royal Arch , of which we have any recorded evidence at York . In the minutes of tha Lodgo of Perseverance , No . 371 , at Marypovfc , in Cumberland , thero is an entry dated 9 th July 1844 , to the effect
that certain Brethren "took the Degree of Mark Master Mason , and had their Marks duly registered in the Book of Marks , " and Bro . Lamonby says that he has found no earlier entry of the Mark in the counties of Westmoreland and Cumberland . There was no Mark Lodge , however , as wo understand the term , ancl the oldest Mark Lodgo in thafc District , at tho present time , was warranted in 1863 .
I suspect that south of the Trent , Mark Masonry fell out of fashion at tho beginning of this century , and thafc this was one reason why it was not inclnded as a portion of " Pure and Ancient Masonry afc tho Union . " Thenceforth the Degree must havo been preserved in the South by a very slender thread , which would account for the Bon Accord Lodge in London , in 1855 , applying to Scotland for a
Mark warrant ; for the six members who applied for the warrant from the Bon Accord Royal Arch Chapter in Scotland would scarcely have dono so had they been able to advise with any known Mark Master ' s Lodge of repute in London on the subject . Ifc was then thafc a Committee of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of England took the matter into consideration , as to whether the Mark Degree shonld
be taken over by that Body as in Scotland , but thafc Committee decided that tho Mark was a portion of the Fellow Craffc Degree , and had no connection with the Arch . The Committee even recommended that the Mark should bo added to the Fellow Craffc , and tho recommendation was accepted by the Grand Lodge of England .
Some of the members of tho Grand Lodge , however , became frightened at the prospect of any change , however slight , regarding ifc as the thin end of the wedge , and consequently tho declared opinion of the Grand Lodge was regularly reversed , and matters were left ; in the same condition as before , and in which they have remained over since .
The Bon Accord Lodge in London was the first ; body to move in the formation of an independent Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons ( Lord Leigh being their head ) , and they gathered round them , in 1857 , tho other Lodges in the Sonth and some in tho North of England , working the Degree as English Lodges , ancl formed a Grand Mark Lodgo of England . In this they were perfectly constitutional ,
and were only following tho example of the Craft Lodges in 1717 . Ifc had been previously agreed that any Mark Lodge in working existence before Juno 1856 should be considered a " Time Immemorial" Lodge , and should take rank accordingly . In 1858 most of the Mark Lodges working under warrants from tho Grand Chapter of Scotland transferred their allegiance to tho Grand Mark Lodgo of England , which ,
from that date , has held an increasingly prosperous existence . Bat it is to Scotland that I think wo must look for the birth-placo of the Mark Degree as a speculative working . No ono who has mado even the mosfc cursory examination of tho remains of ancient ecclesiastical and military bniklings conld fail to acknowledge that a
system of Masons' marks has been in vogue as long as the art of building itself , bub between such a system and the speculative system of Mark Masonry there is moro difference than between tho mediaeval Abbey Builders and ourselves as Free and Accepted Masons . The Abbey Builders had a system of speculative teaching , a code of general morality which they taught their initiates , but which , as far
Notes On The History Of The Mark Degree.
as wo know , had no special reference to Masons' marks . Tho mark was selected by a Brother as soon as ho had served his time and was mado freo of tho guild , just as tho monastic devotee of this day , on assuming tho cowl , adopts a name by which ho is known amongst his brotherhood . I feel suro that the Mark Degree camo into a " working" existence towards the close of the last century , when
fchero was a rage for the multiplication of orders , and when , doubtless , it was seen by the leaders of the Craft , as now , that a certain hiatus existed between the Second ancl Third Degrees . It may even have beon tho case that originally some kind of mark working , though of course nofc tho samo as at present , once formed an integral part or complement of tho Second Degree , just as somo Masons imagine the
Royal Arch did of tho Third Degree , and that for tho sake of abbreviating the ceremonies , both were divorced and fashioned into separate and distinct workings under newly invented names . In consequence of the action of a Blue Lodge in Glasgow in the year 1860 , which conferred tho Mark Degree under its Craffc war . ranfc , the Grand Lodge of Scotland felt compelled to examine into
tho whole question of tho status of Mark Masonry , and tho result of its inquiries is very important , as showing what conclusion tho heads of Masonry in that country camo to after careful investigation ancl abundant evidence . The following was tho minute entered into between the Grand Lodge ancl tho Grand Chapter of Scotland , and though rather long is well worth quoting in its entirety :
" Tho committeo appointed by the Grand Lodgo and Supremo Grand Royal Arch Chapter having hold a conforenco with a view to carrying out tho remit to thorn , unanimously agree that what ia generally known under the name of tho Mark Master's Degree waa wrought by the operative Lodges of St . John ' s Masonry in connection with tho Fellow Craft Degree before tho institution of the Grand
Lodge of Scotland . That since that date it has continued to be wrought in the Old Operative Lodges , but in what may be called tho Speculative Lodges it never was worked at all—or at all events in a very few . That this Degree being , with the exception of the Old Operative Lodges above mentioned , entirely abandoned by the Lodges of St . John's Masonry , tho Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter
resumed the the management of it as tho Fourth Degree of Masonry in order to complete tho instrnction of their candidates in tho preliminary Degrees before admitting them to tho Royal Arch . Thafc this Degree , whether viewed as a second part of the Fellow Craffc Degree or as a separate Degree , has never been organized or worked in England , Ireland or the Continent , or in America , as a part of St
John s Masonry ; and that it is now mosfc desirable that an arrangement may bo made which will reconcile tho differences between tho Grand Lodgo and Supremo Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland , and which will admit of tho threo first Degrees of St . John ' s Masonry being worked in the Lodges in Scotland in a manner similar to thafc allowed by sister Grand Lodges . Resolve to recommend the Grand
Lodge of Scotland and tho Supremo Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland to enact ancl declare as follows : —I . That all Lodges holding of the Grand Lodge of Scotland shall be allowed to work this Degree in virtue of the charters which they already possess . II . That to prevent confusion with Brethren belonging to Lodges out of this kingdom or with sister Grand Lodges , this Degree , although held by the
Grand Lodge to be a second part of tho Fellow Craft Degree , shall only be conferred on Master Masons , and the secrets shall only be communicated in presence of those who have taken it either from a Lodgo or Chapter entitled to grant it . III . Thafc the Grand Lodge of Scotland ancl tho Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland shall adopt the same ritual in conferring the Degree , being that now
adjusted by their respective committees . IV . That any candidate applying to be admitted to the Royal Arch Degree , if he has received this Degree in a regular Lodge of St . John ' s Masonry , shall not be required to take it a second time from the Chapter into whioh he seeks admission , but in event of his nofc having received ifc he shall be obliged to take ifc from that Chapter . Y . Thafc as regards the
Royal Arch Degrees , this Degree shall be reckoned the Fourth Degree in Masonry . VI . That nothing contained in these regulations shall interfere with the superintendence which the Supremo Grand Royal Arch Chapter claims over Mark Masonry out of Scotland or with the Lodges holding of it in England or abroad . " Now this is a register of opinion of the highest value , and when
added to that of the Grand Lodge of England , in 1856 , that the Mark Degree was " not positively essential , but a gracef al appendage to the Degree of Fellow Craft , " and to the fact thafc the Mark Degree occupies a similar position in Ireland to that which it does in Scotland , it gives to tho Degree the imprimatur , as ifc were , of tho highest Masonic authorities in tho United Kingdom . Ib signifies nothing
thafc the Grand Lodgo of England declined to take charge of the Degree . That was objected to merely on the technical ground of Article II . of the Articles of Union in 1813 , and nofc because the Grand Lodgo of England regarded tho Mark Degree as unworthy of inclusion in Craft Masonry . The objection was similar to thafc which now pervades the minds of English Churchmen at the idea of any
alteration in tho Book of Common Prayer . It is felt thafc if onco a breach is mado in tho Rubric , which have stood tho test so many years , there is no telling where it would end . The Grand Lodge of Scotland refused to recognize the Grand Mark Lodge of England until June of 1879 , only because they were so con . vinced thafc the Degree belonged to the Fellow Craft , that it seemed
to them as reasonable to form a Grand Fellow Craft s Lodge as a Graud Mark Lodge , and it was only when it became quite evident that tho Grand Lodge of England would never recognize , or take charge of the Degree , that they accepted tho inevitable . In 1864 , the Scotch Committee , before spoken of , sent their adopted report lo Grand Lodge and Chapter of England , ancl asked if those Bodies were
prepared either to take over the Mark Degree , or to recognise the Grand Mark Lodge of England , but the reply was in the negative , nor have subsequent conferences and communications altered matters . At tho present moment the Grand Mark Lodge of England is so strong , and occupies such an independent position , thafc there would bo no possible chance of amalgamation with either Graud Lodge or Grand