THE BUILDER JULY 1915

REGENBERG STONEMASON'S REGULATIONS

(A NEW TRANSLATION FROM THE GERMAN)

BY BRO. F. W. KRACHER, OF THE DEPARTMENT OF GERMAN, STATE
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA

(The historic document herewith presented is a new translation,
made especially for the National Masonic Research Society, of the
oldest Regulations of the German Stonemasons--or Steinmetzen--
dating from 1459. The original German, as quaint as the English of
Chaucer, may be found in Die Romanische and Gothische Architektur,
by Max Hasak, published at Stuttgart 1902. Other documents of the
kind fall chiefly in the time of the German Renaissance, and
present nothing but unimportant extensions or modifications of the
first Regensburg Regulation. They are mainly as follows:--the
Strassburg Regulation of 1459, the Torgau of 1462, the Basle of
1497, the so-called Brothers' Book of 1563, and the Querfurt
Regulation of 1574. Further, there were different records of the
original Regulation, such as those of Vienna, of Admont and the
Tyrol Regulation of 1480.

This interesting document brings up the question, so hotly debated
in Masonic literature, as to the relation of the German Steinmetzen
to the Guilds on the one hand, and to the Freemasons on the other.
English writers, like Speth, go so far as to deny to the
Stonemasons any esoteric lore, while German scholars, like Krause,
Findel and Steinbrenner, insist that they were Freemasons. Of
course this question cannot be discussed in an introductory note,
but we shall have something to say about it in due time. Meanwhile,
with this debatable question in mind, the Brethren will find these
old Regulations a very profitable study if they will read them in
the light of what Brother Gould has to say in his "Concise History
of Masonry," (pp 42-62) and on the other side the discussions of
Findel and Steinbrenner in their histories of the Craft.--The
Editor.)

In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the mother
Mary and also her saintly servants, crowned in honor of the holy
quartet, be it stated that genuine friendship, harmony and
obedience is the foundation of all virtues. For the common good and
for the information of all princes, nobles, lords, cities,
founders, and monasteries who are now erecting churches or other
large buildings of stone or may erect such buildings in the future,
this is written, so that each one may know his rights and
privileges. It is also written for the benefit of all master masons
and journeymen thruout the German lands, who are especially
desirous to keep the Craft clean from all discord, jealousy, care,
expense, and harm. Some of the regulations which the fathers had
drawn up with the best intentions are being misused by both,
masters and workers, and they no longer endeavor to adhere to the
rules. To change this condition, delegations of master masons and
workers met at Spyr, Strassburg, and Regensburg with power to act
for the Craft. The old existing rules were renewed and somewhat
purified, thereby bringing all peacefully together. After the
regulations had been written down we solemnly promised not only to
keep them ourselves but to enforce them in the future among the
followers of the stonemason craft. The rules are as follows:

1. Whoever finds any of the rules in this regulation too severe or
too lenient may, in accordance with the conditions of the time or
the country, add to or subtract from them. Any change must neither
disturb the arrangement nor the spirit of the original rules and
must then be faithfully observed by all.

2. Any stonemason who has the desire to join our order, for which
this book is written, must promise (swear) to keep all the separate
rules of our regulation. Master masons shall be those who can erect
a stone structure according to a plan. They do not have to do
actual work with their own hands unless they so desire. Whether
they are masters or journeymen, they ought to conduct themselves
honorably, harm no one in his rights, and in case of necessity are
to be punished in accordance with the rules laid down.

3. Buildings which are erected at present and where the workmen are
paid by the day are, Strassburg, Cologne, Vienna, and Passan, also
in the workshops belonging to the same. Day wages shall continue in
connection with these buildings and in no way shall the contract
system be used, so that no interruption in the work arises due to
the change from the day labor system to the contract system.

4. In case of death of any stonemason employed on a regular
building, it is permissible that any workman or master, capable of
doing the work, apply for the vacancy. In this manner the
supervisors of the work shall find a proper successor. The same
rule applies also to a journeyman who understands stone masonry.

5. If a master should accept a second job, or any master who is not
occupied accept a new job, it is their duty to start work by the
day immediately so that no discredit may come to the craft. Should
trustworthy parties lodge complaint against a master as to the work
or the employment of a certain kind of labor, then he shall be
tried and punished according to the rules. The complainant may not
carry his case that far but simply demand that the master begin the
work either by the day or contract. The master must then act
according to the suggestion.

6. If a master in charge of some work dies and another master steps
in his place and finds prepared stones either placed in position in
the wall or not, he is not allowed to remove placed stones nor to
discard loose ones. This is necessary so that employers may not be
subjected to unnecessary expense, and that the master who did the
work may not be criticised. Should the employer wish to remove
stones it may be permitted as long as no danger to the structure
arises therefrom.

7. A master shall not hire out his masons for any other work except
such which is directly connected with the hewing of stones. He may
use them for breaking stone, lime, or sand by the day or by the job
without danger of reproach.

8. In case masons are needed either to hew stones or to set them,
the master may shift them. Those so shifted are not subject to the
rules set forth as long as they do it on their own accord and
willingly.

9. Two masters shall not jointly supervise a job or a building
unless it be a small building which can be finished within a year.
Such a job may be undertaken with a partner.

10. If a master accepts a contract according to the submitted
specifications he must not change anything. The work must be done
according to the specifications which he submitted to the
employers, cities, or to the country. This will prevent the
weakening of any part of the work.

11. If there be any master or journeyman who attempts to force a
master, who is conducting a job under these regulations, out of his
position, he shall be tried. The same is to be done if one openly
or secretly intrigues against any master without his knowledge. No
master mason or journeyman shall associate with him, and no
craftsman belonging to the order shall work for him as long as he
is busy with the job wrongfully obtained. This is to continue until
the one forced out of the job shall be reinstated and explanations
given him by the comite of master masons appointed for this purpose
by the order.

12. If any one should attempt to break stone without having
previously served as a regular workman and acquired some shop
training, his stones must not be accepted by anyone. In case some
one should do so, then no journeyman must stand by him or go with
him, so that employers are not given unneccessary expense thru such
an unwise master.

13. No workman or master, neither parlierer (instructor) nor
journeyman shall instruct anyone, not a stonemason, from any manual
unless the instructor be a member of the craft.

14. No workman or master shall take any money from a journeyman for
teaching him something concerning stone-masonry. No parlierer
(instructor) or journeyman shall instruct for money. If one wishes
to show or teach something to others he may do so step by step for
fellow-workman's sake.

15. Any master having charge of a building may have three helpers,
either master masons or journeymen. If he has more than one
building he shall not have more than two helpers on the second
building. Not more than five helpers shall be employed on both
buildings.

16. No master or workman shall be taken into the order who does not
receive the holy sacrament at least once a year, or who does not
observe the Christian rules of conduct, or who gambles. In case
such an unfit person did by chance get into the order, no master
mason should have any association with him whatsoever. No workman
should work for him unless he turns from his old ways and has been
punished by those who are in the order.

17. No workman or master mason should be adulterous. Should one
insist upon such a course, no journeyman or stonemason should work
for him or associate with him.

18. If a fellow craft accepts work with a master who has not yet
been raised to the rank of overseer in the order, he shall not be
subject to a punishment. He may very well do so because each
craftsman should seek advancement. The workman should keep the
rules of the order although he is not working in a regulation shop
or for a brother of the order. Should one take a wife unto himself
and not work in a regulation shop but settle down in a city where
he had to work at a craft, he will have to pay four pennies poll-
tax but be free of any other tax, as long as he does not work in a
regular shop.

19. In case a complaint is made by one master against another
master that he acted against the rules of the order; or by a master
against a craftsman, or by a craftsman against another, it shall be
brought to a master who has been appointed to handle such cases.
Both sides shall be heard, and then a day set when the case will be
considered. During the time up to the trial no controversy
whatsoever shall take place between master and worker until the
case has been settled. The decision shall be given by masters, and
this decision must be carried out. The case is to be tried where it
arose by the master in whose jurisdiction it happened.

20. A "parlierer" shall respect his master and obey him willingly
in everything pertaining to the craft. The same shall be done by
the fellowcraft.

21. If a journeyman decides to travel on, he should depart from his
master and the shop without any complaint against him, and leaving
no debts, whatsoever, behind.

22. Any journeyman, in whatever kind of a shop he shall be
employed, ought to be obedient to the "parlierer" and his master in
everything pertaining to the craft.

23. And he shall not scold about the master's work secretly nor
publicly, unless the master were to act contrary to the rules of
the order.

24. Every workman who has received the power to enforce the rules
of the order in all disputes touching upon stonemasons and masonry,
has also the power to bring to trial and to decide upon punishment.
All masters, parlierers, and craftsmen shall be obedient to him.


25. Even though a craftsman has journeyed and worked as a
stonemason and made advancement in the order, he should not be
accepted by a master if this experience be less than two years, and
if he only wanted to do a little work.

26. Masters and workers belonging to this order shall obey all the
rules of this regulation. Should one or the other break any one of
the rules he is not to be punished if he repents and promises to
keep the rule in the future.

(To be continued.)


BUILD ME A HOUSE

Oh Soul build me a house of Dreams,
And roof it with the stars;
With walls of awe and azure beams,
And ether bolts and bars.
A house of Joy, Oh Life build me,
With windows vision-wide;
With friends of Mirth and Ecstasy
To neighbor on each side.
Oh Love build me a House of Hope
Where happiness dwells free,
And set on a sunny slope
Of my heart's hill for me.
Oh Faith build me a House of Prayer,
With words that cry unsaid,
And rear to heaven a perfumed stair
On which my dreams may tread.
Oh God build me a house of Rest,
And hallow it with sleep;
Be Thou the one celestial Guest
My happy house would keep.
Let music wake me in the night
When this old house is still,
And let me feel a Presence bright,
That all the place would fill.
--Edwin Liebfreed.


MAKE US SEE

Dear God and Father of us all,
Forgive our faith in cruel lies,
Forgive the blindness that denies.
Cast down our idols--overturn
Our bloody altars--make us see
Thyself in Thy Humanity."
--Whittier.


GLACIER PARK HYMN

Here wrought He in His might, 
Temples of shade and light, 
Altars of praise. 
On snow-clad mountain crest, 
In vales with verdure blest, 
Each heart with peace at rest, 
Its homage pays.

O! land of mighty form, 
Sunshine and shifting storm, 
Blest for all time; 
By lakes of azure blue, 
Glaciers of varied hue, 
Our hearts to you are true, 
Glacier, sublime.
--Clifford Trembly.

LOVE'S TRAPPIST

There is a place where lute and lyre are broken,
Where scrolls are torn and on a wild wind go, 
Where tablets stand wiped naked for a token,
Where laurels wither and the daisies grow.

Lo: I, too, join the brotherhood of silence,
I am Love's Trappist, and you ask in vain,
For man, through Love's gate, even as through Death's gate,
Goeth alone, and comes not back again.

Yet here I pause, look back across the threshold,
Cry to my brethren, though the world be old, 
Prophets and sages, questioners and doubters,
O world, old world, the best hath ne'er been told.
--From "Poems," by G. K. Chesterton.

