ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE OF FREEMASONRY, AND THE ROYAL ORDER OF DIVISION XVIII. SCOTTISH DEGREES, 4° TO 33°, INCLUSIVE. History of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry; its Government by DIVISION XIX. THE ROYAL ORDER OF SCOTLAND. 795 1. The History and Government of the Society in Europe and America; copies of Patents, and II. The Royal Order of Heredom of Kilwinning Each part complete in one chapter. 829 851 PART V. MISCELLANEOUS Rites and Orders, and StatisTICAL DIVISION. Complete in two Divisions. DIVISION XX. OTHER RITES AND ORDers. I. The Order of the Eastern Star, comprising a sketch of its origin, rise, teachings, and II. The Rosicrucian Society These are shown in the Craft Department by tables, as full as it has been possible to compile MASONIC RECORD INDEX.... 857 869 874 875 897 899 ARMS OF THE "ANCIENTS" AND "MODERNS" GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND.. MAP OF THE ANCIENT WORLD, following THE NOACHIAN PERIOD.. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 35 36 PLATE I. AND PLATE II., ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE ANCIENT MYSTERIES. 37-38 39 Illustrations by Doré (arranged expressly for this work):— 7. CHRISTIAN WOMEN NUMBERED WITH “SAFED'S MARTYRED HOST". 8. TEMPLAR CAPTIVES ENTERING THE MOSLEM CAPITAL.... 9. KNIGHTS TEMPLARS MARCHING THROUGH JUDEAN MOUNTAINS 45 46 47 48 10. THE WIFE'S BLESSING. — TEMPLAR KNIGHTS' DEPARTURE TO THE HOLY LAND. 49 INTRODUCTION. THERE is no Society so widely known, and yet really so little known, as that of the Free and Accepted Masons. Even many of the members of that Ancient and Honorable Fraternity are strangely uninformed respecting its eventful past, and although proficiency is attained in regard to what may be termed the ritualistic portion of its deeply interesting ceremonies, — nowhere more so than in the United States, - yet, somehow or other, the actual history of the Craft, extending over a period of some six centuries, and that of its grand structures, which eloquently speak of its greatness during ages now fittingly described by the term "time immemorial," appears to have been relegated to a back seat, and frequently entirely overlooked. Now this unfortunate result has been due as much to the lack of suitable material for study as to the absence of interest in the matter; for I am fully persuaded that a work brought down to the present time, dealing critically and impartially with the traditions, records, and degrees, not too bulky, and yet sufficiently large to treat of all subjects which would naturally be looked for in such a volume, could not fail to be extensively read and become most useful to the Brotherhood. Such a book is herewith available, through the spirited action of "The Fraternity Publishing Company"; for, in the following pages, our ideal of a handy, condensed history of the Society is fully realized, and all that any wishful Masonic student could reasonably desire in one volume, covering the whole period of Masonic activity, -is amply, clearly, and accurately set forth, by eminent, zealous, and competent Craftsmen, who have signed the chapters for which they are alone responsible. It has been their constant aim, as with the painstaking and indefatigable Editor-in-Chief, Brother H. L. Stillson, to secure accuracy, variety, and brevity, without sacrificing aught of general importance to the Fraternity, for whom they have all so ardently and so conscientiously labored. No work was so popular, 1772-1846, as William Preston's "Illustrations of Masonry," because rigidly condensed and published in a handy form. It is the confident anticipation of the Editors and Publishers of this, "The History of Freemasonry and Concordant Orders," that its reception by the Craft will be equally hearty, sustained, and still more wide-spread; and its conspicuous merits, as they become known and appreciated, should make it the most popular book relating to the Craft throughout the continent. Neither is the work necessarily for Freemasons alone; for not a few of the chapters furnish excellent and suggestive reading for those who would like to know somewhat of the Brotherhood, either prior to seeking to join its ranks, or because of this eligible opportunity to peruse a reliable account of so venerable and preeminently respectable an Organization, whose name and fame have been the common property of all enlightened communities for so many generations. It seems to me impossible for any one, free from prejudice, and possessing the necessary intelligence, to rise from the study of this volume without becoming desirous to still farther investigate the history of this wonderful Society, which has been so loved and cherished by millions of the human race, and which increases in vitality and usefulness, as the years come and go, throughout the civilized world. Some, however, object to secret societies, and maintain that if they are what they claim to be, they should not thus be restricted as to membership and thus narrow their influence. At the outset, therefore, it is well to point out that the Masonic Fraternity is not, strictly speaking, a secret society, for it has neither secret aims nor constitutions. Everywhere its laws may be perused by "friend and foe" alike, and its objects are exclusively those which are, and always have been, published to the world. It is private rather than secret; for, unless it be our esoteric customs, which relate, directly or indirectly, to our universal and special modes of recognition, we have no secrets, and even as to these needful ceremonies, all "good men and true" are welcome to participate in them, on petitioning for initiation, followed by an approved ballot. But while a few object to the Fraternity wholly (and unreasonably), because of its secrecy, others deny its claim to antiquity, and assert that the Freemasons of to-day date from the second decade of the last century, thus having no connection whatever with the old Society which was entirely Operative. This second objection, urged against the continuity of the Organization, particularly from the sixteenth, throughout, to early in the eighteenth century, is one that must be met by the production of facts which can be authenticated by competent critics, whether members of the "Mystic-tie," or otherwise. During the last twenty or thirty years, special attention has been directed to this point by a few of us, in Great Britain and Germany, particularly, the result being that we have accumulated an immense mass of evidence, which had hitherto either eluded detection or had not been investigated; enabling us to demonstrate the continuity of the Fraternity, Speculative as well as Operative, throughout the period in question, and entirely overlapping what is known as the "Revival," or reconstruction period of A.D. 1717. We can now take our stand on actual minutes of lodges, beginning as early as the year 1599, and presenting an unbroken series of records to the present year of Grace; supported on the one hand by copies of the "Old Charges," |