Operative Masonry and Its
Relationship to Speculative
Masonry
By: W.Bro. W. H. Rilet,
F.R.I.B.A.
I have no doubt that, like
myself, you have spent many
a delightful hour wandering
around England's ancient and
beautiful Gothic cathedrals,
abbeys and castles, for
which she is so famous and
of which she is so justly
proud, and while doing so,
you may have wondered who
designed and erected them.
As Masons we naturally first
of all think of the Masonic
principles of service and
sacrifice laid down by our
Order, but how many of us
think and feel that we owe a
great debt of gratitude to
the Operative Masons of five
or six centuries ago, for
those great works of art?
Masons who left to posterity
so glorious a legacy and at
the same time formed so
close a link with our Order.
It is my object to-day to
try to bring this closer to
your minds, but in doing so
I do not wish to say much
about Masonic history, or
the history of Gothic
Architecture. Both are most
fascinating studies, and
strangely interwoven, but it
is necessary to touch upon
both in order to make my
object clear. In your
wanderings around these
magnificent edifices, which
have been erected to the
Glory of God, has it ever
struck you that there is an
extra- ordinary similarity
in their details, in general
architectural style and in
their ornamentation? And yet
they may be in quite
different parts of the
country, and this at a time
when printing and schools of
architecture and means of
transport as we know them
today were non-existent.
As an example consider
Carlisle Cathedral and
Canterbury Cathedral, both
of which were commenced
during the first period
between 1066 and 1189, and
in each instance the same
details will be found.
This similarity is a
recognized fact among the
students of architecture, as
it is by this similarity
that the dates of the
buildings are arrived at.
Gothic architecture is the
name given to that style of
architecture in which our
cathedrals, abbeys and
churches are designed, and
it is usually divided into
four periods. Each period
has its own particular
mouldings, type of tracery
in the windows, one or two
distinguishing types of
ornament, besides other
features of special
interest.
I will briefly sketch each
period, and to enable you to
visualize the various
points, I want you to.
Imagine that you are
standing in the nave of a
church, and as your eyes
travel round the building to
observe the windows, the
thickness of the walls the
columns with their caps and
bases, the arches that
connect the columns, and the
various carvings and in each
period I will take the
various features in this
order.
THE FIRST PERIOD, 1066 to
1189.
This period is known as the
Romanesque or Norman.
The windows are small and
round-arched, and the walls
are very thick. The columns
are very large, mainly
circular, with plain caps
and bases. The connecting
arches are semi-circular and
only slightly moulded. The
earliest form of carving was
such as could be executed by
a small axe or other more or
less primitive tool. The
typical ornaments are the
chevron and the billett, the
latter in either square or
round form.
THE SECOND PERIOD, 1189 to
1307.
This period is known as the
Early English period and is
the commencement of the real
Gothic architecture.
In this period the windows
are arranged in twos and
threes, and the arches are
pointed. Simple, and as yet
imperfect, geometrical
tracery makes its
appearance. The columns are
more slender, and often
consist of groups of smaller
sized shafts arranged round
a larger central one. The
caps are now carved with
great freedom and beauty,
and the bases are moulded
and have a feature which is
characteristic of this
period, known as the water
hollow. This is a half-round
channel capable of holding
water. The connecting arches
are pointed and heavily
moulded displaying very deep
shadows. The typical
ornament among an endless
variety is the Dog-tooth.
The buildings are more
lofty, the walls are thinner
and stone groined roofs make
their appearance,
necessitating projecting
buttresses.
THE THIRD PERIOD, 1307 to
1377.
This is known as the
Decorated Period. The
windows in this period are
very large and are filled
with intricate geometrical
tracery. Walls are very
thin. Columns very slender
and usually moulded. The
caps are beautifully carved
and the bases are rather
high above the floor and
moulded. The connecting
arches are pointed and
moulded somewhat similar to
those of the previous
period. The typical ornament
of this period is known as
the Ball-flower. The stone
roofs are becoming more
intricate in design, and the
outside buttresses are much
larger and more ornamental.
There is an increased
refinement in the general
design of the building.
THE FOURTH PERIOD, 1377 to
1558.
This is the last period of
Gothic architecture and is
peculiarly English.
The windows are still very
large, if anything they are
larger than in the previous
period, and are filled with
tracery in which
perpendicular lines
predominate. The columns are
slender and moulded, and the
connecting arches are
pointed and moulded, but
there is an absence of those
deep shadows which were so
noticeable in the two latter
periods. The typical
ornaments of this period are
the Tudor rose and the
Portcullis. The stone roofs
have now reached the height
of their beauty, and have
the appearance of lacework,
a type that is known as
Fan-vaulting. The buttresses
are very large and
ornamental, crowned with
carved pinnacles, and
connected to the main
building by flying
buttresses.
It cannot be that many
architects, or as in those
days Master builders, having
no communication with one
another, and in different
parts of the country, would
have the same ideas at the
same time, and it is equally
impossible for one mind to
have conceived every one of
the details of one only of
such buildings, J many of
them of vast proportions.
This similarity in detail is
moreover not confined to our
own country, as we find the
same details of the first
period in Italy, France and
Germany.
It was thought at one time
that the Bishop or the Abbot
was responsible for the
design, and that the monks
did the actual work of
building, but this idea has
long ago been exploded.
It is however true that
there were Bishops and
Abbots who did design
buildings, and even assisted
in the actual work of
erection, but they were
taught by masons. St. Hugh
of
Lincoln
could plan a church,
instruct the workmen and
handle a hod, and his is not
an isolated case.
Where then shall we look for
a solution of this
similarity? I think we shall
find it in the existence of
a band or brotherhood of
skilled craftsmen, bound
together by ties of common
interest in their work, and
a general regard for the
welfare of one another.
Did such a brotherhood
exist? Yes, but we must go
back to the time of the
Romans, or even further, to
trace its origin.
When the Romans were
all-powerful, and a great
and highly-educated people,
there existed as an integral
part of society, schools or
college in which all
subjects popular in those
days were taught, each
subject having its own
school. These collegia were
groups of persons joined
together in support of a
common object, and consisted
of fellows presided over by
a president. The Romans were
great builders, therefore it
was only natural that there
would be a college for this
all-important subject, but
it must not be supposed that
this school created the art
of building, it simply
perpetuated the traditions
and knowledge gained from
countries far older than the
Roman Empire.
This college, or society
became very popular, owing
in a great measure to the
services of its members
being in constant
requisition, in fact it was
indispensable.
According to Mr. J. S. M.
Ward they had their own
constitutions and
regulations in both
religious and secular
matters, and their
organization was a close
facsimile of a modern
Masonic lodge. "Three make a
College" was a rule
recognized and endorsed by
Roman law. Each college was
presided over by a Master (Magister)
and two wardens (decuriones).
The membership consisted of
three degrees, corresponding
closely to the apprentice,
fellow and master.
When Rome came under the
heel of the barbarian
conquerors, all societies
and schools of learning were
suppressed, but in their
zeal to stamp out all forms
of culture they forgot one
great point, and that was
that while a college or
school could be suppressed,
the spirit and knowledge of
its members could not be
killed by the same means.
These students of the Arts
and Sciences fled to a city
that was not under the
barbarian influence, the
city of Comacina on an
island in
Lake
Como. There they carried on
their work and became known
as the Comacine Masters. The
Comacines were a compact and
powerful body, capable of
asserting their rights, and
having degrees of different
ranks. The higher orders
were entitled Magister and
could design or undertake a
work.
When missionaries came from
Rome to England in the cause
of Christianity, they
brought in their train many
of these men skilled in the
art of building, whose
services would be required
in erecting or adapting
buildings needed by the
converts for their worship,
and it is recorded that Pope
Gregory in the year 598 A.D.
sent some of these masons to
England, which would be
about the time that St.
Augustine landed on our
shores. These early
craftsmen brought with them
not only their skill, but
the principles and tenets of
their Order, and thus the
seed was sown that was
destined to bear such rich
fruit in the years to come.
Mr. Hope, in his historical
essay on architecture says
� "That builders and sculptors formed a
single grand fraternity
whose scope was to find work
outside
Italy. Indeed distance and
obstacles were nothing to
them. They travelled to
England under Augustine, to
Germany under Boniface, to
France
under Charlemagne, and again
to Germany with brother
Magister Albertus Magnus,
they went East under the
Lombard Dukes, and in fact
are found everywhere through
many centuries. The Popes
one after another gave them
privileges. Indeed the
builders may be considered
an army of artisans working
in the interests of the
Popes, in all places where
the missionaries who
preceded them had prepared
the ground."
They were always in league
with the church, which in
those times of war and
constant struggle, of
military service and feudal
slavery, was the only asylum
for those who wished to
cultivate the arts of peace.
Therefore we see
ecclesiastics of high rank.
Abbots, Prelates, Bishops,
etc., exalting the respect
in which Freemasons were
held by pining the guild as
members.
There is, however, little or
no trace or remains of the
work of these very early
builders, followers of the
Christian missionaries, as
all or nearly all of it was
ruthlessly destroyed by
barbarian hordes who overran
the country from time to
time.
The great church building
period in England was the
centuries between 1066 and
1558, and the buildings that
were erected during that
time, are those which we
admire so much, for it was
during that period that the
seed sown by those earlier
builders grew and
flourished.
As we gaze at the wonders in
stone, we cannot help but
express our admiration at
the marvellous skill and
daring of the craftsmen who
designed and erected them,
and though many of them are
in ruins, not on account of
poor workmanship, but
through wanton destruction,
they all, whether perfect or
in ruins, excite a strong
desire to know their history
and the history of their
builders.
It was the popular belief
that that year i ,000 A.D.
would see the end of the
world, but when that year
was passed and the world
still went round, every one
was anxious to give
expression to his relief and
joy. This took the form of
works of piety, and the high
church dignitaries spent
their money and the
thankofferings of the people
in erecting cathedrals,
abbeys and churches.
One author, in writing of
these times, says that the
face of the country seemed
to be changing from drab to
white, owing to the
whiteness of the
newly-wrought stone used in
the erection of the enormous
number of buildings. This
can be readily understood
when we find that as many as
16 abbeys, 12 priories, 15
cathedrals, and 185
churches, and many smaller
buildings, were commenced
during the period between
1066 and 1189. Among the
cathedrals commenced at this
time were Lincoln, St.
Albans, Winchester, Ely,
Gloucester, Norwich,
Canterbury, Chichester,
Durham, Peter borough,
Rochester, Hereford and
Carlisle, and the remarkable
fact is that the same detail
will be found in each.
This vast amount of building
drew the men skilled in the
art of building from all
over the continent, and
large numbers of men anxious
to learn the art were
enrolled.
Mr. Hope, in his history or
essay on architecture sets
forth the method of
procedure of these ancient
brethren; "A body of
Freemasons would appear at a
town or spot near the castle
of some great lord who
desired to build a church or
to enlarge his castle. They
were under the rule of a
Master elected from among
their number, who nominated
one man out of every ten as
Warden to supervise the
other nine. They first
erected temporary huts for
their own use, and then a
central Lodge. If they
required, they called in the
assistance of the local
Guild Masons to help in the
rough work, but they do not
seem to have admitted them
to the assembly in the Lodge
with which they opened each
day's work. They met in
secret, none but Freemasons
being present, and with a
Tyler to guard the door
against cowans and
eavesdroppers. The word "
cowan" is probably of
Scottish or North country
origin denoting a "dry-dyker,"
(one who builds rough stone
walls without cement), and
is therefore not a true
mason although he pretends
to do masons' work."
The Rev. J. Fort Newton
terms the Order formed
during the period of Gothic
architecture, and whose
constitution, principles and
teaching was that of
Comacines, the Order of the
Cathedral builders.
The Comacines must not be
mistaken for Guild Masons,
although they were like them
in some respects. The
Comacines were older than
the Guild Masons, inheritors
of ancient tradition from
the past, not only as
architects and operatives,
but as speculative masons.
The work on some of these
glorious edifices extended
over many years, which meant
a close association of the
same men for a very long
time, a circumstance which
strengthened the practices
and principles of these
Comacine Masters.
The word "mystery" in those
days did not bear the same
meaning that it does to-day
- it was derived from the
word "misterie" which meant
trade or employment, and Mr.
Armitage in his book on the
guilds, says that it is not
at all improbable, that the
drama of the third degree of
modern Freemasonry is a
survival of the old mystery
plays, which illustrated
some practice or doctrine of
a given trade.
Each Mason who was fully
qualified was given a mark,
sometimes called a "banker
mark" with which to mark his
work, and the general
muster-roll. His work could
then be distinguished from
that of his neighbours. The
mason would cut his mark in
the stone before it left the
banker or working bench.
Hundreds of these marks have
been collected and noted
down by various interested
students, and there is no
doubt many have a symbolic
meaning. These marks are the
signs of a well organized
body, and unless they were
registered they would be
useless.
Mr. J. S. M. Ward says "The
Comacines journeyed from
place to place where work
was to be found. When church
or castle was finished they
must go elsewhere." There
must, therefore, even at
that date have been a
regular Lodge and a recorder
of Marks, otherwise any
unscrupulous brother could
have forged another's mark
without risk of detection.
I have prepared a drawing of
a few of these marks for you
to see, and some are very
interesting.
There is in the British
Museum an old document of
about 1590 A.D., which gives
some rules and regulations,
or as we should call them
"Charges." This document is
called the Regius Poem and
was discovered in 1830.
Mr. Silas Sheperd in his
Landmarks of Freemasonry has
transcribed them; they are
divided into 15 articles and
15 points, and they are as
follows:
THE 15 ARTICLES
1. The Master Mason must
be steadfast, trusty and
true, and render perfect
justice to both his workmen
and his employer.
2. The Master Mason shall
be punctual in his
attendance at the general
congregation or assembly.
3. The Master Mason must
take no apprentice for less
than seven years.
4. The Master Mason must
take no apprentices who are
bondmen, but only such as
are free and well-born.
5. The Master shall not
employ a thief, or maimed
man for an apprentice, but
only those who are
physically fit.
6. The Master must not
take a craftsman's wages for
apprentices' labour.
7. The Master shall not
employ an immoral person.
8. The Master must
maintain a standard of
efficiency by not permitting
incompetent workmen to be
employed.
9. The Master must not
undertake to do work which
he cannot complete.
10. No Master shall
supplant another in the work
undertaken.
11. The Master shall not
require Masons to work at
night except in the pursuit
of knowledge.
12. No Mason shall speak
evil of his fellows' work.
13. The Master must
instruct his apprentices in
everything they are capable
of learning.
14. The Master shall take
no apprentice for whom he
has not sufficient labour.
15. The Master is not to
make false representation
nor compromise any one of
his fellows.
THE 15 POINTS
1. Those who would be
Masons and practice the
Masonic Art are required to
Love God and His Holy
Church, the Master for whom
they labour and their
brethren, for this is the
true spirit of Masonry.
2. The Mason must work
diligently in working hours,
that he may lawfully refresh
himself in the hours of
rest.
3. The Mason must keep
the secrets of his Master,
his Brethren and his Lodge.
4. No Mason shall be
false to the craft but
maintain all its rules and
regulations.
5. The Mason shall not
murmur at fair compensation.
6. The Mason shall not
turn a working-day into a
holiday.
7. The Mason shall
restrain his lust.
8. The Mason must be just
and true to his brethren in
every way.
9. The Mason shall treat
his brethren with equity and
in the spirit of brotherly
love.
10. Contention and strife
shall not exist among the
brethren.
11. The Mason shall
caution his brother kindly
about any error into which
he may be about to fall.
12. The Mason must
maintain every ordinance of
the Assembly.
13. The Mason must not
steal nor protect one who
does.
14. The Mason must be true
to the Laws of Masonry and
the Laws of his own country.
15. The Mason must submit
to the lawful penalty for
any offence he may commit.
Most Masonic scholars are
agreed that this version of
the Old Charges was strictly
used for the governing of an
Operative body, in
conjunction with its
constitutions.
We have already spoken of
the word "mystery" as
meaning trade or employment,
and as we speak of Masons as
guarding their mystery
against intruders and cowans,
we naturally ask ourselves.
Was there anything in their
trade worth all this great
care? Who can say that there
was nothing, after a visit
to any one of their great
achievements?
We must remember that in
those far-off days there was
no steel construction or
reinforced concrete
wherewith to form the
skeleton framework, ready to
receive its clothing of
stone.
There were no text-books to
teach the method of working
out strains and stresses.
Their buildings were frankly
built of numberless stone
units, each cunningly
wrought and fixed.
We must admit that they
possessed a wonderful
knowledge of the material in
which they worked its weight
and capabilities, and its
power to resist crushing
weights.
They possessed a thorough
knowledge of foundations.
See how they overcame, by
counter-weighted buttresses,
and flying buttresses, the
thrust on the outer walls
caused by the vaulted stone
roofs. These wonderful stone
roofs, which in the later
period have the appearance
of lacework, were
constructed in a system of
arches crossing and
intersecting one another.
The Indian says; the arch
never sleeps, and this is
true, for at the least sign
of weakness it becomes
active, with as a rule
disastrous results. This
fact did not daunt those old
masters; they boldly faced
the problem and overcame all
difficulties.
The finest example of these
roofs are Henry VII's Chapel
at Westminster, King's
College Chapel at
Cambridge
and St. George's Chapel at
Windsor. Note the
slenderness of the internal
shafts or columns that
support the nave arcading,
just nicely proportioned and
moulded, according to the
period, and yet strong
enough to do the work, the
delightful carving into
which every man put his
individuality, and executed,
as was the whole of their
task, to the Glory of God.
From what I have pointed out
you will agree that their
"Mystery" was a glorious
one, one that was well
worthy of being jealously
guarded.
In conclusion I feel that I
cannot do better than end
this paper with a quotation
from that beautiful book,
entitled The Builders,
written by the Rev. J. Fort
Newton:
"They may not have been
actually called Freemasons
as early as Leader Scott
insists they were, but they
were free in fact,
travelling far and near
where there was work to do,
following the missionaries
of the Church as far as
England. When there was need
for the name Freemason, it
was easily suggested by the
fact that the Cathedral
Builders were quite distinct
from the Guild Masons, the
one being a universal Order,
whereas the other was local
and restricted. Older than
Guild Masonry, the Order of
the Cathedral Builders was
more powerful, more
artistic, and, it may be
added, more religious - and
it is from this Order that
the Masonry of today is
descended."
Brethren, I think that I
have said sufficient to shew
to you the relationship of
Speculative Masonry to
Operative Masonry - also to
prove that we, more than any
other section of the
community, owe a deep debt
of gratitude to those
ancient brethren and clever
craftsmen.
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