The Origins of the Freemasons
The Builders Guilds
Most believe that Freemasonry was started by operative Masons, or stone cutters or builders guilds. Once admitted into the guild, a man could work in different places and receive wages as a Master Mason. In addition, he could travel to other places that needed his skills and be entitled to earn a wage reflecting his skill within Masonry. These men were bound together not only by their labors and occupation, but to a mutual help society.
This eventually led to Men who were not operative stone masons joining the craft and the charitable and helpful elements of the stone masons were adopted by the new masons who, rather than using physical tools for their occupation, used tools as moral reminders and a code of conduct.
The Knights Templar
There are many theories of our origins, but one of the most compelling connects the Knights Templar to the Freemasons. The Knights Templar were a Catholic order who, known for being fierce warriors and on the order of the Holy See (the Pope), acted on behalf of the Church in the Crusades. They supported their activities through a multitude of business activities including banking. Wanting their money, the Pope ordered the Templars to come to the City under false pretenses. King Philip V of France and his inquisitors tortured the Templars and burned many alive in an attempt to get them to confess to all sorts of vile acts. Some caved in and, thinking the torturers wouldn’t jab a burning torch stuck back into their ribs, or rip their shoulders out of their sockets, admitted to whatever the torturers suggested. They were still killed or tortured. It’s ironic that so many of the websites that make things up about Masons are chasing personal enrichment.
An Unlucky Number: Friday the 13th
All of this happened on Friday, October 13th, 1307. The whole devil worship rumors, goat gods, and other nonsense that you see on the conspiracy theory websites were all drawn of men who were being tortured. So the number 13 even today is considered an unlucky number — at least it was for the Templars.
A Scottish and English Connection
The King of England wasn’t as interested in following the Popes orders to capture all of the Templar wealth and torture them until they admitted to what the Pope’s Inquisitioners wanted. A month passed before the King of England took any action and by that time less than a dozen Templars (of thousands in what is now the UK) were captured. What happened to the rest is one of legends. Most believed they disappeared up north into the Scottish countryside, others believe they became pirates. (argh). To safeguard their own lives, those who were Knights Templar disappeared.
Freemasonry Constituted
In 1717 Freemasons came out of secrecy, no longer fearing they were being hunted. Multiple Grand Lodges came out of hiding and announced their own existence. The Grand Lodge of Scotland, the Grand Lodge of England, and the Grand Lodge of Ireland all came out of hiding all at once. This is believed to be the genesis of speculative freemasonry.