Modern Freemasonry – A brief look at the history
Modern Freemasonry
A brief look at the history (compiled by Bro.Sunil Beta Baskar)
Abstract:
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Freemasonry today is a system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols. The origin of freemasonry from it's antient orders is not known factually. Part of this is because of the lack of written documentation, Freemasonry being secret and mysterious. What increases the mystery further is the evidence of possible pre-antient orders of freemasonry. (All referral dates are in ACE/BCE notation - After Common Era/Before Common Era.) Here's a referral time-line of civilisation - http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/timeline/timeline.html; This is in line with modern archaeological evidence and records (thankfully sans clairvoyant accounts.) There are much more detailed time-lines in encylopaedia, however to pin down some of the key dates we use, this will suffice. |
Note: This document is an accompaniment to a mind-map showing historical dates that may be significant in freemasonry. The purpose of this document is to give interested readers a historical time-line showing the evolution of freemasonry. I recommend that you read this document after looking at the mind-map.
In the 70th year of the Common Era, the existing Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.
The creation of the ancient order is dated to this year. Most books that refer to the creation of the order, list some connection with Hugues De Payenes . Much information about the ancient order at this time are lacking. (ref: http://www.crystalinks.com/templars1.html ) They have been connected to many Gothic constructions by text compiled much later.
In this year, a Papal Bull was issued against the Templars on 22-March-1312 ACE following an earlier investigation in France in 17-October-1307 ACE. Many of the Templars who were caught were tortured and burnt at the stake for crimes against the church including heresy. The order ceased to exist (or was forced underground) after the tragic events.
This year marks the establishment of Freemasonry in it's present form.
The first comprehensive prelude to the modern Book of Constitutions.
Pope Clement XII issues a Papal Bull against freemasonry (possibly forcing it to be secretive.)
The Second Edition of Masonic Constitutions was also published in this year.
The term "Illuminati" (enlightened ones) was first associated in the 14th Century ACE with The Brethren of the Free Spirit. ( ref: http://www.notbored.org/brethren.html ) A short-lived movement of republican freethinkers, the most radical offshoot of The Enlightenment -to whose adherents the name Illuminati was given (but who called themselves "Perfectibilists")- was founded on May 1, 1776 ACE by the ex-Jesuit Adam Weishaupt (d. 1830 ACE), professor of canon law, and Baron Adolph von Knigge , in Ingolstadt, Bavaria (now Germany). The group has also been called the Illuminati Order , the Order of the Illuminati , and the Bavarian Illuminati . This group is commonly misconceived as a precursor to freemasonry in its present form. However, with the available documents, there is absolutely nothing in common with freemasonry to connect the Bavarian Illuminati. (ref: http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/Writings/Illuminati.html )
To put this in perspective, Bavarian folklore is rife with werewolves, vampires (and many interesting creatures of the lore.)
Essentially brought to Egypt by French freemasons in Napoleon's army. (ref: http://www.cabinda.net/ssfreemasonryinegypt.htm) The page claims that Napoleon himself was a Freemason and was present during the establishment of the Grand Lodge in Egypt.
There was a leaflet released in this year informing that "Freemasonry was _not_ a secret society." (ref: http://www.skepticfiles.org/cp002/freeasoc.htm ) Since then, Freemasonry has allowed for the revelation of masonic symbols under the argument that neither the symbols nor their relation with other symbols bear much significance to the "secrets" of freemasonry. (Continuing this, they affirm that the interpretation of the symbols and their meanings in the masonic context is separable from the appearance of the symbols.)
After this revelation, many have continued to argue that within this "revealed" society there is an as yet invisible society. However, such arguments may stem from the fact that this revelation left the common man not satiated in his dose of daily gossip.
The Journey into the Past ...
King Herod expanded the Temple complex, built a series of underground vaults to enable the temple's flat surface area to be larger. There were also several trees around the Temple complex and an extension to allow common people (not permitted by Jewish custom) to pray at the Temple.
The remains of these Temple is believed to lie below the Dome of Rock at the Al Aqsa mosque.
There is a record of an order attempting to overthrow Democracy in Athens under Pericles. This order, (though not directly related to freemasonry,) is probably a precursor to the Roman Collegia. (ref: http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/collegia.html ) Roman Collegia in turn is known to have sparked the creation of guilds. Modern freemasonry is known to have born as a guild. (ref: literary references in ritual, the use of words like 'cowans' which were used in the middle-ages.)
The Athenium that existed at this time (with esteemed members like Demosthenes, Aristotle, Aristarchus, Pericles,) was also a Collegium with members referred to as Schola.
The well known Greek "mathematician" who established one of the early schools of mathematics is established to have lived circa 580-500 BCE. His knowledge of geometry (and the sciences) is believed to have been derived from an ancient order of the Phoenicians. (ref: http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/Masonry/Essays/pythagoras.html ) According to this research, he is known to have visited both Egypt and Tyre in his lifetime. The reason for this mention is references to God as The Grand Geometrician . Furthermore it is known that many Freemasons (or the Knights Templar) in the later 13th Century ACE who were involved in building cathedrals were also practising masons.
However, an accurate identification of the Pythagoras who proposed what we now refer to as The Pythagoras Theorem is not yet done.
A Second Temple was constructed during this century by Zerubbabel . This Temple which stood from 515 BCE, was to fall later. By this time the Temple had only a Golden Lamp in the Holy of Holies. 530 BCE is listed as "Anno Inventionis " or the year of discovery in the Masonic Calendar.
This dating is actually from the knowledge of the reign of Hiram, King of Tyre who rendered assistance to Solomon, King of Israel. "Hiram I" of Tyre is considered to have established what we now know as the Phoenician empire (modern day Lebanon.) They were master craftsman and builders who had command of the sea. (ref: http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/422256 ) King Solomon's reign is sometimes documented to have started in 1024 BCE, hence these dates are probably only approximate.
There are some who speculate that Ahiram is a title of all Kings of Tyre and that Hiram Abiff could well have been the predecessor to King Hiram I of Tyre.
A Temple in Tyre built by King Hiram of Tyre. This temple resembles in description the temple of King Solomon (in the similarity of the pillars at the porchway and three chambers.) Although Herodotus records a closed structure, later records indicate that this temple was not roofed. The interesting fact is that this was a temple to the Son of God (El or Baal) "Melqaart" [God of the Underworld] (facing the east.)
There are referral accounts which claim that King Solomon requested King Hiram to provide him with a craftsman such that the Temple of Solomon must be greater than the temple in Tyre in every way.
The biblical facts are not easily verifiable, except for Ramesses II (a.k.a Rameses The Great, Ozymandias) [of the Nineteenth Dynasty ] who is thought to be in most likelihood the Pharoah of the Exodus. There is no strong historical verification to suggest that Moses existed in reality. Some suggest that the Pharoah was Merneptah (successor of Rameses II - ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramses_II ) We can safely presume that the migration of the Israelites (if it did happen), happened no later than the reign of Merneptah. Other dates refer to 14th Century BCE. The historian Josephus names the pharaoh who raised Moses in his palace Khenepheres, i.e. Khaneferre Sobekhotep IV who reigned in 1730 BCE which provides for dating Moses to 18th Century BCE.
He was Ruler of the "Thirteenth Dynasty" of Egypt (Khaneferre Sobhekotep IV ) and is named by the historian Josephus as the Pharoah whose wife rescued Moses [when her father was Pharaoh]. ( ref: http://members.tripod.com/~ib205/13thdyn.html ) Accurate dating can be achieved by studying the plagues of those times as there are conflicting theories. (ref: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/moses/evidence/plagues.shtml ) [such dating hasn't yet been attempted though the sequence of the plagues has explanation.]
The other way to date Moses would be to date Joseph (son of Jacob) and Moses in parallel. During the reign of Amenemhat (ref: http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/chronology/amenemhatIII.html ) [of the Thirteenth Dynasty ], Book I of Herodotus records a Vizier [viceroy] who built a labyrinth (ref: http://www.casa.ucl.ac.uk/digital_egypt/hawara/ ) that existed near the Tomb of Amenemhat at Hawara. There are reasons to believe that this labyrinth may have been a granary created in those times. The name of this Vizier is not found in historical records (yet). There are possibilities that this Vizier could indeed be Joseph. Other sources place Yuya, a 'Master of the Horse' in the Seventeenth dynasty (but given the clarity of the account of Yuya, his relevance to Joseph seems unlikely.)
In either of the dates, Moses would have had knowledge of Egyptian rituals (none of which survive in their original form into the later dynasties.) This would directly establish a connection between them and the construction of King Solomon's Temple. As the theory goes, this would make it relevant to look at Egyptian history for modern Freemasonry.
The "Fourth Dynasty " of Egypt began in 2600 BCE. The Three Great Pyramids of Gizeh were built in this period for ( Khufu, Khafran and Menkawre. ) The significance of this date is to show that the three pyramids (contrary to speculative accounts) were not places of worship nor ritual. As of today, most of the "secrets" of the pyramid have been revealed. The khartousch of Khufu has been found in his pyramid (the only place that mentions his name) and an antechamber as yet unopened has been sighted with a sarcophagus. Furthermore, burial sites of "masons" of the pyramid have also been found showing that they were respected and unlikely to be slaves.
The reason for this date is to avoid misconceptions about the pyramid and Leadbeater 's speculative account (ref: "The Hidden Life in Freemasonry" 1926 ACE, C W Leadbeater) of clairvoyant knowledge of three pyramids in 13500 BCE. The earliest dating of the pyramids (which is not accepted by most Egyptologists) is 10500 BCE based on surface erosion of the Great Sphinx by a Geologist. To put this in perspective, no known remains of any human civilisation is dated before 4000 BCE.
Note : Until the Rosetta Stone was deciphered, the pyramids in the necropolis were known by their Greek names.
The Gizeh Plateau houses the Egyptian Necropolis [city of the dead.] The three pyramids are the highlights of the many tombs (and pyramids) located on the plateau. (ref: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/giza.htm ) It was only in the 7th Century BCE that Greek Travelers saw the necropolis in Gizeh and included them in the list of the 'Wonders of the Ancient World.'
The dates for the Sphinx (ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sphinx_of_Giza ) are forever disputed. However, the location of the Sphinx in the necropolis suggests that it was built in the Fourth Dynasty . The face on the Sphinx is believed to be of Khafre . The builder of the pyramid is suggested to be Djedefre (if not Khafre himself.) We can safely assume that the Sphinx was built no later than 2500 BCE. (ref: http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/12/14/wsphinx14.xml )
The Sphinx is East facing (ref: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/sphinx1.htm ). There are three temples; one in front leading to a smaller complex between the paws, and one in the valley [The Old Temple] south-east. Thutmoses IV (1425 - 1417 BCE) claimed to have restored the Sphinx and erected a temple between the paws during his reign (in the Eighteenth Dynasty .) Two of the temples near the sphinx are one or two chamber temples. These temples are not east facing (quite the opposite.) and do not seem to have any similarity to KST except for two obelisks at the entrance to the temple. One of the obelisks is actually in Paris now, leaving the actual temple incomplete.
"Anno Mundi" literally means year of the world. This is also a date proposed by creationists. The existence of these two calendar references is to predate the Roman calendar references.
AL, termed the year of creation in Masonic rituals, was proposed by Archbishop James Ussher of Armaugh. (ref: http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/Writings/annolucis.html ) This was proposed in the 17th Century ACE. It is therefore believed that there is no further masonic significance to this date except to prove the ancient lineage of freemasonry. Anno Lucis would literally mean "Year of Light."
There are those who suggest that the "AL" in masonry is Anno Latomorum (year of masonry.) They believe that the term Anno Lucis is from the higher degrees. There is also the popular misconception that "AL" is an abbreviation for Anno Lucifer, however restricted to the uninformed.
The Universal Deluge is dated in this century by the Ryan Pittman Theory . (ref: http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/news/story9_1.html ) This theory attempts to explain the flood that would have been the origin of the story of Noah's Ark. We can safely assume that the Universal Deluge happened no later than this century.
The relation of Noah's Ark to Freemasonry is from the ritual origins of the Royal Ark Mariners . Their principal officers of the Lodge are representatives of Noah, Shem and Japeth. ( introduction, ref: http://www.lodgecraigellachie.co.uk/Masonica/Royalarch/royal_ark_mariners.htm ) Interestingly, Ham's sons who are cursed (The Caananites), are believed to be the original founders of Tyre [or more appropriately Phoenicia] (which is believed to have been populated in 3000 BCE.)
The Deluge event (irrespective of its dating) is considered to be responsible for the Holoecene extinction . (This is a complete extinction of at least 80% of all species of life on earth that continues even today in the "Holoecene age.")
An alternate explanation for the Universal Deluge suggests 7600 BCE as a possible date for the Universal Deluge. This explanation, although not widely accepted, attempts to explain a multi-continental flood [which is thought to be the source of the Universal Deluge story.] (ref: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/T/To/Tollmanns_hypothetical_bolide.htm ) The Deluge and the events before are almost always referred to as prehistoric events. This is due to the lack of evidence and records that point to an accurate date or connection to an event.
There are no records of civilisation in this period in any form (including fossils.) It must be noted that the popular fossil discoveries of the "Ice man" (Austria) and the "Ice maiden" (Siberia) are dated 5300 BCE and 2400 BCE respectively.
Note: There are records of human settlements that do predate this, but are believed to belong to the "stone age."
(ref: http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/stockley.html ) A meeting by occupying forces in Palestine at the site of the Temple! Initially dismissed as a fictional account until a book was researched on this event.
Notes:
This document does not attempt to draw conclusions on its own. Except, the purpose is to provide a credible history on the origin of freemasonry based on as many facts as possible.
A Fragmented version of the Mindmap (Part I/4)
A Fragmented version of the Mindmap (Part 2/4)
A Fragmented version of the Mindmap (Part 3/4)
A Fragmented version of the Mindmap (4/4)
The Mindmap Assembled