EDUCATIONAL LODGE No. 1002, A.F. & A.M.

Bulletin No. 109 Minneapolis, Minnesota April 26, 1990

AN EXPLANATION OF THE TRANSITION FROM OPERATIVE TO SPECULATIVE Rodney M. Larson

Senior Grand Deacon The Grand Lodge of Minnesota

AF. & A.M.

We know approximately when and where the transformation from operative to speculative masonry took place, but we have no accurate information on why or how it happened. This paper is concerned with one aspect of this transformation, namely the event or events that resulted in the assignment of symbolic, moral meaning to the working tools of the operative mason. These symbolic meanings are certainly a highly significant feature of speculative masonry, one that defmes the character and determines the scope of our Craft. In a time when literacy was less common, such symbols were very powerful. And they still hold much of this power in our time. In the remainder of this paper I will refer to the cause of the assignment of symbolic meaning as "The Key Event".

Historical evidence leads me to believe that the Key Event took place sometime between the tenth and sixteenth centuries and that the location for this event was in the area that includes the high moors of northern England and the Scottish lowlands*. The Regius Poem can be interpreted to show that some form of ritual was used by the stonemasons of northern England in the tenth century. Public records refer to mason's lodges in Aberdeen in 1483 and in Midlothian in 1555. Minutes of the Lodge of Edinburgh, Mary's Chapel# I for June 8, 1600 show that John BosweU, the Laird of Aucheinleck (and presumably not a stonemason) was present at the meeting. Therefore, it seems that this is the time and this is the place to look for evidence for the Key Event.

To explain the Key Event we must answer a number of quetions: I. Why did it happen when it did? 2. Why did it happen where it did? 3. Why did it not happen elsewhere? 4. Why did a similar event not happen to some other guild of

craftsmen? 5. Why did the transformation triggered by the Key Event stop

with the result we see? 6. Why Unitarian rather than Trinitarian?

There have been many answers offered for each of these questions. But, in the scope of my reading, I have not found any attempt to answer all of the questions at one time with one simple set of hypothesis. The thesis of this paper is an attempt to answer these questions in the context of the time period and area mentioned above.

• There are some who have concluded that the transition took place farther south and later in time. However, I feel that they are focusing on the conclusion of the transition and not on its causes and beginnings.

To begin, let me review some ideas that have been suggested as answers to these questions. During the transition period there was, within the building trades, an organization which practiced pro­gressive improvement of skills, and in which initiatory procedures were used. This was the fertile ground within which the seeds for our present day fraternity were planted. These men, and perhaps women, were engaged in the task of building cathedrals. These structures, which are perhaps the most beautiful and awe inspiring structures made by human hands during the entire history of our race, were built, if not created, from base materials, using the simplest of tools, by the efforts of the individual workman. This much can be considered as fact.

We then arrive at the speculation that one or more of these workmen made the great intuitive leap that produced the abstract generalization. He or they saw the cathedral building process as the process of transforming crude materials into God-like structures. A process perfonned by the use of the mason's working tools and through the efforts of the mason. The inspired ones combined this abstraction with the concept of moral perfection as a goal for the

individuaL The result was the masonic moral philosophy and practice- of a man applying the masonic tools to his inner-being, in a symbolic manner, in order to build that perfect structure, that house not made with hands, which can be created within each of us.

This description, while it may be true, and while it does in some way define the events of the transfonnation period, still does not answer the questions. Another description focuses on the ending of the cathedral building period, the subsequent scattering of the Brothers and their desires to retain the associations established during the many years of mutual labor. This can tell us why the Table Lodge came into being, but, again, it does not explain the Key Event. Other explanations based upon social, economic and political changes similarly fall short.

The simple hypothesis I offer rests on three points. First, the practices of the stonemason's guilds, wherein rules of behavior were codified, though without symbolic reference to the working tools. These are clearly recorded in the Gothic Constitutions. Second, the the spread of alchemical knowledge and practice from the Islamic regions itno Europe. This began in the twelfth century, was referred to by Chaucer in the fourteenth century, and had reached its peak by the sixteenth century. Third, the suppression of the common religion and the efforts to preserve it in the lowlands and high moors. This began with the impetus of the inquisition as early as 1184 and continued through the early eighteenth century in the fonn of witch

trials and lynchings. I hope to show how these three elements, like the alchemical salt, sulpher and mercury, can be combined to produce the philosopher's stone of Freemasonry, capably of trans­forming base materials into the sublime.

We will proceed by considering some of the influences of the second and third elements. Alchemy, as a philosophical and physical process, had been practiced in China as early as the second century A.D. Documents on the art were preserved through the dark ages by Islamic scholars. Khalid ibn Yazid, who died in 704, caused earlier Greek and Coptic language works on alchemy to be translated into Arabic. The art had spread throughout the Islamic realm by the twelfth century when philosophers and businessmen from Europe discovered the wealth of scientific, philosophical and mystical knowledge possessed by the Arab rulers of Spain. Roger Bacon (1214- 1292) studied the art and wrote on its value:

"Speculative alchemy treats of the generation of things from the elements and of all inanimate things and of simple and composite humors .... But there is another alchemy, operative and practical, which teaches how to make the noble metals, and colours, and many other things better or more abundantly by art than they are made in nature."

Alchemy was a highly practical art in the sense that the alchemist worked with physical apparatus and performed operations and procedures upon physical materials. The common misconception, which was encouraged by many alchemists, was that their work had the primary goal of finding the philosopher's stone, which was able to transform base metals into gold. This myth undoubetedly provided them with a measure of security within the materialistic society. We know however that the true work of the alchemist was not upon the base physical materials with which he worked, but upon the much more subtle material contained within the being of the alchemist himself.

The alchemical philosophy contained the analogies which related the salt, sulphur and mercury, in their external forms, to the physical body, the life force and the soul of man. Alchemy was a procedural art. In order to achieve the desired transformation of the physical materials, the alchemist must follow, precisely, the steps of preparation and processing of his ~aterials. To be successful in this practice, the alchemist had to develop patience, painstaking care, attention to the utmost detail, perception of extremely subtle changes and total control of his environment, apparatus, and materials. Thus the physical practice, and its success or failure, provided a rigorous course of instruction for the development and testing of these qualities within the alchemist.

Like the modem day oriental practices of yoga and zen, the mundane actions, when practiced to perfection, were accompanied by an estoeric transformation of the interior man. The alchemists had not only developed the practice and observed the results, but they had assigned symbolic meaning to the procedures that they followed and to the materials that resulted from these procedures. The study of these symbolic correspondences was the task to which the al­chemical Theorious applied himself. Having perfected his mind he could then construct his own laboratory with physical apparatus and proceed with the work of the Practicus.

Thus within alchemy we see many similarities to modem Freemasonry. In Freemasonry we assign symbolic meaning to the tools, rather than to the process, but this is a minor distinction. In Freemasonry we work on transforming the base into the sublime, identical with the work of the alchemist. Masonry, both stone and free, focuses on achieving perfection of shape and configuration, and thus imitates the analytical practices of the disciplines which use geometry. Alchemy, and its scientific counterpart chemistry, are

concerned with changes in physical state, bulk compostiion and appearance, all of which are related to the chemical composition of the material.

From these close parallels we can see how the concepts of symbolism and analogy, contained in the alchemical philosophy, could have inspired their application to the practices of the stone­mason. If we consider the other crafts and guilds that took part in constructing the cathedrals, such as the carpenters, plumbers, weavers, butchers and grocers, all of whom wore aprons as part of their working apparel, it is much more difficult to find the riches of materials, procedures and implements to which the symbolic analogy would apply. Thus the alchemical hypothesis defines the time when the transformation took place and the group of people in which the transformation occured.

Why did the transformation not take place on the European continent? We know that Freemasonry did not originate on the continent, but perhaps there was some other manifestation that did occur. One which is similar to Masonry but which we call something else. Alchemy was a solitary practice. The individual alchemist worked in his laboratory and generally shared his art only through his writings. Masonry is a group activity which embodies symbolic philosophy that is akin to that used by the alchemist. Did any similar organization fonn in Europe during this period of time? Historical records are just as unclear as those we have concerning Masonry in Britain, but there is evidence that Rosicrucianism was formed as a fraternal organization in Europe during the same time period. Thus the phenomena of transferrance of alchemical philosophy into group practice appears to have taken place on the continent also.

This of course leaves us with the question of why did Rosi­crucianism prevail in Europe and Freemasonry prevail in Britain? This may be answered by referring to the social differences which produced the Magna Charta in Britain and allowed feudalism and monarchies to persist much longer on the continent.

Having thus constrained the location for the genesis of Free­masonry to the British Isles, identified the catalyst which could cause it to come into existence and identified the group of people wherein a symbolic, fraternal philosophy could take root, I must next attempt to

~ .. ' explain why it should occur in the lowlands and high moors and why 'it should take a unitarian rather than a trinitarian form. The Construction of cathedrals, monastaries and castles was an ongoing actiVity in all parts of the British Isles during this period and the formal guilds of stonemasons existed at all of the sites. Lodges of stonemasons existed at these places and the Gothic Constitutions show that they were organized in much the same way everywhere.

The men who worked on the cathedrals worked for trinitarian christian employers and the invocations in the Gothic Constitutions are nominally trinitarian. However, from this we cannot conclude that all of the workmen, or even themajorityofthem, were trinitarian, or even christian! The Gothic constitutions prescribe rules of behavior, but they contain no requirement that a man belong to any particular religion. Thus we can feel confident that all three of the major western religions were represented among the men who worked on the cathedrals.

In addition, in Scotland and northern England, there was the local religion, which had descended from the religions of the Picts and Scots. And it may even have retained remnants of the druidic practices. This religion of the common people was called witchcraft in the Papal Bulls that condemned it, and we still refer to its adherents as heath, or dwellers of the heath. In later times considerable animosity existed within the christian church toward the local religion, but through the thirteenth century the two religions co­existed at the local level without trouble. In fact, there are records

that indicate the local religion used the ·facilities of the christian churches, and there is at least one recorded instance of a christian

priest being critized for leading an "coven" meeting.

There is also evidence that the followers of the local religion were

employed as stonemasons in the construction of the cathedrals. This evidence is in the subject matter of many of the stone carvings that appear in the cathedrals. This local religion, though tenned "pan­theistic" in modern tenns, was much more monotheistic than was the christian religion of the time. Its predominance in the lowlands and high moors may be seen yet today in the continued existence of the many local festivals in this area. These festivals, many of them seasonal in nature, are clear descendants, if not continuations, of the nature directed religious practices of more primitive and simple times.

There were many Papal Bulls directed against what they tenned witchcraft and, while the full impact of these decrees was not felt until the fifteenth century, when the witch burnings and persecutions began, there were both social and religious pressures as early as the thirteenth century against the local religion's practices. Thus we find, within the organization of stonemasons at that time, a group of

people who practiced rituals based on a monotheistic dogms. Furthennore, the public expression of these religious practices was, at the time, being repressed.

Thus we have at this time and place all of the forces and components that are necessary to pennit the occurence of the Key Event. All that remains is to define a plausible means by which they could have come together. To do this we must explain how an alchemist could have arrived at a cathedral construction site in the Scottish lowlands and how he could have obtained the opportunity to present his concepts of the symbolic transformations to the men working on the building. And we must also explain how, once the initial concept was introduced, it would then become integrated into the practices of the masons.

Let us begin by considering what type of alchemist might be found in thgese regions. Alchemy was divided into three levels. There was Zelator, the person being introduced to the art, The Theoricus who was learning the theory, and the Practicus who had his laboratory wet up and was engaged in alchemical experiments. The Zelator probably would not know enough about the art to communicate it well. The Practicus, if successful in his art, would have neither the need nor the desire to travel far from his laboratory. The most probable of the three classes is the Theoricus who could easily carry his theoretical documents if he had a reason to travel.

The historical evidence also indicates that the alchemists were not poor men and that merchants were among their numbers. Assuming that a merchant-Theoricus was in the area of a cathedral, what reason might he have to visit the site and contact the workmen? During the thirteenth century there were many cathedrals nearing completion and the fine woods and fabrics used to fmish the interiors were often imported. This provides both the reason for our merchant-Theoricus to be in the area and for his contact with the builders. As with all things concerning the cathedral, the pro­curement, delivery and installation of the fine imported materials would probably extend over a period of many years, thus providing sufficient opportunity for the merchant-Theoricus to become on good

terms with the Master Mason. This might well lead to discussions of speculative philosophies. Considering the speed with which Masonry in its speculative form spread through the populace once non-operatives were introduced into the Craft, I must believe that the same ideas once planted within the ranks of the stonemasons would have spread with equal fervor.

The fmal question to be answered is why Masonry would not develop farther than what we see today. I believe the answer is obtained by

noting that today's Craft is close to a complete synthesis of the elements of these three groups of people and their philosophies.

Minor variations on the theme have occured in different places, notably the Scandinavian countries and, to a lesser extent, in France

and Germany. These have all been due to the addition of some other significant element besides the three already discussed and which can be identified explicitly in each case.

In conclusion, these speculations have considered evidence for a synthesis of three different social-philosophical bodies as the Key Event which resulted in Masonry's moral symbolism. This does not account for all of Masonry's explicit moral teachings, nor does it include such Masonic elements as the Legend of the Third Degree, our relationship to geometry, the focal concepts in each of the three degrees or the particular ritual forms that have developed in different geographic regions at different times. These are elements that Masonry brought to the synthesis or which have subsequently developed in response to unique social conditions. This paper presents the synthesis as a concept only, and if the hypothesis is true,

this paper unfortunately has not been able to prove it But if the idea seems plausible enough for further investigation, then my purpose has been fulfilled.

References used in preparing this paper include:

Alchemy: pre-Egyptian Legacy, Millennial Promise; R. Grossinger, North Atlantic Books, 1979

Alchemists Handbook; Frater Albertus, Weiser, 1974

The Philosopher's Stone; Regardie, Llewelly, 1970

Alchemy; E. J. Holmyard, Penguin Books, 1968

The Silver Bough; F. Marian McNeill, MacLellan, 1968

Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia; Macoy, 1961

The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology; R. H. Robbins, Crown Publishers, 1959

OFFICERS OF EDUCATIONAL LODGE NO. 1002 A.F. & A.M.

Otto B. Christenson ................................. Master Richard Vosper .............................. Senior Warden Lawrence K. Davies.......... . ........... Junior Warden Robert A. Johnson ................................ Secretary James L. Osborne, Jr ......................... Senior Deacon Stephen J. Bemu ............................. Junior Deacon Ralph R Pendergrass. . . . . ................. Senior Steward John A. Freeburg ............................ Junior Steward James H. Marrin an ................................ Chaplain Clyde E. White .................................... Marshal

Educational Lodge will publish papers which have been presented to the Lodge for discussion. Copies of these bulletins are available from the secretary.