THE BUILDER NOVEMBER 1919

THE QUATUOR CORONATI, OR THE FOUR PATRON SAINTS OF THE ORDER OF
MASONS

BY BRO. C. PURDON CLARKE, ENGLAND

We are indebted to Brother D. D. Berolzheimer, a member of Johnkeer
Lodge No. 865, Yonkers, N. Y., for the manuscript of the following
address delivered before that lodge by Brother Clarke, a Past
Master of Quatuor Coronati Lodge, while he was director of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

IT would be superfluous to enter into the details of the evidence
in favor of the history of the four sculptors who, with their
recently received apprentice or associate, suffered for their faith
a year before the commencement of the last great persecution of the
Christians under the Emperor Diocletian.

Bro. Gould's magnificent research in his History of Freemasonry
establishes the general acceptance of the story at a period within
a few years of their martyrdom and, moreover, shows that in an age
when the Christian Church was becoming a dominant power and able to
honor openly those who had fallen in her cause, very marked
distinction was, for some peculiar reason, bestowed upon the memory
of those four humble craftsmen, although their trials and
sufferings do not appear to justify their elevation over many of
their comrades in the noble army of martyrs, who had equally been
faithful unto death during the many persecutions of the preceding
two hundred and forty years.

The solution of this problem which formed itself in my mind was
that the popularity of the craftsmen martyrs was due, in some
measure, to a democratic undercurrent which had from its
commencement been furthering the cause of the Christian religion.
Any one who glances, however slightly, at the records of the social
and political condition of Rome after the death of Julius Caesar
and the break-up of the Commonwealth cannot but realize how welcome
the new faith was to the great industrial classes, who found in it
a creed representing everything that the better part of their
natures felt was good, and a priesthood free from the obviously
corrupt practices of the spiritual and temporal upholders of their
time-serving and decayed religion.

Romeos first period under martial kings lasted two hundred and
fifty years; then a Consular Government was established which,
however, was but an oligarchy and involved a constant struggle
between the military patricians and the commercial plebians which
latter only succeeded after one hundred and twenty years agitation
and several civil wars in obtaining a representative from their own
ranks. During this second period Rome became a colonizing power and
wars for defense became wars of aggression, and, although these are
generally attributed to the ambition of popular leaders or the
national desire for glory and plunder, it is more probable that
they were but the inevitable results of extended commerce.

Victorious commanders returning from time to time in triumph
brought back to the Capital the wealth of the then known world, and
became in the eyes of the masses heroes who were more to be trusted
than the politicians of whose wrangling they were heartily tired.
Rome was, therefore, ripe for a change when the Imperial purple was
offered to Julius Caesar and afterwards secured by Augustus, but
the succeeding three hundred years of military despotism caused a
reaction, which paved the way for the introduction of the new cult.

It is to be regretted that Roman history does not record
sufficiently the succession of events from the point of view of the
burgher or craftsman. The historians either belonged to the
patrician casts and did not care to chronicle other events than
those in which their class played an important part, or, when the
writers were plebians, "the histories of their times were falsified
through fear," or written to please the powers who could regard
flattering services.

With such scanty materials to help us we can only assume that as
Christianity had permeated none but the artisan classes to any
great extent, their ecclesiastics would naturally glorify the
martyrs belonging to the industrial plebeian class, who were
moreover bound to them by co-fellowship of the Collegium Fabrorum.

The four sculptors must of necessity have been members of the trade
society established in the city in which they worked. How far this
Collegium was in connection with, or affiliated to, similar
Collegia in other towns I cannot say, but of one thing I am sure,
and that is, that at the period to which they belonged, where was
a dead uniformity of style and ornamentation in building work
executed by the Fabri, at places so remote from each other that the
only explanation which could be offered is that of a central
controlling body, or even more, a central school in which a single
style was taught complete in all its parts, whether technical or
artistic.

As an illustration I offer mosaic floors, one from Sussex, the
second from Carthage, on the north coast of Africa, the other from
Balkeish on the Tigris above Baghdad. All might have been designed
and executed by the same hand. Wherever the Romans colonized and
built in their enduring method, the remains of their walls present
the same features and show how little local styles interfered with
their established system.

Therefore it may be assumed that our four craftsmen belonged to an
important trade organization which at that time extended from
Persia to Great Britain, in which latter country alone there were
fifty-three important cities each with its Collegium Fabrorum. This
connection with a powerful society probably accounts for the
extreme leniency and patience with which these sculptors were
treated by Diocletian, who only ordered their destruction after
their commission of "lese-majeste" by refusing to make the statue
of the Assculapius when ordered by their Emperor.

The barbarous execution of four members of a corporate body, which
was connected, at least by the bond of common interests, with the
other trade societies, must have at that peculiar period made a
deep impression on the minds of their fellows, and, as it was but
eighteen years later that the Emperor Constantine openly favored
the Christian religion, the memory of the martyrs was then still
preserved by men who had known them and they became the favorite
saints of the solid industrial classes whose wholesale conversion
to Christianity had alone made it possible for the Emperor to
forsake the old religion and, within another ten years, order the
destruction of all the heathen temples.

The connection between these Roman Collegia  which we know to have
existed in all the countries between England, Spain and Persia and
the trade gilds of medieval Europe, may never be satisfactorily
proved. Similarities in organization would naturally arise from the
requirements of similar circumstances, but it is certain that in
all portions of the great Roman Empire, however completely the
tidal wave of barbarian removed the traces of that marvelous,
complex civilization, the impress of Roman customs and Roman laws
remained deeply and securely rooted in many centres, to spring up
into life, little by little, through the dark ages, until
culminating in the great period of the Renaissance, which commenced
the history of modern civilization.

Nothing could throw more light on the connection between the Roman
Collegia and the medieval Gilds, so far as England is concerned,
than the discovery of some earlier history of the Church of the
Four Crowned Martyrs at Canterbury, and the mention by Bede of its
existence in A. D. 619, at the time of the great fire which nearly
destroyed the city and only stopped when this church was reached.

I cannot pass over the inference that this church withstood the
fire better than the other buildings and churches owing to its
having been built in Roman times in either brick or stone, whereas
the rest more probably belonged to the period of wholesale building
of churches and monasteries which followed the conversion of the
Saxons in A. D. 597, and were principally constructed in wood.

If this supposition be correct, the Church of the Quatuor Coronati
at Canterbury had survived the destruction of everything Roman-
British, after the defeat of Vortimer by Hengist at Crecanford, in
Kent, in 457. Such an escape is possible and can well be accounted
for when we consider that after the Saxons landed in Thanet in A.
D. 449 they dwelt on friendly terms with the Britons for five or
six years, during which time they would naturally avail themselves
of the services of craftsmen, and probably prefer to spare them for
their usefulness at the time of the general massacre of the Britons
a few years later. Such an incident is not uncommon in the
histories of barbarous invasions.

It must also be conceded to the Saxons that they possessed a
sufficient amount of civilization to appreciate the value of the
workers in iron, brass and wood, the potters, weavers and others
who inhabited these polytechnic cities. In their own countries they
had already become acquainted with the productions of the Roman
craftsmen, who were attached to the military colonies and actually
formed part of each legion. The cruel devastation of the country
after their first great success against the British was, in their
eyes, justified by necessity, as they, the great founders of the
AngloSaxon race, had not as yet acquired the patience which is so
necessary in dealing with Celtic races.

It is also beyond doubt that members of the Collegia Fabrorum in
the British towns had, for a hundred years before the Saxon
invasion, become Christians and that, therefore, the Church of the
Quatuor Coronati, the popular Saints of several trades, was more
likely to have been built at the time when Canterbury possessed a
large community of Christian craftsmen than to have been founded by
St. Augustine immediately after his arrival, in 597, although the
church may have been desecrated during the one hundred and forty
years which had elapsed since the destruction of the British rule
in Kent.

From the date of Bede's record of the existence of this church in
Canterbury in A. D. 619 until the foundation of a fraternity of
sculptors and masons in Rome in 1406, we find, at various intervals
of time, references to the history of the original Basilica,
founded in memory of the Quatuor Coronati by Pope Melchiades within
twelve years of the date of their martyrdom. About the same time as
the fire at Canterbury the Roman Basilica was rebuilt by Honorius
I (in A. D. 622) and in A. D. 847 the Cardinal titular of the
Basilica, who had become Pope, rebuilt it with greater
magnificence. In the year 1116 it was again rebuilt by Paschal II,
who added a palatial residence to it, and when the Lateran Palace
was destroyed in A. D. 1308, the Popes for some time made it their
residence. Then in the 15th century we find that in "the very
ancient Oratory of St. Sylvester, in the portico of the Basilica,
was the Chapel of the Confraternity of Sculptors and Masons founded
in the time of Innocent VII, 1506 A. D. 'under the invocation of
the Holy Quatuor Coronati and the other five Holy Martyrs who had
followed the profession of sculptors:' The members of the
Confraternity wore a dress of red with blue sashes."

Here we arrive at the foundation of a medieval gild with the nine
martyrs as their patron saints and, moreover, a mention of their
livery or distinctive clothing.

A few years later, the Gild of Smiths, Carpenters and Masons
(l'Arti dei Fabbri e Legnaioli) in Florence instructed Nanni di
Banco, an amateur sculptor, to execute a memorial niche for or San
Michele, the Church of the Trade Gilds of that city. This building
had been constructed in the previous century as the Gildhall, and,
in 1339, two years after the laying of its foundation stone, the
Gild of Silk Merchants were allowed to undertake the decoration of
one of the niches with the statues of their patron saint, St. John
the Evangelist.

Other gilds followed, and the fourteen niches which were evenly
spaced around its external walls, were allotted to the Companies
representing the Professions, Merchants and Artizans of Florence.

The Company became so wealthy after the plague of 1338, owing to
legacies and rich gifts, that they resolved to convert the Loggia,
or Gildhall, into a Church, which was finished in 1359, but the
filling of the niches was not completed for two centuries later.
That of the Smiths, Carpenters and Masons, was finished about the
middle of the fifteenth century. This niche does not occupy a
symbolical position, but is the second of four, counting from the
west on the north front. Two excellent photographs, by Alinari
Brothers, of Florence, show the whole niche with the statues of the
Four Martyrs in a group in ancient Roman costume, with an under
panel representing three of them working as medieval sculptors,
whilst a fourth is constructing a wall; in the background,
conspicuously placed, are the plumb rule, level, compass and
square. A cast from this panel is in the South Kensington Museum in
London.

From Italy the fashion for adopting the Quatuor Coronati as patron
saints spread to Germany and France, but in the latter country a
single individual of the four became a popular saint in a manner to
the exclusion of the others.

The "Martyrology" of Du Saussay stated that the bodies of the five
Martyrs Claudius, Nicostratus, Simphorianus, Castorius and
Simplicius "were afterwards brought from Rome to Toulouse and
placed in a chapel which was erected in their honor in the Church
of St. Sernin. Subsequently the greater part of the relics of St.
Claudius were taken from Toulouse to the FranceComte. In 1049 these
relics were honored in the Church of Maynal, one of the oldest in
the Jura. When Pope Leo IX came to the Council of Rheims in 1049,
he confirmed the Archbishop of Becancon, Hugh the First, in
possession of this domain. Also in his Bull, dated 14th of
November, he mentions the Church of Maynal 'where reposes the body
of St. Claudius. . .' The most ancient traditions of Maynal attest
that St. Claudius was always honored there as a martyr. He is
represented on the parochial banner in the attitude of a man
invoking heaven, with his face brightened with a ray of light; he
holds a chisel in one hand and in the other a hammer, and by his
side is shown a bust of which the white color imitates marble. It
is evident that the painter intended thus to represent one of the
five sculptors who, according to the old legend, worked with great
perfection, invoking the name of Jesus Christ." "This martyr Saint
was generally named St. Clod, or Cloud which is the name under
which he is generally designated in various documents relating to
the Parish of Maynal."

Du Saussay further states that "a chapel was also built in honor of
St. Claudius by the monks of Ilay upon the summit of a rock near
the village of Denezieres where some portion of his relics was
placed, having been taken from the Church of Maynal. The
surrounding territory from this time was named 'Terre. de St.
Cloud' and it is under this title that it is designated in several
charters of the 12th century." The Palace of St. Cloud, near Paris,
does not owe its name to St. Claudius the Martyr, but to St. Cloud
the grandson of Clovis.

It should be noted that in DuSaussay's account no mention whatever
is made of any connection between St. Claudius and the other
martyrs with any Craft Gilds, nor does he mention that they were in
any way patron saints of the Crafts. This strengthens Bro. Gould's
statement that there is no authority for any connection between the
Quatuor Coronati and the European Trade Gilds until the 15th
Century.

I have nothing to add to the list of German Cathedrals, Churches
and Breviaries which are mentioned by Bro. Gould in connection with
shrines and other memorials of the Martyrs, but during a visit to
Brussels I found a very interesting representation of these martyr
sculptors in a large picture belonging to the Municipal Museum, in
which they are depicted as masons rather than sculptors. This
picture is of great interest to those studying the manner of
operative work amongst medieval craftsmen; and I noticed a
peculiarity of dress which distinguished the sculptors from the
burgesses and others shown in the picture. They are dressed in very
short tunics and tight hose whereas the other people are in long
gowns.

I must give a few details of the Societies of Builders which exist
in some parts of the East and probably throw some light upon the
inner working of the Roman Collegia and the craft gilds of medieval
Europe.

In various forms craft gilds are to be found in all the principal
cities of Asia, and there is evidence that the various trades have
been accustomed to form themselves into societies for mutual
protection and for the proper regulation of their commerce. These
gilds vary considerably in their organization and powers and,
generally, do not openly take any part in municipal government for
the very good reason that in the East countries are ruled by
officials, created by the Sultans or the Padishas, who again
appoint subordinate officers, generally men who have been able to
buy from them the position and right to get as much as they
possibly can out of the people, in the same manner that they, the
upper officials, pay the Sultan for the privilege of retaining
their posts. There is, therefore, little similarity between the
trade gilds of the East and the free Roman Collegia, and less so
with the medieval gilds of Europe of the period when municipalities
obtained great political powers.

The present condition of the builders' gild in Persia. has beep
enquired into by General A. H. Schindler, who has spent nearly
thirty years in the country and is the best living authority in all
matters concerning it. He informs us that a trade gild is called
"Senf," and possesses a Chief, or "Syndic" named the Ra'is, who
represents the gild in matters concerning municipal regulations,
payment of taxes, etc. It is not necessary that the Ra'is should be
a master of the craft of his gild. The ordinary term for a master
craftsman is "Ustad"; for an apprentice, or pupil, "Shagird." In
the building trades the names "Ma'mar" and "Bana" stand
indiscriminately for architect, builder and mason, but a superior
Bana a master builder is called a Ma'mar, and a superior Ma'mar
affects the title of "Ma'mar-Bashi," the latter being a Turkish
title denominating a Chief or Head. The title "Ustad" has not the
same value as master in Europe, but is applied to the master-
builder in charge of the building of a palace, as well as to a man
who cannot correctly put half a dozen bricks in a line. As far as
can be ascertained at present, no ceremonies are used in accepting
a new comer into a craft. Any boy may become a "Shagird," but good
builders will only accept him upon the condition of his agreeing to
remain a certain number of years. Other "Shagirds" do not bind
themselves, but receive daily wages from the beginning. When the
Ustad starts on his own account he becomes a "Bana," or builder,
but as there is nothing to prevent anyone calling himself a master
builder you may meet with men who are known as Ustad, Bana, who
cannot do more than construct a mud hut. These, however, are not
recognized as members of the gild, and are seldom seen in towns.
Sometimes masters of the craft are restricted to certain quarters
of a town and are not allowed to work outside of the quarter in
which they reside.

In the winter of 1894 I showed General Schindler a large collection
of Persian architectural drawings, which I had purchased from the
State Architect in Teheran; on his return to Persia in 1895 he made
many efforts to obtain some but without success. When asking for
some technical terms and their explanation, he found the men
exceedingly reticent respecting them and he concluded that they
regarded these matters as secrets which they were obliged to keep
to themselves.

In a recent paper read by Yoshitaro Yamashita, Chancellor to the
Imperial Japanese Consulate in London, before the Japan Society, he
mentions the "Hiden" (secret tradition), the "Hijutsu" (secret
art), and the "Okugi" (inner mysteries) as terms in common use and
applied to nearly every undertaking, and he goes on to explain that
there is nothing absolutely mysterious or supernatural about them,
and that these terms are used with respect to valuable secrets
which are carefully guarded by Professors on account of the
peculiar benefit they receive for imparting them to their pupils.

Here we have arrived at the key note of the bond of fellowship in
operative gilds in all periods. Their secrets have always been
valuable possessions requiring every protection to prevent them
becoming common property. Then, to prevent undue competition, the
interest of the community of a gild was placed before that of its
individuals, and lastly, in its relations with the Government, the
gild was better able, especially when supported by the gilds of
other crafts, to secure an equitable adjustment of taxation as a
strong united body.

It is on these grounds that I form the conclusion respecting the
origin of the popularity of the Quatuor Coronati as the patron
Saints of the Masons and Sculptors. The early Christian Church
consisted principally of members of the industrial classes, all of
whom were of necessity "magistri" or "operarii" of their respective
trade Collegia. The four sculptors and their associate were not
only martyrs to the new faith, which by that time was professed
either openly or in secret by the bulk of their fellow-craftsmen,
but were regarded as victims of tyrannical interference with the
privileges of the Collegia which most probably possessed powers to
deal with all matters relating to the due execution of the work of
each craft.

Either from jealousy or fear, several of the Roman Emperors had
already attempted to suppress the Collegia both in Rome and in her
colonies, and even the just and broad-minded Trajan objected to the
trade gilds and charitable benefit societies upon the ground that
they became turbulent and factious. Christianity was first brought
to his notice as still another of these societies forming in a
distant colony, and was duly reported upon by Pliny in the same
manner as when he was requesting direction from the Emperor in
dealing with a volunteer fire brigade and a society for old age
pensions.

The gilds of medieval Europe were similarly disliked by arbitrary
rulers of all kinds, whether Popes, Emperors, Kings or Republican
Governments, and in our own times the greatest gilds in the world,
those of the City of London, have not been free from molestation
from the would-be tyrants of the hour.

But these attempts to destroy Institutions which form the backbone
of civic liberty, like the war waged on Freemasonry by the Roman
Church, could but end in the discomfiture of the attacking powers.
These societies are the outcome of the practical side of human
nature, in its hard-headed and sober desire to do its best to
obtain freedom to work for due reward, to live in peace and harmony
with its neighbors and to combine for mutual protection when the
necessity arises.

MAN SHALL PREVAIL

BY BRO. GERALD A. NANCARROW, INDIANA

Beneath the jewel studded form
Of God's Celestial Sphere,
His greatest handiwork, a Man,
Doth small indeed appear.

But Man, the tiny being, filled
With part of God's great soul,
Ever grasping parent power
Shall compass yet the whole.



We do not count a man's years, until he has nothing else to count.
 Emerson.

