The Origins of Freemasonry

Text by Bro.'. Raimundo Rodrigues

 

As a student of philosophy, we know, long ago, that Vico is the father of the "Philosophy of History", stereotyping it with principles of a new science.

We know more than the "Philosophy of History" is even now dominated by metaphysical concepts, which hinder the understanding of the anointed.

You see, we talk about metaphysical concepts, and not in "Invention Concepts." The true historian does not invent anything!

In fact, the "Philosophy of History" appears already in the eighteenth century, when it came to the conclusion that the set of historical facts, could take a general law of development of mankind. That is why, we think, Masonic historians can merge their work with general considerations about the evolutionary march of Masonic events.

But this does not mean that someone has the right to go around "making" a story that will leave the imagination, seeking to give you true contours of history.For our part, we are keen to shout from the rooftops that we are not nor have aspirations of becoming a historian. We are, rather, one researcher who is interested in historical truth.If history does not accept fabrications, lies philosophy does not admit. Sorry about the strength of the term.The truth is that if we say that Freemasonry was born with the Essenes, or the Templars, or the Collegia Fabrorum, we are saying something that we could not prove, so we may be spreading something that is pure fabrication.If history and the "Philosophy of History" does not admit untruths, what, then, of Masonry?What we want to make clear is that we can only speak of Ancient Freemasonry, when we can shield ourselves in trustworthy documents.The oldest known document called the Ancient Freemasonry, or operators, or the Office is Regius Poem, which is 1390, so the fourteenth century. All you say before that date is only assumption.It is necessary to guard against the inventions of those who did not or do not have the courage to investigate, to seek truth through documents that merit faith. There are many people who goes after I've heard.The truth is that there Masonic writers who claim that the "origin of Freemasonry is" lost in the "mists of antiquity."No honest investigator embarks on shaky boat of those who insist on stating that the Sublime Institution has existed for thousands of years. Only the "innocent" may believe in the absurd claim Anderson, in his first book of the "Constitutions" of which - Adam - our first parent, created in the image and likeness of God, must have possessed the liberal sciences, especially geometry, written in his heart. Based on this, even today, there are those who teach that Masonry has its beginnings in the earthly Paradise.Palou Jean recognizes that the origins of Freemasonry are far from clear and could not be otherwise, and adds: "Anderson traces Freemasonry to Adam, no doubt because he could not go further and lacking the courage assign it to Jehovah himself. "It is evident that the lack of documents and records to be believed, Freemasonry involves a historical shadow, which makes the fanciful, perhaps thinking magnify it, invent stories, without rhyme or reason, on the origins of their existence .There are those who teach that it began in Mesopotamia, others confuse the religious movements in Egypt and Chaldeans as Masonic work. There are writers who claim to be Solomon's Temple, the cradle of Freemasonry.

What is real is that Masonry adopts ancient philosophical principles and contents, which were adopted by institutions such as the "Guild" (England), Compagnonnage (France) Steinmetzen (in Germany). What Masonry has done is take all those healthy principles that were embraced by institutions that existed long before the formation of clusters of work that went into history as the name of Craft Masonry or Office.

IRM:. Darley Worm, in an excellent paper titled "Clouds of Concern in the Horizons of Freemasonry", aptly notes that "To get the age of Freemasonry, we must distinguish the institution, its contents, which indeed, millennia, according to some authors, eternal, the second ... other content that Freemasonry assumed were already ancient when Solomon was born in the house of David is pure feverish delirium and some historians speak in Freemasonry Archaic or Old Archaeological. the contents we deal with today as they were honored for Mystery Schools (Eleusis, etc..), for theosophists to the Rosicrucians, the Gnostics, to the alchemists, for Fabrorum Collegia, though they have a large number of points in common but ... neither Pythagoras, nor Jesus nor Plato, etc.., were Masons, for the simple reason that Freemasonry (as an institution) or had been created. "

Some time now, after creating the Masonic Lodge of Research "Brazil", in London, there have been historians and researchers who have dedicated themselves Freemasons, body and soul, as there is said, the search for primary or secondary documents can bring light to the mysteries surrounding the primitive Masonry.

Frederico Guilherme Costa, Masonic historian of the first water, in his book "Freemasonry at the University-2", says "The set of legal organizations, especially medieval, are known by the name of Craft Masonry or Office. There have always been in remote past, workers associations linked to the art of building, but were not organized as corporations with a sense of future corporate. Some authors hold the view that the first association organized by rigid statutes, was of the Roman Collegia Fabrorum created in century. VI BC. In ancient Rome the professional bodies representing colleges seen as founded by Numa Pompilio. Despite some similarity between the customs of the schools with the future of Freemasonry operating period, nothing allows us to identify with the future of these colleges Order Masonic, even as a paradigm. "Frederick William Costa, after much research, concludes that honestly can not even take the Collegia Fabrorum as a model when it comes to Craft Masonry.However, other writers, not historians, say that the Collegia doctoral Fabrorum are the foundation on which rests the Craft Masonry.It is true that historians and researchers aware of are based, above all, the Old Charges.The most cited by the authors are good:* Halliwell Manuscript or Regius, century. XIV* Manuscript Cooke century. XV* Manuscript of William Watson, century. XV* Manuscript Tew century. XVIIt is known that there are in Britain, about 87 manuscripts of Old Charges.It would, indeed, the Regius Poem, also called Manuscript Hallliwell the oldest document of the Office of Freemasonry?The best authors, to those whom we can trust, say yes. We will mention only two, not to dwell on too much.Le le plus ancien document authentique date, lui, des annes 1390-1400, c'est le fameux Peème Maçonnique également connu sous les noms de Manuscrit Regius (Royal) or manuscript Halliwell (du nom de son premier Editeur) ... (Serge Hutin, in "Les Francs Masons," Le Temps Thurs Court Collections - Editions du Seuil - Paris, p. 53). *The earliest text is the Regius manuscript real, as its name indicates conserved in the British Museum in London ... Regius would date from the years 1388-1445 (Jean Palou, "Symbolic Freemasonry and Initiation", Ed thought, translation of the French edition of 1964, St. Paul, p. 33).It can be assumed that the Confraternities German Manufacturers, whose were the oldest, Magdeburg, founded in 1211 and Cologne, founded around 1250, were Masonic organizations. See what we said ... it can be assumed.It is true that the greatest difficulty that confronts the researcher honest is the lack of primary documents that will prove the existence, at one time, the institution studied.Many primary documents were lost in the dust of inexorable time. Much left to be written because it was necessary to establish the law of silence, as a means of self defense guilds.

What are the secrets of operating a Mason?

We believe that only professionals were secrets, kept strictly on the art of building. It is good to see that, in the Middle Ages, is known only a treatise on architecture, totally incomprehensible to those who were not very knowledgeable on the subject.

Finally, in order to understand why many documents disappeared, we transcribe, in our translation, which Serge Hutin says in his "Les Francs-Masons," pg. 53:

The rarity of Masonic documents, prior to the speculative Masonry, explained undoubtedly by the auto-da-fe held on June 24, 1719, by Pastor Desaguliers, then the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England. The Protestant pastor decided to destroy all documents, in his view, were imbued with "popery" and thus mask the changes he had made the fundamental rules of Freemasonry.

And how old and how many documents would not have been destroyed by the ignorance or bad faith?

Precatemo us, we love all the historical truth, with the statements and teachings that are not structured documents that merit faith.

Do not forget, journalists, writers, writers, historians who sed money volant scripta Manent.

* The oldest authentic date of the years 1390-1400, the famous Masonic poem is also known under the names of Regius Manuscript (Real) or Halliwell Manuscript, (named after its first editor) ...