‘Where would we be without the Ancients?’

     

It’s a big year for anniversaries, so let’s not forget how on this date 275 years ago the Grand Lodge in London of Free and Accepted Masons According to the Old Institutions was established. We remember them better as the Ancients.

New from Lewis Masonic.

Yesterday I received in the mail a copy of Ric Berman’s new book The Genesis of American Freemasonry. A review is forthcoming, but let me quote a little of what he says about the Ancients:

The Grand Lodge of England According to the Old Institutions, or Antients Freemasonry, as it was later called, was established by London’s emigre Irish community in the 1750s as an alternative to the Freemasonry of the Grand Lodge of England. Irish lodges had been active in London from at least the mid 1730s, but the creation of the new grand lodge in 1751 formalized their operation and lead to a considerable expansion. From the start, however, the Antients attracted members from outside the Irish diaspora, particularly the aspirational, lower middling and working class. And this is key. Unlike the Grand Lodge of England and most of the lodges that worked within its orbit in England and America, Antients Freemasonry did not restrict itself to the social elites, but welcomed a wider membership. This is not to say that everyone could join—it was still relatively expensive—but it was far less class conscious.

This is a good time to mention how the Ancients didn’t spell it “Antients.” Shawn pointed out that to me a while back. I don’t know how that alternative spelling caught on.

Back to Berman:

The key figure behind Antients Freemasonry and its success was Laurence Dermott, Its grand secretary from 1752-70 and deputy grand master from 1771-77 and again from 1783-7. Virtually from its inception, Dermott took administrative control and guided the internal and public perception of the organization, positioning the Antients as a society with a long established tradition of “keeping the ancient landmarks of the Order in view.“ He effectively coined and popularized the term Moderns to describe the rival Grand Lodge of England, a dismissive label that was, and was intended to be, pejorative. And the epithet stuck.

You must read Ahiman Rezon, the book of constitutions of this new grand lodge published in 1756. It is largely based on James Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723, not as a copy in homage, but as a launching point to document the different thinking of these Ancients. It came from Dermott’s quill and is spiced with his sardonic wit.

Berman continues:

In Ahiman Rezon, Dermott joked that the rival Moderns had:

[considered it] expedient to abolish the old custom of studying geometry in the lodge and some of the young brethren made it appear that a good knife and fork in the hands of a dextrous brother (over the right materials) would give greater satisfaction and add more to the rotundity of the lodge… from this improvement proceeded the laudable custom of charging to a public health to every third sentence that is spoke in the lodge.

The Ancients’ Masonic history, Charges of a Freemason, and General Regulations differ from the first grand lodge’s, and sometimes contradict. And then there’s the Royal Arch.

In America, the rivalry between the two grand lodges was resolved decades before the Moderns and Ancients amalgamated to form the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813, but that’s a whole other story. Suffice to say, without the Ancients, I don’t know where we’d be today.

I’m in Pennsylvania with Civil War Lodge of Research, a Virginia lodge (and the grand lodges of both states dub their respective constitutions Ahiman Rezon), but before retiring I wanted to make sure I raised my glass to this 275th anniversary. Vivat!

     

‘The meanings of Ahiman and Rezon’

    

See? Facebook is good for something.

Shawn Eyer, one of the “go to guys” in the study of eighteenth century Freemasonry, posted on social media, more than five years ago, a highly useful explanation of a commonly misunderstood point of history. It came up again this week, so I thought I’d share it here (with Shawn’s permission). Enjoy.

Clarifying a Very Old Misunderstanding

In 1756, Laurence Dermott published the first edition of Ahiman Rezon, the book of constitutions for the Masonic Ancients. This was one of the most popular Masonic books of the eighteenth century, with many daughter editions produced in England, Ireland, America, and even in Canada.

At a certain point, the meaning of the title of the book was forgotten by the fraternity, which has led to many bizarre claims. The “historians” who have theorized that these words are pseudohebrew made up by Dermott, nonsense words fabricated to sound confusing, or loan-words from other languages (Portuguese was proposed at one point!) are simply not aware of the context of these two ancient words.

Happily, the Ancients knew Hebrew better than our modern critics who like to say Ahiman and Rezon aren’t Hebrew (even though the ones writing that are not qualified to say it). Ahiman and Rezon are in fact, and quite unambiguously, Hebrew words: names, actually—and both are found in any Bible.

In the Volume of the Sacred Law, there are two characters named Ahiman. The first, an Anakite occupying Hebron, who is conquered by Caleb (Numbers 13:22, Joshua 15:14). But the Ahiman who is relevant Masonically is a later figure—one of a group of Levites appointed by King David to serve a special function in the Jerusalem sanctuary. He was, specifically, one of the four gatekeepers. (1 Chronicles 9: 17–19, 22–31) Dermott included these gatekeepers, especially Ahiman, in his introductory remarks to the original editions of Ahiman Rezon.

Shawn Eyer

Rezon is another character in the Bible: an opponent raised up by God to punish King Solomon after he had allowed his faith to wander. (1 Kings 11:23-25) Read all of chapter 11 for the story.

It is easy to understand why Dermott selected these two names (or why they were potentially emphasized in now-lost Ancients Masonic tradition): Ahiman guarded the holy of holies from the unworthy, Rezon was a thorn in King Solomon’s side during the time of his fall from purity. This is precisely how the Ancients saw themselves in relation to the Moderns.

The perception that these two words were not Hebrew came from attempting to find them in Hebrew dictionaries. Dictionaries typically do not contain names. Just as you won’t find Timothy or Edward in an English dictionary, you won’t find Ahiman or Rezon in a Hebrew dictionary. But they have been Hebrew words since before the second Temple fell.

A takeaway for us all: Before we say that our Masonic forebears were writing nonsense words or dabbling in things they didn't understand, we need to make sure that we are not the ones who are confused.

      

How it was done in ‘Antient’ times

   

Peninsula Lodge, No. 99 in Bayonne, New Jersey will exemplify an Entered Apprentice Degree in Antients ritual c. 1760 next month.

At its Regular Communication of September 24, Peninsula Lodge, No. 99 – the Magpie Mason’s mother lodge – will host a special event that mixes Masonic education with a great meal, plenty of toasts, and perhaps even more mirth than the lodge usually enjoys... and that’s saying something!

On that evening, W. Bro. Ben Hoff, Master of New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education, No. 1786 in Trenton, will visit the lodge to quarterback Peninsula’s officers through an exemplification of a ritual that otherwise exists only in rarely seen texts.

This very singular occurrence is an EA° compiled from primary 18th century sources, namely the ritual exposures known as Three Distinct Knocks, and Jachin and Boaz, as well as other texts. This is the ritual of the Antients, the branch of Freemasonry that solidified following the public debut of the Premier Grand Lodge of England in 1717. The Antients began as Irish Masons in London whose lodges welcomed working class men, soldiers, and merchants, in contrast to the nobility, middle and upper class, and academic elites found in the Grand Lodge’s lodges. (Freemasonry in the United States descends almost entirely from the Antients, who formed their own grand lodge in 1751 called Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England, according to the Old Constitutions. In 1813, the two grand lodges merged, forming the United Grand Lodge of England.)

Anyway, about this ritual.

“Eighteenth century degrees took place in taverns or hotel function rooms rather than in the formally arranged and decorated lodge rooms we use today,” Ben explains. “All lodge arrangements were temporary and symbolic. Officers stood in their places, and decorations were either small and portable, or were temporary. While the ‘Moderns’ represented the lodge with floor cloths or elaborate floor drawings, the representations in ‘Antients’ lodges were almost entirely symbolic.”

“This symbolic lodge should be at least six feet tall and four feet wide to allow for the placement of the candidate and three tall candlesticks within the diagram, while officers stand around the outside,” Ben added. “Ideally, it should be positioned within the open area of the U-shape table typically used at table lodges. Notice the X-shape cross should be extended below the rectangle proper to create the three ‘steps.’ Leave enough room around the outside of the diagram for the officers to stand while still allowing the candidate and his conductor to move around the outside of the diagram for the circumambulation.

“The VSL should be on a small table or pedestal (a chair will do) in front the WM’s station, the square and compasses arranged as EA. Place three candles in tall holders in the East, West and South of the diagram. The East candle should be slightly to the north to allow the candidate to approach the pedestal/chair for the OB.

“The officers for this degree are the Master, Wardens, Deacons, Secretary (Treasurer is optional) and an Immediate Past Master, who would take the place of a Chaplain or Marshal. The officers should stand in their accustomed places OUTSIDE the diagram, except for the Secretary and Treasurer, who stand together in the North. The Wardens should carry their columns held vertical in their right hands. The Deacons would have their long rods, grounded unless otherwise in use.”

And the rest? You’ll just have to see it yourself. There is food and drink, call and response – a true multi-sensory experience worthy of the Middle Chamber Lecture’s instruction! – and even singing. (Or, more accurately, there is Bro. Matthew Birkhead’s Enter’d ’prentices Song. It remains to be seen if the brethren can sing.)

The Magpie Mason had the good fortune to witness this exemplification at Ben’s mother lodge – Highland Park, No. 240 – several years ago, and it was one of the greatest evenings I’ve enjoyed in 12 years in Masonry. At the end of the night, everyone present was glowing, and not only from the wine. Even if they didn’t intend it, they learned something very important about the history and culture of Freemasonry – the primary goal, of course, of this blog.

Brethren, seating will be at a premium that night. I expect a huge turn-out from the lodge and the surrounding district, so if you would like to attend, let me know by e-mailing me at ____ as soon as possible.