Masonic Bodies - History

History

see also History of Freemasonry

Sometime before 1730, a trigradal system started to emerge in Freemasonry, which quickly became the standard system in the lodges of England, Ireland and Scotland. This seems to have been accomplished by the rearrangement and expansion of the original bigradal system, particularly by the elaboration of the Hiramic legend, and its full exposition in the third degree, that of a Master Mason. The emergence, in the 1740s, of "chivalric" degrees on the continent may be linked to the deliberate "gentrification" of Freemasonry in Chevalier Ramsay's Oration of 1737. The formation of the Royal Arch occurred in the same period, developing the Hiramic theme with the rediscovery of the secrets lost with the death of the master builder. The Grand Lodge of England (the "Moderns") remained ambivalent about the new rite, probably because its secret word remained in their own third degree. The Moderns' supporters of the new rite formed their own Grand Chapter, probably in 1765. There is evidence that the official date of 1767 is the result of the alteration of the foundation document, to save Lord Blayney the embarrassment of founding a controversial organisation while he was still the Moderns' Grand Master. The prime mover in the formation of Grand Chapter was Caledonian Lodge, a lodge of Scottish Masons which had just joined the Moderns from the Ancients, and whose members included William Preston.

In 1751, as the Moderns increasingly alienated unaffiliated lodges, a few (mainly Irish) lodges in London formed the Antient Grand Lodge of England, which rapidly became an umbrella organisation for unaffiliated lodges in England. Their second secretary, Laurence Dermott, believed the Royal Arch to be the fourth degree. When the two Grand Lodges merged in 1813, Article Two of the Articles of Union agreed that "pure Antient Masonry consists of three Degrees and no more, viz., those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft and the Master Mason, including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch". Grand Chapter remained, and other degrees must from this time be administered by separate Masonic Bodies.

The period from 1740 to 1813 saw a host of Masonic rites, orders and degrees emerge. These new rituals enlarged the scope of Masonry and encompassed many elaborations, some of which included elements which had previously been practiced within the craft. Many rites proved to be transient and died out (some being no more than a written record without evidence of having been practiced), but some proved more resilient and survived.