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Article THE DERIVATION OF FREEMASON. ← Page 3 of 4 →
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The Derivation Of Freemason.
" Messeney , " is an old German word for the Society of the Knights of the Round Table , but has nothing to do with Masonry , though curiously enoug-h there seems to have been some sort of Masonic tradition Avith Kino- Arthur and " Excalibur . "
There is a work by Paciaudus often quoted from , " De Cultu S . Johannis Baptistse Antiquitates Christiana ? , Roma ? , 1775 , " which talks of the houses "de la Macon" and " de la Maggione" as belonging to the Knights Templar . But all these theories seem Avide of the mark . There is a good deal , however , as to Roquefort ' s idea on the whole ,
as derivations are not always obvious , and are sometimes a little strained ; though " maceria " seems to supply euphoniously a simple origin of " Macon . " " Macon , " " maceon , " and " macoun" are frequently found in early documents , though in 1412 " Mason" is often used . And then , secondly , whence comes the word "Free ? " rather ,
Avhy was it added to Mason ? Several explanations have been offered . One is , that it means the Mason so termed was a Craft brother free of his Gild . Another is , that having been sworn into his Gild he became free of his municipality , one of the Free Crafts , as at Hartlepool , members of a common
Gild , and free to take apprentices at the price paid by the Gild subject to the municipal authorities . Another meaning given to it , that he Avas a Freeman , that is free born , exempt from serfage and vassalage , and not liable to be seized by his lord for military or agricultural
service . It is curious to note the early struggle which began in this country between the lords of the soil and the towns in respect of the " adscript ! glebte . " By most of the municipal charters , privileges , and customs , if a serf escaped into a free town , that is , a town under a
Royal charter with a free municipality , and stayed there a " twelvemonth and a day , " the lord could not claim him or take him by force ; he had become emancipated , or , rather , freed from vassaldom , and was entitled , if he had children , to consider them " free born . " There are several Acts of Parliament relating to this subject , and
giving the lord ' s power to seize in the free town or municipalities their serfs before the expiration of the period . Serfs were emancipated by purchase , by free gift , and by special services , and by becoming free citizens of a municipal borough as we said before . We shall remember that we are told in the Masonic Poem that the Mason
is to be free born , otherwise he would be liable to be seized by his lord ; and Ave have reason to believe that in troubled days , when might made right , the lords were not very scrupulous as to the claims of the municipalities if only they could find what they deemed their own " chattels . " Sad as the truth is , so it Avas .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Derivation Of Freemason.
" Messeney , " is an old German word for the Society of the Knights of the Round Table , but has nothing to do with Masonry , though curiously enoug-h there seems to have been some sort of Masonic tradition Avith Kino- Arthur and " Excalibur . "
There is a work by Paciaudus often quoted from , " De Cultu S . Johannis Baptistse Antiquitates Christiana ? , Roma ? , 1775 , " which talks of the houses "de la Macon" and " de la Maggione" as belonging to the Knights Templar . But all these theories seem Avide of the mark . There is a good deal , however , as to Roquefort ' s idea on the whole ,
as derivations are not always obvious , and are sometimes a little strained ; though " maceria " seems to supply euphoniously a simple origin of " Macon . " " Macon , " " maceon , " and " macoun" are frequently found in early documents , though in 1412 " Mason" is often used . And then , secondly , whence comes the word "Free ? " rather ,
Avhy was it added to Mason ? Several explanations have been offered . One is , that it means the Mason so termed was a Craft brother free of his Gild . Another is , that having been sworn into his Gild he became free of his municipality , one of the Free Crafts , as at Hartlepool , members of a common
Gild , and free to take apprentices at the price paid by the Gild subject to the municipal authorities . Another meaning given to it , that he Avas a Freeman , that is free born , exempt from serfage and vassalage , and not liable to be seized by his lord for military or agricultural
service . It is curious to note the early struggle which began in this country between the lords of the soil and the towns in respect of the " adscript ! glebte . " By most of the municipal charters , privileges , and customs , if a serf escaped into a free town , that is , a town under a
Royal charter with a free municipality , and stayed there a " twelvemonth and a day , " the lord could not claim him or take him by force ; he had become emancipated , or , rather , freed from vassaldom , and was entitled , if he had children , to consider them " free born . " There are several Acts of Parliament relating to this subject , and
giving the lord ' s power to seize in the free town or municipalities their serfs before the expiration of the period . Serfs were emancipated by purchase , by free gift , and by special services , and by becoming free citizens of a municipal borough as we said before . We shall remember that we are told in the Masonic Poem that the Mason
is to be free born , otherwise he would be liable to be seized by his lord ; and Ave have reason to believe that in troubled days , when might made right , the lords were not very scrupulous as to the claims of the municipalities if only they could find what they deemed their own " chattels . " Sad as the truth is , so it Avas .