The History of Freemasonry

by Albert Gallatin Mackey

Chapter 20 - Customs of the German Stonemasons

WHATEVER knowledge we can obtain from existing documents of the customs and regulations of the Stonemasons who wrought at the building of Cathedrals and other religious edifices in Germany during the Middle Ages, will be so much in the way of enabling us to understand the theory which derives the present institution of Speculative Masons from the Operative Masons of that period.

The two most frequently cited authorities among the German writers on the subject of these customs of the Middle Ages are Fallon in his Mysteries of the Freemasons as well as their only true Foundation and Origin, (1) and Winzer in his work entitled The German Brotherhood of the Middle Ages. (2)

These works contain much interesting matter, and the general conclusion to which the authors have arrived, as to the origin of the institution, are in accordance with the opinions already expressed in this work. But like some of our older English writers on the history of Freemasonry, Fallon especially has indulged in some speculations which are by no means calculated to increase our respect for his accuracy as an historian. Both these authors have, however, been freely and favourably cited by Findel, who is himself conservative and but little inclined to take any theory on trust.

The theory advanced by Fallon and Winzer is that the German Stonemasons were fraternities in possession of secrets which related to the craft or mystery which they exercised. They have sought to prove that the Freemasons of the present day have derived the ritual which they practice from the medieval Stonecutters, a point which I do not think that they have successfully maintained in its

(1) "Die Mysterien der Freimaurer, sowie ihr einzig wahrer Grund und Ursprung,* Leipsic, 1859. (2) "Die Deutschen Bruderschaften des Mittelalters," Giessen, 1859.

full extent. There is, however, undoubtedly evidence that certain words and signs have been handed down, but slightly changed, if changed at all in their transmission, to the Freemasons of this day.

Another point advanced by these authors is that the German Stonecutters borrowed their customs and laws partly from other corporations contemporary with them, and partly from the regulations of the monastic order, which becomes a very plausible theory when we remember the close connection which originally existed between the monks and the architects.

Their last proposition is that the English Stonemasons received their mysteries from the German Steinmetzen, a proposition which is, I think, only partly true, as the English Masons undoubtedly were reinforced from time to time by the accession of Continental workmen who came from Italy and France as well as from Germany.

I have always believed that the earliest of the old English Constitution, that namely, known as the Halliwell MS., is a translation from a German original, and is a pregnant proof of the introduction in the 14th century of German Stonemasonry into England.

A most invaluable aid to the scholar engaged in researches into the character of the medieval Stonemasons, is the work of George Kloss, entitled Freemasonry in its real meaning, as shown by ancient and genuine records of the Stonecutters, Masons and Freemasons. (1)

In this work we will find details of all the known laws and written constitutions of the medieval Stonemasons of Germany and England chronologically arranged and so collated as to show the progress of the gradual transition from the Operative to the Speculative institution.

Kloss, as the result of his labours, comes to the conclusion that the Freemasonry of the present day is a transition from the Stonemasonry of the Middle Ages, and that no distinction can be maintained between the old Operative and the recent Speculative system, the old laws, usages, and charges being the same with but slight, if any, modern alteration.

(1) Die Freimaurerei in ihrer wahren Bedeutung aus den alten und achten Urkunden der Steinmetzen, Masonen und Freimaurer, nachgewiesen," Leipsic, 1845.

With some reservations, this hypothesis may perhaps be accepted in its second clause, and unreservedly in its first.

But the great value of the work of Kloss consists in the medieval German Constitutions which it contains and from which and from some other sources we may derive a competent knowledge of the usages of the German Stonemasons of the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, which is the subject of the present chapter.

The two oldest Constitutions extant of the German Stonemasons are those enacted at Strasburg, in 1459, and those enacted at Torgau, in 1462.

The ancient laws of the brotherhood were first given a permanent form in the code adopted at Ratisbon on Easter day, in the year 1459, by the Masters and Fellows there assembled in the manner of a Chapter. (1) This code of regulations was soon after ratified at Strasburg and then promulgated as the "Ordinances of the Stonecutters of Strasburg." Heldmann published them in the year 1819 in his book entitled The three most ancient historical Memorials of the German Freemasons' Brotherhood.(2) They were subsequently published by other writers, but to Heldmann must be attributed the honour of first giving this important document to the public.

Heldmann tells the story of how it came into his possession. All, he says, who have written of the Cathedral of Strasburg speak of the old statutes of the Grand Lodge there, without imparting them to their readers, or, indeed, being able to do so, since they have always been carefully preserved under a triple custody. While passing through Strasburg in the year 1817, he took extraordinary pains to get possession of a copy of these statutes, but in vain. But he afterward obtained a copy of the Statutes of 1459 from an architect, who had caused it to be made during an accidental residence at Strasburg in the beginning of the revolution, and also got possession, through another architect, of a copy of the revised code of 1563. Bro. Osterneth, who was a member of the Grand Lodge of Strasburg, and who had in his possession a copy of the Statutes of

(1) Kapitelsweise is an expression borrowed, says Findel, from the Benedictine monks, whose convent meetings were called "capitula." But the word and the thing were common to all the Monastic Orders. See Forbrooke, "Brit. Monachism," ii., 133. (2) "Die drei altesten geschietlichen Denkmale der Deutschen Freimaurerbruderschaft," Arau, 1819.

1459, collated it with Hedmann's exemplar and authenticated the latter.

It appears, therefore, that the Statutes of 1459, as published by Heldmann in 1819, have the mark of genuineness and may be accepted as a faithful exposition of the usages of the Craft at the time of their adoption.

The Constitutions of Torgau are the next authentic document in the history of the German Fraternity of the 15th century. Torgau is a town in the Prussian province of Saxony, and has an historical reputation as being the place where the Lutherans and the Elector Frederick concluded a league. The Stonemasons, whose seat was there, had accepted the Statutes of Strasburg when first promulgated, but three years afterward thought it necessary to modify them to some extent, and therefore drew up, in 1462, a code of 112 articles, which are known as the "Constitutions of Torgau."

A duplicate of these Constitutions was deposited in the Stonemasons' lodge, or Hutte, at Rochlitz, in 1486. Steiglitz published, in 1829, a copy of these Constitutions in a work written by him On the church of St. Kunigund at Rochliiz, and on the Stonemasons' lodge at the same place. (1)

These two Constitutions, those of Strasburg and Torgau, are the only authentic statutes of the Stonemasons which are known, and from them only can we derive any reliable information on the subject of the usages of the Craft at that period.

We learn in the first place from these Constitutions that there were in former times unwritten regulations by which the whole Craft had been governed; that these regulations had been much neglected, in consequence of which dissensions and differences had arisen among the workmen, which evils it was the object of these Constitutions to avoid in future by the adoption of statutes for the government of those who should unite in the establishment of a fraternity.

In Germany, therefore, as we have seen, in England, in Fiance, and in other countries, the work of building was carried on by two distinct classes of workmen; one class who were not associated in

(1) "Ueber die Kirche der heiligen kunigunde zu Rocklitz und die Steinmetzhutte daselbst."

a guild, corporation, or society; and another class who, by these Constitutions, had formed themselves into a brotherhood.

In the English Constitutions this distinction of classes is very forcibly expressed, and the Freemason who is a member of the Guild is forbidden to hold any communication with the layer, rough mason, or Cowan, all of which names are used to designate a Stonemason who has not been admitted into the Fraternity.

The German Statutes also show this distinction very clearly. "No craftsman or Master," say the Constitutions of Strasburg, "who does not go to the holy sacrament shall be received into the fraternity," and in repeated places they speak of "Masters and Craftsmen who are of the fraternity," which, of course, involves the contrary proposition, namely, that there were Masters and Craftsmen who were not of the fraternity.

What were the peculiar ceremonies which accompanied the reception into the fraternity, or whether there were any such ceremonies or not, are questions that can never be settled in such a satisfactory way as we should desire all historical problems to be solved.

That there were some ceremonies it is natural to suppose; these Steinmetzen had architectural secrets at least, and admission into all secret societies is attended by some form of initiation.

Fallon asserts that it was imitated from the rite of consecration practiced by the Order of Benedictine monks. But we need authority to sustain the assertion.

Findel, in his History of Freemasonry, gives a very detailed account of the medieval initiation into German Freemasonry. I shall make use of his account of the ceremonies used on that occasion, without admitting that I am satisfied as to the correctness of every detail

The Fellow Craft, as we style him, the Gesell of the Germans, before he could be admitted into the fraternity was required to prove that he was born in wedlock, of respectable parents, and that he himself bore a good reputation, with due mental and physical capacity. He was then presented with his mark, which thenceforward he had to cut into every stone on which he was engaged.

I give the account of the succeeding ceremonies in the words of Findel, as translated by Lyon.

"On the day fixed the candidate went into the house where the assemblies were held, where the Master in the Chair had everything prepared in due order in the Hall of the Craft; the Brethren were then summoned, of course bearing no weapons of any kind, it being a place dedicated to peace, and the Assembly was opened by the Master, who first acquainted them with the proposed inauguration of the candidate, dispatching a brother to prepare him. The messenger, in imitation of an ancient heathen custom, suggested to his companion that he should assume the demeanour of a suppliant; he was then stripped of all weapons and every thing of metal taken from him; he was divested of half his garments, and with his eyes bound and breast and left foot bare, he stood at the door of the hall, which was opened to him after three distinct knocks. The Junior Warden conducted him to the Master, who made him kneel and repeat a prayer. The candidate was then led three times round the hall of the Guild, halting at last at the door and putting his feet together in the form of a right angle, that he might in three upright steps place himself in front of the Master. Between the two, lying open on the table, was a New Testament, a pair of Compasses, and a Mason's square, over which, in pursuance of an ancient custom, he stretched out his right hand swearing to be faithful to the duties to which he pledged himself, and to keep secret whatever had been or might be thereafter made known to him in that place. The bandage was then removed from his eyes, the three Great Lights were shown him, a new apron bound round him, the password given him, and his place in the hall of the Guild pointed out to him. The manner of knocking and gripe of the hand were and are the same as those now used by the Apprentices in Freemasonry. After the Master had inquired if any one had anything else to submit to the decision of the Assembly, he closed the proceedings with the usual knocks of the Stonemason's hammer.

"At the banquet which invariably succeeded the reception of the candidate, which feasts were always opened and closed with prayer, the chief Master proposed to drink the health of the newly accepted Brother in the drinking-cup of the Brotherhood called Willcommen, to which the Brother replied by drinking to the welfare of the whole Fraternity. At that time, as now, and in all other Guilds, healths were drunk with three times three; the cup was taken hold of with a glove or pocket-handkerchief, the cover lifted off, and lastly it was carried to the lips; the cup was emptied in three separate draughts and replaced on the table in three separate motions."

The minuteness with which these details are given makes them very interesting, but at the same time it makes them very suspicious, and we require to relieve our doubts with the full authentication of the fact, by contemporary documents which shall be just as full and complete in the detail, and this is a want that has not been supplied.

Some points, however, in this described initiation, are supported by satisfactory evidence, beside which we are enabled to draw legitimate conclusions from contemporary authority or relevant and connected circumstances which satisfactorily support and confirm other points.

Thus, that the medieval Masons, at least from the middle of the 15th century were a secret society, that is to say, an association of craftsmen, who were in possession of certain secrets that were imparted only to those who were members of the fraternity, and were withheld from all other persons, though they might be of the same craft, but who had not been made free of the fraternity or guild, is a fact that is duly substantiated by the ordinances, statutes, or constitutions, French, English, and German of that period.

Thus in the French regulations of Stephen Boileau it is said that Masons may employ as many assistants and servants as they please provided they do not show them any point of their trade.

The Statutes of Strasburg forbid any workman to instruct any one in any part if he be not of the craft.

And the English Charges impress upon the Mason to keep secret the counsels "of Lodge and Chamber and all other Counsels that ought to be kept by way of Masonhood."

Now the fact that there were secrets to be kept by the association, necessarily required that there should be some safeguard imposed upon the members, by which they should be reminded of the importance and necessity of preserving their exclusiveness and their identity as a secret society.

But there could not possibly be a better method of securing such a safeguard than to impart to the admission of each member into the fraternity a deeply impressive character derived from the solemnity of a formal initiation.

That method has been adopted in all ages and in all countries, and the ancient formula: "Depart, ye Profane," has been pronounced whenever secrets, however valueless, were to be communicated to an aspirant.

It may, therefore, be accepted as an undoubted fact, substantiated by direct allusions in the old Statutes that the medieval fraternity of Stonemasons or stonecutters was in Germany, as well as in every other country where they had penetrated, a secret society.

What these secrets were, presents an enterprising inquiry, but which must, however, be deferred to a future chapter.

That this initiation was accompanied by an oath or obligation of secrecy is not only a natural conclusion which we are authorized to deduce from the lessons of experience but is a fact thoroughly substantiated by the old statutes and regulations.

Thus in most of the English charges we have this sentence, curiously enough put in Latin, as if the administration of this ceremony was to be concealed under the veil of a dead language. "Then one of the elders shall hold the book so that he or they (the candidate or candidates) shall place his or their hands on the book. and then the charges should be read." (1)

In the Steinmeizen Ordinances of 1462 it is provided that when the Parlirer, or Warden, is inducted into office he takes an oath to the Saints. But it is very worthy of remark that this oath was not taken as in modern times on the square and compasses, but on the gauge and square. (2) This would impugn the correctness of the description given by Findel that on the table was a New Testament, and on it a square and compass. The gauge and square seem to have been the medieval symbols which accompanied the book in the solemnity of the obligation.

There is no evidence of the existence in the Bauhutten, or lodges, of such a system of government as is found in the lodges of the Modern Freemasons, where as an invariable rule there are a Master and two Wardens.

But the regulations of Strasburg and Torgau describe an officer between the Master of the work and the Fellows or workmen who was called the Parlirer. (3)

(1) Tunc unus ex senioribus teneat librum ut ille vel mi potiat vel potiant manus super librum et tuncex precepta deberent legi. "York MS., No. 1." We have the same passage in other manuscripts, but the Latin is no better. (2) Die eide strebe mit Maszstable und Winkelmas zu den Heyligen, die gebende und dess Maisters Schaden zu bewaren. Ord., 1462, No. 18. (3) The duties of a Parlirer are elaborately explained on the authority of the Constitutions, by Kloss in his "Freimaurerei in ibrer wahren Bedeutung."

From these regulations it is very evident that the Parlirer performed many of the duties which we are accustomed to attribute in English Masonry to the Warden, and which have been figuratively commemorated in the symbolic duties of the Warden of a lodge of Speculative Masons.

Thus the Parlirer was to be present in the morning at the opening, and in the evening at the closing of the lodge, and he was with the craft at their noontide meal.

The Parlirer paid the craftsmen their wages, which was generally done at sunset of each day.

He is also supposed to have performed the duties of Secretary and Treasurer, that is to say he kept the roll of the members and had charge of the finances of the lodge.

The Parlirer was appointed by the Master, but in the appointment he was restricted by certain regulations. Thus the Strasburg Constitutions provide that no Master shall promote one of his apprentices to the office of Parlirer who is still in his years of apprenticeship. A similar rule is found in the English charge which says that "no Brother can be a Warden until he has passed the part of a Fellow Craft."

Being thus invested with such important functions it may be supposed that the Parlirer was inducted into office with impressive ceremonies. We know that his installation was sanctioned by the administration of a solemn oath on the Gospels and on the twenty-four-inch gauge and the square.

In the Stonecutters' Bauhutten of Germany, as in the modern Speculative lodges, the office of Master was one of paramount importance.

All the Fellows or journeymen who were employed in the construction of the same building constituted a single lodge and were under the government of the same Master. The Strasburg Constitutions are very express on this point and leave no doubt of the fact. Two Masters shall not share in the same work or building." (1) An exception is made in the case of a small building which can be finished in the space of a year. In such a work two Masters might engage.

(1) Es sollent auch nit zevey Maister ein Werk oder einen Gebaue geme in mit einander haben. "Ordnungen der Strassburger Haupthutte," art. 9.

The Master was enjoined to keep his lodge free from all discord and to administer justice in it between the Fellows. For this purpose he was invested with absolute power to rule his lodge, provided only that he governed it according to the ancient usages of the Craft, and did not arbitrarily oppress the brethren.

In every district there was a lodge over which a Master presided, and over all these there was a still higher officer, to whom appeals might be made, where there was complaint of injustice or wrong.

These were the Masters who presided over the work - the Magistri Operis, (1) Master of the Work, called in the German Constitutions, the Werkmeister. One of these heard both parties and appointed a day when the trial should take place, which was always in the place where the offense had been committed and before the nearest Master who kept the Statutes. (2)

After an Apprentice had been promoted to the rank of Fellow, he was required, or permitted, to travel throughout Germany and to visit the most important towns and cities. The years employed in this pilgrimage were called his Wanderjahre - his years of travel.

During his travels the Fellowcraft was always received with kindness and treated with hospitality by every lodge which he visited. A formula of salutation and reception was prescribed by which, with certain signs of recognition and passwords, the stranger could make himself known to his brethren and secure a welcome.

When a traveling Fellow visited a lodge for the first time, in some town where he had arrived, he knocked three times distinctly, and on being admitted approached the Master, or in his absence the Parlirer, with three regular steps, all the brethren standing around.

The salutations of the traveling craftsman were such phrases as these: "God guide you," or "God reward you, Master, Parlirer, and all good Companions." The Master or Parlirer having returned thanks, the Fellowcraft was submitted to an examination," which

(1) This title of "Magister Operis," or Master of the Work, came to the Stonemasons from the monks, and is a relic of the original ecclesiastical control of architecture. Ducange (Glossarium) says that it was "officium monasticum" - a monastic office, exercised by one who had the charge of public work. In the Masonic usage of the Middle Ages, it was synonymous with the architect or Chief Builder of an edifice. (2) "Statutes of Strasburg," article 17. (3) The examination given in the Constitutions - Buch of the lodge Archimedes and which will be found in Krause, Fallon, Findel and other German writers, does not, I think, beat internal evidence of a date so early as the 13th or even the 14th century.

proving satisfactory he received such assistance as he needed, either in work, or if work could not, then and there, be obtained, in money sufficient to supply his immediate wants and to send him on to the next lodge.

The regulations that relate to Apprentices are very explicit in the Strasburg Constitutions, much more so indeed than those of the English or Scottish Masons.

In the first place, no bastard could be accepted as an Apprentice, and the Master is directed to inquire earnestly whether the parents were duly united in lawful wedlock.

An Apprentice could not be made a Parlirer. On the same principle the English Statutes required a Warden to have passed the grade of Fellowcraft.

Apprentices, after they had served their years of apprenticeship, were required to travel for at least one year.

If one had served with a Maurer, that is to say with a common Mason who was not of the guild, and desired to learn still more of his profession of a Freemason he was required to serve three years as an Apprentice.

The term of apprenticeship was not to be less than five years.

An Apprentice who left his Master without sufficient reason, before serving out his full term of service, was put under the ban. No other Master was to receive him nor was any fellow to work with him, until he had returned and completed his time, giving satisfaction to his Master.

An Apprentice wishing to marry must obtain the consent of his Master.

Apprentices do not appear to have met with the same consideration in the German regulations as they did in the English and in the Scottish, where they are spoken of as constituting a part of the great body of the Craft, and seem to have been intrusted with many of the mysteries of the trade, since they are warned not to divulge them.

An Apprentice who believed that he had not been justly dealt with might appeal for redress to the Masters and Fellows of the district in which his lodge was situated.

But no one can correctly understand the usages and customs of the medieval Masons of Germany unless he has made himself acquainted with the Statutes enacted by the Assembly held in 1459 at Strasburg and modified by statutes subsequently enacted at other places and by various confirmations of the German Emperors.

Of all these laws, the Constitutions of Strasburg are the foundation, as they were the earliest written Constitutions. Like the old English Charges they were probably, for the most part, the committal to writing of usages which had prevailed long before. Their similarity to the English Constitutions, to the Scottish Statutes and to the French Regulations, prove, very conclusively, that all these laws were at one time peculiar to a Fraternity of Builders who existed at a much earlier period and from whom the Guilds or Corporations of Freemasons in all these various countries sprang as from a common stock.

As the reader has already been put in possession of the English, Scottish, and French Constitutions, it is proper, for a thorough comprehension of the subject of the connection existing between all the bodies of Freemasons that he should be able to compare those laws with those which prevailed among the German Steinmetzen.

I devote therefore the next chapter to a translation of the Constitutions of Strasburg, appending such marginal remarks as may be necessary for their elucidation.

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