Reprint of the original, first published in 1872.

The Regius Poem, also known as the Halliwell Manuscript, is a long series of rhyming couplets that make up what is thought to be the earliest of the Old Charges of Masonry. It was discovered in the British Museum by James O. Halliwell in 1838. While sometimes thought to have been written during the reign of King Athelstan (924-940 A.D.), the document actually dates to the late 14th century. Whether it is a derivative work based on a separate manuscript from Athelstan's time is unknown. However, the Regius Poem is the cornerstone of the Legend of York, which is important in Masonry even today. This manuscript also outlines how Masons should act toward each other and toward the civil magistrate. It also talks about the history and philosophy of the order of Masons. Any Mason interested in the history of the Art should read this document and see how it compares to the various rules their grand lodges lay out for government of a lodge.

Modern Freemasonry in the United States and Great Britain celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2017 tracing its direct history from the Grand Lodge of England founded in 1717. This text is intended to provide a theory of origin for the Fraternity. It is based on available sources, many of which are not Masonic in nature, but cover the disciplines of history, religion, ethics, economics, politics, and labor development. The book begins with an overview of how the Fraternity initiated members in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and includes the ancient Legend of Noah. It then reviews how history is written and exams the utilization of Biblical and legendary accounts in the development of a country’s, peoples’, or organization’s history. The text moves on to the transition from craft guild to fraternal organization and gives the full text of Freemasonry’s four oldest documents: Regius Poem, Cooke Manuscript, Graham Manuscript, and Schaw Statutes. This is followed by a description of the London Masons’ Company based on the assumption that this city-wide organization of craftsmen chartered in 1481 may have been the administrative precursor of the Grand Lodge of England. The author then reviews the demise of craft guilds and the rise of fraternal societies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Additional chapters review the Masonic approach to ritual, education, and ethical decision making. The text closes with a discussion of the philosophy of Freemasonry as well as comments and suggestions regarding Freemasonry’s future. The last chapter is a Scottish Charge appropriate to all men, not just Freemasons.

Even regarded in this light alone, these old legends and traditions, these bye gone usages and regulations of the operative guilds, thus happily preserved, have and always must have for all thoughtful freemasons, the deepest value and the most lasting interest. For it is, as I have often before ventured to observe, in these very peculiar usages of the handicraft assemblies, the local and general customs of the Masonic sodalities, that while on the one hand, we are still able to find, (and there only) the explanation of our own speculative rites and customs to-day; so on the other, it is by the gradual development of these old traditions, as time ran on, habits changed, new wants arose, and old landmarks were swept away, that we are permitted to advance the only consistent and satisfactory theory of the wonderful existence and permanency of Freemasonry among us, and its change from an actual operative and mechanical association to a speculative and accepted Brotherhood.

Freemasonry is the largest, oldest, and most influential secret society in the world. The Brill Handbook of Freemasonry is a pioneering work that brings together, for the first time, leading scholars on Freemasonry. The first section covers historical perspectives, such as the origins and early history of Freemasonry. The second deals with the relationship between Freemasonry and specific religious traditions such as the Catholic Church, Judaism, and Islam. In the third section, organisational themes, such as the use of rituals, are explored, while the fourth section deals with issues related to society and politics - women, blacks, colonialism, nationalism, and war. The fifth and final section is devoted to Freemasonry and culture, including music, literature, modern art, architecture and material culture.

The most important work on the old constitutions of Freemasonry, transcribed from the originals or certified copies.

Freemasonry was a major component of British cultural, social and intellectual life during the Enlightenment era. It was also a successful British export, becoming popular around the globe and evolving into one of the social forces that bound the countries of the Empire together. In contrast to the secrecy that surrounds the movement today, the eighteenth-century press was able to report on the feasts, processions and concerts that were held and to even list some of the members by name. Despite rules against discussing religion or politics inside the lodge, freemasonry nonetheless both influenced and reflected the religious and political turmoil of the day, with almost all lodges condemning the French Revolution and claiming allegiance to the monarchy. This primary resource collection begins at the point when organized freemasonry was established with the unification of four lodges into the Grand Lodge of England, and ends with the two rival Grand Lodges - the Antients and Moderns - combined to form the United Grand Lodge of England. The five themed volumes cover Institutions, Rituals (two volumes), Debates and Representations.0Documents include minutes of meetings, rituals (some written in code), funeral services, sermons, membership lists, letters, pamphlets, theatrical prologues and epilogues, and articles from newspapers and periodicals. Material is rare and much of it comes from unpublished manuscript sources held in Masonic archives. The edition will be of interest to scholars of freemasonry, the Enlightenment, religious history, gender, and eighteenth-century studies more widely. Full scholarly apparatus is provided, including a substantial general introduction which discusses the movement in Scotland and Ireland as well as England.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1922 Edition.