The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland’s Century, 1590 to 1710
Product Description
Freemasonry has always been a highly controversial movement. Yet in spite of the vast literature that has been produced on the subject, its origins have remained obscure. David Stevenson demonstrates that the real origins of the essentials of modern freemasonry lie in Scotland around 1600, when the system of lodges was created by Stonemasons. With rituals and secrets blending medieval mythology with a number of late Renaissance intellectual influences, a movement was created that was to spread through England, across Europe, and then around the world…. More >>
The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland’s Century, 1590 to 1710
A non-Mason and professor emeritus of history in the Department of Scottish History at the University of St. Andrews, professor Stevenson presents clear arguments with documentation from primary sources, to suggest that the formative period of the Craft was in Scotland, immediately prior to the formation of the Grand Lodge in 1717 at Apple Tree Tavern in London.
As a scholar, he has done a responsible job of diving into the pre-historic or legendary period of Freemasonry in the few generations prior to the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1717. Gould, a Mason and scholar of bygone days once said that if you admit that Freemasonry exited prior to 1717 (and it obviously did), there is no end to how far back in time one can push its origins. That statement has scared too many otherwise responsible Masons from trying and encouraged the rash ones to say stupid things. Too many people have pushed its origins irresponsibly. So it’s wonderful to see Stevenson’s book.
It is quite valuable, if not conclusive, for it helps one gain a contextualized view of the development of an organization that today, due to its esoteric rituals, is out of place and time to most people, an example of a cultural anachronism or atavism. It shows what influences were likely in forming the Craft as we know it today without discarding the possibility of other influences also having been important.
Rating: 5 / 5
This well-researched and (necessarily) somewhat-speculative work covers the sustainment of Freemasonry in Scotland in the time just before Masonry went public in 1717. The title is less accurate than the subtitle, however, for it creates more questions than it answers. For convincing speculation on the actual origins of Freemasonry (and one that fits well before this book if one will take William Schaw as patron and not creator of the Craft), read “Born in Blood” by John J. Robinson.
Rating: 4 / 5
Though sometimes the reading is a little dry, this book is full of great history. Origins of some aspects of masonry few have heard of. Any Mason who loves history, will find it interesting.
Rating: 4 / 5
Outstanding scholarly work. Not an easy read, but full of the details and exacting research one expects from an academic of Stevenson’s stature. I am on my second time through this book.
Any Brother who considers himself a Masonic scholar should be in possession of this book.
Rating: 5 / 5
There are about as many explanations of Freemasonry’s origins as there are explainers. From Freemasonry’s own dramatic and fascinating legends to paranoid conspiracy theories, along with overly fanciful New Age yarns, unsupported armchair guesswork, bestselling thrillers, and careful historical investigations. This book is an exemplary model of the latter. David Stevenson has brought his scholarly acumen and disciplined historical expertise to bear on a much muddled subject, arriving at conclusions as plausible and modest as they are interesting and original–not to mention refreshingly clear.
The first seventy pages or so are extremely dry, and after a while started to wear on my patience. My advice: bear with Stevenson as he lays out the facts here, grounding Freemasonry’s murky prehistory firmly in the socioeconomic facts of Medieval Scotland. From this he can demonstrate convincingly how Renaissance elements of Hermeticism, Neo-Platonism, the Art of Memory, and Vitruvian valorizations of architecture came to inform the self-characterizations and common practices of these prior craft guilds, gradually transforming the latter in the process. He sticks closely to previously unconsidered primary sources of the time in question rather than later reconstructions so as to uncover the unfolding of this complicated process, mining fragmentary manuscripts, local records, and other such often overlooked sources tucked away in the shadowy corners of old archives for what they have to tell us–cautiously and painstakingly distinguishing certain fact from plausible but ultimately unverified speculation based on those facts as he goes along. In the bargain he makes a strong case for his rather original thesis that much of early Freemasonry as we know it today developed in Scotland and only then spread to England (and from there to the rest of the world), substantially altering our picture of this intriguingly complex process thereby.
And it’s rather amusing to think that it all started with a stray reference the author came across in the midst of pretty much unrelated historical research, one he decided to follow up on for the heck of it and maybe write a little article–an article that grew into two whole books, this one and the more locally detailed The First Freemasons: Scotlands Early Lodges and Their Members. Stevenson’s extensive consideration of the Scottish proto-Freemason Robert Moray–crucial in accounting for the evolution of Freemasonry’s symbolism, social values, and ethical orientation–has apparently also blossomed recently into his editing of Letters of Sir Robert Moray to the Earl of Kincardine, 1657-73. So what started out as a lark has grown into a sustained scholarly pursuit, of which “The Origins of Freemasonry” here is a key work and perhaps the most accessible for the generalist. Indeed, if you are looking for a sober, reliable book on this topic, this one fits the bill nicely.
Rating: 5 / 5