The Transformation of Freemasonry

The Transformation of Freemasonry PDF Author: David Harrison
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781845494377
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
The Transformation of Freemasonry looks at how Freemasonry in England and Wales adapted after the Unlawful Societies Act of 1799, and how the Craft became tinted with the stigma of Revolution, only to transform itself in the Victorian period to become the most enduring and enigmatic of secret societies. Harrison delves into Masonic links with the slave trade, especially in Liverpool and the Trans-Atlantic links with the USA, and discusses the mysterious Liverpool Masonic Rebellion and the Wigan Grand Lodge. Harrison also looks at how Freemasonry transformed itself during the 19th century, and how the Craft began to appeal to Victorian Occultists. This fascinating new book is a must for any reader who enjoyed Harrison's first book The Genesis of Freemasonry, and will be enjoyed by both Freemasons and general readers alike.

The Transformation of Freemasonry

The Transformation of Freemasonry PDF Author: David Harrison
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781845494377
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Transformation of Freemasonry looks at how Freemasonry in England and Wales adapted after the Unlawful Societies Act of 1799, and how the Craft became tinted with the stigma of Revolution, only to transform itself in the Victorian period to become the most enduring and enigmatic of secret societies. Harrison delves into Masonic links with the slave trade, especially in Liverpool and the Trans-Atlantic links with the USA, and discusses the mysterious Liverpool Masonic Rebellion and the Wigan Grand Lodge. Harrison also looks at how Freemasonry transformed itself during the 19th century, and how the Craft began to appeal to Victorian Occultists. This fascinating new book is a must for any reader who enjoyed Harrison's first book The Genesis of Freemasonry, and will be enjoyed by both Freemasons and general readers alike.

Revolutionary Brotherhood

Revolutionary Brotherhood PDF Author: Steven C. Bullock
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 0807899852
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 442

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Book Description
In the first comprehensive history of the fraternity known to outsiders primarily for its secrecy and rituals, Steven Bullock traces Freemasonry through its first century in America. He follows the order from its origins in Britain and its introduction into North America in the 1730s to its near-destruction by a massive anti-Masonic movement almost a century later and its subsequent reconfiguration into the brotherhood we know today. With a membership that included Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Paul Revere, and Andrew Jackson, Freemasonry is fascinating in its own right, but Bullock also places the movement at the center of the transformation of American society and culture from the colonial era to the rise of Jacksonian democracy. Using lodge records, members' reminiscences and correspondence, and local and Masonic histories, Bullock links Freemasonry with the changing ideals of early American society. Although the fraternity began among colonial elites, its spread during the Revolution and afterward allowed it to play an important role in shaping the new nation's ideas of liberty and equality. Ironically, however, the more inclusive and universalist Masonic ideas became, the more threatening its members' economic and emotional bonds seemed to outsiders, sparking an explosive attack on the fraternity after 1826. American History

The Genesis of Freemasonry

The Genesis of Freemasonry PDF Author: David Harrison
Publisher: Lewis Masonic Pub
ISBN: 9780853183228
Category : Freemasonry
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This book is a revealing but thoroughly enjoyable journey through the intricate history of English Freemasonry. Historian Dr. David Harrison reconstructs the hidden history of the movement, tracing its roots through a mixture of mediaeval guild societies, alchemy and necromancy. He examines the earliest known Freemasons and their obsessions with Solomon’s Temple, alchemy, and prophecy, to the formation of the Grand Lodge in London, which in turn led to rebellions within the Craft throughout England. Harrison also analyzes the role of French immigrant, Dr Jean Theophilus Desaguliers in the development of English Freemasonry, focusing on his involvement with the formation of the mysterious modern Masonic ritual. All Freemasons and more general readers will find much of interest in this fascinating exploration of the very beginnings of Freemasonry, still one of the most mysterious brotherhoods in the world.

Ancient Manuscripts of the Freemasons

Ancient Manuscripts of the Freemasons PDF Author: Michael R. Poll
Publisher: Cornerstone Book Publishers
ISBN: 9781934935606
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
"Included here are some ... documents tracing Freemasonry from its early operative roots to the early collections defining the seeds of Speculative Freemasonry."--p. v.

Isaac Newton's Freemasonry

Isaac Newton's Freemasonry PDF Author: Alain Bauer
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1620553325
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 89

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Book Description
An exploration of how modern Freemasonry enabled Isaac Newton and his like-minded contemporaries to flourish • Shows that Freemasonry, as a mystical order, was conceived as something new--an amalgam of alchemy and science that had little to do with operative Freemasonry • Reveals how Newton and his friends crafted this “speculative,” symbolic Freemasonry as a model for the future of England • Connects Rosslyn Chapel, Henry Sinclair, and the Invisible College to Newton and his role in 17th-century Freemasonry Freemasonry, as a fraternal order of scientists and philosophers, emerged in the 17th century and represented something new--an amalgam of alchemy and science that allowed the creative genius of Isaac Newton and his contemporaries to flourish. In Isaac Newton’s Freemasonry, Alain Bauer presents the swirl of historical, sociological, and religious influences that sparked the spiritual ferment and transformation of that time. His research shows that Freemasonry represented a crossroads between science and spirituality and became the vehicle for promoting spiritual and intellectual egalitarianism. Isaac Newton was seminal in the “invention” of this new form of Freemasonry, which allowed Newton and other like-minded associates to free themselves of the church’s monopoly on the intellectual milieu of the time. This form of Freemasonry created an ideological blueprint that sought to move England beyond the civil wars generated by its religious conflicts to a society with scientific progress as its foundation and standard. The “science” of these men was rooted in the Hermetic tradition and included alchemy and even elements of magic. Yet, in contrast to the endless reinterpretations of church doctrine that fueled the conflicts ravaging England, this new society of Accepted Freemasons provided an intellectual haven and creative crucible for scientific and political progress. This book reveals the connections of Rosslyn Chapel, Henry Sinclair, and the Invisible College to Newton’s role in 17th-century Freemasonry and opens unexplored trails into the history of Freemasonry in Europe.

The Secret History of Freemasonry

The Secret History of Freemasonry PDF Author: Paul Naudon
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1620553376
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 427

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Book Description
Explores the hidden history of Freemasonry from ancient Rome, through the Middle Ages, to the present • Shows the close connection between medieval masons and the Knights Templar • Illustrates the sacred nature of Roman and medieval trade associations • Reveals the missing link that connects the lodges of modern Freemasonry to the medieval brotherhoods of builders Historians often make a sharp distinction between the operative Masonry of the Middle Ages and the speculative Masonry of modern times, emphasizing that there is no direct bridge connecting the two. Modern historians also have scoffed at Masonic claims concerning the close relationship between the Lodge and the Temple. Using medieval archives housed throughout Europe, historian Paul Naudon reveals that there was in fact a very intimate connection between the Masons and the Knights Templar. Church records of medieval Paris show that most, if not all, the Masons of that time were residents of the Templar censive, which allowed them to enjoy great exemptions and liberties from both church and state as a result of the protection afforded them by this powerful order. Naudon shows that the origins of Freemasonry can be traced back to the collegia of ancient Rome. He traces the evolution of organizations such as the Comacine Masters, the Arab turuqs, and the brotherhoods of builders created under the aegis of the Benedictines and the Knights Templar, all of which provide the vehicle for the transmission of a sacred tradition from pre-Christian times to the modern era. This tradition is the source of Masonic ritual and symbolism, and it provides the missing link in the transformation of the operative Masonry of the medieval cathedral builders to the spiritual principles of modern speculative Masonry.

Freemasonry and the Press in the Twentieth Century

Freemasonry and the Press in the Twentieth Century PDF Author: Paul Calderwood
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317132793
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 378

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Book Description
By the end of the twentieth century, Freemasonry had acquired an unsavoury reputation as a secretive network of wealthy men looking out for each others’ interests. The popular view is of an organisation that, if not actually corrupt, is certainly viewed with deep mistrust by the press and wider society. Yet, as this book makes clear, this view contrasts sharply with the situation at the beginning of the century when the public’s perception of Freemasonry in Britain was much more benevolent, with numerous establishment figures (including monarchs, government ministers, archbishops and civic worthies) enthusiastically recommending Freemasonry as the key to model citizenship. Focusing particularly on the role of the press, this book investigates the transformation of the image of Freemasonry in Britain from respectability to suspicion. It describes how the media projected a positive message of the organisation for almost forty years, based on a mass of news emanating from the organisation itself, before a change in public regard occurred during the later twentieth-century. This change in the public mood, the book argues, was due primarily to Masonic withdrawal from the public sphere and a disengagement with the press. Through an examination of the subject of Freemasonry and the British press, a number of related social trends are addressed, including the decline of deference, the erosion of privacy, greater competition in the media, the emergence of more aggressive and investigative journalism, the consequences of media isolation and the rise of professional Public Relations. The book also illuminates the organisation’s collisions with nationalism, communism, and state welfare provision. As such, the study is illuminating not only for students of Freemasonry, but those with an interest in the wider social history of modern Britain.

The Politics of Sociability

The Politics of Sociability PDF Author: Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 9780472115730
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
The first cultural and political history of German Freemasonry in the 19th and early 20th centuries

American Freemasons

American Freemasons PDF Author: Mark A. Tabbert
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814783023
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
An overview of the mysterious history of the Freemasons and their presence in American society With over four million members worldwide, and two million in the U.S., Freemasonry is the largest fraternal organization in the world. Published in conjunction with the National Heritage Museum, this extravagantly illustrated volume offers an overview of Freemasonry’s origins in seventeenth-century Scotland and England before exploring its evolving role in American history, from the Revolution through the labor and civil rights movements, and into the twenty-first century. American Freemasons explores some of the causes for the rise and fall of membership in the fraternity and why it has attracted men in such large numbers for centuries. American Freemasons is the perfect introduction to understanding a society that, while shrouded in mystery, has played an integral role in the lives and communities of millions of Americans. Copublished with the National Heritage Museum.

Black Freemasonry

Black Freemasonry PDF Author: Cécile Révauger
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1620554887
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
The history of black Freemasonry from Boston and Philadelphia in the late 1700s through the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement • Examines the letters of Prince Hall, legendary founder of the first black lodge • Reveals how many of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century were also Masons, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Nat King Cole • Explores the origins of the Civil Rights Movement within black Freemasonry and the roles played by Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois When the first Masonic lodges opened in Paris in the early 18th century their membership included traders, merchants, musketeers, clergymen, and women--both white and black. This was not the case in the United States where black Freemasons were not eligible for membership in existing lodges. For this reason the first official charter for an exclusively black lodge--the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts--was granted by the Grand Lodge of England rather than any American chapter. Through privileged access to archives kept by Grand Lodges, Masonic libraries, and museums in both the United States and Europe, respected Freemasonry historian Cécile Révauger traces the history of black Freemasonry from Boston and Philadelphia in the late 1700s through the Abolition Movement and the Civil War to the genesis of the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1900s up through the 1960s. She opens with a look at Prince Hall, legendary founder and the chosen namesake when black American lodges changed from “African Lodges” to “Prince Hall Lodges” in the early 1800s. She reveals how the Masonic principles of mutual aid and charity were more heavily emphasized in the black lodges and especially during the reconstruction period following the Civil War. She explores the origins of the Civil Rights Movement within black Freemasonry and the roles played by Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois, founder of the NAACP, among others. Looking at the deep connections between jazz and Freemasonry, the author reveals how many of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century were also Masons, including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Eubie Blake, Cab Calloway, and Paul Robeson. Unveiling the deeply social role at the heart of black Freemasonry, Révauger shows how the black lodges were instrumental in helping American blacks transcend the horrors of slavery and prejudice, achieve higher social status, and create their own solid spiritually based social structure, which in some cities arose prior to the establishment of black churches.