The antiquity of Freemasonry is much debated. As a philosophical and ritualistic society, rather than a group of stonemasons, it certainly existed in the seventeenth century. But its beginnings are intertwined with the building of the great cathedrals of Europe, so Masons speak of speculative and operative Masonry to separate the symbolic activities from the bricks and mortar of construction. This curious volume is a contribution to the lore of speculative Masonry.
The antiquity of Freemasonry is much debated. As a philosophical and ritualistic society, rather than a group of stonemasons, it certainly existed in ...