From Stone To Secrecy

Brandon Wood Mrs. Cease-Flores English III March 11, 2009 From Stone to Secrecy Freemasonry has long been associated with mystery and intrigue, but what is it really about? It has its roots deeply entwined in the fabric of history; everywhere from the building of the most ancient castles, to the Crusades that ravaged the Middle East, to the formation of this very country and its government. Down through the centuries, the Masons have also been accredited, or accused, of some of the most elaborate conspiracies in history. Since its creation, this brotherhood known as the Freemasons, has evolved from a simple band of stonemasons to the secret socialite society it is today. The origin of Freemasonry is not an easy thing to pin down because there are many different stories and legends that attempt to explain what happened in history to form this mysterious organization (Stonemason to Freemason). Albert Mackey says that, “those who have written on the origins of Masonry, from its beginnings to the present time, the legendary or traditional has too much been mingled with the historical element” (1). A Concise History of Freemasonry alludes to some of the stories that say the Masons originated in Jerusalem, or that they were created as far back as the days of the Old Testament times of King Solomon. However, most researchers and historians agree that the most likely origin of Freemasonry began with the peasant stonemasons of the Middle Ages. Masonry is the study, and some would even say, the art of working with stone and granite. According to A Concise History of Freemasonry, during the Middle Ages, this was a much needed skill because of the construction of castles for the kings and the great cathedrals used to worship God. The men who acquired these talents fiercely guarded them because it was such a rare craft to master and some people were desperate for the secrets of making perfectly angular stones and making them fit together in such a way that they need little or no support or mortar (A Concise History of Freemasonry). Therefore, they started to develop secret handshakes and symbols to identify other masons working on the same job as them that may have come from another area. (Stonemasons often traveled great distances to search for work and pay) This was the birth of the secrecy that since has become so popular and coveted. If the person knew the right handshake or uttered the correct word, they would be allowed to enter the worksite, but if they could not do this they would not be let near the stonemasons or what they were working on (Stonemason to Freemason). In this sense, they created the world’s first organized union. This secret union, however, did not stay that way for long; it began to grow and change. The stonemasons began allowing non-masons to join, “the earliest known record of a lodge accepting a member who was not a stonemason has been found in the records for the lodge of Edinburgh dated 1600. The same lodge details the first initiation of a nonworking stonemason, The Right Honorable Lord Alexander, in 1634” (Stonemason to Freemason). This is one of the biggest and most significant changes in Freemason history because it began to change from groups of hardworking men into a group of aristocrats who had a lot of pull in proper life. Because the Masons were, and are, such a secret organization, people began to distrust them and equate them with conspiracy and mischief. One of the most well-know and most disturbing conspiracies that ever involved the Masons was the case of Jack the Ripper. Jack the Ripper was the name that was coined to the murderer who attacked and killed several prostitutes in 1888 (Freemason Watch). This may only be a theory; however, there is also very strong evidence to support it. During this time in England, Queen Victoria was the head of the royal family and her son Edward was heir to the throne. Freemason Watch describes that Edward, a grand master Mason, had a son, Eddy, who was good friends with an artist named Walter Sicket who lived in the White Chapel area of London where all the murders occurred. During his many visits with his friend, Eddy fell in love with a young

prostitute named Annie, whom he later married in secret. This was a grave mistake for the two; if word of this “social tragedy” got out it would be damaging to the family and could potentially be used overthrow the monarchy. Not only would the royal family and the government be in turmoil, but so would anyone who had strong ties to the crown; namely the Freemasons (Freemason Watch). This gave more than just a reason to cover up what had happened. Soon after a plan that had been only an idea was given a harsh shove into action, and that shove lied with a woman named Marry Kelly. Freemason Watch says she was a fellow prostitute and friend of Annie and was present when the secret wedding took place. Marry let slip her knowledge of this to three other prostitutes and they threatened to expose this information to the public. “Word of all this got to Queen Victoria, who ordered her Prime Minister, the Marquess of Salisbury, to “fix” it. Salisbury, a prominent Freemason, arranged to have Annie placed in an insane asylum where she died 32 years later” (Freemason Watch). Then, and this is where assumption takes over, Salisbury found the Queens physician, William Gull, to go out and silence the women who had threatened the monarchy, or who even knew about it so it would never out to the public. (Freemason Watch) Scholars feel that the manor in which Gull supposedly killed these women were similar to the consequences that were inflicted on a Mason if he broke his oath to secrecy; which involved the slitting of the throat, the removal of the intestines and having them placed over the right shoulder, and brass rings and jewelry placed at the feet. Another reason that this could be a Mason conspiracy is because in the spot that the last body was found the phrase, “the Juwes are the ones who will not be blamed for nothing,” was scribbled on the wall. This could reference the Masonic legend of the three men, or Juwes, who killed Hiram Abiff. According to Freemason Watch, “Sir Charles Warren, the head of police and a Freemason, personally went to the scene to order it to be washed off, even though he had never before gone to the scene of a murder.” Why was Gull never brought up on charges for the murders? Some people say that it was the Masons that protected, or maybe even punished him. Even though Edmond Ronayne mentioned, in a Handbook of Freemasonry, how one Mason is obligated to conceal another’s crime (183); that does not mean that they can not deal with them in their own way. Dr. Gull was said to have died of natural causes two years after the crimes were committed (Freemason Watch), but he had no funeral and that same year, a man by the name of Thomas Mason was admitted to an insane asylum that fit Gull’s description and had had a lobotomy performed on him. All these coincidences do indeed sound very suspicious and in some ways line up very well, but this theory involves a lot of assumption and educated guessing to fill in some of the blanks. Another grand example of the growth and power of the Freemasons is the idea that they laid the foundation for the United States and its government. When the Declaration of Independence was signed, fifteen of the fifty-six signers were known Masons or had Masonic connections, “[it is] true that this represents only 27% of the total signers. But this 27% included the principle movers of the Revolution” (Dager). Many of the famous faces of early America were also, if not direct Masons, somehow affiliated with them; people such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and George Washington. Dager also says that the majority of the commanders of the Continental Army were also Masons, as were most of Washington’s generals, and even some important events were planned at Mason locations, specifically the Boston Tea Party. It was planned at the Green Dragon Tavern, which was also nicknamed the “Freemason Arms” or the “Headquarters of the Revolution.” Even the construction of the Capital building was partly a Masonic effort; the cornerstone was laid by the Grand Lodge of Maryland and has the Masonic symbol etched into it (Dager). It is obvious that whether it was intentional or not, the Freemasons were very involved in America’s shaping and early growth. They may not be as involved in America’s history as they were portrayed in the hit movie National Treasure, but they played their part in history and most definitely left their mark.

The Masons have also been involved in many other events that have not just affected this country but quite possibly could have affected the course of the entire world. The most significant story in all of Freemasonry is centered around one of the most important characters based on the Bible and that period in history; the legend of Hiram Abiff and the three ruffians. It is an ancient tale that takes place in the time of King Solomon, during the construction of the temple of Jerusalem. In the story, Hiram Abiff is not the name of a specific person, but in Hebrew, “seems to mean Hiram my counselor; that is to say, foreman or master workman” (Mackey 413). In the story he was the main architect, or stonemason, in charge of overseeing the construction of Solomon’s temple. According to The Legend of Hiram Abiff, he was the only one who knew of the secrets of building and the techniques used to aid in its construction. On three separate occasions he is approached by a worker who demands to know the secrets of the craft. Each time he refused and was attacked by the workers. “The first ruffian, named Jubela, struck Hiram across the throat with a 24 inch gauge. The second ruffian, named Jubelo, struck Hiram’s breast, over his heart, with a square. The third ruffian, named Jubelum, struck Hiram upon the forehead with a gavel, whereupon [he] fell dead” (The Legend of Hiram Abiff). This is a principal legend in Masonry because not only does it explain one possible origin of their entire society, but it is one of the rituals that are involved in the initiation of a man who wished to become a Mason (The Legend of Hiram Abiff). The tools that were used to murder Hiram were not only the tools that were used in the craft of Masonry, but they are also part of the symbols that are used to make up the sign of the Freemasons. Everybody has learned of the Crusades and how Pope Urban II sent thousands of soldiers into the Middle East in order to reclaim the “Holy Land” back from the Muslims; what people may not know is that this is where the Masons spring up in history once again. After four years of vicious fighting and massive bloodshed the armies of the crusade reached Jerusalem and within five weeks the city fell and the army took over. They made the capital into a Latin empire that stretched across the entire Middle East (Yahya). Soon, the Crusaders were struggling to maintain their newly acquired land. In order to sustain the state they had founded, in was necessary to organize it. To this end, they established military orders, the alike of which had never existed before. Members of these orders came from Europe to Palestine, and lived in a type of monastery where they received military training to fight against Muslims. One of these orders, in particular, was different from the others. It underwent a transformation that would influence the course of history. This was the Templars (Yahya). Now it is not certain that the Templars shared a direct connection with the Freemasons, however, they may have shared or passed down some of the rituals and knowledge to what was to become the Masons. While the Templars were in existence, they spent a great deal of time digging for treasures near the ruins of Solomon’s temple and during that time they somehow became immensely rich and powerful. The Knights Templar enjoyed this status for almost two hundred years until, in 1307; they were persecuted and driven out of the area by King Philippe of France (A Concise History of Freemasonry). However, many of the Knights escaped with their possessions and whatever secret knowledge they had acquired. Many of them may have migrated throughout Scotland and England. The prospects of the constant travel and extreme privacy of the stonemasons could have appealed to these men of great knowledge who had a lot to hide and a lot of people to hide from. Yahya states that, “they infiltrated the most important guild in the medieval British Isles- the wall builders’ lodge, and eventually they seized control of these lodges…changing its name [to] the Masonic lodge.” This may have been how the Masons gained whatever information they have since so secretly guarded. The Freemasons; a group of secretive men determined on ruling the world, or just a simple group gathered for the mundane task of discussing their views with likeminded men in an open forum? It seems that unless one is accepted into their

arms, it is impossible to separate the truth from the outrageous stories that people have concocted out of fear, jealousy, and curiosity. One thing that transcends all the gray information, however, is the fact that the Masons are no less than an intellectual group of men who feel that they hold some role of authority and have left their mark on history down through time and seem to have no intention of slowing up. More than likely, most of these questions will never be answered.   Works Cited “A Concise History of Freemasonry.” Old Epsomian Lodge. 2009. Web. 11 Feb. 2009 Dager, Al. “What are America’s True Roots?” American Masonic History. Web. 24 Feb. 2009 “Jack the Ripper and Freemasonry.” Freemason Watch. Web. 5 Mar. 2009 Jason. “Stonemason to Freemason.” Freemason Hall. 08 Feb. 2008. Web. 5 Mar. 2009 Mackey, Albert. The History of Freemasonry. New York: Portland House, 1996. Print. “The Legend of Hiram Abiff.” Freemason Databank. Web. 7 Mar. 2009 Yahya, Harun. “The Origin of Freemasonry: The Crusaders and Templars.” Media Monitors Network. 23 Apr. 2003. Web. 11 Feb. 2009