Following the appointment of its first aristocratic Grand Masters in the 1720s and in the wake of its connections to the scientific Enlightenment, 'Free and Accepted' Masonry became part of Britain's national profile and the largest and most influential of Britain's extensive clubs and societies. The organisation did not evolve naturally from the mediaeval guilds and religious orders that pre-dated it but was reconfigured radically by a largely self-appointed inner core at London's most influential lodge, the Horn Tavern. Freemasonry became a vehicle for the expression of their philosophical and political views, and the 'Craft' attracted an aspirational membership across the upper middling and gentry. Through an examination of previously unexplored primary documentation, Foundations contributes to an understanding of contemporary English political and social culture and explores how Freemasonry became a mechanism that promoted the interests of the Hanoverian establishment and connected the metropolitan and provincial elites. The book explores social networks centred on the aristocracy, parliament, the learned and professional societies, and the magistracy, and provides pen portraits of the key individuals who spread the Masonic message. Foundations and Schism (Sussex Academic, 2013), have been described as 'the most important books on English Freemasonry published in recent times', providing 'a precise, social context for the invention of English Freemasonry'. Berman's analysis throws a new and original light on the formation and development of what rapidly became a national and international phenomenon.

This book examines the creation of the Antients Grand Lodge and traces the influence of Ireland and the London Irish, and most especially that of Laurence Dermott, the Antients' Grand Secretary, in the development of freemasonry in the second half of the eighteenth century. The book demonstrates the relative accessibility of the Antients and contrasts this with the exclusivity of the 'Moderns' -- the original Grand Lodge of England. The Antients instigated what became a six decades long rivalry with the Moderns and pioneered fundamental changes to the social composition of freemasonry, extending formal sociability to the lower middling and working classes and creating one of the first modern friendly societies. Schism does not stand solely as an academic work but introduces the subject to a wider Masonic and non-Masonic audience and, most particularly, supplements dated historical works. The book contributes to the history of London and the London Irish in the long eighteenth century and examines the social and trade networks of the urban lower middling and working class, subjects that remains substantially unexplored. It also offers a prism through which Britain's calamitous relationship with Ireland can be examined.

Until the sixteenth century, people believed in magic as a way of explaining how the world worked. Indeed Queen Elizabeth I had a court magician, John Dee. However during the reign of the Stuart kings magic was killed and science took its place. This change came about because a group of men met in London and decided to set up a society to study the mechanisms of nature. Yet the men who founded this society in 1660 - including Robert Moray, Christopher Wren, Elias Ashmole and John Evelyn - were not only the first scientists but the last sorcerers, performing chemical experiments with powdered Unicorn horn...They had also fought on different sides in the Civil War. The story of how they came together comes as a revelation and will change your view of history and science forever.

Following the appointment of its first aristocratic Grand Masters in the 1720s and in the wake of its connections to the scientific Enlightenment, 'Free and Accepted' Masonry became part of Britain's national profile and the largest and most influential of Britain's extensive clubs and societies. The organisation did not evolve naturally from the mediaeval guilds and religious orders that pre-dated it but was reconfigured radically by a largely self-appointed inner core at London's most influential lodge, the Horn Tavern. Freemasonry became a vehicle for the expression of their philosophical and political views, and 'the Craft' attracted an aspirational membership across the upper middling and gentry. Through an examination of previously unexplored primary documentation, Foundations contributes to an understanding of contemporary English political and social culture and explores how Freemasonry became a mechanism that promoted the interests of the Hanoverian establishment and connected the metropolitan and provincial elites. The book explores social networks centred on the aristocracy, parliament, the learned and professional societies, and the magistracy, and provides pen portraits of the key individuals who spread the Masonic message. "Foundations & Schism" (Sussex Academic, 2013), have been described as 'the most important books on English Freemasonry published in recent times', providing 'a precise, social context for the invention of English Freemasonry'. Berman's analysis throws a new and original light on the formation and development of what rapidly became a national and international phenomenon.

An exploration of how modern Freemasonry enabled Isaac Newton and his like-minded contemporaries to flourish • Shows that Freemasonry, as a mystical order, was conceived as something new--an amalgam of alchemy and science that had little to do with operative Freemasonry • Reveals how Newton and his friends crafted this “speculative,” symbolic Freemasonry as a model for the future of England • Connects Rosslyn Chapel, Henry Sinclair, and the Invisible College to Newton and his role in 17th-century Freemasonry Freemasonry, as a fraternal order of scientists and philosophers, emerged in the 17th century and represented something new--an amalgam of alchemy and science that allowed the creative genius of Isaac Newton and his contemporaries to flourish. In Isaac Newton’s Freemasonry, Alain Bauer presents the swirl of historical, sociological, and religious influences that sparked the spiritual ferment and transformation of that time. His research shows that Freemasonry represented a crossroads between science and spirituality and became the vehicle for promoting spiritual and intellectual egalitarianism. Isaac Newton was seminal in the “invention” of this new form of Freemasonry, which allowed Newton and other like-minded associates to free themselves of the church’s monopoly on the intellectual milieu of the time. This form of Freemasonry created an ideological blueprint that sought to move England beyond the civil wars generated by its religious conflicts to a society with scientific progress as its foundation and standard. The “science” of these men was rooted in the Hermetic tradition and included alchemy and even elements of magic. Yet, in contrast to the endless reinterpretations of church doctrine that fueled the conflicts ravaging England, this new society of Accepted Freemasons provided an intellectual haven and creative crucible for scientific and political progress. This book reveals the connections of Rosslyn Chapel, Henry Sinclair, and the Invisible College to Newton’s role in 17th-century Freemasonry and opens unexplored trails into the history of Freemasonry in Europe.

Modern Freemasonry in the United States and Great Britain celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2017 tracing its direct history from the Grand Lodge of England founded in 1717. This text is intended to provide a theory of origin for the Fraternity. It is based on available sources, many of which are not Masonic in nature, but cover the disciplines of history, religion, ethics, economics, politics, and labor development. The book begins with an overview of how the Fraternity initiated members in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and includes the ancient Legend of Noah. It then reviews how history is written and exams the utilization of Biblical and legendary accounts in the development of a country’s, peoples’, or organization’s history. The text moves on to the transition from craft guild to fraternal organization and gives the full text of Freemasonry’s four oldest documents: Regius Poem, Cooke Manuscript, Graham Manuscript, and Schaw Statutes. This is followed by a description of the London Masons’ Company based on the assumption that this city-wide organization of craftsmen chartered in 1481 may have been the administrative precursor of the Grand Lodge of England. The author then reviews the demise of craft guilds and the rise of fraternal societies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Additional chapters review the Masonic approach to ritual, education, and ethical decision making. The text closes with a discussion of the philosophy of Freemasonry as well as comments and suggestions regarding Freemasonry’s future. The last chapter is a Scottish Charge appropriate to all men, not just Freemasons.

Freemasonry is part of a long tradition of Western mysticism, steeped in a long-standing and eclectic mixture of historical fact and legend. Much of the ritual and symbolism prevalent in Freemasonry has developed over many centuries and relies heavily on notions inherited from the customs and practices of medieval stonemasons. Members are still taught its precepts using ritual dramas that follow ancient forms and use stonemasons' tools as allegorical guides.This absorbing and informative book provides an account of the history and legends of the Freemasons, from its links with the Knights Templar, its explorations into alchemy and the hermetic tradition, through the age of Enlightenment and the founding fathers of the USA, to the Victorians and up to the present day.