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The Oldest Lodge In The World.
The Oldest Lodge in the World .
^ pHE "History of the Lodge of Edinburgh ( Clary ' s Chapel ) , J [ No . i , embracing an account of the Rise and Progress of Freemasonary in Scotland—By David Murray Lyon , Secretary to the Grand Lodge of Scotland , & c . { The Gresham Publishing Co ., London , 25 , Farringdon Avenue ; Glasgow , and Dublin , iyoo . " )
The first edition of tin ' s remarkable work was published in 1873 , and has long been out of print , copies being at a high premium and much sought after b y Collectors . It cost full y a £ 1 , 000 to produce , and as a volume , both typographically and artistically , cannot well be excelled , so that the gifted
author was well supported by his Publishers . The same remarks also apply , with equal force , to the . 2 nd Edition , which however is considerably added to , as respects the text and illustrations ; the pagination being fully one hundred in excess of the previous issue .
Since 1 S 73 , quite a number of Histories of old Scottish Lodges have appeared , which throw a flood of light on the laws and customs of the Craft during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries ; each , however , almost exclusively dealing with purely local or provincial organizations . Bro . Lyon , however , for the production of his great work , had
before him the oldest ; Lodge Records in the world , dating from 1599 , besides still earlier Regulations ; and after a most exhaustive examination of the ancient minutes , he wrote his famous History , '' which at one bound , placed him in the front rank of Masonic Authors , and has made his name known and respected wherever the Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons flourishes , and its eventful past is studied as it deserves to be .
The first volume of minutes is formed of fragmentary sheets , in folio , capriciously arranged and showing that the clerks of the period thought but little of their records . One leaf contains entries of meetings in 1599 , 1621 , 1624 and 16 41 , in different handwritings ; and other sheets are similarl y utilized by various scrihes , the dates running on to as late as
1686 . In all there are nine volumes , the 9 th being still in use . The existence of these wonderful registers of Lodge life from 1599 to 1900 , is surely an extraordinary fact , and one that fully justifies the great pride that the members take in their unique possessions . Their preservation is as
remarkable as their contents , and their antiquity makes them simply invaluable ; many indeed have been their vicissitudes and marvellous escapes from destruction . The Lodge has failed in its duty , in not having its oldest Book carefully copied and used for ordinary purposes of reference , and it is to be hoped that oversight will soon be rectified .
The earliest minute of July 1599 records a deliverance against the employment of Cowans" * , ortminitiated Craftsmen , which was a fruitful cause of complaint in those days , and provided against by a general Law of the Craft issued by authority . In the same year there are indications of the '' unfremen " giving trouble , those workmen seeking to undertake work in
the City and thus exercise their handicraft independently of the Mason-Burgesses who held a monopol y of the Trade , and objected most zealousl y to any interference with their liberties . Evidence of constant jealousy and watchfutlness on the one part , and gradual but ever increasing encroachment on the other abounds , so that united to the increase of the speculatve
element as time rolled on , these evasions of the law , and invasions of irregular Craftsmen eventually resulted in the removal ol all such restrictions on free labour . The monopolists fought hard for their privileges but eventuall y had to succumb .
There was likewise a disinclination manifested by the Apprentices to undergo an examination as to their proficiency before being passed , which tended to deplete the funds . The minutes contain several strong denunciations of this practice and the infliction of lines , so that uupassal journeymen had rather " a bad half-hour" occasionally , as likewise the Masters who employed them .
The Deacon was the head of the Lodge , and so elected by the Master Masons ; another annual officer elected being the Warden . The latter Brother was the recognised medium of communication with the Warden-General ( of Royal appointment ) who was practically the Grand Master , or Chief Master of Masons of the Scottish Craft , subject ,
however , to certain strict regulations . Sometimes the two offices were held by the same Brother . The incorporation of Mary ' s Chapel was an association of Employers in their several Crafts ( Masons and Wrights ) and of the Lodge , its Deacons really usurping the directorate . This < -. r officio
President ( subsequently abolished ) was also termed "Preses " ( 1710 ) and later on Master ( 1731-35 ) . The Warden was Custodier of the Lodge funds , or Boxmaster . Clerks were life appointments until 1752 , when annual elections were introduced . During the fourth decade of last century the
qualification of an operative mason ceased to be necessary for brethren holding the office of Master or Warden of the Lodge and subsequently the Master Mason Degree was a sine qua 11011 for office .
There are quite a number of interesting Minutes of the reception of Noblemen and Gentlemen 1634-1670 as " folowe and brother off Craft " beginning with Lord Alexander on 3 rd July 1734 . The phraseology varies , the entry of 20 th May , 16 40 , as to the
Right Hon . Alex . Hamiltone , General of Artillery , reading thus , "felow and Mr . off the forsed Craft . " It was the custom for the newly accepted Brethren , not only to sign the Minute in each case , but also to add their Masonic Marks , so that the Records answer as "Mark Books , " as well as Registers
of Meetings . When John Boswell , the Laird of Auchinleck was present as o member , 8 th June , 1600 , he appended his mark after his signature , just as did the twelve Masters present { i . e . Master Masons or Employers of the Journeymen ) . Fines were then placed to " pious uses . "
This is the earliest instance known of a non-operative ( or speculative Eire Mason ) being present in a Lodge , and even then it has not been discovered when this gentleman had been admitted or initiated . The earliest traced in England in an English Lodgewas Elias Ashmole in 16 4 6 but a
, , reception at Newcastle in 16 41 of General Moray as "M - , " on behalf of the Lodge of Edinburgh , when the Scottish Army was in occupation of that Town , is reall y the first of the kind in this Country .
The family of Alvlne holds the record for masonic continuity in ScoUand . John Mylne , according to the celebrated Perth MS . came to that City from the "North Countrie , " and became the King ' s Master Mason . He was succeeded by his Son , noted in the Perth Charter as Master of the Lodge , and had the honour of initiating James 6 th as
" Frieumit Measoit and fellow Craft " His Son , a third John My lne was called to the Scottish Capital in 1616 , and his signature appears twice in the first volume of Records of No . 1 . On resigning the office of Master Mason to Charles I , in favour of his eldest Son in
16 3 6 , the fourth Son comes to the front , who was made fellow craft of the Lodge in 16 33 , becoming Deacon and Warden three years later . Alexander My lne was " passed" in 1735 in presence of his Brother , and Robert Milne was entered prentice to his uncle in the Lodge 1653 and made a F . C . in 1 Ci 6 o , Warden in 166 3 , and Deacon in 1681 , and later was also
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Oldest Lodge In The World.
The Oldest Lodge in the World .
^ pHE "History of the Lodge of Edinburgh ( Clary ' s Chapel ) , J [ No . i , embracing an account of the Rise and Progress of Freemasonary in Scotland—By David Murray Lyon , Secretary to the Grand Lodge of Scotland , & c . { The Gresham Publishing Co ., London , 25 , Farringdon Avenue ; Glasgow , and Dublin , iyoo . " )
The first edition of tin ' s remarkable work was published in 1873 , and has long been out of print , copies being at a high premium and much sought after b y Collectors . It cost full y a £ 1 , 000 to produce , and as a volume , both typographically and artistically , cannot well be excelled , so that the gifted
author was well supported by his Publishers . The same remarks also apply , with equal force , to the . 2 nd Edition , which however is considerably added to , as respects the text and illustrations ; the pagination being fully one hundred in excess of the previous issue .
Since 1 S 73 , quite a number of Histories of old Scottish Lodges have appeared , which throw a flood of light on the laws and customs of the Craft during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries ; each , however , almost exclusively dealing with purely local or provincial organizations . Bro . Lyon , however , for the production of his great work , had
before him the oldest ; Lodge Records in the world , dating from 1599 , besides still earlier Regulations ; and after a most exhaustive examination of the ancient minutes , he wrote his famous History , '' which at one bound , placed him in the front rank of Masonic Authors , and has made his name known and respected wherever the Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons flourishes , and its eventful past is studied as it deserves to be .
The first volume of minutes is formed of fragmentary sheets , in folio , capriciously arranged and showing that the clerks of the period thought but little of their records . One leaf contains entries of meetings in 1599 , 1621 , 1624 and 16 41 , in different handwritings ; and other sheets are similarl y utilized by various scrihes , the dates running on to as late as
1686 . In all there are nine volumes , the 9 th being still in use . The existence of these wonderful registers of Lodge life from 1599 to 1900 , is surely an extraordinary fact , and one that fully justifies the great pride that the members take in their unique possessions . Their preservation is as
remarkable as their contents , and their antiquity makes them simply invaluable ; many indeed have been their vicissitudes and marvellous escapes from destruction . The Lodge has failed in its duty , in not having its oldest Book carefully copied and used for ordinary purposes of reference , and it is to be hoped that oversight will soon be rectified .
The earliest minute of July 1599 records a deliverance against the employment of Cowans" * , ortminitiated Craftsmen , which was a fruitful cause of complaint in those days , and provided against by a general Law of the Craft issued by authority . In the same year there are indications of the '' unfremen " giving trouble , those workmen seeking to undertake work in
the City and thus exercise their handicraft independently of the Mason-Burgesses who held a monopol y of the Trade , and objected most zealousl y to any interference with their liberties . Evidence of constant jealousy and watchfutlness on the one part , and gradual but ever increasing encroachment on the other abounds , so that united to the increase of the speculatve
element as time rolled on , these evasions of the law , and invasions of irregular Craftsmen eventually resulted in the removal ol all such restrictions on free labour . The monopolists fought hard for their privileges but eventuall y had to succumb .
There was likewise a disinclination manifested by the Apprentices to undergo an examination as to their proficiency before being passed , which tended to deplete the funds . The minutes contain several strong denunciations of this practice and the infliction of lines , so that uupassal journeymen had rather " a bad half-hour" occasionally , as likewise the Masters who employed them .
The Deacon was the head of the Lodge , and so elected by the Master Masons ; another annual officer elected being the Warden . The latter Brother was the recognised medium of communication with the Warden-General ( of Royal appointment ) who was practically the Grand Master , or Chief Master of Masons of the Scottish Craft , subject ,
however , to certain strict regulations . Sometimes the two offices were held by the same Brother . The incorporation of Mary ' s Chapel was an association of Employers in their several Crafts ( Masons and Wrights ) and of the Lodge , its Deacons really usurping the directorate . This < -. r officio
President ( subsequently abolished ) was also termed "Preses " ( 1710 ) and later on Master ( 1731-35 ) . The Warden was Custodier of the Lodge funds , or Boxmaster . Clerks were life appointments until 1752 , when annual elections were introduced . During the fourth decade of last century the
qualification of an operative mason ceased to be necessary for brethren holding the office of Master or Warden of the Lodge and subsequently the Master Mason Degree was a sine qua 11011 for office .
There are quite a number of interesting Minutes of the reception of Noblemen and Gentlemen 1634-1670 as " folowe and brother off Craft " beginning with Lord Alexander on 3 rd July 1734 . The phraseology varies , the entry of 20 th May , 16 40 , as to the
Right Hon . Alex . Hamiltone , General of Artillery , reading thus , "felow and Mr . off the forsed Craft . " It was the custom for the newly accepted Brethren , not only to sign the Minute in each case , but also to add their Masonic Marks , so that the Records answer as "Mark Books , " as well as Registers
of Meetings . When John Boswell , the Laird of Auchinleck was present as o member , 8 th June , 1600 , he appended his mark after his signature , just as did the twelve Masters present { i . e . Master Masons or Employers of the Journeymen ) . Fines were then placed to " pious uses . "
This is the earliest instance known of a non-operative ( or speculative Eire Mason ) being present in a Lodge , and even then it has not been discovered when this gentleman had been admitted or initiated . The earliest traced in England in an English Lodgewas Elias Ashmole in 16 4 6 but a
, , reception at Newcastle in 16 41 of General Moray as "M - , " on behalf of the Lodge of Edinburgh , when the Scottish Army was in occupation of that Town , is reall y the first of the kind in this Country .
The family of Alvlne holds the record for masonic continuity in ScoUand . John Mylne , according to the celebrated Perth MS . came to that City from the "North Countrie , " and became the King ' s Master Mason . He was succeeded by his Son , noted in the Perth Charter as Master of the Lodge , and had the honour of initiating James 6 th as
" Frieumit Measoit and fellow Craft " His Son , a third John My lne was called to the Scottish Capital in 1616 , and his signature appears twice in the first volume of Records of No . 1 . On resigning the office of Master Mason to Charles I , in favour of his eldest Son in
16 3 6 , the fourth Son comes to the front , who was made fellow craft of the Lodge in 16 33 , becoming Deacon and Warden three years later . Alexander My lne was " passed" in 1735 in presence of his Brother , and Robert Milne was entered prentice to his uncle in the Lodge 1653 and made a F . C . in 1 Ci 6 o , Warden in 166 3 , and Deacon in 1681 , and later was also