THE ROYAL ORDER OF SCOTLAND

TAKEN FROM: HIGH-WAYS AND BI-WAYS OF FREEMASONRY 1924

MOST of the authentic information regarding the establishment and
history of this ancient and distinguished Order has been collected by
those indefatigable Masonic historians, Brothers Hughan, Gould and
Murray Lyon, and, during the year 1910, the various facts available
were collated and put together in a very readable form by Brother E.
Fox Thomas, the Provincial Grand Master of the Order for Yorkshire, in
the pages of the Freemason. The fact that, as regards authentic
documentary records, the Royal Order of Scotland can claim seniority
over every other Masonic system - the Craft only excepted - is alone
sufficient to invest it with the highest degree of interest, but, as a
matter of fact, its antiquity is only one of its many claims to our
respect and veneration.

At one time it was considered right to ascribe a French origin to the
Royal Order, but now the accepted opinion is that it is essentially
British. On any other assumption it would be difficult to account for
the Ritual which is in a rough but attractive doggerel verse,
undoubtedly early even if here and there it betrays signs of more
recent modification. The Legends and all their associations are purely
Scottish, but curiously the earliest authentic records have to do with
England not Scotland, and the Ritual contains but little indication of
any Scottish dialect.

There are two degrees: I. Brother of H.R.D.M. II. Knight of the
R.S.Y.C.S. The former is conferred in a chapter of H.R.D.M. upon those
who have been Master Masons of good standing for not less than five
years. Brothers of H.R.D.M are "promoted" to the Knighthood of the
R.S.Y.C.S. in a Grand Lodge or Council. Bro. Murray Lyon remarks that
" the ritual of this rite embraces what may be termed a
spiritualisation of the supposed symbols and ceremonies of the
Christian architects and builders of primitive times, and so closely
associates the sword with the trowel as to lead to the Second Degree
being denominated an order of Masonic Knighthood" (History, ed. 1900,
P. 342).

The Traditional History of the Order, which must not be mistaken for
actual history, represents the First Degree as dating from the time of
King David I. of Scotland, and the Second Degree as instituted by
King Robert the Bruce on the battlefield of Bannockburn, 24th June
1314, to commemorate the valour of a band of Knights Templars who had
rendered him signal aid in that great victory. These Templars were
refugee survivors who had sought safety in Scotland after the downfall
of the Order of the Temple and the murder in Paris of the Grand Master
Jacques de Molay in the month of March of that year. King Robert the
Bruce revived the older degree and incorporated the two degrees under
the title of the Royal Order of Scotland. Thus the year 1314 is the "
Year of the Restoration," and the " Anno Ordinis " is obtained by
subtracting 1314 from the date A.D. King Robert established the Chief
Seat of the Order at Kilwinning, reserving the office of Grand Master
to himself and his successors on the Throne of Scotland. Membership of
the Order was not to be confined to ex Templars, but none were to be
eligible except Scots and possibly Irish. And finally the Order and
the Masonic Body at Kilwinning were governed by the same head.

Referring to this tradition, Bro. Lyon remarks: " As regards the
claims to antiquity and a Royal origin that are set up in favour of
this rite, it is proper to say that modern inquiries have shown them
to be purely fabulous. The Fraternity of Kilwinning never at any
period practised or acknowledged other than the Craft Degrees; neither
does there exist any tradition worthy the name, local or national,
that can in the remotest degree be held to identify Robert Bruce with
the holding of Masonic Courts, or the institution of a secret society
at Kilwin ning."

Various explanations and derivations of the word H.R.D.M. (Heredom)
have been suggested, but it may be said at once that any which connect
it with the idea of " heirship " can be disregarded.

Bro. Hughan favoured the view that H.R.D.M. is the same as " Harodim,"
and that " Harodim " or " Menatzchim " are Rulers or Overseers or
Princes in Masonry. Dr. Anderson, in the Book of Constitutions of
1723, and again in 1738, uses " Harodim " and " Menatzchim " in just
that sense. Compare 2 Samuel ii. 18. Bro. Hughan's contention is
supported by the fact that one of the claims set up in the Ritual is
that it is the mission of the Royal Order to correct errors and abuses
which have crept into the three degrees of St. John's Masonry.

Another, and probably the true, derivation is that from Holy House. To
prepare the Building Anew of that True Holy House which is not the
work of human hands being the intention of the Chivalry of the Royal
Order.

There is no written evidence of the existence of the Order in Scotland
prior to 1754. From that year to 1766 no minutes are preserved, if
they ever existed, but a list of " Members of the Royal Chapter at
Edinburgh," written by Brother Mitchell, records that he was admitted
to the Order in France, in 1749, and in England, in 1750. At Edinburgh
one member was introduced in 1754, and two in 1755. There were about
six members in 1757. Another was admitted in 1760, and in 1763 there
were fifteen.

The regularly kept minutes at Edinburgh date from 13th October 1766.
They refer to a Provincial Grand Lodge of Heredom erected at Paris by
a Charter, dated Edinburgh, 4th October 1786. In 1811 there were
twenty six Chapters of Heredom holding allegiance to the Provincial
Grand Lodge of the Order in France, including some in Belgium and
Italy, fourteen of which were not ratified by the Grand Lodge at
Edinburgh.

The minutes for 1805 to 1813 are lost, and the Order fell into
abeyance from 1819 to 1839. In the latter year Houston Rigg Brown,
coachbuilder in Edinburgh, and John Osborne Brown, writer of the
Signet there, members of the Lodge of St. David, held a meeting at
which they represented themselves as being the only two members of the
Order whose attendance could be procured, and they then admitted a
number of Brethren, among whom were George Murray, afterwards
Treasurer, and John Brown Douglas, writer of the Signet, afterwards
Secretary. From then until the present the history of the Royal Order
of Scotland witnesses to an ever increasing measure of vitality
worthy of its proud tradition, and is universally held in the
highestestimation.

The following is a list of the earlier Grand Masters and Deputy Grand
Masters and Governors.

GRAND MASTERS

1754 (about), William Mitchell.
1767, James Kerr.
1776 William Baillie (Lord Polkemmet).
1778 William Charles Little.

DEPUTY GRAND MASTERS AND GOVERNORS

1767, William Mason.
1770 Lt. Gen. J. A. Oughton.
1777 William Charles Little.
1778, Earl of Leven.
1780 David Dalrymple (Lord Westhall).
1789 Dr. Thomas Hay.

Three of the above - viz. the Earl of Leven, Lt.-Gen. Oughton, and
Lord Westhall - held the office of Grand Master Mason of Scotland
(Craft), in 1759, 1769, and 1774 respectively. The Earl of Rosslyn was
D.G.M. and G. 1881 to 1896, the Earl of Haddington 1897 to 1917, and
the Earl of Kintore 1918 to the present time.

An account of the Royal Order of Scotland would be incomplete without
some reference to its Laws and Constitutions, which, says Brother
Lyon, "remained as originally given by the Provincial [or Provisional
?] Grand Lodge at London until 5th January 1767, when a fresh code
was adopted and approved. In this code for the first time appear on
the surface some of the so called historical statements of this
interesting branch of what are known as the High Degrees - a Deputy
Grand Master and Governor being recognised, and reference made to the
institution of the Order by King Robert Bruce. Other editions of the
laws have been issued - in 1843 and in 1897 - in which the King of
Scotland is declared to be the hereditary and permanent Grand Master,
and in the first named year the statement was made in the minutes that
the Grand Lodge of the Order had always existed in Scotland."

The office of Grand Master is vested in the person of the King of
Scotland (now of Great Britain and Ireland), and one seat is
invariably kept vacant for him in whatever country a Chapter is
opened, and cannot be occupied by any other member.

The Executive Committee consists of the Deputy Grand Master and
Governor, Deputy Governor, Senior Grand Warden, Junior Grand Warden
Grand Secretary, Grand Treasurer, and five other knights residing in
Scotland, electe d annually.

The headquarters of Grand Lodge and Chapter are at Edinburgh. No
meetings can be held out of Scotland. The date of the annual assembly
is the 4th July, or first following lawful day if the 4th July should
be a Saturday or Sunday. The other regular meetings are on the first
Wednesdays of November, February, and May.

There are at the time of writing twenty one Provincial Grand Lodges,
viz. :

Glasgow and west of Scotland 1857
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island 1863
The Open Ports of China and the Colony of Hong Kong 1865
Western India (dormant) 1870
London and the Metropolitan Counties 1872
Lancashire and Cheshire 1874
Ontario 1875
United states of America 1877
Aberdeenshire (dormant) 1883
Natal 1885
Yorkshire 1886
Northumberland, Durham, and Cumberland 1893
Cape Colony 1893
Canton of Geneva (dormant) 1893
Transvaal 1906
Hong Kong and Straits Settlements 1907
Quebec 1909
Southern Counties of England 1915
The Philippines 1918
New Zealand 1919
South Western Counties of England 1920

A Provincial Grand Lodge of H.R.D.M. has power to superintend and
regulate all Chapters of H.R.D.M. within its Province, but only by
power specially conferred , usually upon the Provincial Grand Master.

