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Article MASONIC CURIOSITIES. ← Page 2 of 2 Article EARLY ENGLISH MASONRY. Page 1 of 2 Article EARLY ENGLISH MASONRY. Page 1 of 2 Article EARLY ENGLISH MASONRY. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Curiosities.
side , moon on left ; over the whole the " all-seeing eye , " surrounded by legend of name of lodge . ]
[ RED CROSS , A . D . 1783 . ] " WE , the King , & c , & c , & c , of the Grand Assembly of Knights of the Red Cross , held under the sanction of Warrent ( No . 535 ) , on the Register of Ireland .
Do hereby certify , declare and attest , that our true and well-beloved Brother , Sir Isaac Reed , was by us dubed a Knight of that most Honorable Degree of a Knight of the Red Cross , which having with
due Honor and Justice supported the amazing Tryals attending his admission , and as such we recommend him to all Brothers Knights of the Red Cross on the face of the Globe .
Given under our hands and seal of our Grand As sembly , on Long Island , this 25 th August , 1783 . MATT . SMITH , K . DANL . BEAUSON , C . G . WM . COLLIER , Gr .
[ This Certificate is also written , and bears the same seal as the chapter certificate . The seal is very imperfect , and is attached to a light Green ribbon . ]
Early English Masonry.
EARLY ENGLISH MASONRY .
[ We have received the following article from a Brother residing at Fremantle , Western Australia , and although it contains nothing new upon the subject , we
insert it , with the view of encouraging our brethren in distant parts to express their views upon the origin and history of the Craft . ]
CHAPTER THE FIRST . 7 / ie state of Masonry in England from the earliest Tradition lo ihe Norman Conquest . History is silent how long the posterity of Japhet in the north and west of Europe had lost the original fine skill that they brought from the
plains of Shinar ; or how the knowledge thereof first came to the British Isles , the most early histories of our country being so interlarded with fables , and perplexed with contrarieties , that authors consent not where to begin , how to go
on , or where to end , that the parts of it may , with any tolerable colour of truth , hang together . But certain it is , that the first inhabitants of this island must have brought with them no small knowledge of masonry , as there are the
strongest reasons to believe they were not the meanest proficients in the art of navigation , and the one was without doubt as necessary for them as the other . There are yet in being some remains of very admirable skill in architecture , much earlier
than the Romans , but now so defaced by villainous hands and the ruin of time , that from the rude remains thereof it is hard to determine what might have been their original use , or in what skilful manner they might have been designed ,
or how far we may presume to fix the name of barbarous and rude on what is infinitely beyond the contrivance of any modern invention , as the means of performing those great works were perhaps lost soon after the age of those very
barbarians who performed them . The Druids in Britain had many of the usages of Masonry amongst them , probably gathered from the Magians . They believed in the immortality and transmigration of souls from the one body to
another ; held their assemblies in woods and groves , or under wide-spreading oaks , which was also the practice of the patriarchs ; what they taught was committed to memory , and not on any account allowed to be written ; they
determined all causes , ecclesiastical and civil taught philosophy , astrology , politics , rites and ceremonies , and poetry ; and in song set forth the heroic deeds of great men for the imitation of posterity . The Trojan race of Britain * built many towns ,
B . C . 1030 . es P ecially E - Bank , commended for a very great builder , from whom we have the cities of York and Edinburgh ; his sucsuccessor built Canterbury , Winchester , and Shaftesbury , with many temples to Apollo , Diana , & c .
Early English Masonry.
Bladud is asserted to have been educated at Athens , and from thence returning a 9 4- great mathematician and architect , brought four philosophers with him , whom he placed at Stamford , having made that town a
kind of University . He also built Bath , and produced the hot waters there , committing the the conservation thereof to Minerva . But presuming to fly with artificial wings , he fell from Apollo's Temple in Tranovant ( now St . Paul ' s ,
London ) , and so ended his days . Upon the introduction of the Romans , arts and sciences flourished apace . The '* - *' ' famous wall from Solway to Berwick , with many towns and castles , were built in a regular manner , and courts of justice and temples
began to rise in splendour . But , afterwards , bloody wars breaking out between the conquerors and conquered , threw all into confusion again ; for from the beginning , it has been the fate of Masons and Masonry to suffer by wars , and ever transcendently to flourish in the glorious and happy days of peace .
The noble sciences of geometry and architec-287 ture su' - " ere'l S reat decay , till the ' * reign of Caransius , whohavii *> g shaken off the Roman yoke , contrived by all means to
render his person and government acceptable to the people , by encouraging all worthy arts , together with the Craft of Masonry , particularly at Verulam , where Albanus , a worthy knight , was steward of his household and overseer of his
works . Geometry was then taught to most workmen concerned in building . This Albanus was afterwards converted to the Christian faith by the preaching of Amphibalus , of Gaerlean , who hearing of his worthy deeds and great fame ,
. -T , , came to him , and accomplished his " ' ° 3- conversion . St . Alban was the first who suffered martyrdom for the Christian religion in Britain . The old Constitutions affirm , and the old English Masons as firmly believe it ,
that Caransius employed St . Alban to " environ the city of Verulam with a stone wall , and to build him a fine palace for which the British king made St . Alban the Steward of his Household , and chief ruler of the realm . . . St . Alban also loved Masons well and cherished them
much , and he made their pay right good , viz ., two shillings per week , and three pence to their cheer ; whereas before that time , through all the land , a Mason had but a penny a day and his meat . He also obtained of the king a charter
for the Freemasons for to hold a general Council , and give it the name of Assembly , and was thereat himself as Grand Master , and helped to make Masons , and give them good charges and regulations . *'
Soon after , Constantine the Great , born in Britain , succeeded , and partitioned South Britain into provinces . During his reign the ¦ o- Christian religion flourished , Britons enjoyed peace and plenty , and old Roman
Masonry once more appeared in many stately and curious buildings . In him expired the Roman vassalage , which had subsisted above 400 years . But too soon was this dawning of glorious days 00 eclipsed by most cruel and bloody
' * - ' wars ; for Gratian , who was a Briton by birth and education , so tyrannised over his countrymen , that in a short space he was slain . And now , being destitute of a leader , the Irish , Scots , and Picts broke in upon them , civic
dissensions raged , and nothing but famine , blood , and desolation was before their eyes . The noble and goodly structures were everywhere demolished , and the liberal arts despised ancl forgotten . The Anglo-Saxons were all rough , ignorant
heathens , ancl , despising everything but war , gave the finishing stroke to all the remains of ancient learning that their brother savages had accidentally left undemolished ; affecting only their own barbarous manner of life , till some
pious teachers from Wales and Scotland converted many to the Christian faith , but none of their kings , till the monk Augustine * - * - ' baptised Ethelbert , king of Kent ,
and in a few years after , all the kings of the Heptarchy were converted . Then churches , monasteries , palaces , and beautiful mansions , were built ; and although they too late lamented the ignorant and destructive conduct of their
Early English Masonry.
forefathers , yet they knew not how to construct the old architecture but being zealous to the utmost of what they knew , followed the Gothic style in building many palaces , castles , fortified
cities , and cathedral churches . This required many masons , who formed themselves into lodges , by direction of foreigners who came over to help them .
These Saxon lodges continued to improve till Kenerd , king of Mercia and general monarch , sent to Charles Martel , the Right Worshipful Grand Master of France , the father of king Pepin , who had been educated by Brc . Nimus
Crecus . Martel sent some expert A . D . 710 . Mas 01 ] S t 0 teaci-l the Saxons those laws and usages of the Craft that had been preserved from the havock of the Goths . But not the Augustan style , for that was buried in its
own ruins in the west . The clergy now studied geometry and architecture , such as it was , because the noble and wealth )' , the kings and queens , thought it meritorious to build churches and other pious foundations , where many of
them led a recluse life and ended their days . These holy houses , or monasteries , were under the direction of the clergy , where the lodges were usually held . Egbert , the first king of all England , fortified 0 , his seaports : and Alfred the Great 30 72
o . increasef j _ the navy , fortified and and rebuilt many towns , and founded the University of Oxford . He had about him the best architects , was the best king of England , employed the fellow-craft wholly in brick and stone , and died illustrious in the year 000 .
Edward , his successor , left Masonry to the deputy king of Mercia , but after-A . D . 920 . war ( j ^ piaced bis learned brother , Ethelward , at the head of the Fraternity , and founded the University of Cambridge , that had
been long a nursery of the learned . Athelstan ascended the throne , and , at first , left the Craft to the care of his active A . D . 924 . an ( j va jjant brother , Edwin , called in some works his son . But in all the old
Constitutions it is thus set forth , viz . : ¦ That though the ancient records of the Brotherhood in England were many of them destroyed , or lost , in the wars of the Saxons and Danes , yet King Athelstan , the grandson of Alfred the Great , a mighty
architect , the first anointed king of England , and who translated the Holy Bible into the Saxon tongue , when he had brought the A . D . 930 . jan ( | jnto rest an ( j peace > Dmit many great works , and encouraged many Masons from
France , who were appointed overseers thereof , ancl brought with them the charges and regulations of the lodges , preserved since the Roman times , who also prevailed with the king to improve the Constitutions of the English lodges
according to the foreign model , and to increase the wages of working masons . That the said king ' s brother , Prince Edwin , being taught Masonry , and taking upon him the charges of a Master Mason , for the love he had to the said
Craft , and the honourable principles whereon it is founded , purchased a free charter of his father for the Masons to have a connection amongst themselves , as it was anciently expressed or a freedom and power to regulate themselves , to
amend what might happen amiss within the Craft , and to hold a yearly Communication and General Assembly . That , accordingly , Prince Edwin summoned all the Masons in the realm to meet him in a Congregation at York , in June ,
A . D . , who came and composed General , or Grand Lodge , of which he was Grand Master , and having brought with them all the writings and records of the Craft extant , some in Greek , some in Latin , some in French , and other
languages , from the contents thereof that assembly did frame the Constitutions and Charges of an English lodge , made a law to preserve the same in all time coming , and ordained good pay for the working Masons .
But good Prince Edwin died before the king , „ „ to the great grief of the Fraternity , A ' " 93 though his memory is honourably mentioned in all the old Constitutions , and will ever be revered in our lodges . Much more might here be said of this worthy prince , but
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Curiosities.
side , moon on left ; over the whole the " all-seeing eye , " surrounded by legend of name of lodge . ]
[ RED CROSS , A . D . 1783 . ] " WE , the King , & c , & c , & c , of the Grand Assembly of Knights of the Red Cross , held under the sanction of Warrent ( No . 535 ) , on the Register of Ireland .
Do hereby certify , declare and attest , that our true and well-beloved Brother , Sir Isaac Reed , was by us dubed a Knight of that most Honorable Degree of a Knight of the Red Cross , which having with
due Honor and Justice supported the amazing Tryals attending his admission , and as such we recommend him to all Brothers Knights of the Red Cross on the face of the Globe .
Given under our hands and seal of our Grand As sembly , on Long Island , this 25 th August , 1783 . MATT . SMITH , K . DANL . BEAUSON , C . G . WM . COLLIER , Gr .
[ This Certificate is also written , and bears the same seal as the chapter certificate . The seal is very imperfect , and is attached to a light Green ribbon . ]
Early English Masonry.
EARLY ENGLISH MASONRY .
[ We have received the following article from a Brother residing at Fremantle , Western Australia , and although it contains nothing new upon the subject , we
insert it , with the view of encouraging our brethren in distant parts to express their views upon the origin and history of the Craft . ]
CHAPTER THE FIRST . 7 / ie state of Masonry in England from the earliest Tradition lo ihe Norman Conquest . History is silent how long the posterity of Japhet in the north and west of Europe had lost the original fine skill that they brought from the
plains of Shinar ; or how the knowledge thereof first came to the British Isles , the most early histories of our country being so interlarded with fables , and perplexed with contrarieties , that authors consent not where to begin , how to go
on , or where to end , that the parts of it may , with any tolerable colour of truth , hang together . But certain it is , that the first inhabitants of this island must have brought with them no small knowledge of masonry , as there are the
strongest reasons to believe they were not the meanest proficients in the art of navigation , and the one was without doubt as necessary for them as the other . There are yet in being some remains of very admirable skill in architecture , much earlier
than the Romans , but now so defaced by villainous hands and the ruin of time , that from the rude remains thereof it is hard to determine what might have been their original use , or in what skilful manner they might have been designed ,
or how far we may presume to fix the name of barbarous and rude on what is infinitely beyond the contrivance of any modern invention , as the means of performing those great works were perhaps lost soon after the age of those very
barbarians who performed them . The Druids in Britain had many of the usages of Masonry amongst them , probably gathered from the Magians . They believed in the immortality and transmigration of souls from the one body to
another ; held their assemblies in woods and groves , or under wide-spreading oaks , which was also the practice of the patriarchs ; what they taught was committed to memory , and not on any account allowed to be written ; they
determined all causes , ecclesiastical and civil taught philosophy , astrology , politics , rites and ceremonies , and poetry ; and in song set forth the heroic deeds of great men for the imitation of posterity . The Trojan race of Britain * built many towns ,
B . C . 1030 . es P ecially E - Bank , commended for a very great builder , from whom we have the cities of York and Edinburgh ; his sucsuccessor built Canterbury , Winchester , and Shaftesbury , with many temples to Apollo , Diana , & c .
Early English Masonry.
Bladud is asserted to have been educated at Athens , and from thence returning a 9 4- great mathematician and architect , brought four philosophers with him , whom he placed at Stamford , having made that town a
kind of University . He also built Bath , and produced the hot waters there , committing the the conservation thereof to Minerva . But presuming to fly with artificial wings , he fell from Apollo's Temple in Tranovant ( now St . Paul ' s ,
London ) , and so ended his days . Upon the introduction of the Romans , arts and sciences flourished apace . The '* - *' ' famous wall from Solway to Berwick , with many towns and castles , were built in a regular manner , and courts of justice and temples
began to rise in splendour . But , afterwards , bloody wars breaking out between the conquerors and conquered , threw all into confusion again ; for from the beginning , it has been the fate of Masons and Masonry to suffer by wars , and ever transcendently to flourish in the glorious and happy days of peace .
The noble sciences of geometry and architec-287 ture su' - " ere'l S reat decay , till the ' * reign of Caransius , whohavii *> g shaken off the Roman yoke , contrived by all means to
render his person and government acceptable to the people , by encouraging all worthy arts , together with the Craft of Masonry , particularly at Verulam , where Albanus , a worthy knight , was steward of his household and overseer of his
works . Geometry was then taught to most workmen concerned in building . This Albanus was afterwards converted to the Christian faith by the preaching of Amphibalus , of Gaerlean , who hearing of his worthy deeds and great fame ,
. -T , , came to him , and accomplished his " ' ° 3- conversion . St . Alban was the first who suffered martyrdom for the Christian religion in Britain . The old Constitutions affirm , and the old English Masons as firmly believe it ,
that Caransius employed St . Alban to " environ the city of Verulam with a stone wall , and to build him a fine palace for which the British king made St . Alban the Steward of his Household , and chief ruler of the realm . . . St . Alban also loved Masons well and cherished them
much , and he made their pay right good , viz ., two shillings per week , and three pence to their cheer ; whereas before that time , through all the land , a Mason had but a penny a day and his meat . He also obtained of the king a charter
for the Freemasons for to hold a general Council , and give it the name of Assembly , and was thereat himself as Grand Master , and helped to make Masons , and give them good charges and regulations . *'
Soon after , Constantine the Great , born in Britain , succeeded , and partitioned South Britain into provinces . During his reign the ¦ o- Christian religion flourished , Britons enjoyed peace and plenty , and old Roman
Masonry once more appeared in many stately and curious buildings . In him expired the Roman vassalage , which had subsisted above 400 years . But too soon was this dawning of glorious days 00 eclipsed by most cruel and bloody
' * - ' wars ; for Gratian , who was a Briton by birth and education , so tyrannised over his countrymen , that in a short space he was slain . And now , being destitute of a leader , the Irish , Scots , and Picts broke in upon them , civic
dissensions raged , and nothing but famine , blood , and desolation was before their eyes . The noble and goodly structures were everywhere demolished , and the liberal arts despised ancl forgotten . The Anglo-Saxons were all rough , ignorant
heathens , ancl , despising everything but war , gave the finishing stroke to all the remains of ancient learning that their brother savages had accidentally left undemolished ; affecting only their own barbarous manner of life , till some
pious teachers from Wales and Scotland converted many to the Christian faith , but none of their kings , till the monk Augustine * - * - ' baptised Ethelbert , king of Kent ,
and in a few years after , all the kings of the Heptarchy were converted . Then churches , monasteries , palaces , and beautiful mansions , were built ; and although they too late lamented the ignorant and destructive conduct of their
Early English Masonry.
forefathers , yet they knew not how to construct the old architecture but being zealous to the utmost of what they knew , followed the Gothic style in building many palaces , castles , fortified
cities , and cathedral churches . This required many masons , who formed themselves into lodges , by direction of foreigners who came over to help them .
These Saxon lodges continued to improve till Kenerd , king of Mercia and general monarch , sent to Charles Martel , the Right Worshipful Grand Master of France , the father of king Pepin , who had been educated by Brc . Nimus
Crecus . Martel sent some expert A . D . 710 . Mas 01 ] S t 0 teaci-l the Saxons those laws and usages of the Craft that had been preserved from the havock of the Goths . But not the Augustan style , for that was buried in its
own ruins in the west . The clergy now studied geometry and architecture , such as it was , because the noble and wealth )' , the kings and queens , thought it meritorious to build churches and other pious foundations , where many of
them led a recluse life and ended their days . These holy houses , or monasteries , were under the direction of the clergy , where the lodges were usually held . Egbert , the first king of all England , fortified 0 , his seaports : and Alfred the Great 30 72
o . increasef j _ the navy , fortified and and rebuilt many towns , and founded the University of Oxford . He had about him the best architects , was the best king of England , employed the fellow-craft wholly in brick and stone , and died illustrious in the year 000 .
Edward , his successor , left Masonry to the deputy king of Mercia , but after-A . D . 920 . war ( j ^ piaced bis learned brother , Ethelward , at the head of the Fraternity , and founded the University of Cambridge , that had
been long a nursery of the learned . Athelstan ascended the throne , and , at first , left the Craft to the care of his active A . D . 924 . an ( j va jjant brother , Edwin , called in some works his son . But in all the old
Constitutions it is thus set forth , viz . : ¦ That though the ancient records of the Brotherhood in England were many of them destroyed , or lost , in the wars of the Saxons and Danes , yet King Athelstan , the grandson of Alfred the Great , a mighty
architect , the first anointed king of England , and who translated the Holy Bible into the Saxon tongue , when he had brought the A . D . 930 . jan ( | jnto rest an ( j peace > Dmit many great works , and encouraged many Masons from
France , who were appointed overseers thereof , ancl brought with them the charges and regulations of the lodges , preserved since the Roman times , who also prevailed with the king to improve the Constitutions of the English lodges
according to the foreign model , and to increase the wages of working masons . That the said king ' s brother , Prince Edwin , being taught Masonry , and taking upon him the charges of a Master Mason , for the love he had to the said
Craft , and the honourable principles whereon it is founded , purchased a free charter of his father for the Masons to have a connection amongst themselves , as it was anciently expressed or a freedom and power to regulate themselves , to
amend what might happen amiss within the Craft , and to hold a yearly Communication and General Assembly . That , accordingly , Prince Edwin summoned all the Masons in the realm to meet him in a Congregation at York , in June ,
A . D . , who came and composed General , or Grand Lodge , of which he was Grand Master , and having brought with them all the writings and records of the Craft extant , some in Greek , some in Latin , some in French , and other
languages , from the contents thereof that assembly did frame the Constitutions and Charges of an English lodge , made a law to preserve the same in all time coming , and ordained good pay for the working Masons .
But good Prince Edwin died before the king , „ „ to the great grief of the Fraternity , A ' " 93 though his memory is honourably mentioned in all the old Constitutions , and will ever be revered in our lodges . Much more might here be said of this worthy prince , but