Present day Freemasonry has an astute and very linear beginning from 1717 England. And from that point, nearly every meeting has been well documents in one-way shape or another. The question quickly turns to where did Freemasonry come from, from what did it begin? The answers to these mysteries lie in the sands of time. We do, however, have a few fragments that we can look to on shaping some hypotheses and coming to some conclusions. Some, in fact, take the origins of Freemasonry back to the 12th century in the Halliwell poem, which you can read within. Others suggest that the origins of Freemasonry stretch even further back to the ancient mystery schools themselves, bringing forward the knowledge of the ancient past to us today. This section strives to look at that history and find some degree of clarity.
Origin of the Word "Freemason"
In the Winter 1963 issue of THE ROYAL ARCH MASON magazine there is an article entitled "Earliest use of word 'Freemason'" which indicates that the first known use of that word was in 1526, and then states that an earlier use of that word, if found, would arrest immediate attention among Masonic students. It then gives the opinion that correctly fixing the date when this word was first used would tell when the history of the craft took definite form. This latter conclusion would seem to be in error after consideration of the following information.
Ancient Evidences
It was the good fortune of the writer to see the great obelisk called Cleopatra's needle, as it stood at Alexandria and also to witness the "opening of a house" in Pompeii. The two Monoliths known as Cleopatra's needles had been brought to Alexandria in the time of the Caesars. They were originally in front of the University at Heliopolis, that great school where Moses, the law giver, was once a student. How long they were in Heliopolis no one knows, nor it is known when they were carved or erected.
600 Years of Craft Ritual
BRETHREN, MANY Of YOU will know that I travel vast distances in the course of my lecture duties and the further I go the more astonished I am to see how many Brethren believe, quite genuinely, that our masonic ritual came down straight from heaven, directly into the hands of King Solomon. They are all quite certain that it was in English, of course, because that is the only language they speak up there. They are equally sure that it was all engraved on two tablets of stone, so that, heaven forbid, not one single word should ever be altered; and most of them believe that King Solomon, in his own lodge, practised the same ritual as they do in theirs...
Time Line of Recorded British Freemasonry
The time line of recorded events leading up to the formation of the United Grand Lodge of england in 1717
|
