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Article ANCIENT MASONS' MARKS. ← Page 4 of 5 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ancient Masons' Marks.
connu , qui servait de marque a Jean Grieningen , editeur de A Strasbourg en 1526 \^>^> " hacl more to do , than many h-- y \ slavish imitators of church furniture , and Gothic mouldingswould willinglacknowled . Orto resumeit
, y ge , , may l ) e said , ancl most truly , " The Masons , or Architects of the middle ages were directly connected with the Church ;" ancl so much so was this the case , that the head ofthe Fraternity in Scotland , by ancient constitution , " required to be nobly born , or a clergyman of high rank and character . " William of Wkeham is a name well known in England
y , and in Germany we find this connection incidentally alluded to by Whitling in his "Nuremburg , " vol . i . p . 40 , —" and the examples abounding throughout this country and the archives of the Freemasons , which have been rooted out at various times from amongst the old German monasteries ,
seem amply to furnish both its history and its proof . " —( Origin of Gothic Architecture . ) This connection would certainly account for the many cruciform marks found on the walls of Christian churches , shewing , it might be , the hope the builder trusted in , or a memorial of the Saviour ' s Passion . But such a fact could surely never be applied to account
for similar—nay , in many instances , identical marks , to those above alluded to , found on Roman arches , Saracenic buildings in Asia Minor , ancl fortresses , tombs , and temples , in Eastern India . ( Vide Travels in Lycia , by Lieuts . Forbes and Spratt , Il . JV . ) Even in these instances the deep root which the institution had taken in Asia at a very early period
, coupled with the rapid spread of Christianity in Asia Minor , and its traditional introduction into India , might perhaps account for the similarity . To conclude this part ofthe subject , and before proceeding to give specimens of the different kinds of cross met with as Masonic Marks
which , it may be remarked , are by no means so numerous as in heraldry , we find at note 53 , page 202 of Lord Lindsay ' s travels or letters , Mr . Farren , Consul-General in Syria , speaking of a monument on the eastern side of the Orontes , which , from its description , was most probably not Christian ; " It is ( he says ) a square building of solid
Masonry , ancl without either apertures or chambers . It rests on a pedestal of steps , and . is surmounted by a pyramid or cone . It is very remarkable that the faces of the monument arc covered with small marks , cut on the stone—hiero-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ancient Masons' Marks.
connu , qui servait de marque a Jean Grieningen , editeur de A Strasbourg en 1526 \^>^> " hacl more to do , than many h-- y \ slavish imitators of church furniture , and Gothic mouldingswould willinglacknowled . Orto resumeit
, y ge , , may l ) e said , ancl most truly , " The Masons , or Architects of the middle ages were directly connected with the Church ;" ancl so much so was this the case , that the head ofthe Fraternity in Scotland , by ancient constitution , " required to be nobly born , or a clergyman of high rank and character . " William of Wkeham is a name well known in England
y , and in Germany we find this connection incidentally alluded to by Whitling in his "Nuremburg , " vol . i . p . 40 , —" and the examples abounding throughout this country and the archives of the Freemasons , which have been rooted out at various times from amongst the old German monasteries ,
seem amply to furnish both its history and its proof . " —( Origin of Gothic Architecture . ) This connection would certainly account for the many cruciform marks found on the walls of Christian churches , shewing , it might be , the hope the builder trusted in , or a memorial of the Saviour ' s Passion . But such a fact could surely never be applied to account
for similar—nay , in many instances , identical marks , to those above alluded to , found on Roman arches , Saracenic buildings in Asia Minor , ancl fortresses , tombs , and temples , in Eastern India . ( Vide Travels in Lycia , by Lieuts . Forbes and Spratt , Il . JV . ) Even in these instances the deep root which the institution had taken in Asia at a very early period
, coupled with the rapid spread of Christianity in Asia Minor , and its traditional introduction into India , might perhaps account for the similarity . To conclude this part ofthe subject , and before proceeding to give specimens of the different kinds of cross met with as Masonic Marks
which , it may be remarked , are by no means so numerous as in heraldry , we find at note 53 , page 202 of Lord Lindsay ' s travels or letters , Mr . Farren , Consul-General in Syria , speaking of a monument on the eastern side of the Orontes , which , from its description , was most probably not Christian ; " It is ( he says ) a square building of solid
Masonry , ancl without either apertures or chambers . It rests on a pedestal of steps , and . is surmounted by a pyramid or cone . It is very remarkable that the faces of the monument arc covered with small marks , cut on the stone—hiero-