SCHAW

        THE SCHAW  STATUTES

(With Orthographic of 1598 Revision & Commentary)
by Thomas E. Weir, FPS

King James the Sixth of Scotland
("Jamie Saxt") became King James the
First of England upon the death of
Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. In 1601, he
was made a Mason in Lodge Scoon and
Perth in central Scotland. 1 ' The same
year, William Sinclair of Roslyn was
named Grand Master, and the office
was made hereditary. 2

In this time of political and Masonic
mileposts, William Schaw (or Shaw) was
"Master of the Work" for the kingdom
of Scotland. His task was to supervise
the work of operative Masons on behalf
of the King. Attention must be called to
the fact that the offices of Master of
Work and Grand Master were quite dis-
tinct. The Master of Work was respon-
sible to see that the Mason's Craft was
soundly practiced and that the rewards
therefore were not unfairly distributed.
The Grand Master's role was to serve as
advocate for the Craft at court. English
sovereigns similarly appointed "Masters'
of the King's work." A large body of
their records is still available in the
Public Record Office in London.

Why were both a "Master of Work"
and a "Grand Master" needed at that
time? In contrast with the square, level,
and plumb which the Master of Work
applied to the stones and practice of the
operative Masons within the King's do-
minions, the Grand Master of 1601 was
charged with the task of taking the in-
terests of the Craft to court.

The advisability of having both a
qualified supervisor of Masonry and a
laird with access to court to serve as
Grand Master can be better understood
when it is remembered that in 1424,
Henry Vl (admittedly, in England) as-
sented to a law that forbade Masons to
"confederate themselves in Chapters
and Assemblies." Masons, alone of all
the guilds, who met in such convoca-
tions were to be "judged for Felons,"
should they so meet. 3  About the time
the Regius Poem was written, the reli-
gious reformer Wyclif argued that Ma-
sons gathered to increase their wages. 4
Admittedly, the law cited was for a dif-
ferent country and an earlier age, but
the consideration remained the same.
Absolute monarchs did not promote the
welfare of independent bodies, such as a
Grand Lodge of operative Masons. They
might be tempted to set prices and de-
termine practices without prior refer-
ence to the royal will. Therefore Scot-
tish Masons at the dawn of the seven-
teenth century sought to balance the
direction they received from the Crown
through the Master of Work with a
Grand Master to represent their cause at
court. A vestige of this practice may be
seen in the Scottish universities today,
where rectors are elected by the students
to represent them at the highest levels of
university administration.

In contrast with the city guilds, whose
influence was local, such a body of Ma-
sons, whose itinerancy distinguished
them from city guilds, could control the
building trade of the nation. Although
these Statutes indicate that by 1598 in
Scotland there was a general Assembly
of Masons, 5 that body was convened by
the royal representative, William
Schaw. It would appear from the lines
of this document that the function of
the Masonic "assembly or meeting" was
to bring bad workmanship or adminis-
tration to light for correction and to
receive and approve the statutues hand-
ed down by the Master of Work in the
King's name. However, attendance at
the General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland, Annual General Meetings of
Scottish Boy Scouts or Boys' Brigade,
the deliberations of my Mother Lodge,
St. Andrew Lochlee No. 282, or any
other forum in Scotland where issues are
taken seriously suggests that the willing-
ness of Scots to argue their points of
view is not just a recently acquired trait
or a passing fashion. There is a long and
profound heritage of individual worth
and expression in Scotland. How richly
we would be rewarded if only we could
read between the lines of this document
and be priveleged to share the discus-
sion and debate of Schaw's Masonic as-
sembly of 1598.

In 1598, William Shaw promulgated,
as Master of Work, a list of statutes and
ordinances to be observed by the Craft
in Scotland. This document was pub-
lished by the Grand Lodge of Scotland
with the original spelling in 1953. 6 The
1598 version will present substantial dif-
ficulty in comprehension to the Ameri-
can reader. Spelling, therefore, has
been modernized here. In addition,
Shaw began the first article, "Item
First," and each successive article,
"Item," without a number. I have taken
the liberty to substitute numbers for the
"items," supposing that Shaw would do
the same thing, could he offer this docu-
ment today.

The advantage of current spelling to
the modern reader is suggested by the
first sentence. The original reads, "At
Edinburgh the xxviij day of December
the zeir of God ImVc four scoir
awchtene zeirie."

     William Schaw's Statutes
      And Ordinances of 1598

At Edinburgh the 28th day of Decem-
ber the year of God 1598. The Statutes
and Ordinances to be observed by all
the Master Masons within the realm set
down by William Schaw, Master of
Work to His Majesty, and general war-
dens of the said Craft with the consent
of the Masters after specified.

1. That they observe and keep all the
good Ordinances set down of before
concerning the privileges of their
Craft by their predecessors of good
memory, and especially that they be
true to one another and live chari-
tably together as becomes sworn
brethren and companions of Craft.

2. That they be obedient to their War-
dens, Deacons, and Masters in all
things concerning their craft.

3. That they be honest, faithful, and
diligent in their calling and deal
uprightly with the masters or own-
ers of the works that they shall take
in hand, be it undertaken as a duty,
for meat and other consideration,
or for weekly wages.

4. That none take upon hand any
work great or small which he is not
able to perform qualifiedly under
the pain of forty pounds money or
else the fourth part of the worth
and value of the said work and that
by and after as appropriate amends
and satisfaction to be made to the
owners of the work at the sight and
discretion of the general Warden,
or in his absence, at the sight of the
Wardens, Deacons, and Masters of
the Sheriffdom where the said work
is enterprised and wrought.

5. That no Masters shall take another
Master's work over his head after
that the first Master has agreed with
the owner of the work, either by con-
tract, articles, or verbal conditions,
under the pain of forty pounds.

6. That no Master shall take the work-
ing of any work that other Masters
have worked at, before the time
that the first workers be satisfied for
the work which they have done, un-
der the pain aforesaid.

7. That there be one Warden chosen
and elected each year to have the
charge over every Lodge as they are
divided particularly and that by the
votes of the Masters of the said
Lodges and consent of the warden
general, if he happens to be pres-
ent, and otherwise that he be advis-
ed that such a Warden is chosen for
such a year to the effect that the
Warden-general may send such di-
rections to that Warden elected as
ordinary business.

8. That no Master shall take any more
apprentices than three during his
lifetime without a special consent of
the whole Wardens, Deacons, and
Masters of the Sheriffdom where
the aforesaid apprentice that is to
be received dwells and remains.

9. That no Master receive any appren-
tice bound for fewer years than sev-
en at the least and similarly it shall
not be lawful to make the said ap-
prentice Brother and Fellow-in-
Craft until the time that he has
served the space of other seven years
after the conclusion of his said ap-
prenticeship without a special
licence granted by the Wardens,
Deacons, and Masters assembled
for that cause and that sufficient
trial be taken of the Worthiness,
qualifications, and skill of the per-
son that desires to be made Fellow-
in-Craft and that under the pain of
forty pounds to be uplifted as a pe-
cuniary penalty from the person
that is made Fellow-in-Craft against
this order, beside the penalties to be
set down against his person accord-
ing to the order of the Lodge where
he remains.

10. It shall not be lawful for any Master
to sell his apprentice to any other
Master nor yet to dispense with the
years of his apprenticeship by sell-
ing thereof to the apprentice him-
self under the pain of forty pounds.

 11. That no Master receive any appren-
tice without he signify the same to
the Warden of the Lodge where he
dwells, to the effect that the said
apprentice and the day of his recep-
tion may be orderly booked.

 12. That no apprentice be entered ex-
cept by the same order, that the day
of their entries may be booked.

 13. That no Master or Fellow-in-Craft
 be received or admitted without the
 number of six Masters and two
 entered apprentices, the Warden of
 that Lodge being one of the said
 six, and that the day of the receiv-
 ing of the said Fellow-of-Craft or
 Master be orderly booked and his
 name and mark inserted in the said
 book with the names of his six ad-
 mittors and entered Apprentices
 and names of the instructors, that
 shall be chosen for every person, to
 be also inserted in their book. Pro-
 viding always that no man be ad-
 mitted without an assay and suffi-
 cient trial of his skill and worthiness
 in his vocation and craft.

14. That no Master work any Masonic
work under charge or command of
any other craftsman that takes
upon hand or upon himself the
working of any Masonic work.

15. That no Master or Fellow-of-Craft
receive any cowans to work in his so-
ciety or company nor send any of
his servants to work with cowans
under pain of twenty pounds so
often as any person offends
thereunto.

16. It shall not be lawful for any
entered Apprentice to take any
other greater task or work upon
hand from an owner than will ex-
tend to the sum of ten pounds
under the pain aforesaid, to wit
twenty pounds, and that task being
done they shall enterprise no more
without license of the Masters or
Wardens where they dwell.

17. If any question, strife, or variance
shall fall out among any of the Mas-
ters, Servants, or entered Apprenti-
ces that the parties that fall in ques-
tion or debate shall signify the cause
of their quarrel to the particular
Wardens or Deacons of their Lodge
within the space of twenty-four
hours under the pain of ten pounds
to the effect that they may be recon-
ciled and agreed and that their
variance removed by the said War-
dens, Deacons, and Masters and if
any of the said parties shall happen
to remain willful or obstinate, that
they shall be deprived of the privi-
ledge of the Lodge and not permit-
ted to work thereat until the time
that they shall submit themselves to
reason at the sight of their War-
dens, Deacons, and Masters as said
is.
18. That all Masters enterprizers of
works be very careful to see their
scaffolds and footgangs surely set
and placed to the effect that through
their negligence and sloth no hurt
or scathe come unto any person that
works at the said work under the
pain of discharging of them there-
after to work as Masters having
charge of any work but shall ever be
subject all the rest of their days to
work under or with another princi-
pal Master having charge of the
work.

19. That no Master receive or harbor
another Master's Apprentice or Ser-
vant that shall happen to run away
from his Master's service nor enter-
tain him in his company after that
he has gotten knowledge thereof
under the pain of forty pounds.

20. That all persons of the Mason's
Craft convene in time and place be-
ing lawfully warned under the pain
of ten pounds.

21. That all the Masters that shall hap-
pen to be sent for to any assembly or
meeting shall be sworn by their
great oath that they shall hide nor
conceal no faults or wrongs done by
one to another nor yet the faults of
wrongs that any man has done to
the owners of the works that they
have taken in hand so far as they
know and that under the pain of ten
pounds to be taken up from con-
cealors )f the said faults.

22. It is ordained that all these afore-
said penalties shall be lifted and
taken up from the offenders and
breakers of these ordinances by the
Wardens, Deacons, and Masters of
the Lodges where the offenders
dwell and to be distributed "ad pios
usus" according to good conscience
by the advice of the aforesaid. And
for fulfilling and observing of these
ordinances set down, as is said, the
whole Masters convened the afore-
said day bind and obligate them-
selves hereto faithfully and there-
fore have requested their said War-
den general to subscribe their pres-
ents with his own hand to the effect
that one authentic copy hereof may
be sent to every particular Lodge
within this realm.

(s) William Schaw . Master of Work
Comparison of the Regius Poem with
this document reveals a remarkable af-
finity of spirit and intent of fifteen arti-
cles and fifteen points of the former
with the latter. Both were designed to
codify regulation of the stone builders
trade. Schaw specified penalties, gave
clues as to its provenance, and made no
appeal to antiquity, in contrast with the
Regius manuscript.

The term, "general Wardens" ap-
pears several times. A modern equiva-
lent term would be District (or Provin-
cial) Grand Master, i.e., the supervisor
for a particular area. A Warden, assis-
ted by Deacons, was in charge of a
Lodge in 1598. There were only two
degrees or grades, Entered Apprentice
and Fellow-of-Craft or Master. A Mas-
ter carried out a specific project,
assisted by and training apprentices,
under the supervision of the Warden of
his Lodge.

In item 15, "cowans" are mentioned.
Chamers Twentieth Century Diction-
ary, p. 244, defines cowans as "a dry-
stone-diker (one who builds stone walls
without mortar); a mason who never
served an apprenticeship; and one who
tries to enter a Freemason's Lodge, or
the like, surrepticiously."

The Schaw Statues, then, offer a
canon of ethics for the Masons in Scot-
land who raised the magnificent struc-
tures of 139 years before the founding of
Grand Lodge. Essentially, this is a proc-
lamation of morality. Please note that
there are no regulations as to the rich-
ness of mortar or the squareness of
stones. Instead, human relationships,
fairness, equity, and the essential moral
qualities of operative Masons are set
forth.

William Schaw is principally remem-
bered for these great and important
moral lessons. Let us hope that his
Masons were respected for practicing his
precepts and that we may be remem-
bered for exemplifying in public the
moral duties we have been taught in the
Lodge.

Footnotes

1. Year Book of the Crand Lodge of Antient Free
and Accepted Masons of Scotland, Edinburgh:
1987, p. 50

2. Ibid.
3. Cited, G.G. Coulton, Medieval Faith and Sym-
bolism, p. 125.

4. Ibid.
5. Articles 20 ff.
6. Year Book, p. 91.

7. W. & R. Chambers, Edinburgh: 1952, p. 244.
