Origins of The Term
The origins of the term are uncertain and a number of hypotheses have been presented over time. Masonic lodges originally met in inns or taverns, and Tyler is an Old English word for the keeper of an inn door; this is probably the origin of the masonic office title. Alternatively, the name may simply come from the occupation of tyler—a person who lays roof and floor tiles, perhaps because he had failed to qualify for more skilled work as a mason. More fanciful suggestions have included:
- Possibly from the name of Wat Tyler, the ringleader of the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.
- Possibly a revision of the word tether, used to tie the door closed.
- Possibly that the tyler once sat on the roof of the lodge on the 'tiles' to stop people looking in through the roof.
- Possibly owing to the tiles being those stones or bricks which seal the structural masonry, whether they be on floors, walls or roofs. Likewise, the Tyler seals the remainder of the activities of the lodge.
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