Gothic Constitutions: 
  These old documents are also known under several other names. 
Some prefer York Constitutions and that is fairly descriptive, since 
some of them state that the first Annual Assembly of Masons was held at 
York, England, and those which do not name York invariably ascribe the 
first Assembly to the authority and patronage of King Athelstan whose 
seat was at York. Others refer to them simply as Old Manuscripts, but 
that is misleading, there being many old manuscripts which are not 
Gothic Constitutions. Some call them Manuscript Constitutions of the 
British Freemasons, but they are not all in manuscript, some being 
printed. Sometimes they are called Ancient Charges but this may 
overreach the truth in the matter of antiquity, none of them being 
traceable beyond the Middle Ages, while, on the other hand, they contain 
more than Charges, the Legends both in substance and volume being quite 
as important. The name, Gothic Constitutions, was first applied to the 
old documents in question by Dr. James Anderson in his Constitutions of 
1738. They are what in Masonic terminology have usually been called 
constitutions, and the oldest specimens were written in or at the latter 
end of the period of Gothic construction, which extended approximately 
from 1150 to 1550 A. D. The name is descriptive, it was the first name 
applied and there seems no good reason for any other.

Regius MS:
  The oldest of these documents is known as the Regius MS., sometimes 
called the Halliwell MS. for the reason that its Masonic character was 
first discovered and announced by Mr. Halliwell-Phillips, a non-Mason. 
It is written on vellum, 4 by 5 inches in size and bound in Russia 
leather. It is lodged in the British Museum, where for many years it was 
cataloged as A Poem of Moral Duties, which aided in hiding its Masonic 
character until 1839. It bears no date, but antiquaries have placed its 
date at somewhere between 1350 and 1450 A. D., with the preponderance of 
authority at about 1390. It is in the form of a rude epic poem and was 
probably the work of a priest or monk who had access to older Masonic 
documents. The title, which is Latin, is translated: Here begins the 
Constitutlons of fhe Art of Geometry according to Euclid. This MS. 
is not a true Gothic Constitution, none of which is in verse, but is a 
rhymed copy of such a document, together with certain non-Masonic matter 
as follows: 

(1) The legendary history of Geometry or Masonry in substance similar to 
that found in the Gothic Constitutions; (2) Fifteen Articles for the 
Master and Fifteen Points for the Craftsmen, (3) An ordinance relating 
to assemblies; (4) The legend of the Four Crowned Martyrs; (5) Rules of 
Behavior in Church; and (6) Some rules of deportment or etiquette. Parts 
(1), (2), and (3) are purely Masonic, (4) relates to the Freemasons but 
is not found in any of the Gothic Constitutions, while (5) and (6) are 
not Masonic at all. The poem contains 794 lines, of which the following, 
beginning at line 55, is a small sample:

   "The Clerk Euclid in this wise founded 
   This Craft of geometry in Egyptian land, 
   In Egypt he taught it full wide, 
   In divers lands on every side;
   Many years afterward, I understand 
   Before the Craft came into this land. 
   This Craft came into England, as I now say, 
   In the time of good King Athelstan's day; 
   He made them both hall and likewise bower 
   And high temples of great honor,
   To disport him in both day and night, 
   And to worship his God with all his might."

It then proceeds to relate how Athelstan sent about after Masons and 
called an assembly of lords, dukes, earls, barons, knights, squires and 
many more and gave them charges, of which the following is a complete 
list, partly modernized:

     Fifteen Articles for the Master Mason:
 1. He must be "stedefast, trusty and trewe."
 2. He must be at the general congregation to know where it shall be 
    held.
 3. He must take apprentices for seven years "hys craft to lurn."
 4. He must take no bondman for apprentice.
 5. The apprentice must be of lawful blood and "have his lymes hole."
 6. To take the Lord for his apprentice as much as his fellows.
 7. He shall accept no thief for an apprentice "lest hyt wolde turne the 
     craft to schame."
 8. "Any mon of crafte, be not also perfyt, he may hym change."
 9. He must undertake no work, "but he conne bothe hyt ende and make."
10. No master must supplant another but "be as syster and brother."
11. He must be both "fayr and fre" and teach by his might.
12. He shall not disparage his fellow's work but "hyt amende."
13. He must teach his apprentice.
14. So that he, "withynne hys terme, of hym dyvers poyntes may lurne."
15. Do nothing that "wolde turne the craft to schame."

     Fifteen Points for the Craftmen:
 1. "Must love wel God and holy churche and his mayster and felows."
 2. Work truly for "huyres apon werk and halydays."
 3. Must keep his master's counsel in chamber and "yn logge."
 4. "No mon to hys craft be false."
 5. Must accept their pay meekly from the master and not strive.
 6. Must "stond wel yn Goddes lawe."
 7. Respect the chastity of his master's wife and "his felows 
    concubyne."
 8. Be a true mediator and act fairly to all.
 9. To pay well and truly to man and woman.
10. Disobedient masons to be dealt with by the assembly and forfeit 
    membership in the craft.
11. Help one another by instructing those deficient in knowledge and 
    skill.
12. Imprisonment for disobedience to the assembly.
13. He shall "swere never to be no thef" and never to help any of false 
    craft.
14. Swear to be true to the King.
15. Must obey the assembly on pain of having to forsake the craft and 
    suffer mprisonment.
The poem ends with: "Amen! Amen! so mote hyt be! Say we so alle per 
charyte."

  The Legend of the Four Crowned Martyrs (Quatuor Coronati) was not a 
legend of the British Freemasons and is found in none of the Gothic 
Constitutions (except the Regius MS.), but it was a legend of the German 
Steinmetzen and, since these Christian Martyrs had been honored by the 
Popes, the legend was familiar to monastic literature.
  Other Old Manuscripts. Up to about the time of World War II, there had 
been brought to light 99 copies of the Gothic Constitutions, all similar 
to one another but no two identical, even those known to be direct 
copies of some other specimen showing inevitable errors in copying. None 
of these contains the parts of the Regius MS. above referred to as (3) 
(4), (5), and (6). A list of these MSS. with the date or estimated date 
of each and its location or custody is as follows:

                TABLE OF GOTHIC CONSTITUTIONS

NAME OF MSS.         DATE      LOCATION OR CUSTODY
Regius             Circa 1390  British Museum
Cooke              15th Cent.     "      "
Grand Lodge          1583      United Grand Lodge of England
Wood                 1610      Worcester
Thorp                1629      Leicester
Sloane No. 3848      1646      British Museum (see gen. text, SLOAN13 MS
Sloane No. 3323      1659        "       "      "   "     "      "
Aitchison Haven      1666      Grand Lodge of Scotland
Aberdeen             1670      Aberdeen Lodge No. 1 (ter)
Henery Heade         1675      Inner Temple, London
Melrose No. 2        1675      Melrose St. John Lodge No. 1 (bis)
Stanley              1677      West Yorkshire Library
Carson               1677      Cincinnati, Ohio
Plot                 1686      Epitome in Nat. Hist. Staffordshire
Clerke               1686      United Grand Lodge of England
Antiquity            1686      Lodge of Antiquity No. 2
William Watson       1687      West Yorkshire Library
Beaumont             1690       "      "        "
Waistell             1693       "      "        "
York No. 4           1693      York Lodge No. 236
Foxcroft             1699      United Grand Lodge of England
Buchanan           17th Cent     "      "     "    "    "
Phillips No. 1      "     "    Cheltenham
Phillips No. 2      "     "        "
Kilwinning          "     "    Kilwinning Lodge No. 0
York No. 1          "     "    York Lodge No. 236
York No. 5          "     "      "    "    "   "
York No. 6          "     "      "    "    "   "
Lansdowne           "     "    British Museum
Harleian No. 1942   "     "       "      "
Harleian No. 2054   "     "       "      "
Grand Lodge No. 2   "     "    United Grand Lodge of England
Colne No. 1         "     "    Royal Lancashire Lodge No. 116, Colne
Harris No. 1        "     "    Bedford Lodge No. 157, London
Dumfries No. 1      "     "    Dumfries Kilwinning Lodge No. 53
Dumfries No. 2      "     "       "         "        "    "   "
Dumfries No. 3      "     "       "         "        "    "   "
Stirling            "     "    Ancient Lodge No. 30, Stirling
Hope                "     "    Benevolent Lodge No. 303, Teignmouth
Bain                "     "    London
Dring-Gale          "     "      "
Langdale            "     "    Rochdale
Clapham             "     "    West Yorkshire Library
Dauntesey           "     "    Manchester
Taylor              "     "    West Yorkshire Library
Lechmere            "     "    Worcester
Beswicke-Royde      "     "    Prov. G. L. East Lancashire
David Ramsay        "     "    Hamburg
Embleton            "     "    West Yorkshire Library
Drinkwater No. 1   Circa 1700  Manchester Association
Drinkwater No. 2    "     "       "          "
Boyden              "     "    So. Jur. Scottish Rite, Washington, D.C.
Strachan            "     "    Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076
Alnwick              1701      Newcastle
York No. 2           1704      York Lodge No. 236
Heaton             Circa 1705  United Grand Lodge of England
Scarborough          1705      Grand Lodge of Canada
Talents             1700-20    United Grand Lodge of England
Brooks Hill            "         "      "     "    "    "
Roberts              1722      Printed
Macnab                 "       West Yorkshire Library
Haddon               1723      United Grand Lodge of England
Briscoe              1724      Printed
Cama               Circa 1705  Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076
Inigo Jones          "     "   Worcester
Spencer              1726      Grand Lodge of Massachusetts
Songhurst          Circa 1726  Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076
Fisher               "     "   United Grand Lodge of England
Tho. Carmick         1727      Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
Supreme Council      1728      London
Woodford               "       Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076
Bolt-Coleraine         "       Unknown
Cole                 1728-9    Engraved in Cole's Constifutions
Langley              1738      Printed
Dodd                 1739         "
Levander-York      Circa 1740  Port Sunlight
Holywell             1748      Prov. Grand Lodge of Lancashire
Fortitude          Circa 1750  Fortitude Lodge No. 281, Lancaster
Thistle              1756      Thistle Lodge No. 62, Dumfries
Melrose No. 3        1762      Melrose St. John Lodge No. 1 (bis)
Tew                18th Cent.  West Yorkshire Library
Portland             "    "    Wilbick Abbey
Hughan               "    "    West Yorkshire.Library
Papworth             "    "    London
Phillips No. 3       "    "    Cheltenham
Newcastle College    "    "    Newcastle
Probity              "    "    Probity Lodge No. 61, Halifax
Colne No. 2          "    "    Royal Lancashire Lodge No. 116, Colne
Harris No. 2         "    "    British Museum
Rawlinson            "    "    Bodleian Library
Dumfries No. 4       "    "    Dumfries Kilwinning Lodge No. 53
Gateshead            "    "    Lodge of Industry No. 48
Crane No. 1          "    "    Unknown
Crane No. 2          "    "       "
Krause               1806      Printed
Dowland              1815         "
Hargrove             1818         "
Tunnah               1828      Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076
Wren               Circa 1852  Unknown

Other MSS. known or supposed to have existed are now missing as follows: 
Melrose No. 1; Baker's; Morgan's; Dermott's; Wilson's; York No. 3; 
Masons Company; Newcastle Lodge; T. Lamb Smith; Anchor and Hope; and 
Drake. 

  Cooke MS. The Matthew Cooke MS. is almost as old as the Regius MS. and 
also has some peculiarities, one being that it opens with an invocation 
which is not Christian or Trinitarian as practically every other one is 
and that it is made up of copies of two older MSS., the copyist having 
started to copy one and then switched to the other.

  Grand Lodge MS. This MS. is the third oldest and is so-called because 
it is.in possession of the United Grand Lodge of England. It states on 
its face that it was "Scriptum Anno Domini 1583 Die Decembris 25." 
Phillips No. 1 and No. 2, Kilwinning, and Cama closely resemble it. This 
MS. will be here presented in greatly abbreviated form and, from the 
Invocation (which is given verbatim), the reason for using the modern 
English equivalent for the rest of it will be apparent. The Invocation 
is typically Trinitarian as follows:

   "The mighte of the Father of Heaven and ye wysdome of ye glorious 
    Soone through ye grace & ye goodness of ye holly ghoste yt bee three 
    psons & one God, be wh vs at or beginning and give vs grace so to 
    govrne us here in or lyving that we maye come to his blisse that 
    nevr shall have ending. Amen."

    The legends which follow recite that:
    The worthy Craft of Masonry was begun and kept by worthy kings and 
    princes and other worshipful men, for it is a worthy Craft and 
    curious science, being one of the Seven Liberal Sciences which are 
    Grammar, Rhetoric, Dialectics, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and 
    Astronomy. These are all found by Geometry which is the most worthy. 
    Before Noah's Flood, there was a man called Lamech, who had two 
    wives, Adah and Sella. By the first, he had two sons, Jabell and 
    Juball, and by the other wife a son and daughter. These four founded 
    all the crafts in the world. Jabell founded Geometry; Juball, Music; 
    Tubal Cain, the smith's craft; and the daughter weaving. Knowing 
    that God would take vengeance on the world, they wrote these 
    sciences on two pillars of stone, one of marble that would not burn 
    in fire and the other called Laterno that would not drown in water. 
    Hermes, the father of wisdom, found one of these pillars after the 
    Flood and taught the Sciences to others.
      At the Tower of Babylon, Masonry was made much of, Nemroth, King 
    of Babylon, being a Mason and loving the Craft. He sent 40 Masons to 
    build Ninevah and other cities and gave them charges that they 
    should be true to one another, live truly, and serve their lords.
      Abraham and Sarah went into Egypt and taught the Seven Sciences to 
    the Egyptians, including Euclid, who became a master of all seven 
    sciences. Egypt was suffering from overpopulation and unemployment. 
    In answer to the king's entreaty made at a great council, Euclid 
    undertook to teach the young men Geometry, whereby they could earn 
    their living and live honestly by building churches, temples, 
    castles, towers, and manors. Euclid gave them charges to be true to 
    the king, to the lords they served, and to each other, and to call 
    one another fellow or brother, and many other charges.
      King David began the Temple at Jerusalem and paid the Masons well 
    and gave them charges. His son, Solomon, finished the Temple and 
    sent for Masons in divers countries so that he had 24,000 workmen in 
    stone, 3000 of whom were Masters. King Iram loved King Solomon and 
    sent him timber. He had a son called Aynom who was master of 
    Geometry and chief Master Mason and Master of all graving and 
    carving as stated in the Bible. Solomon confirmed the charges of 
    King David. The craftsmen walked into divers countries and one of 
    them, Naymus Grecus, came to France, where he taught Masonry. 
    Charles Martel loved the Craft and learned the Craft from Naymus 
    Grecus and thereafter became King of France, after which he helped 
    make Masons and gave them charges and a chapter to hold their 
    assembly.
      England was void of Masonry until St. Alban's time, when the King, 
    who was a pagan, walled the town of St. Albans. St. Alban was a 
    knight and steward of the King's household. He loved masons and paid 
    them well, two shillings, six pence a week and three pence for 
    cheer, for before that, a mason received but a penny a day. He gave 
    them a charter to hold a general assembly and helped to make masons 
    and gave them charges.
      After St. Alban's death, divers wars destroyed the good rule of 
    Masonry until the time of King Athelstan, who brought all the land 
    to rest and peace and built many great works, abbeys, and towers. He 
    loved Masons and had a son called Edwin, who loved Masons even more. 
    He was a great practitioner of Geometry and talked with Masons and 
    learned the Craft and was made a Mason. He got a charter from the 
    King for the Masons to hold an assembly once a year, wherever they 
    would, to correct faults within the Craft, and he himself held an 
    assembly at York and made Masons and gave them charges, and made a 
    cry that all old Masons or young that had any writings or 
    understandings of the charges or manners of Masons should bring them 
    forth. And some were found in French, some in Greek, some in 
    English, and some in other languages. And he made a book of them and 
    commanded that it be read when a Mason should be made.

The manner of taking the oath was in Latin reading as follows: "Then one 
of the elders holds the book, and he or they, place the hand under the 
book and these precepts ought to be read &."

The Charges, also abbreviated, were as follows:

    First, that you shall be true men of God and holy Church and that 
  you use no error nor heresy but be discreet and wise men;
    Also that you should be true liege men to the king of England 
  without treason or falsehood and that you know no treason unless you 
  amend it or warn the king or his counsel;
    Also that you be true to one another, that is to say to every Mason 
  of the Craft you shall do unto them as they should do unto you;
    Also that you keep the counsel of your fellows truly, in lodge and 
  in chamber or in other councils that ought to be kept by way of 
  Masonhood;
    Also that no Mason shall be a thief in Company so far as he may know 
  and that he shall be true each to the other and to the lord or master 
  and truly see to his profits and advantages;
    Also you shall call Masons fellows or brethren and no foul names;
    Also you shall not take your fellow's wife in villany nor desire 
  ungodly his daughter or his servant or put him to disworship;
    Also you shall truly pay for his meat and drink where you go to 
  board;
    Also you shall do no villany where you go to board whereby the Craft 
  might be slandered;

These are the charges in general that belong to every true Mason, both 
Masters and Fellows. Other charges singular for Masters and Fellows are:

    First, that no Master or Fellow take upon himself any lord's work 
  nor any other man's work unless he knows himself able and sufficient 
  of cunning to perform the same;
    That no Master take no work but that he take it reasonably so that 
  the lord may be well served and that the Master live honestly and pay 
  his Fellows truly;
    Also that no Master or Fellow supplant any other of their work. He 
  shall put him out, except he be unable of cunning to end the work;
    Also that no Master or Fellow take a prentice but for the term of 
  seven years and the prentice be of able birth, that is, free born, and 
  whole of limbs, as a man ought to be:
    Also that no Master or Fellows take allowance to be made Mason 
  without counsel of his Fellows and that he take him for no less 
  than six or seven years and that he who would be a Mason be able m all 
  degrees, that is, free born, come of good kindred, true and no 
  bondsman
    Also that he have his right limbs as a man ought to have;
    Also that no man take a prentice unless he have sufflcient work for 
  him or to set three of his Fellows or two at least to work;
    Also that no Master or Fellow take a man's work to task that was 
  wont to go on journey:
    Also that every Master shall pay his Fellows as they deserve so that 
  he be not deceived with false workmen
    Also that no Mason slander any other behind his back;
    Also that no Fellow within the Lodge or without may answer another 
  ungodly nor reproachfully without reasonable cause;
    Also that every Mason shall reverence his elder and put him to 
  worship;
    Also that no Mason shall be a common player at hazzard or at dice or 
  at other unlawful plays whereby the Craft might be slandered
    Also that no Mason shall use leachery or be a baude whereby the 
  Craft might be slandered;
    Also that no Fellow go into the town at night time unless there is a 
  lodge of Fellows, without he have a Fellow with him to bear witness 
  that he was in an honest place;
    Also that every Master and Fellow shall come to the Assembly if it 
  be within fifty miles if he have warning, and if he has trespassed 
  against the Craft then he shall abide the award of his Masters and 
  Fellows, and shall stand to the award of the Masters and Fellows to 
  make them accord if they can, and if they may not accord then to go to 
  the common law;
    Also that no Master or Fellow make a moulde stone or square or rule 
  to a layer or set a layer within the lodge or without to hew moulde 
  stones;
    Also that every Mason receive and cherish strange Fellows when they 
  come over the country and set them at work if they will as the manner 
  is, that is to say, if they have mould stones in his place, or else 
  refresh him with money to the next lodging;
    Also that every Mason truly serve the lord for his pay and every 
  Master truly make an end of his work be it task or journey.

The MS. concluded as follows: "These charges that we have now rehearsed 
unto yu all and all others that belong to Masons, ye shall keepe, so 
healpe you God, and your hallydome, and by this booke in yor hande unto 
yr power. Amen, so be it."

The old Constitutions are alike in these respects: they virtually all 
begin with an invocation, generally Christian; relate substantially the 
same legends; give a list of charges; and provide for an oath or 
obligation. They all reflect religious, moral, and ethical precepts and 
contemplate a brotherhood for mutual helpfulness, designed to benefit 
the lord or owner of the work no less than the workmen. They exhibit 
many peculiarities and differences, the main ones of which are as 
follows:

  (1) The invocation (except the Regius and the Cooke) is Trinitarian 
Christian, in conformity with Roman Catholic Church creed, though there 
is no indication that such belief was necessary for admittance to the 
Craft.
  (2) The legends are fanciful, abound in errors and anachronisms and 
are brief and unfinished in literary workmanship. There is much 
variation in the spelling of names of leading characters and some are 
named who cannot be identified, for examples, St. Alban and Naymus 
Grecus, the latter of whom Fort says was Naymus the Greek. Peter Gower 
is supposed to mean Pythagoras. These English legends tell a story of 
greater antiquity than the legends of the German Steinmetzen or the 
French Compagnonnage. The Regius omits all the antediluvian and 
postdiluvian details and begins with the legend of Euclid. Most of the 
MSS. mention the patronage of the Craft by Charles Martel of Prance, 
though the Cooke MS. refers to Charles II, a different character. The 
French legends also asserted the patronage of Charles Martel. Some of 
the English MSS. omit his name completely, because, it is supposed, that 
he subsequently incurred the ill will of the Church for confiscating 
Church property.
  (3) The point of chief interest is the legendary advent of the Craft 
into England, the inauguration of General Assemblies, and the 
institution of the English Charges by Athelstan or Edwin, described as 
the King's son, though Athelstan had no son and it is suggested that 
Edwin of Northumberland was intended, though he lived about 300 years 
earlier. Such anachronisms are common in the legends; for another 
example, the tale that Abraham, who lived 2000 B. C. communicated the 
Seven Sciences to Euclid, who lived 300 A. D. There is nothing 
inherently improbable about the advent of Masonry or Geometry into 
England in the 10th century or even the 7th, though it is quite likely 
that the author chose King Athelstan, because he was the first English 
sovereign to claim jurisdiction over the whole nation. Also, it is 
worthy of note that Edwin of the Northumbers did have some reputation as 
a church builder independently of the Masonic Legends. Some of the MSS. 
name York as the place of first Assembly, others infer it simply from 
the fact that York was the seat of Athelstan's government. The date is 
not definitely stated by any of the MSS. prior to the Inigo Jones MS. of 
about 1725 which fixes the date as A. D. 932. Dr. Anderson, in his 
Constitutions of 1738, gave the date as A. D. 926, without explanation, 
but it seems to have carried the most weight. 
  (4) The Charges vary in number and arrangement though little in 
substance. The Regius sets forth 15 Articles for the Master and 15 
Points for the Craftsmen; the Cooke, 9 for the Master and 9 for the 
Craft; the Grand Lodge, 9 General and 18 special Charges although they 
are both addressed to the Masters and Fellows. There are a great variety 
of other variations. Harleian MS. No. 1942 of about A. D. 1670, and a 
few in the same family, set forth 25 Charges and add 6 New Articles, not 
found in any prior specimens. In brief, these required that a lodge 
consist of at least 5 Freemasons, that a traveling Mason bring with him 
a certificate from the lodge that accepted him, showing the time of his 
accepcon; that the names of all Masons be enrolled on parchment, and 
that an oath of secrecy be exacted, the form of which was set forth. 
These New Articles reflect the changes that were taking place in the 
English Fraternity by the increase of the non-operative element, there 
being more difficulty in detecting the regularity of a nonoperative than 
an operative Mason, the latter having his skill to prove him. It also 
indicates increasing imposition on the lodges by irregularly made 
Masons. This new certificate was the forerunner of the modern receipt 
for dues. Another striking change made by Harleian MS. No. 1942 was the 
addition of Charges for the Apprentice, which had not appeared before 
that time and this same peculiarity attached to Melrose MS. No. 2 of 
1676, Watson MS. of 1687, York MS. No. 4 of 1693, Hope and Colne No. 1 
MSS. both of the 17th century, Roberts MS. of 1722, and Gateshead MS. of 
the 18th century.
  (5) The oath or obligation usually terminated with: So help you Cod 
and his holy Doome, some copies using holydome, hallydom, or holydome. 
It has never been determined what this expression denotes though it is 
claimed to be a Saxon word meaning holy judgment and that by my halidom 
was a solemn oath among the rural population of early England. The New 
Articles add the oath of secrecy which concludes with: Soe help me God & 
the holy contents of this booke. One MS. uses: Holy Scriptures; another, 
by God's Grace; and still a third, by one or more laying his hand on the 
Book and swear by one command and oath.

  There will be observed in the Gothic Constitutions three chief 
elements or trends: the religious, the scientific, and the regal, and 
all of these have been more or less emphasized in Freemasonry ever 
since. Many of the Charges form the direct basis or pattern for Charges 
and Regulations adopted in 1723 and, hence, for modern constitutions, 
regulations, and obligations. The Temple Legend forming the main theme 
of the ritual comes directly from the like item in the Gothic legends.

          = o = o = o = o = o = o = o = o = o = o = o = o =

Extracted from 'Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia' copyright 1961 by 
permission of the Publisher 'Macoy Publishing And Masonic Supply 
Company, Inc. 34 West 33rd St, New York 1, N.Y. for exclusive use by the 
Masonic Forum, Compuserve. The Publisher holds all rights to this 
article. It may not be used for any further purpose without written 
permission of the afore mentioned Publisher.

Scanned and edited exclusively for the Masonic Forum, CompuServe 
03/12/93 by William N. Wine ICS ID 72435,1512.
