THE MASON’S MARK
A recent tour of England and Scotland included
visits to the beautiful and stately Salisbury Cathedral, York Minster,
Westminster Abbey, and to Roslyn Chapel and Melrose Abbey. All had many
“Mason’s Marks” carved in the stones and these can be found in many other
buildings still standing in Europe and the British Isles.
These old Mason’s Marks help us to trace
Freemasonry’s story from its early operative days to the present, when it is
used in a symbolic sense in the first of the degrees of the York Rite.
We should put aside the legends from the old Gothic
Constitutions continued in our present day rituals, which purport to trace
Masonry from the building of King Solomon’s Temple to Noah’s Flood. Masonic
students in the last century or so have been able to document fairly accurately
the evolution of Freemasonry as far back as the mid-fourteen century when the
first attempt was made to rganize the
Mason’s trade in England and to establish work rules for its government.
Our modern Freemasonry is an outgrowth of those
operative masons of the Middle Ages, the builders of those ornate and beautiful
examples of the Gothic school of architecture unsurpassed in the builders’ art.
The mason’s mark has been found on structures far older than these, however,
some going back to 2500 B.C. Little attention was paid to these carvings until
1841, when a British archeologist
published an article on his studies. Masonic students took an interest in the
subject, and perceived the link formed between operative and speculative
Masonry.
It is surprising how long a thing may remain
unnoticed until it has first been discovered. When a number of mason’s marks
were pointed out to an old priest, he remarked, “I have walked through this
church four times a day, twenty-eight times a week, and never noticed one of
them. Now I cannot look anywhere but they flit into my eyes.”
The operative mason’s mark was used for purely
practical purposes. During the period when most cathedrals, abbeys and
monasteries were built, there were few who could read or write. When he became
a Fellowcraft or journeyman, each mason selected his mark or design which was
his for life, and was never to be changed. The mark thus served as a signature.
He cut it into each stone he prepared, so that he might be given credit and
receive wages for his labor, and also be held responsible for the quality and
proper execution of the work. The Mason’s Mark has a similar objective to a
trademark by assigning responsibility for the quality of the work.
During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church
dominated the religious scene in Europe and Britain. Most of the work done by
the operative masons of the day was construction of cathedrals for the church.
With the Protestant Reformation in 1517, however, the Roman Catholic Church
lost much of its temporal power and influence in England and some European
countries, and the building of religious works fell off sharply.
The operative masons found themselves facing
increased unemployment. Fewer apprentices were accepted to learn the trade.
Work for the masons left was limited largely to military construction and
repair work requiring lesser skills. This period of operative decline was the
beginning of a gradual change from guilds of builders to the moral and philosophical
fraternity which today we call Speculative Masonry.
In 1634 an event took place, which was to
profoundly affect the future the Craft. The minutes of the Scottish Lodge of
Edinburgh (Mary’s Chapel) for July 1, 1634 notes that three noblemen were admitted
members of the Lodge. This is the earliest record of the admission of
non-operatives into a Lodge in Scotland, and it turned out to be the opening
wedge in the transition from operative to speculative Masonry.
Following the admission of the three non-operative
members, the practice spread rapidly. In a period of operative decline, more
and more nonoperatives came to be accepted as members by many Lodges. The
character of Masonry underwent increasingly rapid change. By 1670, for example,
the Lodge at Aberdeen shows minutes signed by some 49 members, about three
quarters of whom were non-operatives. Noteworthy was the fact that all but two
had marks shown beside their names—indicating that the practice of choosing a
mark was not restricted to the operatives.
Our ritual for the three Craft Degrees is clearly
based on the practices of operative Masonry, with symbolic usage of the working
tools, the ashlars, the trestleboard, lessons in architecture and many others.
Why the mason’s mark, an operative practice from time immemorial should have
been omitted is difficult to understand.
Our Mason’s mark is the Masonic equivalent of our
signature. It represents our name, our character, our integrity and our skills.
When we sign our name or apply our Mark to a document, letter, painting, or to
a stone for the building of a cathedral, we stand up to be counted. By it we
say in effect “This is where I stand, this is my work. I guarantee its quality,
and am proud of the workmanship it shows.”
In addition to our Mason’s Mark, we have a
responsibility in regard to that best known Mason’s Mark of them all, the
Square and Compass. Almost all of us wear it or otherwise display it—thus
identifying ourselves as Masons to all we come in contact with. In doing so, we
cannot help but project an image of Masonry to the public. When we wear this
Mason’s Mark, the Square and Compass, the world will judge the Craft by our
words and actions. Should we feel unable to live up to the tenets and
principles of Freemasonry stands for, we would be well-advised to leave the
Masonic ring or pin in the dresser drawer, rather than damage the good name of
the Fraternity.
It seems to be human for us to want to leave some
sort of a memorial that future generations will know we passed this way. We
find this in the graffiti scrawled on the walls of Pompeii, and on the subway
cars in modern cities.
We sometimes hear it said of a person, that “he
left his mark,” meaning he made a lasting impression on some institution or
field of endeavor. Yet there are varying kinds of marks left. George Washington
and Thomas Edison most certainly left their marks on our society and
civilization.
All of us can’t be Washingtons or Edisons, but we
can contribute toward the building of a better world. Our ancient operative
ancestor in cutting his mark on a stone for Salisbury cathedral left a memorial
which says, “I had a part in building this beautiful house of God.” By being
better citizens, better husbands, better fathers, we can leave our mark on
society by discharging our responsibilities to god, to our country, to our
neighbor and to ourselves.
In our vocations, in our daily lives and in our
dealings with our fellow man, let’s do our best to leave our marks only on
“good work, true work, square work, just such work as is wanted for the
building of the Temple.”
NOTE: This paper an edited version of “The Mason’s Mark,”
by Wallace M.Gage, PM, originally published by the Maine Lodge of Research,
reprinted in The Short Talk Bulletin, MSA, Volume 64, Number 11, November 1986