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    Origins of Freemasonry Knights Templar

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    Glenn Farrell
    The document discusses the origins of Freemasonry and evidence that it began at Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh, Scotland in the 15th century. It provides three key pieces of evidence: 1) Rosslyn Chapel's layout replicates Herod's Temple in Jerusalem and incorporates Templar symbols; 2) A carved stone at Rosslyn depicts a ritual similar to a modern Masonic initiation ceremony; 3) Statistical analysis shows it is unlikely the carving's similarities to Masonic ritual occurred by chance, suggesting a link between Rosslyn, the Templars, and early Freemasonry.

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    Origins of Freemasonry Knights Templar

    Uploaded by

    Glenn Farrell
    237 views10 pages
    The document discusses the origins of Freemasonry and evidence that it began at Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh, Scotland in the 15th century. It provides three key pieces of evidence: 1) Rosslyn Chapel's layout replicates Herod's Temple in Jerusalem and incorporates Templar symbols; 2) A carved stone at Rosslyn depicts a ritual similar to a modern Masonic initiation ceremony; 3) Statistical analysis shows it is unlikely the carving's similarities to Masonic ritual occurred by chance, suggesting a link between Rosslyn, the Templars, and early Freemasonry.

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    The document discusses the origins of Freemasonry and evidence that it began at Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh, Scotland in the 15th century. It provides three key pieces of evidence: 1) Rosslyn Chapel's layout replicates Herod's Temple in Jerusalem and incorporates Templar symbols; 2) A carved stone at Rosslyn depicts a ritual similar to a modern Masonic initiation ceremony; 3) Statistical analysis shows it is unlikely the carving's similarities to Masonic ritual occurred by chance, suggesting a link between Rosslyn, the Templars, and early Freemasonry.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    237 views10 pages

    Origins of Freemasonry Knights Templar

    Uploaded by

    Glenn Farrell
    The document discusses the origins of Freemasonry and evidence that it began at Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh, Scotland in the 15th century. It provides three key pieces of evidence: 1) Rosslyn Chapel's layout replicates Herod's Temple in Jerusalem and incorporates Templar symbols; 2) A carved stone at Rosslyn depicts a ritual similar to a modern Masonic initiation ceremony; 3) Statistical analysis shows it is unlikely the carving's similarities to Masonic ritual occurred by chance, suggesting a link between Rosslyn, the Templars, and early Freemasonry.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    You are on page 1of 10

    Origins of Freemasonry

    Page 1 of 10

    The Origins of Freemasonry


    A Lecture given on 25 August 2000, at the
    5th International Conference of Great Priories
    in
    The Albert Halls, Stirling, Scotland
    by

    Dr Robert Lomas
    of
    University of Bradford
    and

    http://www.robertlomas.com/Freemason/Origins.html

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    Origins of Freemasonry

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    The Origins of Freemasonry


    Where Freemasonry Started
    Freemasonry, in the form we would recognise today, started at the building of Rosslyn Chapel
    near Edinburgh.

    Rosslyn Chapel, before the present external roof was put in place

    How do I know this?


    There are three important pieces of evidence which support this statement.
    1. Rosslyn links the Jewish Temple through the Knights Templar to Freemasonry.
    2. The ground plan of Rosslyn is a copy of Herods Temple and above ground it replicates the
    Herodian Architecture of Jerusalem.
    3. Rosslyn contains the oldest document showing a modern First Degree Ceremony being
    conducted by a Knight Templar.

    The Ground Plan


    The layout of Rosslyn, which was started in 1440, is an exact replica of the ground plan of the
    Third Temple, built in Jerusalem by Herod and destroyed in the First Century by the Romans.
    (See The Hiram Key, Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, Arrow, London, 1997 for full details)

    http://www.robertlomas.com/Freemason/Origins.html

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    Origins of Freemasonry

    Page 3 of 10

    The layout of Herod's Temple was not known to Archeologists until the mid nineteenth century,
    nearly four hundred years after the construction of Rosslyn

    A Stone Document showing the First Degree of Freemasonry


    All the carvings in Rosslyn were first cut in wood and produced to the Master of Works for
    inspection before being cut in stone. This is one of the earliest examples of Quality Control in
    Britain.
    On the lower frame of the window in the South West corner of the Chapel there is a carving which
    seems to be of a Freemasonic First Degree.
    (See The Second Messiah, Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, Arrow, London, 1998 for full
    details)

    This carving shows seven distinct points of similarity to the modern First Degree of Freemasonry,
    and it was carved between 1440-50. It was inspected and passed before being cut in stone so the
    features within it are intended to be there.

    http://www.robertlomas.com/Freemason/Origins.html

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    Origins of Freemasonry

    Page 4 of 10

    Is it Just Chance?
    John Hamill, the Librarian of the United Grand Lodge of England, has suggested that it may be
    just co-incidence that this little figure seems to show a link between Templarism and
    Freemasonry.
    The figure shows a man kneeling between two pillars. He is blindfolded and has a running noose
    about his neck. His feet are in a strange and unnatural posture and in his left hand he holds a bible.
    The end of the rope about his neck is held by another man who is wearing the mantle of a Knight
    Templar.
    Now for those of you are not familiar with our strange ways of within the craft, when somebody is
    admitted they are called the Candidate. Men are admitted to men's lodges and women to separate
    women's lodges. The candidate is dressed in a very odd manner but will only be admitted when
    properly dressed for the ceremony. The way of dressing is to wear a rough white clothing folded
    back to reveal particular parts of the body. The candidate is blindfolded and has a running noose
    about his neck. Here is a picture of a Masonic candidate who is correctly dressed for the ceremony
    standing before the two pillars that appear in every Masonic Lodge.

    A Candidate properly prepared to be made a Mason


    The statue at Rosslyn shows a number of features which are now considered to be Masonic. Here
    is a drawing of the main features of the Statue.

    http://www.robertlomas.com/Freemason/Origins.html

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    Origins of Freemasonry

    Page 5 of 10

    Drawing of the main features of the carving


    The problem for John Hamill is that the statue was carved five hundred and fifty years ago and
    this is two hundred and seventy years before the claimed founding of the Craft in England. When
    Chris Knight and I published this information it caused a tremendous fuss in English
    Freemasonry. Many articles were written by various Masonic writers supporting the Hamill's view
    that these similarities were simply co-incidence.
    How, the gentleman from England must have asked themselves, could Freemasonry have come
    from such an outlandish place as Scotland? :-)
    (This lecture was delivered in Stirling surrounded by many Scots, as well as a considerable
    number of overseas delegates. This statement caused considerable amusement)
    However, their counter claim of co-incidence, can be tested using standard techniques of
    Hypothesis Testing and here is the detailed calculation.
    There are seven points of congruence (agreement) between the carving and the modern Masonic
    ceremony. These are
    1. The man is blindfolded. This is unusual in medieval statues and the only other example it the
    figure of blind justice. There is no other blindfold figure carved in Rosslyn.
    2. The man is kneeling. This is fairly common in medieval carvings and there are other kneeling
    figures in Rosslyn.
    3. The man is holding a bible in his left hand. There are a number of other carvings showing
    figures holding books or scrolls within Rosslyn.
    4. The man has a noose about his neck. There are few known figures of the period showing nooses
    about their necks. The best known is the statue called 'The dying Gaul'. There is one other figure
    in Rosslyn which has a noose in it and that is the figure of the hanged man which represents the
    angel Shemhazai whose sins caused God to send the Flood and who was so afraid to face God that
    he hung himself between heaven and earth with his face away from God. Shemhazai is carved
    with a noose about his feet but there is no other noose carved in Rosslyn.

    http://www.robertlomas.com/Freemason/Origins.html

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    Origins of Freemasonry

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    5. The man has his feet in the posture that is still used today by Masonic candidates. This is a very
    unusual position and does not occur in any other carvings in Rosslyn.
    6. The ceremony is being carried out between two pillars as it is in a Masonic Lodge. Pillars figure
    in a lot of the carvings at Rosslyn.
    7. The noose is being held by a man clearly dressed as a Templar. There are many Templar
    symbols and images of Templars carved in Rosslyn.
    So what is the chance of all these factors coming together by chance? I set up a null hypothesis
    that it was pure co-incidence that all these elements linking Templarism and Freemasonry
    occurred in the same carving and then set out to test the probability of the idea.
    1. The probability that the figure is blindfolded by chance is 0.5 as it can only be blindfolded or
    not blindfolded. This is a worst case probability that gives the null hypothesis the best chance of
    succeeding as there is no other blindfolded figure in Rosslyn.
    2. The probability that the figure is kneeling by chance is 0.5 as it again can only be kneeling or
    not kneeling.
    3. The probability that the figure is holding a bible by chance is 0.5 as there are again only two
    possibilities. Holding a bible or not holding a bible.
    4. The probability that the figure has noose about its neck by chance is 0.5 even though it is the
    only figure in Rosslyn with a noose about its neck. Again I am giving the Null Hypothesis the best
    possible chance of succeeding.
    5. The probability that the figure has his feet in a Masonic posture (which the ritual says is the
    only way a Candidate will be admitted to Freemasonry) by chance is 0.5 because he can have
    them that way or not. No other figure in Rosslyn holds in feet in this strange symbolic way so
    again the Null Hypothesis is being given the full benefit of any doubt.
    6. The probability that the ceremony is taking place between two pillars by chance is 0.5 because
    the alternative would be not to place the two pillars there.
    7. The probability that a Templar is holding the noose by chance is 0.5 and this is generous
    towards the Null Hypothesis because the rope could be loose or held by somebody who is not a
    Templar. In the modern Masonic ceremony the rope is held by the senior deacon whilst the
    candidate takes his oath hold the bible.
    I now needed to consider the possibility of all these seven probabilities occurring at the same time.
    To find the composite probability I must multiply the separate probabilities together.
    So the highest possible probability of the null hypothesis being true is
    (0.5)*(0.5)*(0.5)*(0.5)*(0.5)*(0.5)*(0.5) which works out as 0.0078
    So there are only eight chances in a thousand that all these elements linking Freemasonry to
    Templarism and Sir William St Clair are there by co-incidence. This probability is less than the
    95% confidence level one in 20 and less than the 99% confidence level of one in 100. There is
    only one chance in 128 of the links being co-incidence. On this evidence I reject the null
    hypothesis, that leaves me with a strong claim that Sir William was linked to Freemasonry in 1440
    and that this link involved Templars.

    http://www.robertlomas.com/Freemason/Origins.html

    11/07/2015

    Origins of Freemasonry

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    So to sum up, if each point of similarity is given a 50% chance of being there by accident. (Which
    is giving the opposite view the best odds possible) There are only 8 chances in 1000 that it is pure
    chance.

    Who Built Rosslyn?


    Rosslyn was built by Sir William St Clair Last St Clair Jarl of Orkney. He was a direct descent of
    William de St Clair Last Temple Grand Master of Scotland, who died taking the heart of the dead
    king, Robert de Bruce on a last crusade to Jerusalem.

    The Tombstone of the Templar Sir William St Clair, preserved in Rosslyn


    Sir William, the chapel builder, is also the direct ancestor of First Grand Master Mason of
    Scotland, also named William St Clair (Sinclair)

    Why did William Build Rosslyn?


    To house artifacts brought by the Knights Templar to Scotland in 1126. Between 1118 and 1128
    the Templars excavated the ruins of Herods Temple in Jerusalem. Hugue de Payen, first Grand
    Master of the Knights Templar, served on the First Crusade with Henri St Clair, First Earl of
    Roslin and Hugue visited Roslin in 1126 where he was given land to build the first Templar
    Preceptory outside the Holy Land.

    How do I know about the Templar Excavations?


    In 1860 the British Army Engineers mounted an expedition to Jersualem and two
    Lieutenants ,Wilson and Warren, mapped out the city to Ordnance Survey standards. They
    excavated beneath Temple Mount and found many deep tunnels in which they also found and
    recorded Templar artifacts.
    (See The Second Messiah, Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, Arrow, London, 1998 for full
    details)
    Here is an illustration of the shaft and tunnels dug by the Templars beneath Temple Mount, taken
    from the Army report of 1870

    http://www.robertlomas.com/Freemason/Origins.html

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    Origins of Freemasonry

    Page 8 of 10

    Drawing of the tunnels found by the British Army Expedition which excavated below Temple
    Mount in Jerusalem showing the tunnels left by Templars The shaft is 80 feet deep.

    Why Build a Copy of Herods Temple?


    In 1440 William St Clair was the most powerful man in Scotland.
    He decided to build Rosslyn to house the treasures he had inherited from the Templars and
    establish a seat of spiritual authority to rival James II who was dabbling in English politics and
    finally got himself killed during the War of the Roses.
    William brought in Masons to build Rosslyn and built the town of Roslin to house them.
    When James II died (1460) his son, James III, thought William was posing to great a threat to the
    Crown of Scotland so he stripped William of Orkney and broke up his estates
    So now we have visited briefly some of the key events involved in the creation of Freemasonry.
    There is much more to the story, for example the St Clairs had lands at Kilwinning and were
    involved with famous Mother Kilwinning Lodge there, but there is not enough time today to tell
    the full story. So let me finish with a Timeline of the Key events which led to the Formation of the
    Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1736.

    http://www.robertlomas.com/Freemason/Origins.html

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    The Timeline of Freemasonry


    1440 Masons given the Mason word by William to preserve the secrets of the Templars he was
    building Rosslyn to house.
    1483 The burgh of Aberdeen is recorded as being involved in settlement of a dispute between
    six masownys of the lurge. Masonry is starting to spread out as lodges initiate Candidates and
    give the the 'Mason Word'

    1599 Earliest surviving Lodge Minutes from Edinburgh


    1601 James VI made a Mason at Lodge of Scoon and Perth.
    1602 William Schaw sets up the modern lodge system in Scotland following the instructions
    of James VI

    1602 The Lodges of Scotland affirm William St Clair of Roslin as hereditary Grand Master
    Mason of Scotland from TI

    1603 James VI takes Freemasonry to England when he becomes James I of Britain


    1641 Sir Robert Moray becomes the first Mason recorded to be made on English Soil.
    1715 First Jacobite Rising, lodges begin to disclaim their Scottish roots
    1717 Formation of Grand Lodge of London denies Jacobite Heritage
    1725 First National Grand Lodge formed in Ireland
    1736 Grand Lodge of Scotland Formed as a counter measure to London expansionism.
    1736 William St Clair of Roslin made First Grand Master Mason of Scotland and signs away his
    hereditary rights in favour of elected officers.
    Let me leave you with a portrait of William Sinclair of Roslin, First Grand Master Mason of
    Scotland 1736

    http://www.robertlomas.com/Freemason/Origins.html

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    Origins of Freemasonry

    Page 10 of 10

    Incidentally, William had to be made a Mason before he could take over as grand master mason.

    http://www.robertlomas.com/Freemason/Origins.html

    11/07/2015

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