The Origins of Freemasonry: Facts and Fictions

by Margaret C. Jacob

Can the ancestry of freemasonry really be traced back to the Knights Templar? Is the image of the eye in a triangle on the back of the dollar bill one of its cryptic signs? Is there a conspiracy that stretches through centuries and generations to align this shadow organization and its secret rituals to world governments and religions? Myths persist and abound about the freemasons, Margaret C. Jacob notes. But what are their origins? How has an early modern organization of bricklayers and stonemasons aroused so much public interest? In The Origins of Freemasonry , Jacob throws back the veil from a secret society that turns out not to have been very secret at all.

What factors contributed to the extraordinarily rapid spread of freemasonry over the course of the eighteenth century, and why were so many of the era's most influential figures drawn to it? Using material from the archives of leading masonic libraries in Europe, Jacob examines masonic almanacs and pocket diaries to get closer to what living as a freemason might have meant on a daily basis. She explores the persistent connections between masons and nascent democratic movements, as each lodge set up a polity where an individual's standing was meant to be based on merit, rather than on birth or wealth, and she demonstrates, beyond any doubt, how active a role women played in the masonic movement.

Genres: History

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Mike Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for Masons and non-Masons alike if you want a better understanding of the development of the Craft and the different ways it influenced and was influenced by developments in Europe during The Enlightenment. She does and excellent job of separating the myths that are often perpetuated by Masons and non-(often anti-Masons) alike. She outlines how the fraternity aided in the development of Republican forms of government and served as a training ground for self-governance and how the fraternity served as both a moderating force among radical ideas about self-governance as well as a threat among the aristocratic and monarchical governments of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.
This book can also be read as a means to understand the development of organizations - not just this Fraternity. She also explores women in freemasonry and the differing strains of Masonic thought among the Oriental and United Grand Lodge traditions.

[Zack McCullough · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers the early years of Freemasonry as it existed in actuality, quickly disregarding connections to the Templars or other ancient and medieval groups as invented connections, nothing more. The author focuses on the 1600s and 1700s in Western Europe. The last chapter concerning women in the lodges seems to have been the author's real desire to write the book as this chapter is by far the longest and is continually referenced throughout the other chapters. It makes me wonder why the author didn't just write a book about women in Freemasonry, which would certainly be of interest to many I'm sure.
The book is VERY dry and is certainly an academic study. It seems like it was might have been the author's thesis or dissertation work turned into a book. Nevertheless I did gain some insights into the early founding or Freemasonry as it morphed from the stone masons guilds of the middle ages into an Enlightenment experiment in republican style government and even a refuge in some cases for those seeking equality between classes and genders. The author dispels the notion of conspiracy theorists about the freemasons controlling governments and nations from behind the scenes. However, she does make a clear argument that the Freemason lodges, and the people in them, did nudge many European societies in a more democratic and egalitarian direction.

[Lorisha A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love historical origin stories about mysteries.

[Tyler Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a much more approachable (not to say "lighter weight," but...yeah, a bit) work on 18th C Freemasonry by Margaret Jacob. A good portion is drawn or adapted from her book Living the Enlightenment, particularly the sections on women in Lodges of Adoption. For that area of interest, I would really suggest the other book, even if one did not read the full book.

What I found most truly engaging in this book, however, was the chapter on Masonic "diaries," meaning here in context small almanac-like books which also included philosophical texts (most drawn from lodge Orators) and historical snippets. They were meant to be carried, read in transit or in quiet moments, used as useful diversions of the mind. It is a wonderful chapter on these unique, and now totally unknown amongst us, objects of meditation and devotion.

Those who might find Jacob's fuller, more formal and academic texts daunting or impregnable will find this book to be useful and thought provoking, delving into areas of Masonic thought, history and development that will simply not be found in the "yes, yes, I've read this all before" books on Masonic history that seem to stuff all of our shelves.

This is good stuff!

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book that looks at early Freemasonry, particularly in France. The author is not a Freemason. This book explores the origins of adoptive lodges that were run by women. These were equal to the strictly male lodges of the day. This book clearly shows the early formations of women's rights in the mid 1700's.

Most of these lodges were in France and the author documents the activities and charitable work that these women accomplished. If you are interested in the evolution of women's rights this would a great book to read. You will see many of the ideas that didn't occur in America till the late 1800's, which lead to women being able to vote.

In America these lodges do not exist and if they did would be labeled clandestine by the Grand Lodge's of each state and the Grand Lodge of England.

Personally I think that women should be able to join. Why exclude 1/2 of the population from being part of the Masonic tradition. There should be mixed lodges as well as sister lodges. Seriously, why not?

[Neil P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was it possible that the freemasons could have become a watch word for so many other things than that for which it is now synonymous? The early origins of the freemasonry growing at the same time as the enlightenment is fascinating and this book elaborates on the link between reform and constitution in the masons and the relative lack of democracy outside it at the time.

Not a good book to carry round with you - people either start making strange winks at you or spit on the floor in disgust. I think I've found a devisive topic!

[Jonas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Academic breakdown of the origins and growth of Continental Freemasonry. Much of the material is not new, but it is placed in a context with some evaluation of other Freemason histories. There was some interesting new research done on women Freemasons in pre-Revolutionary France.

[Samuel Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted it to be better than it was, but the book is reasonably balanced and devoid of denominational or sensationalistic elements. Chapter 5 on French female adoption lodges is excellent, though, and is a must-read in my view.

[Lindegard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, reliable overview of the history of Freemasonry by an objective European scholar. Fine introduction to the subject.

[Gideon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great, scholarly information. Mediocre writing.