THE SHORT TALK BULLETIN
The Masonic Service
Association of the United State
VOL. 40 MAY 1962 NO. 5
MASTER MASON
"Are you a Master Mason?"
Every member of the Fraternity has answered this challenge affirmatively, even if only
passively, during the ceremonies of opening and closing a lodge. What the words have
actually meant to every individual Brother is anybody's guess; but it is a safe assumption
that the reply was at least intended to signify membership in the world's oldest fraternal
organization.
Unfortunately, too many members have never gone beyond that definition of a Master Mason.
They know that they "took" the three degrees: The last was the Master Mason
degree. Upon its completion, they were acknowledged as regular members. They knew that
they were now "Masons".
To be sure, every member has been made aware of some of the legends, symbolism, and
philosophy of freemasonry during his initiatory experiences. This is one of the great
achievements of the immemorial phrases of Masonic ritual; even the least attentive and
absent member remembers the glimpses he had of the "genius of Freemasonry". The
lapse of time, however, tends to erase those vivid impressions, so that the non-attender
comes to think of a Master Mason merely as a member of a club or society.
This is a problem for Masonic education,- for the individual "mentor",
"intender", or committee on instruction or information. It is not the subject of
this Short Talk Bulletin, however. This essay is an attempt to amplify the average
Brother's concept of a Master Mason, and as such it may be helpful in correcting the
"average" impressions sketched above.
Historically, the Term Master Mason comes from the operative builders organizations of the
Middle Ages, although the concept of a master, or skilled boss of the workmen, is as old
as civilization. The Roman builders were directed by their most skillful craftsmen, the
magister of the collegia. References to Master Mason occur in English building records as
early as the thirteenth century: at that time they were still given Latin names. e.g.,
magister cementarius (master of the stone-cutting masons) and magister operacionum (master
of the works), or general contractor.
Detailed rules existed for the government of the masons connected with a lodge, which
originally designated the shed or structure in which stonemasons dressed the stones for a
large undertaking. The Regius Poem (c. 1390) is a compilation of some of these rules which
had been in existence for a long time.
The supervision of the masons was the business of the principal and second master masons,
who, upon assuming these offices by appointment from the King or clerics who had ordered
the building of a structure were required to take a solemn oath to enforce the
regulations.
The master mason had to see that the work started promptly and to report to the master of
the works and the "keeper of the rolls" any faults or defects of the workmen.
Fines for defective work were imposed as a result of his reports. The hiring of workmen
was done with his advice and consent. He had to make certain that a craftsman was
"worthy and well-qualified".
Generally speaking, the master mason had authority over the workmen and the actual
construction of the building, while his colleague, the "keeper of the rolls" was
chiefly concerned with accounts and finance; but the master mason necessarily had a share
in the responsibility for expenditures and accounts, since he decided such things as the
kind of stones to be used, from which quarries they were to be bought, as well as
quantities and prices of other tools and materials, like sand and lime for mortar.
In fact, many a master mason achieved that rank because of his early experiences as a
purveyor of stones and building materials. He had been able to accumulate the necessary
capital, experience, and influence to become a freeman burgess, and to learn the mason's
trade as one of its principal suppliers. Sometimes a master mason had achieved his rank
because of his administrative skill in securing and organizing a dependable labor force.
Nevertheless, most master masons achieved their eminence by learning the masons' trade
"from the bottom up". They may have made money on the side by furnishing
building stones or other supplies, but they possessed the builder's skills and secrets to
such a degree that they achieved distinction primarily by merit. some of them were
actually skillful architects and designers, whose gifts stimulated a wide-spread demand
for their services. Like so many creative artists of the Middle Ages, these unusual master
masons had more than one string on their bow, for they were good surveyors, accountants,
superintendents of property, and civil servants as well as stone dressers and spreaders of
mortar. One of them, as a matter of fact, William of Wykeham, became Bishop of Winchester
in 1367.
At that time, however, a master mason was a man who had accumulated sufficient skill and
capital to set himself up in business as a contractor or superintendent of the words. The
title of "master" was conferred not by a lodge of masons, but by the City
Council or its agency for regulating trade. To become a "master" a workman had
to purchase his "freedom" to make contracts, by becoming a burgess, i.e., a
municipal taxpayer with a certain civic obligations, like going "watch and ward"
duty and supplying military arms or service if it became necessary. The capital for such
advancement usually came from "side" activities, such as dealing in stone or
being in a position to make contracts for building or supplying labor.
Few operative masons became masters. It required more money and ability than the average
stonecutter or layer possessed. Even Master masons differed widely in their earning power
and financial success. The building projects in the early Middle Ages were too few to
require a large force of specialized administrative builders.
Master masons were naturally paid more for their labors than "rough masons" or
apprentices. Attempts were made regularly to fix the wage scales of all types of artisans
and workmen, but it was the masters who most frequently enjoyed bonuses and rewards. The
master of a large building project not only received daily wages which might rise as high
as six times those of the ordinary laborer; he would also receive extra payments,
sometimes so regularly in both amount and time of payment that they may have been part of
his official "salary". No wonder the phrase, "a masters wages",
carried overtones of considerable prestige into modern Speculative Masonry!
Sometimes a reward was paid not in money, but in the form of a robe or livery. such an
honorarium rarely was paid to any but a master mason in a responsible position, like the
architect or superintendent of the work. At the building of Eton College in
1445-46."cloth was purchased for the liveries of the chief mason, of the warden, and
of the purveyors"- the sub contractors.
In some cases the attention of the master mason was not needed constantly: he could work
elsewhere with the permission of the authorities who had engaged him. In such cases, his
remuneration was usually an annual fee, plus a per diem wage for each day that he was
present and working at the building. The position of such a master mason was appointed for
life, he was given "social security" in the form of maintenance in sickness and
old age.
The importance of master masons varied with the size and cost of the structures they were
working on. The master builder of a cathedral, however, was a highly skilled workman and
administrator. He had to have the ability to draw plans and elevations. He had to be able
to compute the quantities of material and labor needed; he had to manage his workmen
effectively and fairly. since he had the final authority to "hire and fire, he had to
know good work from bad work, good masons from poor ones. He had to administer with
justice and "equal regularity". A master mason was a man of worth and dignity.
During the seventeenth century, from the days of Queen Elizabeth to the institution of
"constitutional" monarchs in England after the reign of James II, masons' lodges
underwent a considerable change, and early in the eighteenth century they evolved into
their modern fraternal form, especially with the organization of Grand Lodges from 1717
on.
Lodges were still associations of stoneworkers and masons, but the cessation of cathedral
building and the expansion of overseas trade lessened the importance of the masons'
companies to the point where they had to change to survive. From the active trade
associations whose primary function was the regulation of workers and their
qualifications, as well as their working conditions, wages, rights, and responsibilities,
they gradually became mutual benefit societies concerned largely with charity and relief
for the destitute and unemployed.
It was during this century that non-operative members began to be accepted in
ever-increasing numbers, largely to build up the financial reserves for the lodges'
philanthropic designs. Especially welcome were members of the professional, educated, and
titled classes, not merely because they could afford the higher "entry" fees for
accepted masons, but also because they could help to restore the waning prestige of the
craft associations.
Up to this time, a Fellow of the Craft was a workman who had passed two stages of
admission. There were no more. A Master Mason was a Fellow of the Craft who had bought his
status, not from the lodge, but from the Town Council of its trade incorporators. So far
as a lodge was concerned, a Fellow of the Craft and a Master were practically the same
thing.
With the change from operative to Speculative Freemasonry, however, the lodges began to
record members in three different categories: apprentices, fellowcrafts, and masters.
Since accepted masons could not become operative master masons, lodges began to grant the
title of Master to non-operative masons in their ranks. The only requirement seems to have
been the payment of another fee: no special ceremony was performed to make such accepted
masons Masters.
So far as can be determined from records and historical papers, the ceremonies of the
Master Mason degree were a product of the transformation achieved by modern Speculative
Freemasonry. In the change from operative craft lodges of skilled stonemasons to lodges of
accepted Masons, the status of master masons declined from that of outstanding leadership
in skills and management to that of mere membership in a fraternal organization. Part of
our modern problem about the answer to the question, "Are you a Master Mason?"
is a built-in weakness which has been inherited form the practices of operative masons in
the period of transition.
Part of the problem undoubtedly lies in the failure of modern Freemasonry to make the
title of Master Mason truly "proud" and "sublime". We may surmise that
this in one reason why Speculative Freemasonry adopted the ceremonies of the third degree
so rapidly and universally during the first decades of the Grand Lodge era. They are
impressive; they do give the initiate a distinct impression of the grandeur and the lofty
possibilities of Freemasonry's ultimate designs. This may also be the reason that
additional rites and degrees proliferated so rapidly in the first century of modern
Freemasonry.
But ceremony and ritual, no matter how superbly executed, are not enough to really make a
man a Master Mason. An operative master of the craft has to acquire certain skills,
specific knowledge, and practical experience over a period of years before he could
qualify for the title of master mason. A speculative Master, or overseer of the work, must
likewise demonstrate in his own life the qualities and experiences which alone can make
him a symbolic Master of the builders of Brotherhood. Ritual and ceremony can help him to
define and to recognize those spiritual skills. The important question, therefore , is not
"Are you a Master Mason?" It is the more searching and difficult query,
"What is a Master Mason?"
Reverence for the Great Architect of the Universe is a first characteristic. It cannot be
exemplified merely in a lodge. It must be a way of thinking and acting, which manifests
itself at a man's place of business, in his home, at the club, -- in his activities to
promote and encourage the work of a church or synagogue.
Benevolence is the next significant quality; but it must be more than dutiful acts of
charity and relief which alleviate the distress of a fallen brother, his widow, or his
orphans. Benevolence means literally "well wishing", which to a Master Mason
means an attitude of helpful interest to every member of the whole family of mankind.
Tolerance also characterizes the true Master Mason -- not merely the tolerance which
suffers or endures that which is inimical or distasteful, but that spirit of "bear ye
one another's burdens" which permits real understanding of and sympathy for those
with whom we disagree. One reason that Freemasonry is so concerned about freedom,
political as well as spiritual, is that Freemasonry knows the absolute necessity of mutual
tolerance if men are to live in freedom and justice.
Respect for knowledge and the skills dependent thereon is the significant lesson of the
Fellowcraft degree. But such respect is part of a larger reverence which the true Master
Mason accords to excellence in every form. And the true Master Mason has the courage to
define and to insist on excellence, whether he is dealing merely with the ritual labors of
his lodge, or with the performance of his fellow-workers in business, government, and
community affairs. But since excellence alone can recognize the excellent, he reverences
all knowledge and experience which have helped men everywhere to achieve excellence. the
true Master Mason is not satisfied with the "average": he dares to be better
than that.
An operative master mason was trained individually to be an architect or overseer of the
work. He was a man of worth and dignity. The Speculative Master Mason must also trained
individually to be a master of the moral and spiritual skills of the Builders of
Brotherhood. His excellence must make him a man of worth and dignity.
Are you a Master Mason?