EDITION

SOURCES OF FREEMASONRY

Y O R K

AND THE YORK LEGEND

TRANSLATED BY:

KARLO HAMEDER

BOOK No. 9

Jork i Legenda Jorka

prevod: Karlo Hameder

Izvor: The Book of Old Charges of Freemasonry, pp. 5-26

Rockford Lodge No. 469, Free and Accepted Masons

Legenda Jorka

Zidarski ceh Jorka potiče, navodno, iz 79. godine n.e. iz vremena Agrikole, kada je izgrađen starorimski hram. Tesarski ceh, osnovan 626. godine n.e., podigao je drvenu crkvu po uzoru na Mojsijev tabernakl.

Godine 765. slavnog učitelja liberalnih nauka i umetnosti iz Jorka po imenu Alkun (Alcuin) angažovao je nadbiskup Jorka da, zajedno sa sveštenikom Enbaldom (Aenbald) nadgleda izgradnju nove crkve u tom gradu. Na osnovu tog angažmana, priznali su ga za Glavnog Majstora graditeljskih radova, očekujući od njega da budu onakvi kakvi su bili pod Hiramom Abifom. Oni koje to zanima treba da znaju da postoji jedna pesma koju je taj učeni arhitekta napisao, a koja opisuje spomenuti zadatak.

Narednih godina, Alkuna su nagovorili da ode u Ahen (Aachen) u severnoj Francuskoj u službu Svetom rimskom caru Karlu Velikom gde se nije našao samo na čelu nove dvorske škole već je caru davao i savete u vezi gradnje nove Kapele, pa otud i drugo ime mesta Eks-la-Šapele (Aix-la-Chapelle). Ono što treba znati je da Alkun u jednom svom pismu upućenom caru opisuje to novo mesto bogosluženja kao još jedan "Solomonov hram". Štavište, u jednom alegorijskom delu koje se bavi glavnim članovima dvora Karla Velikog, Alkun se spominje kao Flak (Flaccus) ili Manon Grekus (Mannon Graecus).

Grad Jork, na severu Engleske poznat je po svojoj tradicionalnoj vezi sa Slobodnim zidarstvom u kraljevini. Nema teme u istoriji Slobodnog zidarstva koja je toliko zaokupljala pažnju istraživača Masonstva ili davala priliku za toliku raspravu o navodnoj pojavi Slobodnog zidarstva u desetom veku u gradu Jorku kao važnom mestu okupljanja Nauka zidarstva godine 926., organizovanja Generalne skupštine i usvajanja Konstitucije. U toku čitavog osamnaestog i većeg dela devetnaestog veka, Bratstvo je, u globalu, prihvatalo sve te izveštaje kao izvorne delove autentične istorije.

U novije vreme, otkriće mnogih starih rukopisa usmerilo je napore takvih učenjaka kao što su Hugan (Hughan), Vudford (Woodford), Lajon (Lyon) i drugi, ka kritičkom ispitivanju rane istorije Slobodnog zidarstva, a ono što se dešavalo u Jorku posebno je privuklo njihovu pažnju.

Treba se baviti i tradicijom i istorijom, te u tom cilju predlažemo da započnemo sa legendama o Slobodnom zidarstvu u Jorku, koje se nalaze u starim rukopisnim Konstitucijama, a zatim da pređemo na pregled rezultata nedavnih istraživanja.

Legenda koja povezuje poreklo engleskog Slobodnog zidarstva u Jorku 926. godine ponekad se naziva i Legenda Jorka, a ponekad Legenda o Atelstanu (Athelstane), zbog Generalne skupštine, za koju se veruje da je tamo održana za vladavine toga kralja. Ponekad se naziva i Legendom o Idanu (Edunn), jer je spomenuti Princ trebao da bude na čelu Nauka i on ih je sazvao kako bi sačinio Konstituciju. Najranija sačuvana rukopisna Konstitucija je drevna poema opšte poznata kao Rukopis Halliwell ili Regius, čiji bi nastanak, s dobrim osnovama, mogao da se smesti u godinu 1390. U tom delu nalazimo sledeću verziju legende.

Nauk u Albion prispe, zboriš ti nama,

U dane dobroga kralja Atelstana;

Načini on dvoranu i odmorište,

Visoke hramove, svog Boga stanište,

Da ga vesele u sve dane naredne,

I govori Bogu molitve obredne.

Dobri gospar nauk voleo je tako,

Da naumi da ga osnaži svakako,

Zbog grešaka raznih u nauku otkriv;

Po zemlji on svojoj razasla poziv,

Svim zidarima plemenitog nauka,

Da preda njim se pojave bez jauka,

Te dopunama mudrim isprave mane,

Savetima dobrim preduprede stanje.

Skupština je tad' mogla biti sazvana

Od razne gospode u zemlji sazdana,

Od vojvoda, erlova i barona svih,

Vitezova i zemljaša mnogovrsnih,

A i građanstva svakolikog iz grada tog,

Istog stepena kao i položaja svog;

Bili su prisutni svi do jednog uvek,

O nauku zidarskom da brinu navek.

Tražeći, smislili su pameću svojom;

Kako da učine upravu divnijom.

Petnaest članova osmisliše oni,

Od tih petnaest skovaše se zakoni.

Za one kojima ovaj starinski (poetski) jezik nije blizak, sačinjen je prevod na moderni engleski (čiji prevod bi zvučao ovako):

"Ovaj zanat dođe u Englesku, kako ti kažem, u doba vladavine dobrog kralja Atelstana; da se zabavlja i danju i noću i da štuje svog Boga svom svojom silom. Ovaj dobri gospodar mnogo je voleo taj zanat, pa je naumio da ga u svemu i na sve moguće načine osnaži i (oslobodi) raznih grešaka koje je otkrio u zanatu. U sve zemlje razasla on poziv svim zidarima da dođu pravo do njega, da dobrim savetima isprave te nedostatke, ako mogu. Tada on dopusti da se održi skupština raznih gospara različitih rangova: vojvoda, erlova, barona, a takođe i vitezova, zemljoposednika i mnogih drugih, kao i viđenijih građana toga grada i oni se pojave u svom svojstvu; bili su tamo, svi do jednog da bi doneli zakone o mestu tih zidara (u društvu). Mudrošću su svojom tražili način kako da ga odrede, pa su tako smislili petnaest članova i petnaest tačaka".

Sledeći dokument u kojem nalazimo ovu legendu poznat je kao Rukopis Kuk (Cooke) čiji se nastanak datira godinom 1490. Detalji su ovde mnogo osmišljeniji nego u Rukopisu Halivel (Halliwell). Evo jednog pasusa koji se odnosi na legendu:

"Nakon toga posta poštovani kralj Engleske imenom Atelstan, a najmlađi mu sin voleše mnogo nauku Geometrije, te je znao dobro, kao i sami zidari, da je njihov zanat, koji rukama obavljaju, primenjena nauka Geometrije. Stoga nauk on primi i savete usvoji i nauči praktični deo tog nauka, pored znanja koje iz knjiga beše stekao, jer u spekulativnom delu majstor on beše te voleše zidarstvo i zidare, a on sam zidar postade. I dodeli im dužnosti i običaje koji se sada primenjuju u Engleskoj i drugim zemljama. I odredi im razumnu nadnicu. I od kralja otkupi pravo okupljanja u vreme koje im najviše odgovara da bi se dogovarali. O dužnostima, običajima i skupovima uči se iz Knjige dužnosti, gde su i zapisani, te ih ostavljam, za sada".

To su redovi 611 do 642 Rukopisa. Nakon toga, od reda 688. do reda 719., koji su, kako se čini, uzeti iz onoga što se gore naziva Knjigom dužnosti, legenda se ponavlja ovim rečima: "Na ovaj način je navedenu umeće u zemlji Egiptu započeo gorenavedeni majstor Euglata (Euclid), i tako je ono išlo od zemlje do zemlje, od kraljevstva do kraljevstva. Mnogo leta nakon toga, u doba kralja Atelstana, negdašnjeg kralja Engleske, uz saglasnost njegovog Saveta i drugih gospodara zemlje, a na osnovu velikih mana kojima zidari behu podložni, izvesna pravila behu im određena. Jednom godišnje ili svake godine treće, kad kralj ili veliki gospodari zemlje i cele zajednice potrebu osete, majstori iz svih zemalja i oblasti trebali bi da budu sazvani na skup svih majstora i saradnika navedene umetnosti. A na takvim konferencijama oni koji su proizvedeni u majstore treba da se ispitaju i preispitaju kroz zapisane dolenavedene članove da se vidi da li su sposobni i dovoljno vešti da služe gospodare na njihovu korist i na čast gornjeg nauka".   Sedamdeset godina kasnije, 1560. godine, napisan je Rukopis Lansdowne, a u njemu nalazimo dalji razvoj legende, a princ Edvin (Edwin) se po prvi put uvodi po imenu. Taj rukopis glasi ovako: "Ubrzo nakon smrti Sv. Albona, Englesku zahvatiše razni ratovi iz različitih zemalja, tako da je dobro vladanje zidara narušeno, a vladavina kralja Adilstona završena. U njegovo vreme u Engleskoj bio je jedan vrstan kralj, koji je doneo toj zemlji mir i izgradio mnoštvo velikih dela i zgrada. Zbog toga je jako voleo zidare, jer je imao sina zvanog Edvin, koji je voleo Zidare mnogo više nego što je to činio njegov Otac, i toliko se bavio Geometrijom, da je mnogo voleo da dođe i razgovara sa Zidarima i uči Nauk od njih. A kasnije, zbog ljubavi prema Zidarima i prema Nauku postao je Zidar u Vindzoru (Windsor), a od kralja, njegovog oca, dobio Povelju i zadatak da svake godine sazove Skupštinu, u okviru Kraljevstva na bilo kom mestu u Engleskoj gde će yidari, među sobom, da isprave greške u vezi Nauka, te im on održi Skupštinu i proizvede tamo Zidare i dodeli im Dužnosti i nauči ih manirima i zapovedi da ih se drže za sva vremena".

I objavio im je Povelju i zadatak da drže svoju Skupštinu i naložio da treba da se obnavlja od kralja do kralja, a kada se Skupština sastala, pozvao je sve stare i mlade Zidare koji su imali bilo kakav dokument ili sporazum, koji su ispostavljeni gdegod su postali Zidari, da treba da ih prikažu i ako su neki takvi dokumenti na francuskom, a neki na grčkom ili hebrejskom, a neki na engleskom ili nekom drugom jeziku, treba da se pokaže da je namera u svih ista; tako je izradio knjigu o tome kako se taj vrstan Nauk začeo, a on sam zahtevaše, pa se to i izvršilo, da se ona pročita ili izgovori kada se neki Zidar prima da bi tako dobio Dužnosti, a od toga dana do danas, maniri Zidara su se održali u tom obliku, tako da bi se ljudi po tome ravnali. Štaviše, na raznim Skupštinama određivahu se različite Dužnosti po najboljim preporukama Majstora i Pomoćnika".

U svim narednim rukopisima sadržaj legende je isti kao i u Rukopisu Lansdowne; a većina se čini da je puka kopija istog ili verovatno nekog originala od kojeg su sve te kopije potekle.

Anderson je 1723. godine objavio prvo izdanje Konstitucije, u kojoj je, kako kaže, istorija Bratstva Slobodnih zidara, "prikupljena iz njihove opšte evidencije i njihove verne tradicije koja se negovala u toku mnogih vekova." "Legenda je preuzeta, kako kaže, iz "određene evidencije Slobodnozidarskih zapisa pisanih za vladavine kralja Edv arda IV.", "čiji su rukopisi" tvrdi Br:. Preston"bili u posedu čuvenog Ilajasa Ašmola (Elias Ashmole)."

Kako su stari rukopisi, sve donedavno, zaista bili uglavnom nedostupni Bratstvu, a malo ih je otkriveno, i to relativno kasno, Andersonovom publikovanju legende, a potom i Br:. Prestona, pripisujemo njegovu opšte prihvaćenost pre više od jednog veka.

Oblik Legende, koji je Anderson dao u svom prvom izdanju, pomalo se razlikuje od onoga u njegovom drugom izdanju. U prvom, datum nastanka stavlja u 930. godinu, a u drugom u 926.: u četvrtom, sabor u Jorku naziva Generalnom skupštinom a u drugom Velikom Ložom. Sada, pošto se moderno i univerzalno prihvaćeni oblik legende u oba aspekta slaže sa ovom poslednjom izjavom, a ne i sa prvom, moramo zaključiti da je drugo izdanje, i sledeća dva, Entika (Entick) i Nortauka (Noorthouck), koji samo ponavljaju Andersona, obezbedili popularnost legende Jorka.

U drugom izdanju Konstitucije (strana 63), objavljenoj 1738. god. Anderson legendu predstavlja sledećim rečima:

U svim starim Konstitucijama navodi se na sledeći način:
"Da uprkos starim beleškama, većina starih zapisnika Bratstva u Engleskoj je uništena ili izgubljena u ratu protiv Danaca koji su spaljivali manastire u kojima su se čuvali Zapisnici, kralj Atelstan (unuk kralja Alfreda), prvog pomazanog kralja Engleske, koji je preveo Bibliju na saksonski jezik, a koji je zemlji obezbedio mir, izgradio je mnoge značajne objekte i doveo mnoge Zidare iz Francuske i drugih zemalja koje je naimenovao za nadzornike radova, a koji su sa sobom doneli Dužnosti i Propise stranih Loža i nagovorili kralja da im poveća nadnice.

Da je princ Edvin, kraljev brat, koji se naučio geometriji i zidarstvu za ljubav koju je imao prema spomenutom nauku i prema časnim načelima na kojima se zasniva, kupio Povelju o slobodama od kralja Atelstana, svoga brata, da bi Slobodni zidari održavali Komunikaciju među sobom ili moć i slobodu da sami uređuju svoje odnose i izmene ono što bi moglo da bude loše i održavaju godišnje Komunikacije preko Generalnej skupštine.
Da princ Edwin sazove sve slobodne i prihvaćene zidare u kraljevstvu da bi ga, na skupu u Jorku, prisutni upoznali i formirali Veliku Ložu pod njegovim vođstvom kao Velikim Starešinom 926. godine n.e.
Da oni koji su doneli sa sobom mnoge stare spise i zapise o nauku, neke na grčkom, neke na latinskom, na francuskom i drugim jezicima i iz njihovih sadržaja uokvirili Konstitucije engleskih Loža i izradili Zakonik za sebe, da ga sačuvaju i poštuju u svim dolazećim vremenima itd. itd. itd."

Preston je prihvatio legendu i opisao je u svom drugom izdanju (strana 198) sledećim rečima:

"Edvard je umro 924. godine, a nasledio ga je sin Atelstan, koji je imenovao svoga brata Edvina za zaštitnika Masona. Ovaj princ je od Atelstana pribavio Povelju kojom im omogućava da se sastaju u Jorku svake godine na dogovor. U tom gradu je 926. godine formirana prva Velika Loža Engleske kojoj je predsedavao Edvin kao Veliki Majstor. Ovde su mnogi spisi nastali na grčkom, latinskom i drugim jezicima iz kojih je, kako je rečeno, sastavljena Konstitucija Engleske Lože."

Takva je Legenda Jorka, kako ju je nauk prihvatio i kako je nalazimo u svim starim rukopisima, barem od četrnaestog veka do današnjih dana, zvanično potvrđena 1723. godine od strane Andersona, istoriografa Velike Lože, a ponovljena od strane Brr:. Prestona, Olivera, i gotovo svih kasnijih masonskih pisaca.

Da li je održana Skupština Slobodnih zidara 926. godine ili oko nje, pod patronatom ili uz dozvolu kralja Atelstana? Ne postoji ništa u ličnosti niti političkom ponašanju Atelstana što bi isključilo takvu mogućnost ili čak verovatnoću. Bio je liberalan u svojim stavovima, poput njegovog deda velikog Alfreda; bio je promoter civilizacije; unapređivao je učenje, izgradio mnoge crkve i manastire, podsticao prevođenje Svetog pisma i dao povelje mnogim operativnim društvima. U toku njegove vladavine verski giklani, cehovi ili bratstva bili su ugrađeni u zakone. Stoga nema ničeg neverovatnog u pretpostavci da je proširio svoju zaštitu i na operativne zidare.

Viševekovno neprekidno postojanje tradicije održavanja takve Skupštine, zahteva da bi oni koji to negiraju trebali da iznesu neki prihvatljiviji razlog za svoje mišljenje od onog što su do sada dali. "Neverica", kaže Voltaire, "temelj je istorije", ali se mora priznati da se dešava da, dok višak lakovernosti često zamenjuje stvarnost mitom, tvrdoglava neverica istinu zamenjuje fikcijom.

Velečasni Mudford (Moodford), u jednom eseju o povezanosti tvrđava sa Istorijom slobodnog zidarstva u Engleskoj, ubačenog u Huganov neobjavljeni zapis o nauku, kritički raspravlja o ovoj temi i dolazi do sledećeg zaključka: "Ne vidim razloga da se odbaci tako stara tradicija da su pod Atelstanom operativni zidari stekli njegovo pokroviteljstvo i sastali se na Generalnoj skupštini." I doktor Maki (Mackey) je to prihvatio.

Da li je Edvin, brat Atelstana, bio taj koji je sazvao Skupštinu? O ovom se pitanju već govorilo u članku o Edvinu, gdje se predlaže da Edvin na koga se aludira u legendi nije sin ili brat Atelstana, već Edvin, kralj Nortumbrije (Northumbria). Doktor Maki (Mackey) je verovao da je Fransis Drejk (Francis Drake) u svom govoru pred Velikom Ložom Jorka 1726. godine, bio prvi koji je javno izneo ovo mišljenje; ali to čini na način koji pokazuje da mora da su njegovi revizori prihvatiti to mišljenje u globalu, a ne da ga je on predstavio kao nešto novo. On kaže: "Znate da se možemo pohvaliti da je prva Velika Loža, ikad održana u Engleskoj, održana u ovom gradu, gde je Edvin, prvi hrišćanski kralj Nortumbrije, koji je postavio temelje naše Katedrale oko šeststotinite godine posle Hrista, sedio kao Veliki Majstor."

Edvin, rođen 586. godine, stupio je na presto 617. godine, a umro 633. Bio je najugledniji među anglosaksonskim kraljevima koji su bili njegovi suvremenici zbog vojne genijalnosti i državništva koje je posedovao. Toliko je efikasan bio njegov pravni sistem da se govorilo da je za vreme njegove vladavine žena ili dete moglo da ide posvuda sa kesom punom zlata bez bojazni da će biti opljačkano - izuzetna pohvala u ono vreme kada su pljačke bile skoro redovne.

Glavni događaj vladavine Edvina bilo je uvođenje hrišćanstva u kraljevinu Nortumbriju. Pre njegove vladavine, severna metropola Crkve nalazila se u Jorku, a kralj je patronirao biskupa Paulina dajući mu kuću i drugi imetak u tom gradu. Jedini prigovor ovoj teoriji jeste njen datum, tj.tri stotine godina pre vladavine Atelstana i navodnog sastanka u Jorku 926. godine.

Postoje li Konstittucije koje je ta Generalna skupština usvojila?

Ne treba sumnjati da, ako je održana Generalna skupština, ona mora da je usvojila Konstitucije ili uredbe za upravljanje naukom, jer bi uglavnom to bio predmet sastanka. Ali nema dovoljno dokaza da su Propisi koji se sada nazivaju Konstitucije Jorka ili Gotske Konstitucije te koje su usvojene 926. godine. Verovatnije je da su originalni dokumenti i sve njihove originalne kopije izgubljeni i da su činili tip iz kojeg su se formirale sve kasnije rukopisne Konstitucije. Postoji najjači interni dokaz da svi rukopisi, od Halivela (Halliwell) do Papworta (Papworth), imaju zajednički izvornik, iz koga su prepisani s manje ili više tačnosti, ili po kojem su uokvireni s manje ili više modifikacija. A doktor Maki pretpostavlja da je taj original trebao da bude Konstitucija koja mora da je bila usvojena na Generalnoj skupštini u Jorku.

Teorija, dakle, koju je doktor Maki zaključio u pripremi ovog članka može sigurno da se iznese o ovoj temi, i koja se, po njegovom mišljenju, mora održati sve dok ne postoje bolji razlozi od onih koje sada posedujemo da bi se odbacila, tj da je oko godine 926. Generalna skupština Slobodnih zidara održana je u Jorku, pod pokroviteljstvom Edvina, Atelstanovog brata, na kojoj je usvojen Zakonik koji je postao osnova na kojoj su oblikovane sve naredne masonske Konstitucije.

York and the York Legend

translation by Carlo Hameder

Source: The Book of Old Charges of Freemasonry, pp. 5-26

Rockford Lodge No. 469, Free and Accepted Masons

The York Legend

The Masons Guild of York is said to date from A.D. 79 in the time of Agricola and they built a Roman temple at that time, and a Carpenters Guild which dated from A.D. 626, which build a church of wood on the model of the Tabernacle of Moses.

In the year 765, a renowned teacher of the liberal arts and sciences in York called Alcuin was commissioned by the Archbishop of York to oversee the building of a new church in that city along with another priest, Eanbald. He was, by this commission, recognised as a Chief Master of building work such as those under Hiram Abif were expected to undertake. For anyone who is interested you should know that there is a poem written by this scholar architect that describes his task.

In the years that followed Alcuin was finally persuaded to move to Aachen in northern France to serve the Holy Roman Emperor, Carolus Magnus, as not only the head of a new courtly school there but also to advise the Emperor on the building of his new Chapel, hence the other name of the place, Aix-la-Chapelle. What you should know is that in one of his letters to the Emperor Alcuin describes this new place of worship as being another "Temple of Solomon". Moreover, in an allegorical passage referring to the chief members of the court of Charlemagne, Alcuin is referred to by the name of either Flaccus or Mannon Graecus.

The City of York, in the North of England, is celebrated for its traditional connection with Freemasonry in the Kingdom. No topic in the history of Freemasonry has so much engaged the attention of modern Masonic Scholars, or given occasion to more discussion, than the alleged facts of the existence of Freemasonry in the tenth century at the City of York as a prominent point, of the calling of a Congregation of the Craft there in the year 926, of the organization of a General Assembly and the adoption of a Constitution. During the whole of the eighteenth and the greater part of the nineteenth century, the Fraternity, in general, has accepted all of these statements as genuine portions of authentic history.

More recently, the discovery of many old manuscripts directed the labours of such Scholars as Hughan, Woodford, Lyon, and others, to the critical examination of the early history of Freemasonry, and that of York has particularly engaged their attention.

One must read both the tradition and the history. In pursuance of this plan, we propose to commence with the legends of York Freemasonry, as found in the old handwritten Constitutions, and then proceed to a review of what has been the result of recent investigations.

The legend which connects the origin of English Freemasonry at York in 926 is sometimes called the York Legend, sometimes the Athelstane Legend, because the General Assembly, said to have been held there, occurred during the reign of that king; and sometimes the Edunn Legend, because that Prince is supposed to have been at the head of the Craft, and to have convoked them together to form a Constitution. The earliest extant of the old handwritten Constitutions is the Ancient poem commonly known as the Halliwell or Regius manuscript and the date of which is conjectured, on good grounds, to be about the year 1390. In that work we find the following version of the legend:

Thys craft com ynto Englond as y yow say

Yn tyme of good kynge Adelstonus' day

He made tho bothe halle and eke bowre

And hye templus of gret honowre

To sportyn him yn bothe day and nygth,

An to worsehepe hys God with alle hys mygth.

Thys goode lorde loved thys craft ful wel

And purposud to strengthyn hyt every del,

For dyvers defawtys that yn the erayft he fonde

He sende aboute ynto the londe

After alle the masonus of the crafte

To come to hym ful evene strayfte

For to amende these defautys alle

By good eonsel gef hyt mytgth fallen

A semblé thenne he cowthe let make

Of dyvers lordis yn here state

Dukys, erlys, and barnes also,

Knygthys, sqwyers and mony mo

And the grete burges of that syté,

They were ther alle yn here degré

These were there uehon algate

To ordeyne for these masonus astate

Ther they sowgton bv here wytte

How they myghthyn governe hytte:

Fyftene artyeulus they there sowgton,

And fyftene poylltys there they wrogton.

For the benefit of those who are not familiar with this archaic style, the passage is translated into modern English.

"This craft came into England, as I tell you, in the time of good king Athelstan's reign; he made then both hall, and also bower and lofty temples of great honour, to take his recreation in both day and night and to worship his God with all his might. This good lord loved this craft full well, and purposed to strengthen it in every part on account of various defects that he discovered in the craft. He sent about into all the land, after all the masons of the craft, to come straight to him, to amend all these defects by good counsel, if it might so happen. He then permitted an assembly to be made of divers lords in their rank, dukes, earls, and barons, also knights, squires, and many more, and the great burgesses of that city, they were all there in their degree; these were there, each one in every way to make laws for the estate of these masons. There they sought by their wisdom how they might govern it; there they found out fifteen articles, and there they made fifteen points."

The next document in which we find this legend recited is that known as the Cooke Manuscript, whose date is placed at 1490. The details are here much more full than those contained in the Halliwell Manuscript. The passage referring to the legend is as follows:

"And after that was a worthy kynge in Englond, that was callyd Athelstone, and his yongest son lovyd well the seiens of Gemetry, and he wyst well that hand craft had the praetyke of the seiens of Gemetry so well as masons; wherefore he drew him to eonsell and lernyd [the] practyke of that scions to his speculatyf. For of speculatyfe he was a master, and he lovyd well masonry and masons. And he bicome a mason hymselfe. And he gaf hem [gave theml charges and names as it is now usyd in Englond and in other countries. And he ordevned that they sehulde have resonabull pay. And purehesed [obtained] are patent of the kyng that they sehulde make a sembly when thei sawe resonably tvme a [to] eum togedir to her [their] eounsell of the whiehe charges, manors & semble as is write and taught in the boke of our charges wherefor I leve hit at this tyme."

This much is contained in the manuscript from lines 611 to 642. Subsequently, in lines 688-719, which appear to have been taken from what is above called the Boke of Charges, the legend is repeated in these words: "In this manner was the forsayde art begunne in the land of Egypt bi the forsayd maister Euglat (Euclid), & so, it went fro lond to londe and fro kyngdome to kyngdome. After that, many yeris, in the tyme of Kyng Atdhelstone, whiche was sum tyme kynge of Englande, bi his counsell and other gret lordys of the land bi comin (common) assent for grete defaut y-fennde (found) among masons thei ordeyned a certayne reule amongys hem (them). on (one) tyme of the yere or in iii yere, as nede were to the kyng and gret lordys of the londe and all the eomente (community), fro provynce to provynce and fro countre to countre congregations scholde be made by maisters, of all maimers masons and felaus in the forsayd art. And so at such congregations they that be made masters schold be examined of the articulls after written, & be ransacked (thoroughly examined) whether thei be abull and kunnyng (able and skilful) to the profyte of the lordys hem to serve (to serve theru), and to the honor of the forsayd art."   Seventy years later, in 1560, the Lansdowne Manuscript was written, and in it we find the legend still further developed, and Prince Edwin for the first time introduced by name. That manuscript reads thus: "Soon after the Decease of St. Albones, there came Diverse Wars into England out of Diverse Nations, so that the good rule of Masons was dishired (disturbed) and put down lentil the tonne of King Adilston. In his time there was a worthy King in England, that brought this Land into good rest, and he built many great works and buildings therefore he loved well Masons, for he had a son called Edwin, the which Loved Masons much more than his Father did, and he was so practiced in Geometry, that he delighted much to come and talk with Masons and to learn of them the Craft. And after, for the love he had to Masons and to the Craft, he was made Mason at Windsor, and he got of the King, his Fathers a Charter and commission once every year to have Assembly, within the Realm where they would within England, and to correct within themselves Faults it Trespasses that were done ads touching the Craft, and he held them an Assembly, and there he made Masons and gave them Charges, and taught them the Manners and Commands the same to be kept ever afterwards."

And proclaimed them the Charter and commission to keep their Assembly and Ordained that it should he renewed from King to King, and when the Assembly were gathered together he made a cry, that 311 old Masons or Young, that had any Writings or Understanding of the charges and manners that were made before their Kings, wheresoever they were made Masons, that they should shew them forth, there were found some in French, some in Greek, some in Hebrew, and some in English, and some in other Languages, and when they were read and over seen well the intent of them was understood to be alone, and then he caused a Book to he made thereof how this worthy Craft of Masonic was first founded, and he himself commanded, and also then caused. that it should be read at any time when it should happen any Mason or Masons to be made to give him or them their Charges, and from that, until this Day, Manners of Masons have been kept in this manner and found, as well as Men might Govern it, and Furthermore at diverse Assemblies have been put and Ordained diverse Charges by the best advice of Masters and Fellows.

All the subsequent manuscripts contain the legend substantially as it is in the Lansdowne; and most of them appear to be mere copies of it, or most probably of some original one of which both they and it are copies.

In 1723 Anderson published the first edition of the Book of Constitutions, in which the history of the Fraternity of Freemasons is, he Say, "collected from their general records and their faithful traditions of many ages." He gives the legend taken, as he says, from "a certain record of freemasons written in the reign of King Edward IV," which manuscript, Bro. Preston asserts, "is said to have been in the possession or the famous Elias Ashmole."

As the old manuscripts were generally inaccessible to the Fraternity, and, indeed, until comparatively recently but few of them have been discovered, it is to the publication of the legend by Anderson, and subsequently by Bro. Preston, that we are to attribute its general adoption by the Craft for more than a century and a half.

The form of the legend, as given by Anderson in his first edition, varies slightly from that in his second. In the former, he places the date of the occurrence at 930; in his second, at 926: in the forth, he styles the Congregation at York a General Lodge; in his second, a Grand Lodge. Now, as the modern and universally accepted form of the legend agrees in both respects with the latter statement, and not with the former, it must be concluded that the second edition, and the subsequent ones by Entick and Noorthouck, who only repeat Anderson, furnished the form of the legend as now popular.

In the second edition of the Constitutions (page 63), published in 1738, Anderson gives the legend in the following words:

"In all the Old Constitutions it is written to this purpose, viz.:
"That though the Ancient records of the Brotherhood in England were most of them destroyed or lost in the war with the Danes, who burnt the Monasteries where the Records were kept — yet King Athelstan (the Grandson of King Alfred), the first anointed King of England who translated the Holy Bible into the Saxon language when he had brought the land into rest and peace, built many great works, and encouraged many Masons from France and elsewhere, whom he appointed overseers thereof: they brought with them the Charges and Regulations of the foreign Lodges, and prevailed with the King to increase the wages.
That Prince Edwin, the King's Brother, being taught Geometry and Masonry, for the love he had for the said Craft, and for the honourable principles whereon it is grounded, purchased a Free Charter of King Athelstan his Brother, for the Free Masons having among themselves a Connection or a power and freedom to regulate themselves to amend what might happen amiss and to hold an yearly Communication in a General Assembly.
That accordingly Prince Edwin summoned all the Free and Accepted Masons in the Realm, to meet him in the Congregation at York, who came and formed the Grand Lodge under him as their Grand Master, AD. 926.
That they brought with them many old Writings and Records of the Craft, some in Greek, some in Latin some in French, and other languages; and from the contents thereof, they framed the Constitutions of the English Lodges, and made a Law for themselves, to preserve and observe the same in all Time coming, etc., etc., etc."

Preston accepted the legend, and gave it in his second edition (page 198) in the following words:

"Edward died in 924, and was succeeded by Athelstane his son, who appointed his brother Edwin patron of the Masons. This prince procured a Charter from Athelstane empowering them to meet annually in communication at York. In this city, the first Grand Lodge of England was formed in 926 at which Edwin presided as Grand Master. Here many did writings were produced in Greek, Latin, and other languages, from which it is said the Constitutions of the English Lodge have been extracted.

Such is the York Legend, as it has been accepted by the Craft, contained in all the old manuscripts from at least the end of the fourteenth century to the present day; officially sanctioned by Anderson, the historiographer of the Grand Lodge in 1723, and repeated by Bro. Preston, by Oliver, and by almost all succeeding Masonic writers.

Was there an Assembly of Freemasons held in or about the year 926, at York, under the patronage or by the permission of King Athelstan?   There is nothing in the personal character or the political conduct of Athelstan that forbids such a possibility or even probability. He was liberal in his ideal, like his grandfather the great Alfred; he was a promoter of civilization; he patronized learning, built many churches and monasteries, encouraged the translation of the Scriptures, and gave charters to many operative companies. In his reign, the faith-giklan, free gilds or sodalities, were incorporated by law. There is, therefore, nothing improbable in supposing that he extended his protection to the Operative Masons.

The uninterrupted existence for several centuries of a tradition that such an Assembly was held, requires that those who deny it should furnish some more Satisfactory reason for their opinion than has yet been produced. "Disbelief," says Voltaire, "is the foundation of history." But it must be confessed that, while an excess of credulity often mistakes fable for reality, an obstinacy of incredulity as frequently leads to the rejection of truth as fiction.

The Reverend Moodford, in an essay on ache connection of forts with, the History of Freemasonry in England, inserted in Hughan's Unpublished Records of the Craft, has critically discussed this subject, and comes to this conclusion: "I see no reason, therefore, to reject so old a tradition, that under Athelstan the Operative Masons obtained his patronage, and met in General Assembly." Verdict to which Doctor Mackey also subscribed.

Was Edwin, the brother of Athelstan, the person who convoked that Assembly?   This question has already been discussed in the Edwin article, where the suggestion is made that the Edwin alluded to in the legend was not the son or brother of Athelstan, but Edwin, King of Northumbria. Francis Drake, in his speech before the Grand Lodge of York in 1726, was, Doctor Mackey believed, the first who publicly advanced this opinion; but he does so in a way that shows that the view must have been generally accepted by his listeners, and not advanced by him as something new. He says: "You know we can boast that the first Grand Lodge ever held in England was held in this city, where Edwin, the first Christian King of Northumbria, about the six hundredth year after Christ, and who laid the foundation of our Cathedral, sat as Grand Master."

Edwin, who was born in 586, ascended the throne in 617, and died in 633. He was preeminent, among the Anglo-Saxon Kings who were his contemporaries, for military genius and statesmanship. So inflexible was his administration of justice, that it was said that in his reign a woman or child might carry everywhere a purse of gold without danger of robbery — high commendation in those days of almost unbridled rapine.

The chief event of the reign of Edwin was the introduction of Christianity into the kingdom of Northumbria. Previous to his reign, the northern metropolis of the Church had been placed at York, and the King patronized Paulinus the Bishop, giving him a house and other possessions in that city. The only objection to this theory is its date, which is three hundred years before the reign of Athelstan and the supposed meeting at York in 926.

Are the Constitutions which were adopted by that General Assembly now extant?

It is not to be doubted, that if a General Assembly was held, it must have adopted Constitutions or regulations for the government of the Craft. Such would mainly be the object of the meeting. But there is no sufficient evidence that the Regulations now called the York Constitutions or the Gothic Constitutions, are those that were adopted in 926. It is more probable that the original document and all genuine copies of it are lost, and that it formed the type from which all the more modern handwritten Constitutions have been formed. There is the strongest internal evidence that all the manuscripts, from the Halliwell to the Papworth, have a common original, from which they were copied with more or less accuracy, or on which they were framed with more or less modification. And this original Doctor Mackey supposed to be the Constitutions which must have been adopted at the General Assembly at York.

The theory, then, which Doctor Mackey in preparing this article concluded may safely be advanced on this subject, and which in his judgment must be maintained until there are better reasons than we now have to reject it, is, that about the year 926 a General Assembly of Freemasons was held at York, under the patronage of Edwin, brother of Athelstan, at which Assembly a code of laws was adopted, which became the basis on which all subsequent Masonic Constitutions were framed.

Jork

Jork, sedište okruga Jorkshire, jedan je od najstarijih gradova u Engleskoj i jedan od najpoznatijih gradova na svetu, odmah iza samog Londona. Matično je mesto spekulativnog Slobodnog zidarstva, a takođe i značajno masonsko sedište. Britanci su na tom mestu imali grad i pre rimske okupacije; Rimljani su tamo sagradili kasarnu, a kasnije su grad i njegovo okruženje uredili kao kolonijalnu ili gradsku opštinu. Godinama je bio dom kralja Atelstana. Kad je Paulinus 627. godine n.e. postao nadbiskup, grad je postao sedište nadbiskupije, te se od tada Jork smatra drugim najznačajnijim verskim sedištem, posle Kanterberija (Canterbury).

Karlo Veliki je Alkuna iz Jorka izabrao za učitelja za sebe i svoje sinove (oko 800. godine), jer je klaustarska škola na čijem čelu je bio Alkun bila veoma poznata i zato što je sam Jork tog vremena bio isto što je danas Oksford, i jedva manje poznat na kontinentu nego u samoj Engleskoj. Rat Ruža, "najstrašniji rat Engleske", vodio se između Jorkista i Lankastrijanaca. Grad je takođe držao primat u likovnoj umetnosti tokom dva veka i imao više gotičke arhitekture nego bilo koji drugi centar; njegova Katedrala (York Minster) jedna je od najuzvišenijih građevina ikad izgrađenih bilo gde ili u bilo koje svrhe. Njegova slava kao Masonski grad počiva na mnogim temeljima:

1.   Biskup Jorka prisustvovao je Savetu u Arlu 314. godine n.e., a zapisi sa sednice Saveta govore o tome da je imao primat nad londonskim biskupom, a takav je biskup morao imati biskupsku crkvu ili katedralu, pa je stoga verovatno da je Jork već u četvrtom veku počeo da bude središte arhitekture i njenih sestrinskih umetnosti i pripadajućih veština.

2.   I da se Atelstanovo ime nikada nije spominjalo u Starim dužnostima, on bi ipak zauzimao značajno mesto u istoriji Masonstva, jer je bio kralj operativnog Slobodnog zidarstva, kao i kralj Engleske. Jork je bio Atelstanov dom. Tamo je izgradio ili obnovio mnoge građevine, i verovatno je da je Jork već imao zgradu cehovske skupštine, i vrlo verovatno ono što će se kasnije zvati Gradsko zidarsko društvo. Takođe je mnogo gradio i obnavljao u Londonu, te su ga toliko lično zanimali radovi da su se pravila i propisi za zanatlije u njegovim zakonima i odredbama značajno gomilali. Bio je i graditelj gradova, uloga koju su retko priznavali čak i kraljevima; iako je Egzeter (Exeter) pre njega bio velški grad, on je iselio Velšane i na tom mestu podigao novi grad prema sopstvenim planovima. Kada Stare dužnosti pripisuju Atelstanu veliko interesovanje za Slobodno zidarstvo i veliku ljubav prema Slobodnim zidarima, ne preteruju — zapravo nam ne govore celu istinu, jer očigledno autor Starih dužnosti nije znao ništa o Atelstanovim delima van Jorka.

3.   U jednoj verziji Starih dužnosti navodi se da je na Skupštini Slobodnih zidara u Jorku 926. godine Atelstan nauku dao Kraljevsku povelju, dokument koji je u sebi nosio veći autoritet nego oni dokumenti koje je izdavala bilo Crkva bilo neki gospodar nižeg ranga ili bilo koji grad. Druge verzije Starih dužnosti kažu da je Atelstan bio titularni starešina Bratstva slobodnih zidara, ali da je preneo svoj naslov i povlastice na svog sina, princa Edvina. Istoričari dovode u pitanje ovu tradiciju jer je, prvo, ne podržava suvremena evidencija; drugo, jer nikada nije pronađen nikakav trag o Atelstanovom sinu po imenu princ Edvin; treće, nije pronađen ni jedan trag same Povelje, ni kao kopije ni u citatima, mada bi bilo razumno misliti da bi Slobodni zidari sačuvali veliki broj kopija tako važnog dokumenta za sebe.

Guld (Gould) je tu tradiciju doveo u pitanje jer nije verovao da su Generalne skupštine nauka ikad bile održane, ali su njegovi argumenti neubedljivi jer, da nauk nije održavao skupštine, mnogi kraljevi ne bi izdavali edikte koji ih zabranjuju, a neizvesno je i u slučaju Atelstana jer Guld očigledno nije znao šta je to nerazumno "skupština" činila.


Može da se reinterpretira čitav problem Skupštine i Kraljevske povelje Jorka za koju je rečeno da je tamo odobrena, ali nisu pruženi dokazi. Sam Atelstan (a ne preko posrednika) bio je direktan poslodavac Slobodnih zidara u Jorku, Londonu, Egzeteru a nesumnjivo i drugde; ono što je u to vreme bio pisani ugovor možda će se kasnije smatrati poveljom. Takođe, kao što je gore navedeno, i sam Atelstan je sačinio pravila i propise za Slobodne zidare i uključio ih u svoje pisane zakone — čineći to, a istovremeno bivajući i poslodavac, njegovi sopstveni zakoni i ugovori bi posebno odobravali, barem implicitno, sopstvena pravila i propise o Slobodnim zidarima. Ako bi ova razmišljanja bila zdrava, tradicija Povelje koju je izdao Atelstan postaje, u suštini, tačna, ako ne tačna po obliku, ipak je za Slobodne zidare imala isti smisao.

4.   Prve stalne Lože osnovane su oko 1350. godine, a prema građanskom kao i crkvenom zakonu toga vremena, takvo telo moralo je da ima povelju; takođe je moralo "da ostvaruje dohodak", odnosno da podnosi civilnim vlastima izveštaje o svojim pravilima i propisima i svom članstvu. Razumno je verovati da su Stare dužnosti pisane, jednim delom, za svaku od ovih svrha.
Ako bi se osporilo da su Stare dužnosti povelja, već da su samo tvrdnja da im je Atelstan još davno dodelio Kraljevsku povelju, činjenica samo dokazuje da su se i sami Slobodni zidari 1350. godine bukvalno oslobodili u "tradiciji Jorka", ali ono što je, uzdržavajući se od ove veze, daleko važnije (Guld i Maki su prevideli tu važnost), je da su same uprave za poverenička društva verovale u to i dozvolile stalnim Ložama da nastave da rade po Starim dužnostima. Da te civilne vlasti nisu verovale u povelju, odbacile bi Stare dužnosti i primorale Lože da traže građansku povelju. Verovanje u tradiciju Jorka, ma koliko to vredelo, počiva ne na modernoj teoriji o pretpostavljenom događaju pre hiljadu godina, već na verovanju i Slobodnih zidara i civilnih vlasti u četrnaestom veku. Potonji su četiri veka bili udaljeni od Atelstana, ali to tada nije bio toliko širok jaz kao što je to danas (kada su promene barem pedeset puta brže), jer su u srednjem veku pisani službeni dokumenti čuvani sa velikom pažnjom; a to se posebno odnosi na Jork, kako su čitaoci ser Francisa Drejka otkrili.

5.   U platnenim svicima katedrale Jork koje je objavilo Društvo Surti (Surtee) iz Darama, (Durham 1859) saznajemo da su 1509. u Jorku postojale dve zanatske Lože, a istoričar Kugler kaže u svom Priručniku istorije umetnosti (Handbuch der Kunstgeschichte), da je u XII i XIII veku u blizini Jorka postojala škola arhitekture.

6.   U Jorku je radila jedna stara Velika Loža, besumnje pretežno spekulativnog članstva, pre Velike Lože u Londonu 1723. godine; nema načina da se otkrije njena starost, ali beleške o njoj postoje već od 1705. godine. Prema sopstvenim zapisnicima, ponekad se nazivala Velika Loža, a ponekad Generalna Loža - pod ovim kasnijim izrazom verovatno se podrazumevalo da je osnivala venčiće — 1725. godine Stara Velika Loža Jorka, Velika Loža cele Engleske."


7.   Kada je osnovana grupa londonskih Loža 1751. godine, ta Velika Loža koja je svuda postala poznata kao Drevna Velika Loža, njena privlačnost za engleske masone koji su već imali dve Velike Lože zasnivala se na njenom zahtevu da se vrate i sačuvaju " Drevni običaji; " a te običaje je pripisivala Loži Jorka.
I R. F. Guld (Gould) i Vm. J. Hugan (Houghan) su takvu upotrebu "Jork-a" stigmatizovali kao "amerikanizam". Kako je to moglo da bude tačno kada je nastala u samom Jorku, u londonskoj Velikoj loži 1751. godine i došla u američke kolonije preko Kanade? Štaviše, postoji samo u popularnoj i nekritičkoj upotrebi da se "Ritual Jorka" koristi u Americi; doktrina da je Slobodno zidarstvo nastalo u Jorku zvanično je usvojena.
Značajno delo o Jorku je ono koje se naziva Eboracum, debeli tom neverovatne erudicije, koji je napisao gorespomenuti Br:.i dr. Fransis Drejk (Francis Drake). To je ogroman tom fine štampe, gotovo ugušujuće prepun činjenicama. Svaki masonski istraživač-početnik morao bi dugo da traga da bi pronašao bolji izvor posebnih informacija; to je rudnik za masonske esejiste: u njemu su sačuvani bezbrojni stari običaji i simboli koji se pojavljuju u Slobodnom zidarstvu u obliku zapisa ili zapisnika sačinjenih u vreme kada su se i koristili.

York

York, the county seat of Yorkshire, is one of the oldest cities in England, and one of the most famous cities in the world, next after London itself. Speculative Freemasonry's Mother City, it is also the great Masonic city. The Britons had a town on its site before the Roman occupation; the Romans themselves established a barracks there, and later organized the town and its environs as a colonial or City municipality. It was for years the home of King Athelstan. When its Paulinus was made Archbishop in 627 A.D., it became the seat of an Archbishopric which ever since has ranked second in importance only after Canterbury.

Alcuin of York was selected by Charlemagne as his own teacher and that of his sons (about 800 A.D.) because the cloister school headed by Alcuin was very famous and because York itself at that time was the same as Oxford today, and hardly less known on the continent than in England itselff. The War of the Roses, "England a most terrible war," was fought between Yorkists and Lancastrians. It also had for some two centuries a primacy in the fine arts, and more Gothic architecture was crowded into its limits than in any other centre; its Minster is one of the sublimest structures ever built anywhere, or for any purpose. Its fame as a Masonic city rests on many foundations:

1.   A Bishop of York attended the Council of Arles in 314 A.D., and the Council Records indicate that he was given primacy over the Bishop of London; such a Bishop must have had a Bishop's church, or cathedral, and it is likely therefore that York began to be a centre of architecture and of its sister arts and associated skilled crafts as early as the Fourth Century.


2.   Had Athelstan's name never been mentioned in the Old Charges he would have a large place in Masonic history because he was a King of Operative Freemasonry as well as King of England. York was Athelstan's home. He built or rebuilt many structures there, and it is probable that the city already had its guildhall, and very probably what later would be called a City Company of Masons. Also, he built and rebuilt much in London, and was so personally interested in the work that rules and regulations for craftsmen accumulated largely in his laws and edicts. Also, he was a city builder, a role to which even kings are seldom admitted, for while Exeter had been a Welsh City before him, he moved the Welsh out and in their place built a new city according to a plan of his own. When the Old Charges attribute to Athelstan a great interest in Freemasonry and a great love for Freemasons they do not exaggerate — indeed, they fall short of the whole truth because apparently the author of the Old Charges knew nothing of Athelstan's work outside of York.



3.   In one version of the Old Charges it is stated that at an Assembly of Freemasons in York in 926 A.D., Athelstan gave the Craft a Royal Charter, a document which carried in itself a higher authority than one issued by either the Church or any lord of lesser degree or any city. Other versions of the Old Charges say that Athelstan was the titular elder of the Brotherhood of Freemasons, but that he transferred his title and privileges to his son, Prince Edwin. Historians question this tradition because, first, it is unsupported by contemporary records; second, because no trace of a son of Athelstan named Prince Edwin has ever been found; third, no trace of the Charter itself, either in a copy or in quotation, has been discovered, although it is reasonable to think that the Freemasons would have preserved many copies of a document so important to them.
Gould questioned the tradition because he did not believe that General Assemblies of the Craft had ever been held, but his argument is dubious because if the Craft had not held assemblies a number of kings would not have issued edicts to prohibit them (see in this Volume, under Wycliff, and it is uncertain in the case of Athelstan as well, because Gould obviously did not know what the "assembly" was doing unlawfully.
It is possible to reinterpret the whole problem of the Assembly at York and of the Royal Charter said to have been granted there, and to do so without stretching the evidence. Athelstan himself (and not through an agent) was a direct employer of Freemasons at York, at London, at Exeter, and doubtless elsewhere; that which was a written contract at the time may have come to be thought of as a charter afterwards. Also, as stated above, Athelstan himself drew up rules and regulations for the Freemasons, and incorporated them in his written laws — in so doing, and also while acting as an employer, both his own laws and contracts would specifically approve, at least by implication, the Freemasons' own rules and regulations. If these reasoning's be sound, the tradition of a Charter granted by Athelstan becomes true in substance if not true in form and for the Freemasons had the same point.

4.   The first permanent Lodges were established about 1350 A.D. According to both civil and ecclesiastical law at the time such a body had to have a charter; it also had "to make returns," that is, to report their rules and regulations and their membership to the civil authorities. It is reasonable to believe that the Old Charges were written partly for each of these purposes.
If it be objected that the Old Charges are not a charter, but only the claim that Athelstan had already granted them a Royal Charter long before, the fact only proves that the Freemasons themselves in 1350 A.D. relieved literally in the "York tradition" but what restrained this connection was far more important (Gould and Mackey both overlooked that importance), that the City authorities themselves believed it, and permitted the permanent Lodges to continue to work under the Old Charges. Had those civil authorities disbelieved it, they would have rejected the Old Charges and compelled the Loges to seek civil charters. Belief in the York tradition, and for whatever it may be worth, rests not on a modern theory about a supposed event a thousand years ago, but on a belief held by both Freemasons and civil authorities in the Fourteenth Century. The latter were four centuries removed from Athelstan, but that was not then as wide a gap in time as it would be now (when change is at least fifty times as rapid) because in the Middle Ages written official documents were preserved with great care; and this is especially true of York, as readers of Sir Francis Drake have discovered.

5.   The Fabric Rolls of York Minster published in by the Surtee's Society (Durham 1859) we learn that in 1509 there were two Craft Lodges at York in existence, and the Historian Kugler says in his "Handbuch der Kunstgeschichte", that in the 12th and 13th century near York a school of Architecture was in existence.

6.   There was a Old Grand Lodge in York, no doubt of a predominantly Speculative membership, before the Grand Lodge was established in London in 1723; how old it was there is no way of discovering, but it is on record as early as 1705 A.D. According to its own Minutes it was sometimes called a Grand Lodge, and sometimes a General Lodge — by this later term it was probably meant that it had set up daughter Lodges. In 1725 the Old Grand Lodge of York became The Grand Lodge of All England."

7.   When a group of London Lodges set up in 1751 A.D. that Grand Lodge which everywhere was to become famous as Ancient Grand Lodge of England, its appeal to English Masons who already had two Grand Lodges was based on its claim to recover and to preserve "the Ancient Customs;" these customs it attributed to the York Grand Lodge.
Both R. F. Gould and W. J. Hughan stigmatized this use of "York" as an "Americanism. " How could it have been when it originated in York itself, in the London Grand Lodge of 1751, A.D., and came to the American Colonies via Canada? Moreover it is only in popular and uncritical usage that "York Rite" is employed in America; the doctrine that Freemasonry originated in York has has been officially adopted.

The great work on York is the one titled Eboracum, a thick tome of amazing erudition, written by the above-mentioned Bro. and Dr. Sir Francis Drake. It is a huge volume in fine print, almost suffocatingly packed with facts. Any beginning Masonic researcher could look far for a better specialty; it is a mine for Masonic essayists: in it countless old customs and symbols preserved in Freemasonry appear in the form of records or minutes made at the time of their use.

Rukopisi iz Jorka

Izvorno je bilo šest rukopisa Starih konstitucija koji su nosili taj naziv, jer su bili deponirani u Arhivu Velike Lože Sve Engleske, čije je sedište bilo u gradu Jorku. Međutim, rukopis broj 3 je nestao, mada se spominje u popisu sačinjenom u Jorku 1779.godine. Brojevi 2, 4 i 5 došli su u posed Lože Jorka. Brat Hugan (Hughan) je otkrio brojeve 2 i 6 u arhivu "Velike Lože Engleske" u Londonu. Datumi ovih rukopisa, koji ne odgovaraju brojevima njihovih naslova, su sledeći: Br. 1 označen je godinom 1600.; Br. 2, 1704.; Br.3 1630.; Br. 4 1693.; Broj 5 nije datiran, ali se pretpostavlja da se radi o godini oko 1670., a br. 6 je takođe bez datuma, ali se smatra da je nastao oko 1680.

Sve ove rukopise, osim broja 3, objavio je pokojni brat W. J. Hugan u svojim Drevnim Masonskim svicima Jorka 1894. godine. Brat Hugan smatra da je broj 4 od izvesne važnosti, jer sadrži sledeću rečenicu:
"Onaj od starešina koji uzme Knjigu i onaj ili ona ko treba da postane mason treba da polože ruke na nju i tada Dužnost treba da se dodeli."

Smatrao je da je to pružalo neku pretpostavku da su žene primane u članstvo Starih masonskih cehova, iako priznaje da nemamo druge dokaze koji bi potvrđivali ovu teoriju.

Istina je da je rečenica prevod iste klauzule napisane u drugim Starim konstitucijama na latinskom. U rukopisu br. 1 iz Jorka, rečenica glasi ovako: "Tunc unus senioribus teneat librum at ille vel illi" itd. (Tada jedan od starijih držaše Knjigu kod njega ili njih), tj."on ili oni". Pisac broja 4 kopirao je, najverovatnije, sa broja 1, a njegov prevod "hee ili sheen sa" ille vel illi, umesto "on ili oni ", bio je rezultat neznanja i zamene reči illi = oni sa illa=ona, ili nepažnje u pisanju i zamene reči njih sa shee.

Očigledno je da su dužnosti na koje se na osnovu toga zaklinju i koje odmah slede bile takve prirode da je većina takva da je bilo fizički nemoguće da ih obavljaju žene; niti se upućuje na žene u bilo kom drugom rukopisu. Svi Slobodni zidari su kolege (Braća) i tako treba da se oslovljavaju. Postoje još dva rukopisa Operativnih Zidara iz Jorka koji su objavljeni u Platnenim svicima Jork Minstera, delu neprocjenjive vrednosti u izdanju velečasnog Džejmsa Rejnia (James Raine), štampanog pod pokroviteljstvom i o trošku Društva Surtis (Surtees).

Jork je izuzetno bogat Starim dužnostima, jer osim onih koji su nekada pripadali Velikoj Loži Jorka, a sada su u posedu tamošnje moderne Lože, ima ih i u privatnom vlasništvu, kao i u "Masonskoj biblioteci Zapadnog Jorkšira". U Manifestu Lože Antike (1778.) navodi se da je postojao jedan stari rukopis u vlasništvu gospodina Vilsona (Wilson) iz Brumheda (Broomhead), blizu Šefilda (Sheffield), koji sada nedostaje, pisanog za vladavine Henrija VIII a čini se da je postojao jedan iz 1560. Godine. Loža Hope (Nada) iz Bradforda, ima jedan primerak iz oko 1680. godine, ali ne nameravamo da se bavimo tim rukopisima. Međutim, oni koji su ih izučavali mnogo duguju pokojnom Br:. Tomasu W. Tjuu (Thomas W. Tew), bivšem Velikom Majstoru Vest Rajdinga (West Riding), koji ih je imao osam, u njegovoj "Pokrajinskoj biblioteci", koje je štampao i distribuirao o svom trošku. Među njima su "Rukopis Thomas W. Tew"iz oko 1680.; "Rukopis Waistell.", iz oko 1693.; i "Rukopis Clapham", iz oko 1700. Svici u posedu Lože u Jork-u takođe su štampani preko pretplate; jedan od njih, datiran godinom 1704., u zaglavlju ima isti anagram o "Masoneriji" kao onaj iz 1600. godine, ali ga je Robert Preston naslovio na Daniela Moulta. Pojavljuje se i u svitku iz Njukasla (Newcastle): Ričard Sted (Richard Stead) ga je naslovio svom prijatelju Džozefu Klatonu (Joseph Claughton).

U Jorku postoje i drugi dokumenti, ali ništa starije od vladavine Ane, 1702-14. Cini se da je 1705. godine predsednik bio Džordž Benson (George Benson), te da su ga pratila razna druga gospoda koja su se birala godišnje. Takođe saznajemo i o jednom starom primerku Dužnosti koji je prešao u posed Velike Lože Kanade, da je jedna "privatna Loža" održana u Skarborou (Scarborough) u Jorkširu 10. jula 1705.godine sa eskvajrom Wm. Thompsonom, kao predsednikom, kada je primljeno šest članova čija će se imena naći u faksimilima sačinjenim za Masone Zapadnog Jorkšira. Prošlog veka, Velika Loža Cele Engleske u Jorku imala je zapisnik iz godine 1704., ali ih sada nije moguće pronaći. Međutim, u Loži Jorka imaju neke kasnije svitke od pergamena koji, donekle, zamenjuju zapisnike. Podatak koji imamo pre 1726. godine verovatno pripada Operativnom cehu.

19. marta 1712. Smo pročitali da je nekoliko članova "položilo zakletvu i primljeno u časno Društvo i Bratstvo Slobodnih zidara od strane eskvajra Džordža Bauza (George Bowes, Esq.), Zamenika predsednika." 1713. godine Drevna Loža održala je sastanak u Bradfordu, "kada je osamnaestoro gospode iz najviđenijih porodica postalo slobodnim zidarima". Sastanci su se održavali u Jorku svake godine, a oni na dan Sv. Jovana Krstitelja u junu, nazvani su "Generalnom Ložom na dan Sv. Jovana", dok su ostali označavani "privatnim Ložama". To je bilo četiri godine pre ikakvih događanja u Londonu, a sastanci u Skarborou i Bradfordu u skladu su sa drevnim Konstitucijama koje navode da bi masoni trebali održati skupštinu "na kojem god mestu želeli"; te se čini veoma očitim da se tamo gde se koristi izraz "generalna loža", različit od "privatne lože", nastavlja tradicija drevne skupštine.

Ponovo, 1716. godine zapisnik na ovom pergamenom svitku kaže: "U Loži Sv. Jovana o Božiću 1716. godine. U kući gospodina Džejmsa Borama (James Boreham), koja se nalazi kod Kamenih vrata u Jorku, održana je tada generalna loža koju je tada vodilo Casno Društvo i Udruženje Slobodnih zidara u gradu Jorku, ne kojoj je eskvajr Džon Turner (John Turner, Esq.), položio zakletvu i primljen u navedeno Casno Društvo i Bratstvo Slobodnih zidara." "Eskvajr Carlz Ferfaks (Charles Fairfax, Esq.)., potpredsednik." Popisi Velikih Majstora nalaze se u svakoj modernoj masonskoj enciklopediji, ali je Br:. Vajthed (Whitehead) nedavno otkrio u jednom starom rukopisu grbova da je 1728. godine ime Sir Wm. Milnera, Bart., izostavljeno iako je bio "798. naslednik Edvina Velikog", očigledno se odnoseći na godišnji izbor Velikog Majstoraa iz godine 930.

Br:. William Preston (1742-1818) otkrio je ogromno tradicionalno i istorijsko znanje u starim dokumentima o nauku, a ovo je njegov prikaz u Ilustracijama masonerije o Prvoj Velikoj Skupštini u Jorku 1705. godine. Zapis o tom društvu, napisan za vladavine Edwarda IV., za koji se navodi da je bio u posedu slavnog Ilajasa Ašmola (Elias Ashmole), osnivača muzeja u Oksfordu, i koji je, nažalost, uništen u revoluciji, zajedno s drugim radovima na temu masonerije, daje sledeći prikaz stanja masonerije u tom periodu:

"Da je, iako su mnogi drevni zapisi o Bratstvu u Engleskoj uništeni ili izgubljeni u ratovima Saksonaca i Danaca, ipak kralj Atelstan (unuk kralja Alfreda Velikog, moćni arhitekt), prvi pomazani kralj Engleske, koji je preveo Svetu Bibliju na saksonski jezik (930. godine), kada je u zemlji smirio prilike i obezbedio mir, sagradio mnoga velika zdanja i doveo mnoge zidare iz Francuske, koji su imenovani za nadzornike radova, te su sa njima došle i dužnosti i propisi Loža, koji su se sačuvali od starorimskih vremena; koji su ubedili kralja da poboljša Konstituciju engleskih loža po stranom uzoru, i poveća nadnice radnih zidara (masona).

Da je spomenuti kraljev brat, princ Edvin, podučavan zidarstvu i preuzimajući dužnosti Majstora Masona, zbog ljubavi koju je gajio prema spomenutom nauku i časnih načela na kojima je utemeljen, kupio povelju o slobodama od kralja Atelstana za zidare, koji imaju pravo korekcije među sobom (kako se to izražavalo u drevna vremena), tj. slobodu i pravo da sami određuju svoje odnose, da izmene ono što bi bilo pogrešno, i da održavaju godišnju komunikaciju i generalnu skupštinu.
Da je, prema tome, princ Edwin sazvao sve masone u kraljevini da ga upoznaju na saboru u Jorku, te su ovi došli i načinili generalnu ložu, kojoj je on bio Veliki Majstor. Ti su masoni doneli sa sobom sva pisanija i zapise koji su postojali, neki na grčkom, neki na latinskom, neki na francuskom i drugim jezicima, pa su iz sadržaja tih spisa sastavili konstitucije i dužnosti jedne Engleske Lože, napisali zakonik sa ciljem da se on sačuva i poštuje u svim dolazećim vremenima i odredili dobre nadnice za radne masone i Braću.
Od tog vremena datiramo ponovno uspostavljanje Slobodnog zidarstva u Engleskoj. Trenutačno, 1779. godine, u gradu Jorku postoji Velika Masonska Loža koja vodi poreklo iz tog razdoblja. Smatra se da su, zahvaljujući Edvinovoj povelji, svi masoni u kraljevstvu sazvani na generalnu skupštini u tom gradu, na kojoj su osnovali generalnu ili Veliku Ložu koja bi njima upravljala. Pod patronatom i jurisdikcijom ove Velike Lože, Bratstvo se, navodno, znatno uvećalo; pa su kraljevi, kneževi i druge ugledne osobe, inicirane u masoneriju, iskazivale vernost toj Velikoj skupštini. Ali kako su tadašnji događaji bili različiti i promenljivi, skupovi su bili manje ili više ugledni i u srazmeri sa podrškom koju je zidarstvo primalo, te je njegov uticaj bio manji ili veći. Naziv Drevni Masoni Jorka je u Irskoj i Škotskoj dobro poznat; a opšte je uverenje među Braćom da je nastao u Oldbiju (Auldby), u blizini Jorka. To upućuje na neke znake koji potvrđuju pretpostavku, jer je Oldbi bio Edvinovo sedište.

Postoji svaki razlog da se veruje da se Jork smatrao izvornim sedištem Masonske vlade u toj zemlji; nijedno drugo mesto nije pretendovalo da usvoji taj naziv; i čitavo je Bratstvo, u različitim vremenima, univerzalno priznavalo vlast koja je tamo uspostavljena: ali hoće li sadašnje udruženje u tom gradu imati pravo na odanost drugih, nije predmet koji bi moja provincija ispitivala. Da bi se doneo konačan sud o toj skupštini potrebno je više informacija. Toliko je, međutim, izvesno da ako je tamo održana Generalna Skupština ili Velika Loža (o čemu nema sumnje, čak i ako se možemo osloniti samo na naše zapise i konstitucije, pošto se kaže da su postojale u vreme kraljice Elizabete), ne postoje dokazi o njegovoj regularnoj selidbi na bilo koje drugo mesto u kraljevstvu; i na toj osnovi Braća u Jorku verovatno mogu zahtevati privilegiju da im se pridružuju drugi. Izgleda da su u raznim delovima Engleske, u različita vremena, sazivani brojni ugledni sastanci Bratstva; ali ne možemo da pronađemo neki zabeleženi primer, sve do vrlo kasnog razdoblja, generalne skupštine (tzv.) održane u nekom drugom mestu, a ne u Jorku.

Da bi nam ovo pitanje bilo jasnije, možda će biti potrebno da se pozovemo na izvornu instituciju te skupštine zvanu Generalna ili Velika Loža. Tada nije bila ograničena, kao što je to sada slučaj, na Majstore i Nadzornike privatnih Loža, na čelu s Velikim Majstorom i Nadzornicima; sastojalo se od onog broja Bratstva koji je, zavisno od pogodne udaljenosti, mogao da prisustvuje jednom ili dva puta godišnje, pod pokroviteljstvom jednog generalnog poglavara, koji je izabran i postavljen na jednom od ovih sastanaka; i koga su, u toku njegovog mandata, poštovali kao jedinog upravitelja čitavog tela. Ideja o ograničavanju privilegija Masonerije, punomoćjem konstitucije, datom određenim pojedincima okupljenim određenih dana na određenim mestima, tada nije postojala. Postojala je samo jedna jedina porodica Masona, a svaki je Mason bio podružnica te porodice.

Istina je da su privilegije različitih stepenova Reda uvek usredotočene na određene članove Bratstva: koji su, prema svom napretku u Nauku, preko Drevnih dužnosti bili ovlašćeni da se okupljaju, drže i upravljaju Ložama po svojoj volji i nahođenju, na mestima koja su njima najprikladnija, a kada su se tako okupljali, da primaju učenike i daju uputstva u vezi Nauka; ali svo to poštovanje tih pojedinaca, odvojeno i zajednički, u osnovi je počivalo u Generalnoj skupštini; kojoj bi se čitavo Bratstvo uputilo i čiju bi čast svi morali da čuvaju. Kako su konstitucije engleskih Loža izvedene iz ove Generalne skupštine u Jorku; kako su svi masoni dužni da ih poštuju i čuvaju u svim vremenima koja dolaze; i kako ne postoji zadovoljavajući dokaz o tome da je takva skupština ikada regularno uklonjena rezolucijom svojih članova, već da se, naprotiv, Bratstvo i dalje sastaje u tom gradu pod ovom apelacijom, može ostati sumnja, da li će, iako ove konstitucije postoje kao standard masonskog ponašanja, ta skupština moći da traži odanost (drugih) na koju im je njihov izvorni autoritet dao pravo; i da li bilo koji drugi skup Masona, bez obzira na njihov značaj, može, u skladu s tim konstitucijama, povući svoju odanost prema toj skupštini ili zanemariti autoritet koji je ne samo antika, već i vekovima, pod najsvečanijim zavetom data saglasnost Masona, više puta odobrila.

Žalosno je što verovanje u superiornost i želja za sticanjem apsolutne dominacije treba da predstavljaju predmet takmičenja među masonima. Kada bi se načela Reda bolje razumela i šire praktikovala, našao bi se potpuniji odgovor o nameri institucije masonstva. Svaki bi mason smatrao svog Brata svojim bližnjim, a onaj koji bi velikodušnim i kreposnim radnjama mogao najbolje da promoviše sreću u društvu, uvek bi bio najverovatnija osoba kojoj bi se ukazala počast i poštovanje.

Prevod sačinjen 16. marta 2020.

The York Manuscripts

Originally there were six manuscripts of the Old Constitutions bearing this title, because they were deposited in the Archives of the Grand Lodge of All England, whose seat was at the City of York. But the manuscript No. 3 became missing, although it is mentioned in the inventory made at York in 1779. Nos. 2, 4, and 5 came into possession of the York Lodge. Brother Hughan discovered Nos. 2 and 6 in the Archives of the "Grand Lodge of England," at London. The dates of these manuscripts, which do not correspond with the number of their titles, are as follows: No. l has the date of 1600; No. 2, 1704; No.3, 1630; No. 4, 1693; No. 5, is undated, but is supposed to be about 1670, and No. 6 also is undated, but is considered to be about 1680.

Of these manuscripts all but No. 3 have been published by the late Brother W. J. Hughan in his Ancient York Masonic Rolls, 1894. Brother Hughan deems No. 4 of some importance because it contains the following sentence:
"The one of the elders taking the Booke, and that See or shee that is to be made mason shall lay their hands thereon, and the charge shall bee given."

This, he thought, affords some presumption that women were admitted as members of the old Masonic Guilds, although he admits that we possess no other evidence confirmatory or this theory.

The truth is, that the sentence was a translation of the same clause written in other Old constitutions in Latin. In the York Manuscript, No. 1, the sentence is thus: "Tunc unus ex senioribus teneat librum et ille vel illi," etc., that is, "he or they." The writer of No. 4 copied, most probably, from No. 1, and his translation of "hee or sheen from "ille vel illi," instead of "he or they," was either the result of ignorance in mistaking illi, they, for illa, she, or of carelessness in writing shee for they.

It is evident that the charges thus to be sworn to, and which immediately follow, were of such a nature as made most of them physically impossible for women to perform; nor are females alluded to in any other of the manuscripts. All Freemasons there are Fellows, and are so to be addressed. There are two other York Manuscripts of the Operative Masons, which have been published in the Fabric Rolls of York Minster, an invaluable work, edited by the Rev. James Raine, and issued under the patronage and at the expense of the Surtees Society.

Yorkshire is notably rich in the old Charges, as besides those which formerly belonged to the York Grand Lodge, and are in possession of a modern Lodge there, there are others in private hands, and in the "West Yorkshire, Masonic Library." It is stated in a Manifesto of the Lodge of Antiquity (1778) that there was one old MS. in the hands of Mr. Wilson, of Broomhead, near Sheffield, written in the reign of Henry VIII., which is now missing, and there appears to have been one dated 1560. The Lodge of Hope, Bradford, has a copy of circa 1680. It forms no part of our plan to give an account of these old MSS., but students of them are greatly indebted to the late Brother Thomas W. Tew, P.G.M. of the West Riding, who had eight of these, in possession of his Provincial Library, printed and distributed at his sole cost. Amongst them are the "Thomes W. Tew MS." circa 1680; the "Waistell MS.," circa 1693; and the "Clapham MS.," circa 1700. The scrolls in possession of the Lodge at York have also been printed by subscription; one of these, dated 1704, is headed with the same Anagram on "Masonrie" as that of 1600, but addressed by Robert Preston to Daniel Moult. It also appears in a Newcastle Roll, addressed by Richard Stead to his friend Joseph Claughton.

There are other documents at York, but none older than the reign of Anne, 1702-14. It seems that George Benson was President in 1705, and that he was followed by other gentlemen at each annual election. We learn also from an old copy of the Charges which has passed into the possession of the Grand Lodge of Canada, that a "Private Lodge" was held at Scarborough, Yorkshire, 10th July, 1705, with Wm. Thompson, Esq., as President, when six members were received whose names will be found in the facsimiles executed for the West Yorkshire Masons. Last century the Grand Lodge of All England at York had minutes from the year 1704, but they are not now to be found, they have, however, at the York Lodge some later parchment Rolls, which to some extent take the place of minutes. The probability is that such information as we have prior to 1726 belongs to the Operative Guild.

On the 19th March, 1712, we read that several members were "sworne and admitted into the honourable Society and fraternity of free Masons by George Bowes, Esq., Deputy President." In 1713 the Ancient Lodge held a meeting at Bradford, "when 18 gentlemen of the first families were made Free-Masons." Meetings were held each succeeding year at York, those on St. John the Baptist's Day, in June, being termed a "General Lodge on St. John's Day," whilst the others are designated "Private Lodges." This was four years before any movement was made in London, and the meetings at Scarborough and at Bradford are in agreement with the ancient Constitutions which state that the Masons were to hold an Assembly "in what place they would"; and it seems very apparent that where the term "General Lodge" is used, as distinct from a "Private Lodge," it is the tradition of the ancient Assembly continued.

Again, in 1716, the record on this parchment scroll says: "At St. John's Lodge in Christmas, 1716. At the house of Mr. James Boreham, situate Stone Gate in York, being a general Lodge held then by the Honoble Society and Company of Free-Masons in the City of York, John Turner, Esqre., was sworne and admitted into the said Honoble Society and Fraternity of Free-Masons." "Charles Fairfax, Esqre., Dep. President." Lists of the Grand Masters are found in any Modern Masonic Cyclopaedia, but Brother Whitehead recently discovered in an old Armorial MS. that the name of Sir Wm. Milner, Bart., 1728, has been omitted, "being the 798th Successor from Edwin the Great," apparently claiming an annual election of Grand Masters from the year 930.

Bro. William Preston (1742-1818) discovered a vast body of traditional and historical lore in the old documents of the Craft, and this is his account in the Illustrations of Masonry concerning the Premier Grand Assembly at York 1705. A record of the society, written in the reign of Edward IV., said to have been in the possession of the famous Elias Ashmole, founder of the museum at Oxford, and which was unfortunately destroyed, with other papers on the subject of Masonry, at the Revolution, gives the following account of the state of Masonry at this period:

"That though the ancient records of the Brotherhood in England were many of them destroyed, or lost, in the wars of the Saxons and Danes, yet King Athelstane (the grandson of King Alfrede the Great, a mighty architect), the first anointed King of England, and who translated the Holy Bible into the Saxon tongue (A.D. 930), when he had brought the land into rest and peace, built many great works, and encouraged many Masons from France, who were appointed overseers thereof, and brought with them the charges and regulations of the lodges, preserved since the Roman times; who also prevailed with the king to improve the Constitution of the English lodges according to the foreign model, and to increase the wages of working Masons.

That the said King's brother, Prince Edwin, being taught Masonry, and taking upon him the charges of a Master Mason, for the love he had toward the said Craft, and the honourable principles whereon it is grounded, purchased a free charter of King Athelstane for the Masons having a correction among themselves (as it was anciently expressed), or a freedom and power to regulate themselves, to amend what might happen amiss, and to hold a yearly communication and general assembly.
That, accordingly, prince Edwin summoned all the Masons in the realm to meet him in a congregation at York, who came and composed a General Lodge, of which he was Grand Master; and having brought with them all the writings and records extant, some in Greek, some in Latin, some in French, and other languages, from the contents thereof that assembly did frame the constitutions and charges of an English Lodge, made a law to preserve and observe the same in all time coming, and ordained good pay for working Masons, &c.

From this era we date the re-establishment of Freemasonry in England. Currently, in 1779, there is a Grand Masonic Lodge in the city of York that dates back to that period.. By virtue of Edwin's charter, it is said, all the Masons in the realm were convened at a general assembly in that city, where they established a general or Grand Lodge for their future government. Under the patronage and jurisdiction of this Grand Lodge, it is alleged, the Fraternity considerably increased; and kings, princes, and other eminent persons, who had been initiated into Masonry, paid due allegiance to that Grand Assembly. But as the events of the times were various and fluctuating, that assembly was more or less respectable; and in proportion as Masonry obtained encouragement, its influence was more or less extensive. The appellation of Ancient York Masons is well known in Ireland and Scotland; and there is a general belief among the Brethren that it originated in Auldby, near York. This carries with it some marks of confirmation; for Auldby was the seat of Edwin.

There is every reason to believe that York was deemed the original seat of Masonic government in this country; no other place has pretended to claim it; and the whole Fraternity have, at various times, universally acknowledged allegiance to the authority established there: but whether the present association in that city be entitled to the allegiance, is a subject of inquiry which is not my province to investigate. More information is needed to reach a final judgment on that assembly. Thus much however, is certain, that if a General Assembly or Grand Lodge was held there (of which there is little doubt, if we can only rely on our records and constitutions, as it is said to have existed there in Queen Elizabeth's time), there is no evidence of its regular removal to any other place in the kingdom; and upon that ground the brethren at York may probably claim the privilege of associating in that character. A number of respectable meetings of the Fraternity appear to have been convened at sundry times in different parts of England; but we cannot find an instance on record, till a very late period, of a general meeting (so called) being held in any other place beside York.

To understand this matter more clearly, it may be necessary to advert to the original institution of that assembly called a General or Grand Lodge. It was not then restricted, as it is now understood to be, to the Masters and Wardens of private lodges, with the Grand Master and Wardens at their head; it consisted of as many of the Fraternity at large as, being within a convenient distance, could attend, once or twice a year, under the auspices of one general head, who was elected and installed at one of these meetings; and who, for the time being, received homage as the sole governor of the whole body. The idea of confining the privileges of Masonry, by a warrant of constitution, to certain individuals convened on certain days at certain places, had then no existence.

There was but one family among Masons, and every Mason was a branch of that family. It is true the privileges of the different degrees of the Order always centred in certain members of the Fraternity: who, according to their advancement in the Art, were authorised by the ancient charges to assemble in, hold, and rule lodges, at their will and discretion, in such places as best suited their convenience, and when so assembled, to receive pupils and deliver instructions in the Art; but all the tribute from these individuals, separately and collectively, rested ultimately in the General Assembly; to which all the Fraternity might repair, and to whose award all were bound to pay submission. As the constitutions of the English lodges are derived from this General Assembly at York; as all Masons are bound to observe and preserve those in all time coming; and as there is no satisfactory proof that such assembly was ever regularly removed by the resolution of its members, but that, on the contrary, the Fraternity still continue to meet in that city under this appellation, it may remain a doubt, whether, while these constitutions exist as the standard of Masonic conduct, that assembly may not justly claim the allegiance to which their original authority entitled them; and whether any other convention of Masons, however great their consequence may be, can, consistent with those constitutions, withdraw their allegiance from that assembly, or set aside an authority, to which not only antiquity, but the concurrent approbation of Masons for ages under the most solemn engagements, have repeatedly given a sanction.

It is to be regretted, that the idea of superiority, and a wish to acquire absolute dominion, should occasion a contest among Masons. Were the principles of the Order better understood, and more generally practiced, the intention of the institution would be more fully answered. Every Mason would consider his brother as his fellow, and he who, by generous and virtuous actions, could best promote the happiness of society, would always be most likely to receive homage and respect.

Translated on March 16, 2020.