TRACES OF A HIDDEN <r *
TRADITIOH IN MASONRY ^
AND MEDIAEVAL MYSTICISM
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Mra. COOPER OAKLEY # » » ♦ »
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Traces of a hdden tradition in masonry
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TRACES OF A HIDDEN TRADITION
IN
Pasnnrj anlr P^Ma^kl pptidsm
FIVE ESSAYS
BY
ISABEL COOPER-OAKLEY
LONDON
THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY
madras: the " THEOSOPHIST " OFFICE, ADYAK
BENARES : THE THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY
1900
CONTENTS.
Page
I. Introduction 5
II. Towards the Hidden Sources of Masonry . 31
III. The Traditions of the Knights Templars
Revived in Masonry . . . . ' . 76
IV. The Troubadours 103
V. The Heavenly Kingdom of the Holy Grail 137
INTRODUCTION.
The series of sketches which are now brought
together appeared originally as detached articles in
the pages of the Theosophical Review, written, how-
ever, with the object of demonstrating to students of
Theosophy that a definite design could be traced
beneath the apparently disconnected mystic doctrines
held by the many occult brotherhoods, heretic sects
and mystic associations which cluster so thickly
together as we glance along the historical by-ways of
religious thought during the Middle Ages, that object
becomes clearer when they appear as they do now in
closer juxtaposition.
To those who wish to understand the reason of
this steady recurrence of mystic tradition in every
century, these studies may be of some use. They
will serve as literary landmarks to guide the seeker to
6 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
those distant sources whence flow faint echoes of
divine truths — the heritage of the divine human
race. Truths that bring dim memories to the soul
which are its highest impulse, and give the clue that
guides it to the inner " science of the soul " — the
mystic quest of all the saints, and the hidden truth
that all religions have tried to teach, and which only
a few in each religion have ever realized.
Mystics, visionaries, dreamers of vain dreams have
been the names which the scoffers have always
thrown at those who counted the world as nought
compared with the treasure of the unseen life, and
who devoted their lives to this divine science, and
tried to reach an understanding of its laws. And as
we trace out the records of the past it will be clearly
seen that the Theosophical development is but
another link in a wondrous chain of mystic teaching
which stretches far back into the night of time.
Such a claim must be proved and its pretentions
shown to be accurate, but it is only by careful
researches in the historical dust-bins of the middle-
ages that these data can be disinterred, and the chain
of evidence rendered complete. Then it becomes
evident that Theosophy is that glorious wisdom-
religion which includes in its scope all religions and
all philosophies.
And as we piece together the fragments of these
historical relics, they waken delicate memories of the
divine dreamer Dionysius the Areopagite, hallowed
echoes of John Septus Erigena, and thus we come
INTRODUCTION. 7
face to face with the holy secrets of tender mystical
souls who sought the true meaning of life. We get
strange glimpses of the intense devotion of the
scholastic Divines, and Monks to whom the unseen
life was an intense and vital reality. The thoughts of
Averroes and the Arabian Mystics emerge — they who
brought much of the Eastern truth and who founded
the great occult schools of the once glorious Toledo,
whence flowed a stream of thought, which formed the
very life and soul of the heresies — so-called — of the
Middle Ages. Nor may we omit the lore of the
Eastern and Syrian Monasteries to whom the books
of Dionysius had taken the wisdom of Plotinus. Nor
can the Troubadours be passed by, the singers of
mystic songs, and carriers of occult knowledge.
Singers, Scholars, Saints, and Martyrs, a goodly
array of men and women, all seeking the soul, and the
soul's true world. Looked at from without, such a
view appears like a worn mosaic pavement, broken,
defaced, with many gaps lacking to make a perfect
picture, and yet as we search and piece the apparently
broken fragments the design begins to unfold itself,
and finally the picture may be traced in perfect
outline. For at the back of all these varying streams
of thought there may be found one centre whence all
diverge, and that great fount was named in ancient
India, Brahma- VidyS, the Theosophia of the Neo-
Platonists.
This Ancient Wisdom kefigion is the " thread-
soul " on which are strung all the various incarnations
8 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
and encasements of the religious life, adapted to the
changing conditions and developments of humanity
in its growth from childhood to manhood.
Begotten by that Spiritual Hierarchy in whose
guardianship is the evolution of the human race,
brought forth from them, They, the guardians of the
mystic tradition, give to those children of men who
are strong enough for the burden, a portion of the
real teaching of the Divine Science* concerning God
and man, and the wonderful relationship that exists
between the two.
With the passing of time the old orders changed,
old forms perished, and the Divine Sun that shone on
the ever-changing screen of time veiled Itself in new
hues, and gathered into new groupings the humanity of
the Western races, and each century which rolled by
evolved a new phase of the ancient mystic tradition.
In the olden days men fought for their faiths, for
they identified the form with that Divine life which
lies at the back of all forms, and the changing of an
outward veil shook their belief in the Holy Spirit,
which it did but shroud. They feared change and
sought to crystallise the Spirit, and this fear of
change gave rise to that tenacious hold on outward
, ceremonies which has wrought so much evil in all the
religions of the world.
* This " Science of the Soul" is the fact against which the Roman
Church waged such bitter war, and formed the basis for the attack upon
the various Sects such as the Albigenses, Patarini, and Vaudois, all
remnants of Gnostic. Sects.
INTRODUCTION. 9
Religious parties, secret societies, sects of every
description, such is the shifting panorama of the
religious life of Europe during the last eighteen
hundred years, and as we glance back from our
present standpoint, it is difficult at times to discern
the mystic traditions, so loud is the clamour of con-
tending sects over their formal doctrines, the outward
expressions of their inner faith.
A word may here be said to guard against one
error that might arise with regard to the Spiritual
Hierarchy before mentioned, the guardians of the
world's religions. It is from this Great Communion
that the World-Saviours have from time to time
come forth, and from this centre have sprung all
the " Sons of God."
The inception of all religions is from Them, but
lesser men build up the body ; like wise teachers
They do not force dogmas on a child humanity. We
see ordinary mankind prolific in building moulds for
their faiths, heaping dogma upon dogma ; but in
tracing back all the religions to their Founders, it
may be seen that at the beginning the outward
observances were ever subordinated to the -inner life,
the forms and ceremonies in fact, were merely
organized in order to turn the attention of man to
the inner and spiritual aspect of life. This method
of training receives its completest exposition in the
ancient code of Manu, where the whole daily life of
ancient India was directed, by its very organization,
towards the religious aspect. In the West this ideal
lO MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
was revived under the monastic orders, but since it
was chiefly done under the rigid doctrinal supervision
of the Catholic Church, the ideal of the simple
spiritual life was crushed.
For the building of form — even religious form — is
materializing in its tendency, and thus we see that
in all the centuries subsequent to the inception of
Christianity, the tendency of every " reformation " has
been to throw back, if possible, to the original
standard erected by the Founder. On careful
investigation, for instance, the Christ appears
responsible only for certain high and pure ideals,
insistence being made on a holy life leading to a
divine goal. The doctrines and elaborations which
were later introduced arose in every case from the
followers, who brought in their more worldly aims,
and transformed thereby the purity and simplicity of
the early ideal into an ornate body,* with wordly
passions and constant strivings for mundane power.
Hence we find at the end of the nineteenth
century, on one side the Catholic Church, on the
* " The favour and success of the PauUcians in the eleventh and
twelfth centuries must be imputed to the strong, though secret, discon-
tent vfhich armed the most pious Christians against the Church of
Rome. Her avarice was oppressive, her despotism odious ; less
degenerate, perhaps, than the Greeks in the worship of saints and
images, her innovations were more rapid and scandalous." — Gibbon
(E.), Decline amd Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. IX., chap, liv.,
p. 289. In Italy the descendants of the Manichaeans were termed
Cathari, sometimes Gazari, or "The Pure." A good account, with
many references, is tp be found in Fuesslins (Johann CoTaaA),_Neue und
unpartheyische Kirchen uttd Ketxerhistorie der Mittlern Zeit. Frank-
furt u. Leipzig, 1770,
INTRODUCTION. I I
other the Protestant, and between the extremes of
these doctrinal communities, a fluctuating, ever-
increasing body of thinkers, formed by the mystics
and idealists of both parties, who from century to
century have been at variance with their " orthodox "
brethren, seeking a higher Truth, a purer ideal, than
those offered by the dogmatists.
The doctrines hidden in the secret fraternities
have been handed down in regular succession from
first to last. We can see that the esoteric teachings
which in Egypt, in Persia, and in Greece, were kept
from the ears of an illiterate multitude precisely
because it was known that they could not, in their
then uneducated and ignorant condition, understand
the deeper truth of Nature and of God. Hence the
secrecy with which these pearls of great price were
guarded and handed on with slight modifications into
the possession of those grand early Christians, the
Gnostics, the so-called heretics ; then straight from
the Gnostic schools of Syria and Egypt to their
successors the Manichseans, and from these through
the Paulicians, Albigenses, and Templars, and other
secret bodies — these occult traditions have been
bequeathed to the mystic bodies of our own times.
Persecuted by Protestants on one side and by
Catholics on the other, the history of mysticism is the
history of martyrdom.
It is sometimes said that modern Theosophy is of
sporadic growth and can show no sure basis, no line
of religious or spiritual ancestry. But very little
12 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
research proves the contrary, proves indeed that in
spite of the many forms — religious bodies, secret
societies, occult groups, Protestant reforms, and
Catholic heresies — there is distinct evidence that
there are certain points on which all of the various
orders meet in accord, and that when these points are
brought together, there appear self-revealed the same
underlying teachings which form the basis of the
great Wisdom Religion, parent and children standing
out in unmistakable relation. For as King truly
remarks :
Hippolytus was right in calling all these
heresies nothing better than the old philosophies disguised
under new names ; his only error lay in not going back far
enough to find their ultimate source.*
Let us turn to that great conception, the doctrine
of reincarnation, sometimes less correctly termed in
Metempsychosis or transmigration. This tenet is the
basis of the old Wisdom-religion — or Brahma- Vidya,
and can be distinctly traced in all those mystic
societies which draw their spiritual life from Gnostic
sources. As Leckyf says :
The doctrine of transmigration was emphatically repu-
diated by the Catholics ; the human race was isolated
by the scheme of redemption, more than ever from all
other races,
and it was against this isolation that the mystics,
* King (C. W.), The Gnostics and their Remains, p. 13. London,
1887.
+ Lecky (W. E., M.A.), History of European Morals, Vol. 11.
p. 167. Third Edition. London, 1877.
INTRODUCTION. 1 3
or so-called heretics, struggled ; this ancient doc-
trine of the transmigration of the soul was one of
the heretical opinions for which the Cathari* were
persecuted by the Catholic Church. It was very
freely taught by the Troubadours in their mystic
poems ; a monk in his attack on Troubadour heretics
mentions this doctrine with much scoffing and
ridicule. We owe a debt of thanks to many such
opponents, for they often show us where traces of the
" Secret Doctrine " are to be found. For instance, it
is to the orthodox and pious Catholic, Eugene Aroux,
that we owe a mass of most important and valuable
information on the Troubadours and their religious
mission ; their connection with mystic bodies, and the
esoteric interpretation of their poems. Information
as to their tenets which is not divulged by the
mystics themselves is often given to us by their
opponents, whose dissertations provide us with much
evidence.
Such research indeed reveals a new phase, for out
of the dim obscurity which shrouds the early
centuries, undoubted historic evidence can be found
of a wide-spread occult fraternity, which under
various names has introduced into many societies the
hidden aspect of spiritual truths, striving to avert the
* Says Lea : " Transmigration provides for the fiiture reward or
punishment of deeds done in life." Lea (Henry Charles), A History of
the Inquisition of the Middle Ages, Vol. I., p. 91, 98.^ Schmid (C),
Histoire et Doctrine de la Secte des Cathares oii Albigeois, Vol. II.,
p. 256. Paris, 1849. Says : " La Metempsycose enseign^e par I'une
des <fcoles Cathares se retrouve egalement dans le ManichSsme."
14 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
materialising tendency by turning the eyes of men to
the inner instead of the outer life.
Three principal streams of religious thought can be
distinctly traced as we struggle through the labyrinth
of evidences, and these may not inappropriately be
termed the Petrine, Pauline, and Johannine doctrines,
the last being the fountain-head of all the later
Christian mystical heresies. The Johannine doctrine
caused great excitement in the fourteenth century,
the details of which will be given when we come to
that period. It must be borne in mind that the true
occultism, the real mysticism, is essentially religious
in its nature, and students of Theosophy must not be
surprised to find that some of the historical religious
sects* have had their foundation in occultism and
Theosophy. Such for instance are the Albigenses and
the Waldenses, the forerunners of the Wesleyans, the
Quietists and Quakers. These appear side by side
with the Rosicrucians, the Knights Templars, the
Fratres Lucis and many other sects who hold the
same religious tenets.
This view will necessarily arouse some criticism,
for the standard orthodox works on all the sects and
heresies studiously omit every reference to occultism,
and in some cases the real tradition can scarcely be
* The principal secret societies take St. John as their patron saint
as we shall see when dealing with the details of many of these bodies.
Notably is this the case with many of the Masonic bodies. See the
articles on " Johannesbruder " and "Johanneschristen" in Allgemeines
Handbuch der Frtimaurerei, Zweite voUig umgearbeitete Auflage ; ii. p.
68. Leipzig, 1S65.
INTRODUCTION. 1 5
found, SO carefully is every reference to it extirpated
from ordinary history.
It is only by searching into the records themselves
that the real evidences of such esoteric doctrine are
discovered, and it is in truth somewhat startling to
find so many, while the outside public is in total
ignorance of the very existence of a mystic tradition
or a secret doctrine, or a Spiritual Hierarchy. On
this point a well-known writer on mysticism says :
The publication of the life and times of Reuchlin, who
exercised so marked an influence over Erasmus, Luther,
Melancthon, and the chief spirits of his age will, I trust, afford
a key to many passages of the German Reformation which
have not yet been understood in this country. They will
reveal many of the secret causes, the hidden springs, which
were moving the external machinery of several ecclesiastical
reforms, which were themselves valuable rather as symbols of
a spiritual undercurrent than as actual institutions and
establishments. Felix qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.
Fortunate is it for the student of truth when he can thus dis-
cover the causes of effects, when he is allowed to examine the
origin of those changes and revolutions, which but for this
intelligible process would look like monstrous and un-
accountable abortions, obeying no law and owning no
reason. Fortunate is he who is thus allowed to step behind
the scenes of the world's drama and hear the plans pro-
posed and the pros and cons of the councillors which give
rise to lines of action.*
Truly one could almost think a Theosophist was
*Tke Life and Times of John Reuchlin or Capnion, by Francis
Barham (editor of the Hebrew and English Bible. London, 1843),
p. 17.
1 6 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
writing the paragraph just quoted. The whole of
Reuchlin's period will, we hope, be dealt with in due
course, and a digest of the mysticism of this period
made.
As already said, the occult doctrines of the
Gnostics were heirlooms and sacred traditions from
a very distant past, and when the early Christian era
dawned, the human race had long been plunged in
the darkening and materializing tendencies of the
Black Age.* Soon indeed, the Gnosis was rejected
by the orthodox church, and the sacred and secret
teachings of the Great Master Jesus became mate-
rialised ; they have, however, never been lost, and
traces of them can be discerned from epoch to
epoch.
Says Marrasf in his interesting study :
When therefore we speak of the continuation of their
doctrines during the Middle Ages, we mean only a secret
transmission of certain opinions, either in a number of
families whose inner doctrines did not correspond to their
outward profession of faith, or in the midst of certain sects
which had had relations with the Gnostics The
vitality of the Manichseans was wonderful ; notwithstanding
the severe persecution they endured in the heathen as well as
the Christian Roman Empire, they survived both in the East
and in the West, and often reappeared in the Middle Ages
in different parts of Europe. Manichseism dared to do
what Gnosticism had never ventured upon : it openly
entered the lists against the Church in the fifth century,
* The Kali-Yuga of the Hindus.
t Marras (P.), Secret Fraternities of the Middle Ages, pp. 19-21.
London, 1865.
INTRODUCTION. 1 7
but the civil authority came to aid the religious authority in
repressing it. The Manichaeans wherever they appeared
were immediately attacked : they were condemned in Spain
in the year 380, and at Treves in 385, in their representa-
tives the Priscillianists ; the Empire seem determined to
annihilate Manichasism*, as well as Gnosticism when
suddenly the latter arose under a new form and under
a new name — that of Paulicianism.
In order that our readers may follow this line of
study more clearly, it will be well to group the
evidences of each century together. We must bear
in mind that many of these societies stretch back
through several centuries, and are not limited to one
date or confined to one period. The consequent
overlapping makes one of the difficulties of following
these evidences of the secret tradition. Sometimes
a body will remain the same, changing only its name,
but keeping the same tenets. This is markedly
the case with the Albigenses, the Paulicians, the
Waldenses, and many of the middle age bodies
— the Rosicrucians and others. Then again, we
find that the same terms are sometimes used for
the highest spiritual sciences and at others debased by
the usage of charlatans. Theurgy, alchemy, mystic-
ism, occultism, theosophy, yoga, all these names have
* In his last years the Pope had leisure to turn his arms against the
Manichsean heretics, who, starting from the mountains of Bulgaria,
carried their pure but stem religion westwards in a constant stream
which never lost touch with its fountain-head, and under the names of
Paterini, Ketzer, and Albigenses, earned the execration of their contem-
poraries, and the respect of posterity. Browning (Oscar), Gtulphs and
Ghibellines : a short History of Medieval Italy from 1250-14C39, p. 10,
1893,
B
1 8 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
been alternately used to indicate the purest and
highest ideal of development for man, and then
adopted by those who sought in them but their own
selfish ends. To discriminate between these extremes,
to find the true and leave the false mysticism, is then
the aim in view. It is perhaps simplest to begin with
the present era and trace the way back through the
darkness of the middle ages to the period when the
Gnostic schools still preserved to a great extent the
sacred Eastern traditions.* The details of that
period must be left to hands more skilled to treat
the subject.
Let us then take a survey of the last nine centuries
of the Christian era, and in a series of sketches sub-
stantiate with historical facts the proposition here but
briefly outlined : that the ancient Wisdom Religion,
or Theosophia, has had throughout these periods its
votaries, teachers, messengers and followers, that the
Great Lodge has never been without its represen-
tatives, and in truth that the guidance of the spiritual
* One curious fact which makes a further identity between these
bodies is given by H. C. Lea, in his History of the Inquisition of the
Middle Ages, Vol. I., p. 92. London, 1888. " A further irrefragable
evidence of the derivation of Catharism from Manichsism is furnished
by the Sacred thread and garment which were worn by all the Perfect
among the Cathari. This custom is too peculiar to have had an
independent origin, and is manifestly the Mazdean kosti and saddarah,
the sacred thread and shirt, the wearing of which was essential to all
believers, and the use of which by both Zends and Brahmins shows
that its origin is to be traced to the prehistoric period anterior to the
separation of those branches of the Aryan family. Among the Cathari
the wearer of the thread and vestment was what was known among the
inquisitors as the hcereticus induttis or vestitus, initiated into all the
mysteries of the heresy."
INTRODUCTION. 1 9
evolution of the world by this body of teachers can be
discerned by those who search the records.
The wave of gross materialism which swept over
the Western world is now but slowly rolling away.
The deplorable scepticism of our own day is but
the result, and the natural result, of the methods
adopted by the Catholic and Protestant Churches in
the struggles of the Middle Ages. It has already
been pointed out as one of the basic teachings of
Theosophy that part of the evolutionary progress
is the breaking up of forms in order that the spiritual
nature of man may find wider conditions. In both
of these Churches the extremes of dogmatic limitation
were reached, the result being an ever increasing
irritation of the more highly educated people against
dogmas which were contrary to reason, and forms
of faith which degraded the God they were supposed
to uphold. For the Protestants believed in the
verbal inspiration of an inaccurately translated Bible,
claiming that their God gave his fiat in books whose
historical basis is now shown to be unreliable. All
who refused the letter of the law and sought the
spirit which lay behind were cast out. We have but
to search the records of the Puritans and some other
Protestant bodies to see how rigid were their dealings
with those who rejected their narrow theological
dogmas.*
* See the execution and trial of Servetus, 1553, Willis (R., M.D.)
Servetus and Calvin. A Study of an important Epoch in the early
History of the Reformation ; p. 480. London, 1877.
20 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
The Catholic Church permitted no education, no
freedom of religious thought, and, knowing the
unstable basis on which she stood, the Dominicans
in the early middle ages took up the very simple
position of entirely forbidding the reading of the
Bible, except in such scamped versions as were
authorised ; and all who did not obey were removed
by the Church. Indeed, the bloodiest and blackest
records that history can show us are the attacks of
the Catholic Church on the mystics of all these
centuries.
" We do condemn to perpetual infamy the Cathari,
the Patarines, the Leonists, the Speronists, and the
Arnoldists circumcised, and all other heretics of both
sexes by what name soever they are called. . . .
And in case any nian by a presumptuous attempt,
being instigated thereto by the enemy of mankind,
shall in any way endeavour the infraction of them
[i.e., the laws against the heretics] let him be
assured, that by so doing, he will incur the indig-
nation of Almighty God, and of the blessed Apostles
Peter and Paul ! "
Thus thundered Pope Honorius III. in the four-
teenth century.* To give one solitary instance out
of the numerous condemnations that fluttered about
the mystic path.
Indeed it is hardly credible, even with the records
open before us, that such inhuman tortures as were
* History of the Christian Church, by the Rev. Henry Stabbing,
A.M. (London, 1834), ii., 301.
INTRODUCTION. 2 1
perpetrated on some of the mystic sects enumerated
could have been devised in the name of a Saviour of
mercy and love. Such fiendish barbarity, however,
brought its own karma, a rich reward of hatred,
scepticism and unbelief. The education and know-
ledge that the Church discountenanced and withheld
were reached by natural evolution ; the priests who
should have been the spiritual leaders were over-
thrown and cast down, and the result was that
education fell into the hands of materialistic and
rationalistic thinkers, and the spiritual aspect of
life was crushed out.
During the dark days of the revolution in France,
it was the mystics who most bitterly deplored the
growing scepticism. The materialists were the
enemies of mystics, occultists and religionists of
every kind, Catholic and Protestant. The Catholic
party tried to father the outbreak of the revolution
on the mystics. The Abb^ Barruel in his book on
Jacobinism * has taken every pains to do this, as
also have the Abbd Migne and many others. But the
appalling corruption of the Catholic Church, conjoined
with her insistence on the ignorance of the people, was
one of the great factors in that terrible outbreak.
In a very interesting correspondence between the
Baron Kirschberger de Liebesdorf and Louis Claude
de St. Martin,! the situation is most clearly described,
* Barruel: Mimoircs pour servir i FHistoire du JacubinUme, 4
vols. London, 1797.
t Le Philosophe Inconnu, the leader of the Martinists.
22 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
and the following important extract shows the
insidious method of work adopted by the German
materialistic school, the enemy alike of mystics and
Churches.
The Baron writes :
" MoRAT, _/««(?, 1795.
" . . . . Unbelief has actually formed a well-
organised club ; it is a great tree which overshadows a
considerable portion of Germany, bearing very bad fruit, and
pushing its roots even into Switzerland. The enemies of
the Christian religion have their affiliations, their lookers-
out, and a well-established correspondence; they have a
provincial for each department, who directs the subaltern
agents ; they control the principal German newspapers ;
these newspapers are the favourite reading of the clergy who
do not like to study ; in them they puff the writings which
air their views, and abuse all besides ; if a writer ventures
to rise against this despotism, he can hardly find a publisher
who will take charge of his manuscript. This is what they
can do in the literary way ; but they have much more in
their power than this. If there is a place vacant in the
public instruction department . . . they have three or
four candidates all ready, whom they get presented through
different channels ; ... in this way is constituted the
University of Gottingen. . . . Another grand means
which they employ is that of . . . calumny. This is
all the easier for them, that most of the Protestant ecclesi-
astics, are, unhappily, their zealous agents ; and as this class
has a thousand ways of mixing everywhere, they can at
pleasure circulate reports which are sure to hit their mark,
before one knows anything about it, or is able to defend
oneself This monstrous coalition has cost its chief, an old
man of letters at Berlin and at the same time one of the
most celebrated publishers of Germany, thirty years' labour.
INTRODUCTION. 23
He has edited the first journal of the country ever since 1 765 ;
his name is Frederick Nicolai. This Bibliothique Ger-
manique has, by its agents, taken hold also of the spirit of
the Literary Gazette of Jena, which is very well got up, and
circulates wherever the German language is known. Besides
this Nicolai influences the Berlin Journal, and the Museum,
two works of repute. Political organisation and affiliated
societies were estabhshed, when these journals had suffi-
ciently disseminated their venom. Nothing can equal the
constancy with which these people have followed their plan.
They have moved slowly, but surely ; and, at the present
hour, their progress has been so enormous, and their
influence become so frightful, that no effort can now avail
against them ; Providence alone can deliver us from this
plague.
At first, the march of the Nicolaites was very circum-
spect ; they associated the best heads of Germany in their
Bibliothkqtie Universelle, their scientific articles were
admirable, and the reviews of theological works occupied a
considerable portion of every volume. These reviews were
composed with so much wisdom that our professors in
Switzerland recommended them in their public discourses to
our young Churchmen. But they let in the poison [of
materialism] a little at a time and very carefully.*
This organised conspiracy was the result of the
methods adopted by the Catholic Church. Men
demanded knowledge, sought knowledge, and
attained knowledge, but only of the material side
of life. Shocked by the barbaric superstitions and
illogical dogmas insisted on by the Church, the revolt
of reason threw men back into a dogmatism which
* La Correspondance inidite deL.C. Saint-Martin et Kirchoerger,
Baron de Lieiistorf(l^qz•l1yJ). Paris, 1862; pp. 195, 196.
24 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
was scarcely less rigid than the one they had left.
The study of history, the knowledge of science, all
tended to show the superficiality of that basis on
which the Catholic Church had reared herself, and
the leaders of thought who led this revolt, the
Encyclopaedists in France and the NicolaYtes in
Germany, were the bitter fruit of Catholic karma.
They banded themselves together, and it was this
body of sceptics and their organised conspiracy for
which the Ahh6 Barruel and others tried to make the
mystics responsible. The Church blamed others for
the results of her own work, and the poison of
unbelief and deadly materialism was meantime being
slowly spread in Europe by the Nicolaltes.
They tried to crush out all belief in or investiga-
tions into the unseen life and its forces. Hence their
bitter and criminal attacks upon the Comte de St.
Germain, Cagliostro, Saint Martin, and also upon the
various mystical secret societies and Freemasonry
in general. Keeping this powerful and malignant
organisation* in view, we shall better understand the
charges brought against the various mystics above
mentioned. It is only in the course of research that
it is possible to realise the vindictiveness and argus-
eyed watchfulness with which these Nicolaites pursued
mysticism and Freemasonry. Article after article,
book upon book, was produced, one and all from the
same source, each teeming with the same poisonous
* The Nicolaites.
INTRODUCTION. 25
intent, the destruction of mysticism and the crushing
out of the spiritual life.
The eighteenth century is perhaps the most
difficult in which to sift the true tradition from the
spurious ; mushroom-like, semi-mystical societies
sprang up on all sides, claiming occult knowledge
and mystic teaching ; but when these claims are sifted
for verification they lack the stamp of high morality
and purity which is the ineffaceable mark of all that
emanates from the Great Lodge ; hence in selecting
the societies and bodies which will be dealt with and
studied in detail, only those have been chosen in
which outer and inner investigation proves their
unmistakable origin to be from a source whose ideals
are pure and holy.
That there was definite connection between the
various sects, societies, and heresies, is evident ; they
had moreover a common language of signs, by which
they could make themselves known to each other.
Says Rossetti, speaking of the fourteenth century :
There are some events in history, whether literary,
or political, or ecclesiastical, which at first sight appear to us
quite enigmatical ; but when once aware of the existence of
the marked language of the secret Anti-papal Sects (especially
of the Society of the Templars, and the Patarini, or Albigenses,
or Cathari, with whom the learned in Italy were then so
strictly connected), we find them very intelligible and clear.*
• Disquisitions on the Anti-papal Spirit which produced the
Reformation, by Gabriele Rossetti, Prof, of Italian Literature at King's
College (London, 1834), ii. 156. He is here referring to a secret
language, the existence of which was known to many writers.
26 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
So that Rossetti speaks in the same manner as
Barham in the passage already cited about a secret
force* permeating the outer society. Again he says :
Why were the Templars, who were members of the most
illustrious families in Europe, sacrificed by hundreds in
different countries ? Why were the Patarini burned alive in
almost every city ? History tells us : they belonged to secret
societies, and professed doctrines inimical to Rome. What
those doctrines were is well known, as far as regards the
Patarini. t
Rossetti then proceeds to mention the Albigenses
as a sect emanating from the Templars, who them-
selves held Eastern doctrines, a fact not found in
the ordinary standard dictionaries of heresies, for
the connection between those religious bodies, the
Templars, the Rosicrucians, and the Freemasons is
entirely suppressed, yet the historical links are all to
be found by the unprejudiced student.
The rough enumeration which now follows of the
mystical societies and so-called heresies serves only
as a guide to where the evidence can be found.
* Says Lea in speaking of Calabria : " The Heretics sought and
obtained in 1497 from King Frederic the confirmation by the crown of
agreements. . . . They were visited every two years by the
travelling pastors or barbes, who came in pairs, an elder known as the
reggitore, and a younger, the coadiutore, journeying with some pretence
of occupation, finding in every city the secret band of believers whom it
was their mission to comfort and keep steadfast in the faith
Everywhere they met friends acquainted with their secret passwords,
and in spite of ecclesiastical vigilance there existed throughout
Italy a subterranean network of heresy disguised under outward
conformity."— Lea (H. C), History of the Inquisition of the Middle
Ages; 11. , pp. 268, 269. New York ; 1888.
t Of. cit., I. 14S.
INTRODUCTION. 27
They are, moreover, selected from many other bodies
simply because in their inception they fulfil the
before-mentioned conditions of purity and morality
combined with occult knowledge. Some few societies,
or groups rather, have been omitted simply because
they are so occult that very little outer historical
evidence is forthcoming. Facts are known about
them by a limited number of people ; but they
stand more as the inspirers of the bodies here
enumerated than in their ranks. A few names of
leading mystics are also given, so that students
may be able to trace the groups to which they
are related.
Eighteenth century : The Fratres Lucis, or The
Knights of Light ; The Rosicrucians ; The Knights
and Brothers Initiate of St. John the Evangelist from
Asia, or the Asiatische Briider ; The Martinists ; The
Theosophical Society* ; The Quietists ; The Knights-
Templars ; Some Masonic Bodies.
Seventeenth century : The Rosicrucians ; The
Templars ; The Asiatische Briider ; Academia di
Secreti, at the home of John Baptista Porta ; The
Quietists, founded by Michael de Molinos ; and the
whole group of Spanish mystics.
Sixteenth century : The Rosicrucians became
widely known ; The Order of Christ, derived from
the Templars ; Cornelius Agrippa, of Nettesheim, in
connection with a secret association ; Saint Teresa ;
* Founded in London, 1767, by Benedicte Chastamer, a mystic
mason.
28 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
St. John of the Cross ; Philippe Paracelsus ; The Fire
Philosophers ; Militia ,Crucifera Evangelica, under
Simon Studion ; The Mysteries of the Hermetic
Masters.
Fifteenth century : The Fratres Lucis at Florence,
also the Platonic Academy; The Alchemical Society;
Society of the Trowel ; The Templars ; The
Bohemian Brothers, or Unitas Fratrum ; The Rosi-
crucians.
Fourteenth century : The Hesychasts, or the pre-
cursors of the Quietists ; The Friends of God ;
German Mysticism, led by Nicholas of Basle ; Johann
Tauler ; Christian Rosencreutz ; The great Templar
persecution ; The Fraticelli.
Thirteenth century : The Brotherhood of the
Winkelers ; The Apostolikers ; The Beghards and
the Beguinen ; The Brothers and Sisters of the Free
Spirit ; The Lollards ; The Albigenses, crushed out
by the Catholic Church ; The Troubadours.
Twelfth century: The Albigenses appear, probably
derived from Manichzeans, who settled in Albi ; The
Knights Templars, publicly known ; The Cathari,
widely spread in Italy ; The Hermetists.
Eleventh century : The Cathari and Patarini,
condemned by the Roman Church, both derived
from Manichseans ; The Paulicians with the same
tradition, also persecuted ; The Knights of Rhodes
and of Malta ; Scholastic Mystics.
Tenth century: Paulicians: Bogomiles; Euchites ;
Manichaeans.
INTRODUCTION. 29
From the Ninth century to the Third century
the following organisations and sects appear :
Manichaeans ; Euchites ; Magistri Comacini ; * Diony-
sian Artificers ; Ophites ; Nestorians ; Eutychians.
In the Fourth century the central figure for all
occult students is the great lamblichus ; the fore-
runner of the Rosicrucians ; and in the Third
century we find Manes, the widow's son, the link
for all of those who believe in the great work done
by the " Sons of the Widow " and the Magian
Brotherhood.
The various sects and bodies here detailed should
not, of course, be understood as belonging exclusively
to the century under which they appear in the above
classification. All that this list is intended to convey
is that such sects were more markedly prominent
during the century in which they are placed.
The possibility of dealing with mysticism and the
real mystic societies consists in the fact that we are
dealing with a certain definite teaching, its difficulty
consists in the fact that the outward presentation is
constantly changing according to the exigencies of
* Llorente (J. A.). Hist, of the Inquisition. London, 1826.
Merzario (Giuseppe, Prof.); / Maestri Comacini; Milano ; 1893.
This author says : " In this darkness which extended over all Italy, only
one small lamp remained alight, making a bright spark in the vast
Italian necropolis. It was irom the Magistri Comacini. Their respective
names are unknown, their individual works unspecialized, but the breath
of their spirit might be felt all through those centuries, and their name
collectively is legion. We may safely say that of all the works of art
between 800 and 1000, the greater and better part are due to that
brotherhood — always faithful and often secret — of the Magistri
Comacini."
30 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
the f)eriod. New teachers are sent to build new
forms, for the tendency to crystallize and to petrify is
the natural inclination of the human mind ; the
emotional nature clings fondly to familiar conditions,
but these belong to the " natural body " and we are
following the evolution of the " spiritual body."
Through forms and phases many and painful does the
soul acquire experience. Hence all these many
societies have been but the schools through which the
souls have been passing, and wherein they have
acquired knowledge.
Thus the study of mysticism in the Middle Ages
places before us a landscape flickering with shadow
and with light, and the people who travel across that
tract are alternately in light and shade, and their
experiences, bitter as well as sweet, belong to all
pilgrims who are seeking truth in the perplexities of
the changing phases of human life.
TOWARDS THE HIDDEN SOURCES
OF MASONRY.
As researches into its history are pursued, it appears
more and more probable that the Masonic movement,
to state it generally, was a sort of broad, semi-mystic
and largely moral movement, worked from certain
unknown centres, and deriving its origin from some
ancient and not generally known basis. That is to
say, its basis was, and is, unknown to all of those who
do not recognise a definitely spiritual guidance in the
practical, mental, and moral developments which
from time to time change the surface of society by
the introduction of new factors into the evolving
processes of which life consists. Researches into
Masonic literature must be made in many languages
and countries before this view can be firmly
established for the general world, but to the student
of Theosophy who is also a student of Masonry it
32 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
becomes more and more apparent that the movement .
which is generally termed Masonic had its roots in
that true mysticism which originated, as an ideal
effort, from the spiritual Hierarchy which guides the
evolution of the world ; and that, however much the
branches may be separated from the root-idea, there
is nevertheless a mystic teaching in Masonry for
those who will seek below the surface.
One such searcher into the origin of Masonry
gives the following interesting and suggestive passage
in his study on the discoveries respecting the obelisk
made by Commander Gorringe, which tend to " prove
that an institution similar to Freemasonry existed in
Egypt," and the writer proceeds :
According to our reading of history, the priesthoods of
Belus, or Baal in Assyria, of Osiris in Egypt, of Jehova in
Palestine, of Jupiter in Greece and Rome, of Ahura-Mazda
in Persia, of Brahma in India, and of Teutates in Britain,
were primitive secret societies, who instructed and governed
the primitive families and races. It little matters whether
we call the members of those priesthoods Belites, Pasto-
phori, Levites, Curetes, Magi, Brahmins, or Druids ; they
were connected by secret ties, and intercommunicated from
the Indus to the Tiber, from the Nile to the Thames.
Hence there ever has been, is, and ever will be Free-
masonry on our planet. Masonry was ever more or less
connected with priesthoods till about the thirteenth century
of our era, when Masons declared themselves Freimaurer
(Freemasons). Since about that period priesthoods have
ever denounced and persecuted Freemasonry.*
* Weisse, M.D. (John A.), Obelisk and Freemasonry, p.p. 94, 95.
New York; 1880.
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. ^^
The evidences of the basic mystic teaching can be
largely traced by watching the eddies and under-
currents which constantly break the smooth stream of
ordinary Masonry. Frequently do we find other and
smaller bodies, whose mystic aim was more marked
and whose occult tendencies were more decidedly
definite, springing up within the larger organisation.
Some few members with deeper insight gather round
themselves others with the same tendencies, and thus
we find formations of smaller societies constantly
taking place. It is the main features of some of these
that we are now going to outline, and after we have
briefly reviewed the sources from which some of
the leading Masons draw their historical Masonic
tradition, we can pass from the general outline to the
smaller societies, and it will be seen that the same
traditions re-appear in them.
And in corroboration of the hypothesis just
enunciated, the words of a well-known Mason may
be quoted, who in summing up an admirable lecture
which had just been delivered by a Brother Mason
spoke as follows :
A thoughtful consideration of our principal ceremony
irresistibly leads us to the doctrine that was typified by the
Jiasios in the King's Chamber of the great Pyramid, and
connects with the main characteristic of all the mysteries,
which embodied the highest truths then known to the
illuminated ones.
. . . The twelfth century witnessed an outbreak of
mystic symbolism, perhaps unparalleled in our era, and gave
us the religious legends of the Holy Grail, which point to
C
34 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
an Eastern origin; this period coincides with the greatest
popularity of the Templars, whose fall is contemporaneous
with the decadence noticed by the lecturer.
Without pressing the argument, I may suggest that some
portion, at least, of our symbolism may have come through
a Templar source, Romanist yet deeply tinged with
Gnosticism ; while at a later date the Lollards (supposed
to be inheritors of Manichaeism) and who were but one of
the many religio-political societies with which Europe was
honeycombed, possibly introduced or revived some of these
teachings One thing is certain, that satisfactory
I renderings of our symbols can only be obtained by a study
\of Eastern Mysticism: KabaUstic, Hermetic, Pythagorean
land Gnostic.
Down the centuries we find enrolled the names of
philosophic teachers who veiled their doctrines in figures
similar to those in vogue among the Rosicrucians and still
more recent students, and often identical with the signs we
blazon on the walls of our Lodges and Chapters.*
Many Theosophical students will find such
utterances of immense value, as show^ing the view
held by a Masonic authority of such well-known
repute as Mr. E. Macbean, LG., with regard to some,
at any rate, of the Eastern links with moderrs
Masonry .-|- Mr. Gould, the lecturer, also made the
following suggestive remarks :
* Ars Quatuor Coronatorum. Transactions of the Lodge Quatuoi:
Coronati, No. 2076. III., Parti., p. 31. London; 1890.
t Another Masonic authority says: — "A little latec, or about:
the year 200 a.d., the most noteworthy Gnostic sect was a
Persian branch, the Manichees ; it was divided into three classes —
Auditors, Elect, and Perfect, and the sect was ruled by twelve-
Apostles, with a thirteenth as President. Manicheism was always.
a source of trouble to the Church, and St. Augustine between
the years 374 and 383 a.d., was an " Auditor," but for some reason
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 35
With regard to the derivations of Masonry, there are,
briefly, three possibilities.
It may have come down to us
I. Through a strictly Masonic Channel.
II. Through the Rosicrucians.
III. Through a variety of defunct societies, whose
usages and customs have been appropriated,
not inherited, by the Freemasons.
The views thus put forward by these two
authorities coincide perfectly with those of many
German and Italian mystic writers of the last
century and those preceding it. We will, therefore,
investigate the early traditions in order to trace the
links which bind them together, and join the chain to
the yet more remote spiritual centre hidden, though
not lost, in the clouds of time, and in piecing together
could not obtain advancement, and so abandoned the system. The
Rite had a Theosophical Gospel which taught that the basis of all
religion was one. In 657 they had changed their name to Paulicians,
and later Cathari (purified), Euchites, Bogomiles, and in more recent
times still, Lollards. We could quote numberless authors of the early
period of the Church to prove the origin of these sects from the Eastern
Magi, but it is unnecessary and space forbids. In a few words, they
were a secret speculative society with degrees, distinguished by signs,
tokens and words like Freemasonry, and the Church of Rome from the
4th to the 19th century has hated them with the hatred of death,
butchering and burning them by tens of thousands ; for Christianity has
shed more blood than any other faith. Yet the fathers often admit
their great purity of life, but that was their sin against a corrupt priest-
hood and unpardonable. The Templars were Gnostics, on the evidence
of the Papal trials in 1313, and Hugh, G.M. 1118, is said to have
received initiation from Theocletus, Patriarch of St. John the Baptist
and the Codex Nazareus." The Kneph, Vol. V., No. 4, 1885.
" Records and Documents relating to Freemasonry as a speculative
society," by John Yarker, P.M., P.M.M.K., P.Z., P.E.C., P.R.G.C,
&c. Chapter IV. — " Secret Theosophical Societies. " (Continued from
p^e4l.)
36 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
the fragments of these esoteric links it is better to
begin with the views of a well-known Italian Mason,
for it is to the " Sons of the Widow " we must look
for help in revivifying the ancient spiritual truths of a
once esoteric Masonry. The writer from whom we
quote believed profoundly in Masonry and' writes of it
as one who knows that it was a vehicle for conveying
spiritual mysteries to the people : Thus he writes*
of the early history of Masonry :
Three centuries had passed since the origin of
Christianity when at this epoch of barbarism there arose
in the same Persia whence so many teachings had gone
forth, a philosopher who wished to lead back the confused
spirit of men to the cult of the only true God. He was
called Manes. Some of the uninstructed have regarded
him as the first originator of our Order, and the creator of
our doctrines.
Manes lived under the Persian King Sopares. He
endeavoured to recall to life in their entire purity the
mysteries and the religion of Zoroaster, uniting them with
the pure compassionate teachings of Jesus Christ. The
teachings of Manes were liberal, whereas superstition and
* The quotations are taken from the German edition of the work
of Reghellini da Schio, La Mofonnerie considirie comnie le Risultat des
Religions Egyptienne,Juive et Chritienne. Paris, 1883.
See also Eckert (Edward Emil), Die Mysierien der Heidenkirche
erhallen und fortgebildet im Bunde der alten und der tieuen Kinder der
Wittwe. Schaffhausen, i860. Chap, vi., p. 77. "Die Manichaer
Oder die Kinder der Wittwe in Abendlande als Johannes-Briider-und
Schwesternschaft. "
In this chapter Eckert traces the connection of the Manichaeans or
the "Children of the Widow" to the Johannes-Bruder of the West,
and links them also to the German Building Corporations and Societies.
Chap, vii., 307. In this chapter he links them by their signs and
symbols to the Cologne Masonic body of 1535.
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 37
despotism governed Europe. It is easy to believe that
those who professed demagogic principles and a religion
free from all that was chimerical would be persecuted.
Thus the Manichaeans from about the fourth century were
persecuted to the fullest by all the despots and by the
Romish Priests. . . . The Holy Augustine, brought
up in the mysteries of Zoroaster adapted to the holy
teaching of Jesus, became his bitterest persecutor and the
greatest enemy to the teaching of Manes which was known
under the name of the religion of the Child of the Widow.
This hatred shown towards Manes by St. Augustine, and
his zeal for the Christian Trinity doctrine, may have
originated in the vexation which Augustine experienced at
having been only admitted into the first degree of the
mysteries of Manes. The Magi, who had recognised in
him an ambitious and restless spirit, were thereby induced
to refuse to him all advancement, and this in spite of his
nine years study, which he made in order to be raised to the
higher degree. This fact is sufficiently confirmed by Fleury,
Baronius, and by Augustine himself in his confessions.
After the death of Manes, twelve of his pupils went forth
into all the parts of the earth and imparted his teachings
and his mysteries to all people. They illumined as with a
lightning-flash Asia, Africa, and Europe, as may be seen
from Baronius, Fleury, Bayle, and others
We have already said that still in the lifetime of Manes, his
pupil Herman had spread his teaching in Egypt, where the
Coptic priests and other Christians mingled it with the
mysteries adopted from the Jews It
was through these same Coptic priests and the Eastern
Christians that both the mysteries of the Children of the
Widow, and the cult of the great Architect came to us in
consequence of apparently unforeseen events, and it will be
seen that it was principally by means of the Crusades that
they obtained a secure footing in the West. The mysteries
maintained their existence under the name of the cult of
38 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
the Great Architect of the Universe, a name that has its
origin in the allegory of Hiram, which represented, in the
mysteries, "the unknown God," the Eternal, and sole
creator of all things and the Regenerator of all beings.
Thus does Reghellini da Schio write, as he traces
the Masonic ancestry back to the pre-Christian
period, and he continues :
Bossuet in his Histoire des Variations, IV., says that
in the middle ages the Christian sects, and especially
the Manichseans and Gnostics, had concealed themselves
as much as possible in the Orthodox Church itself: the
remainder of the Manichjeans who had maintained
themselves only too well in the East, crowded into
the Latin Church. Montfaucon, VII., p. 271, says when he
speaks of the religion of the Egyptians, that the heresy of
the good and evil principles which had been upheld by
Manichseans, had at various times brought forth in the
Church great disorder, and he asserts that in the East . .
. . . . these doctrines existed at the time of the
Crusades, the long time that elapsed during
the wars of the Crusaders gave them the opportunity of
being admitted into all the mysteries of the Children of the
Widow, the teachings of the Great Architect of the world,
and of both principles .... the Crusaders who had
been admitted to the mysteries of the Children of the
Widow and initiated therein, imparted them, on their return
home, to their pupils in Europe during the
sojourn of the Crusaders with the Mussulmans, all kinds of
theological investigations were instituted. These led the
Crusaders deeper into the faith in the Great Architect of
the world. . . .
And again in another passage (p. 46) he adds :
In spite of the religious and political changes that
followed upon the conquests of the Saracens in Asia, Africa,
and Europe; in spite of the persecutions introduced by
HIDDEN' SOtfROfiS OF MASONRY. 39
them, the doctrines as to the unity of God was able to
maintain itself by means of the Mysteries in Palestine,
Syria, and Egypt, more especially, however, in the neigh-
bourhood of Thebes; for here the Christians and Coptic
priests preserved, in the lap of their solitude, the teachings
communicated to them by Hesman, the pupil of Manes, a
teaching which later passed over into Europe.*
Passing on from these important and interesting
indications to the more detailed aspect of our sub-
ject we find that at a later period many of the
semi-Masonic bodies had " Unknown Heads," and
more especially those whose aims were avowedly
occult, this being the term which was applied in
Germany, Austria and Hungary to those organisations
that did not make public the sources from which their
teachings were derived, nor say from whom their
inspiration came. To find the origin of such secrecy
we must turn back to the early history of the Masonic
tradition and sketch briefly what is told us by a Mason
of the early part of this century, when dealing with
this historic secrecy. He tells us :
We find among all the priests of ancient peoples, and in
order that none but really capable and worthy men should
be associated with their offices and studies, they instituted
forms of probation and examination upon which followed
some kind of initiation. Now as the oldest writers ascribed
such mysteries and initiations to the Egyptian Priests, it is
very probable that they already existed before the downfall
of that people, for we find traces of them in equally ancient
* " Acerrellos" Rossler (Karl) Die Freimaurerei in ihrem Zusam-
menhange mit den Religionen der alter Aegypter, der Juden, tmd der
Christen: II., p. II. Leipzig, 1836.
40 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
nations and perceive from the likeness of their fundamental
principles and of the teaching and customs of their priests,
that they must have had a common origin. Among the
Chaldeans the Magi dwelt on the summits of the mountains,
and among the Celtic races the Druids lived in the quiet
solitude of the forests. Among the Indians and Ethiopians
the Brahmins and Gymnosophists had localities specially
dedicated to them, and among the Egyptians the Priests
had intricate dwelling-places far beneath the surface of the
earth. All had their symbols and distinctive signs, and
owed their fame only to the secrecy of their initiation.
The secrets of Antiquity had a twofold aim. In the
first case Religion was chosen as the object of care; the
greater the mysteries the more eternally secret were they to
be kept from the people. The aim in the second case was
to guard the Wisdom of all things. He who would be
initiated must be a man of upright character and true
mental power. The sacred mysteries fell into decay with
the Roman Empire, the flourishing and spread of the
Christian religion being the chief cause of this decadence.
The initiation into the mysteries of the Wisdom was how-
ever of much longer duration. They changed only from
time to time either the name, the inner constitution, the
degrees and various kinds of knowledge bound up in these,
or even the nature of the union itself The men, who were
known under the name of Magi, or the White Masters, made
one of their most important aims the true knowledge of the
human heart, which lay always open before their eyes. To
them alone was entrusted the bringing up of Kings and the
great of the earth, for they alone could understand science
as well as art, and careless of all prejudice taught a simple
and natural Theology, which based itself upon the worship
of a Supreme Being.
Because, however, their method of teaching was sym-
bolical, many errors of which they were entirely incapable
were ascribed to them on account of their numerous
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 4 1
hieroglyphics. The Magi of Memphis and Heliopolis were
held in such esteem, and their renown was so widespread
that the greatest heroes of war, philosophers, and strangers
of the highest rank journeyed to Egypt and sought to be
initiated by the Priests in order to learn the secrets of the
Priesthood. From among these priests Lycurgus and Solon
drew a part of their system of philosophy ; and Orpheus was
also initiated by them, and by this means enabled to
introduce into his own land, festivals from which the Greek
mythology afterwards arose. Thales also was instructed by
them, Pythagoras received from the same source his doctrine
of Metempsychosis, Herodotus obtained much information,
and Democritus his secrets. Moses also, who was brought
up by the Magi, used his knowledge of the mysteries to free
the Israelites from Egyptian bondage and lead them to the
service of the true God. It is well known that Moses
prescribed certain probation for his Levites, and that the
secrets of the Priesthood were inaccessible to the rest of the
Israelites, and this principle ruled till the time of Solomon.*
And this policy of silence was a wise one, for the
bitter vituperations which were showered on the
heads of the few who were the exoteric leaders in
such organizations, demonstrated the wisdom which
guarded the personalities of the real leaders. Such
• Sarsena, oder der Volkommene Baumeister, enthaltend die
Geschichte und Estehung des Frei-Maurerordens. Bamberg, 1816.
The author of this work is not definitely known, but another Mason,
Herr Z. Funck, wrote, in 1838, the Kurze Geschichte des Bucks Sarsena,
Bamberg, and said of the above work : "There are few books which on
their publication caused so great a sensation as did this one. . . .
the author of this work was an old experienced Freemason." The
publisher says that 1500 copies were sold in the first month, and it went
through five editions ; it caused, moreover, a miniature Masonic war-
fare. Written by one who knew what Freemasonry should be, it
naturally raised the violent opposition of those who wished to drag it
away from its mystical standpoint.
42 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
work was better done by small groups, and this
appears to have been the view held by those leaders
with whom the student does come into contact.
Some few of these groups in the last century have
already been cited * but it will be as well to repeat
their titles, which run as follows :
The Canons of the Holy Sepulchre.
The Canons of the Holy Temple of Jerusalem.
The Beneficent Knights of the Holy City fThe
Strict Observance).
The Clergy of Nicosia in the Island of Cyprus.
The Clergy of Auvergne.
The Knights of Providence (The Order of the
Knights of St. Joachim).
The African Brothers.
The Knights of Light (The Order of Fratres Lucis).
The Asiatic Brothers (The Order of the Knights
of St. John of Asia).
These Societies do not belong to any one country
in particular, for we find ramifications of them
appearing, disappearing and re-appearing, like beacon
lights, in Austria, Hungary, Italy, France, Sweden,
and Russia. England was the least prolific soil in
the early centuries for the implanting of this mystic
seed. In Scotland and Ireland, however, that light
shone more clearly than in England. But in Austria
and the Danubian Provinces mysticism grew apace
for a short and happy while, and so a few words about
Austria in particular may be said before passing on.
* The Theosophical Review, xxii. 311.
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 43
Says Ludwig Abafi, in his Introduction to Pre-
Historic Freemasonry in Austria and Hungary:*
It is proved that the Emperor Rudolph I., even in the
year 1275, authorised an Order of Masons, whilst Pope
Nicholas III., in the year 1278, granted to the Brotherhood
of Stonemasons at Strassburg, a letter of Indulgence which
was renewed by all his successors down to Benedict XII.
in 1340. The oldest order of German Masons arises in
the year 1397 ; next follow the so-called Vienna Witnesses
of 141 2, 1430, and 1435; then the Strassburg Order of
Lodges of 149s ; that of Torgau of 1462, and finally sixteen
different Orders on to 1 500, and to the following centuries
for Spires, Regensburg, Saxon-Altenburg, Strassburg, Vienna,
and the Tyrol.
At this period the Roman Church appears to have
made various futile efforts to retain a hold upon these
Masons, but vi'ithout tangible result. For the forces
at the back of these movements prevented the
destruction of a new free spiritual growth by the
Roman power. At this period also came those great
souls, burning for freedom, who worked the Reforma-
tion,*!- and although that work and those reforms were
* Geschichte der Freimaurerei in Oestcrreich und Ungat-n. Buda-
pest, 1890-1891. Pt. I., p. 8. •
t Such, for instance, as John Tauler, the famous Dominican (born
1290, died 1361), who formed a mystical fraternity, the members of
which recognized each other by secret signs. Then we have Nicholas
of Basle, with his four disciples, the beginning of the "Friends of God."
These men kept a watch on all that was going on in the world, and
they had special messengers who had certain secret signs, by which they
recognized each other ; Nicholas was burned as a heretic. Much
information concerning this sect is given in a MS. called TJie Book of
the Five Men. (1377). See for details, Jundt (A.), Les Amis de
Dieu au XIV^ SiMe. Paris 1879.
44 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
dwarfed of their full growth by the natural crudity
and narrowness of the human mind, nevertheless the
dogmatic and mind-killing power of Rome was
materially thwarted, and the spirit in the teaching of
the Master Christ set free from those trammels. At
all events, Abafi proceeds :
Equally important in the formation of Freemasonry
. were certain religious communities and
brotherhoods of the Middle Ages, which for the most part
aimed at a return to the pure teaching of Christ, and at
making its ethical form familiar to their adherents. One of
these brotherhoods was that of the Waldenses, established
by Peter Waldo in the year 1170 at Lyons. Their aim was
the restitution of the original purity of the Church through
the adoption of voluntary poverty, and other ascetic
practices. But because of the doctrine of Transubstantia-
tion they soon came into conflict with the Catholic Church,
and as early as 1134 Pope Lucius III. excommunicated
them, and Sextus IV. in 1477 proclaimed a Crusade against
them. In spite of these attacks they have kept alive up to the
present day, and have spread into several countries, namely
into Italy, France and Bohemia, and in this latter country
we shall meet them again under the name " Bohemian
Brothers.''
A few words may be summarised from the same
writer about some of the other mystic bodies in
Bohemia and Hungary, lands full of occult tendencies.
Among them are the following : " Die Briider von
Reif und Hammer," or the " Brothers of the Circle
and Hammer," " Die Hackebrudershaft," " The
Brotherhood of the Hatchet," " Die Freunde vom
Kreuz," or the " Friends of the Cross." This last
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 45
society spread into the Netherlands, and had its
greatest success in the latter part of the 17th Century.
The " Brothers of the Cross " * were still holding
their meetings in 1785 : they had many members in
Wallachia, and still more in Transylvania.-f Brabbee
in his Masonic studies says : It consisted principally of
Older men and those who were generally reputed
wise, and therefore of the prominent leaders of the
Brotherhood, who here, in the Metropolis of the Kingdom,
formed a kind of stronghold of the " inner East."
The last expression is worthy of our notice,
for it shows how the minds of men were turning,
even in Masonic Circles, to the Eastern teachings.
Abafi also says that a great and moulding force
was exercised at this period on the form of Free-
masonry by Jan Amos Komensky (latinised
Comenius) who was born at Briinn, in Bohemia, in
1592, and who became a chaplain of the Bohemian
Brothers in 161 8. When the civil wars began
Komensky lost wife, child, and property, and was
e.xiled from Austria like all other non-Catholics.
He escaped to Poland, turned his thoughts to educa-
tional matters, and became famous in Sweden,
Hungary, and England.
Komensky was actively interested in the Rosicru-
cian movement, and joined John Valentinus Andreas
in his work in that body. In 1650 Komensky was
* Sometimes called Fratres de Cruce.
t Brabble (Gustav), Sub-Jiosa Vertrauliche Mittheilungen atis dem
Maurerischen Leben unserer Grossvdter, p. 25. Wien, 1879.
MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
invited to Hungary and Transylvania by the Prince
Ragozcy, vviiere he stayed four years. It is doubtless
partly owing to his influence that the Rosicrucian
movement spread so widely in these countries. His
philosophical and metaphysical views were so widely
spread, that when Anderson* wrote his book on
Freemasonry, he, according to Abafi, incorporated in
his work a compilation of the most essential portions
of the plans of Komensky. As Abafi phrases it :
It was reserved for an Austrian, a Moravian school-
master, the Chaplain of the Bohemian Brothers, to bestow
ethical treasures upon a brotherhood in proud Albion, the
home of the boldest intellects ; to formulate the ideas, and
to point out the way for a league which — after its trans-
formation — was destined to embrace the noblest of all
nations, and being brought to perfection by them, ordained
to influence the whole of humanity.
The spread of mysticism in Austria and Hungary
during the last century was astoundingly rapid ;
according to one authorityj- about five per cent, of
the entire population belonged to the Freemasons,
Rosicrucians, and other allied societies.
The vast majority of these Lodges must, he
thinks, have been secret, for at the death of the
* James Anderson, D.D,, whose work was published in 1723,
under the title The Constitutions of the Freemasons ; containing the
History, Charges, Regulations, etc., of that Most Ancient and Right
Worshipful Fraternity, for the use of the Lodges. A second edition,
revised, was published in 1738.
f Freimaurer ; Heft. I., p. 10, ed. by von Andr^e. Gotha,
1789.
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 47
Empress* only three legitimate and perfect Lodges
existed. That is to say, only three Lodges in
which Freemasonry as such existed without any more
extended search into occultism. Another authority,
Dr. Otto Henne-am-Rhyn.-f promptly doubles
this number, saying that there were 20,000 mystic
students in Vienna. As this writer was an avowed
enemy of mysticism, his views may be taken as not
likely to exaggerate the numerical value of occult
students.
In Austria mysticism had been aided by the
kindly interest taken in such subjects by the Emperor
Francis I. He had protected and favoured a very
remarkable man called Seefels — or Sehfeld — a
Rosicrucian and Mason, who had an alchemical
laboratory at Rodaun, a small village about a
mile from Vienna. This man was loved and
respected by the whole neighbourhood for his
kindliness, as well as feared for his powers, which were
most remarkable. Seefels is mentioned by Schmieder
in his valuable History of Alchemy, J as one of the
" Seven true Adepts " who should appear in Europe
in the course of the century. Schmieder also gives
some very interesting proofs of his powers. But in
spite of the Emperor's protection he was seized by
* Maria Theresa, wife of Franz I., and the mother of Joseph II.
of Austria.
+ Henne-am-Rhyn (Otto), KuUurgeschichte des Zeitallers der
Aufkldrung, v., p. 244. Leipzig, 1878.
X Schmieder (C. C), Geschichte der Alchemic, pp. 527-542, 1832.
48 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
the police and placed in the fortress at Temeswar in
Hungary. A careful study of Schmieder's work
would more than repay any student who desires to
have evidences for occult powers made certain by
history.
The following interesting notes* are quoted as
showing the connecting link between the Continental
mystic Masonry and England, of which but little has
been heard in the outer world.
In a German tract, printed about 1803, and bound up
with another tract of Fessler's, called Geschichte der
Freimaurerei, occur the following startling statements, which
I give to Masonic students for what they are worth.
1. The Templars worked with the so-called "Magical
Brethren " at an early period of their existence.
2. A Rosicrucian MS. states that at Cologne, with the
motto, " non omnis moriar," this Magical Union was created
there in 11 15.
3. A MS. of Michael Mayer's still exists in the Uni-
versity Library at Ley den, which sets forth that in 1570 the
Society of the old Magical Brethren, or "Wise Men" was
revived under the name of Brethren of the Golden Rosy
Cross.
4. It is asserted that in 1563 the statutes of the
Brotherhood were, on the 22nd of September, at Basle, at a
meeting of seventy-two Masters of Lodges, revised, set forth,
and printed; that the Lodges of Swabia, Hesse, Bavaria,
Franconia, Saxony, Thuringia, and those on the Moselle
acknowledged the headship of the Grand Lodge of Strass-
burg. That in the eighteenth century the Lodges of
Dresden and Nuremberg were fined by the Grand-Master of
Strassburg, and that the Grand Lodge of Vienna, of Hungary,
* See The Kneph, vol. iv., 3. August, 1884. "Masonic Notes."
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 49
and Stirrmark, the Grand Lodge of Zurich, which ruled the
Swiss Lodges, referred to the Mother Lodge of Strassburg
in all difficult and doubtful matters.
To these notes by a " Masonic Student " the
following editorial note is appended :
There can be no doubt that the Theosophical and
Magical Union above mentioned did exist as an organised
Secret Society. The correspondence of Cornelius Agrippa
von Nettesheim shows that he was a member of such a
secret society, and it is further asserted that when he was in
London he established a branch of it in that city. Fludd,
as showing that secret societies existed in the Universities,
has the passage "notwithstanding any allegiance which I
may have vowed by a ceremonial Rite to Aristotle* in my
youth." These societies used the double Triangles, or Seal
of Solomon, and in the ruins of one of the old Temple Pre-
ceptories in France was found a copper medallion with the
Lamb surmounted by this Cabalistic symbol.
Two points in this interesting note can be corro-
borated by further evidence. The Rosicrucian MS.
mentioned in para. 2, is also mentioned on page 56 of
a most valuable German book (to which reference has
already been made) by Friedrich Gottlieb Ephraim
Weisse, or Magister Pianco ; it is called Der Rosen-
^reutzer in seiner B/osse (Amsterdann ; 1781). Some
extracts from it will not be without interest, for it
refers to the older body of " Wise-Men," who were
known as the " Unknown Heads " of many of the
* Says Accelleros (Dr. Karl Rossler) : "The Gnostic principles
were spread under the form of Aristotelean Philosophy at Paris and
elsewhere." — Die Freimaurerei in ikrem Zusammenhange mit dm
Religioneti der alten Aegypter, der jfuden und der Christen, II.,
p. 63. Leipzig, 1836.
D
50 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
small societies. The conditions of entrance are
briefly given as follows :
3. Whosoever wished to be admitted to the secrets,
and afterwards to be initiated, must be a man of honour
and of true spiritual power; and he must be already of
considerable learning ; for only those were accepted, of
whom it could be hoped that they would be of great
service to the Sacred Alliance. . .
10. The Initiates wore a triangle, symbolical of the
three qualities of the Demiurgos — Power, Wisdom and
Love. . . .
The Masters of the second secret were Masters in the
knowledge of all nature, and her forces, and divisions.
11. They were called Philosophers or the World- Wise.
Their science was called the World- Wisdom. . . .
12. These World- Wise occupied themselves in secret.
No one knew where they met, or what they did.
14. But they had also secret sciences known only
to the highest among them — called Magos, Mage, or the
Wise Master, who taught the people of Divine things. He
could do things which appeared quite supernatural. *
The author, speaking of the relation of Masonry
to this older and more secret body, says :
Those Brother Masons (of the highest degrees) knew
that they owed their brotherhood to the Initiations of the
old Wise-Men ; that the great part of their (the Masons')
knowledge came from Them, and that without Their help
they could do nothing, f
In another passage he says :
Long before the year 11 18, there was a society which in
the mysteries of the ancients took the place of the last and
" Op. cit., pp. 28, 30-32. t Op. cit., p. 54.
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 5 1
youngest grade, and which had the same position with the
Tempelherren, who had adopted it with the other teachings
of the Wise Ones. — They were the novices from all time.
As in the time of the Inquisition against the Templars no
one knew anything about the lower and last grades, and
those who belonged to them had no public connection with
them and thus lived without attracting any attention, they
were overlooked in the cruelties of the time. One did not
think of them. As the members of the Templars who
escaped were few in number and died one after the other,
the remaining members drew together to form a bond of
friendship, to which end they drew up certain rules. This
new society appeared in different forms and under different
names. Cross Society or Brothers of the Cross, Noaites, and
in later days adopted the name of Freemasons.
Length of time and the involved issues consequent
thereon made those initiated into the Mysteries at length
perceive that they must introduce an entirely different
organisation into the community, in order to bring it into
line with Christianity.
Those associates who still remained over from the
collapse* of the community of Initiates, and who were
scattered about the world, began to make fresh projects for
a general union. They took the laws of their community
and the laws of the Christians, which are known under the
name of the Bible, into a real assimilation. They began to
institute a parallel between the books of Moses and the
memorials of the Magi, and from all this they evolved a
kind of association, provided with certain laws, which could
fit in with the Christian.
The association was, as is always the custom with
innovations, in the beginning somewhat dark and involved ;
it was saddled with various meanings and names, which it
* The writer is referring to the persecutions of the " Magian
Brothers," who followed Manes the Reformer.
52 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
would be quite unnecessary to repeat here, but which were
all of short duration, so that the first ones called it the
association of Magi and its members the Magi Brotherhood
and associates. And this first association was formed in the
year 1115 and lasted till the year 11 17, though it underwent
changes from time to time. The Crusaders had given rise
to many societies and orders amongst the profane, and
associations had sprung up which had quite differing
objects. Amid innumerable ones there arose in the year
418 the Knights, with whom the Magi Brotherhood united
and shared their principles and secrets with them.
The writer speaks " as one having authority" and
knowledge also.
Turning to the particular date mentioned in the
notes from The Kneph, we find that about this period,
or a few years earlier, the first documentary evidence
of the appearance of the Asiatische Briider is men-
tioned by the Baron Hans Ecker von Eckhoffen in
his treatise, Authentischen Nachrichten von den Rilter-
und Briider-Eingeweihten mis Asien (Hamburg ;
1788). These writings, he says, date from 15 10;
showing that a body of mystics was known at that
period ; these Knights of Asia also called themselves
the Knights of St. John, and it is a curious fact to
notice that one of the Masonic records which has
caused an infinity of discussion, and also of dis-
sension, amongst Masons, is the celebrated " Cologne
Record " which is dated 1535, and in which an Order
of St. John is noticed. This charter has been a
veritable bone of contention between materialistic
and mystic Masons, and much polemical literature
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 53
has been published on the subject. The mystics hold
it to be true on external and internal evidences ; while
the materialists reject it, as they reject all such
evidence.
In the record there is the name of Philip
Melancthon — the friend and co-worker of Martin
Luther — who appears as a Brother in the Order of the
Freemasons. This document bears witness also that
a secret society was known in various parts of the
world, which existed before 1440 under the name of
the " Brotherhood of St. John," and since then, and
up to 1535, under the title, the " St. John's Order of
Freemasonry" or " Masonic Brotherhood."
This Society* was reformed and re-arranged in
the year 17 17, the generally accepted modern date of
the materialistic and non-mystic Masons. It became
more atheistic in its views, and more democratic
in its tendencies. Amongst other deeply interesting
matter, the "Charter of Cologne" contains the
following passage :
The Brotherhood, or the order of Freemason Brothers,
bound together according to St. John's holy rules, traces its
origin neither from the Templars nor from any other spiritual
or temporal Knightly Order, but it is older than all similar
Orders, and has existed in Palestine and Greece, as well as
in various parts of the Roman Empire. Before the Crusades
our Brotherhood arose ; at a time when in consequence of
the strife between the sects teaching Christian morals, a
small number of the initiated — entrusted with the true
* The present Freemason body.
MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
teaching of virtue, and the sensible exposition of the secret
teaching — separated themselves from the mass.*
According to the record, the following reason was given
for the adoption of the name : The Masters of this confeder-
ation were called the St. John's Brethren, as they had chosen
John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Light of the World
. . . as their original and example, f
There is a curious similarity between this docu-
ment in its phrasing and style, and the remarks made
in the book by Weisse, in his Der Rosenkreutzer in
seiner Bl'dsse, some passages of which have already
been summarised.
Yet another well-known Masonic authority bears
witness to the value of the Cologne Record. Thus
Mackenzie writes :
The documents are still preserved in one of the Lodges
at Namur. They have been very hotly debated. On the
one hand, Oliver, Reghellini, and some others treat them as
authentic, and the antiquaries of the University of Leyden
certify that the paper on which the register of the Lodge at
the Hague is written is of the same kind as that used in
Holland in the beginning of the seventeenth century. Now
this register refers to the Charter of Cologne as being
in existence, so that the fraud, if a fraud, is two centuries
old.J
Our chief interest in all this detailed evidence lies
in the ever-recurring testimony that it bears to that
older Fraternity, which was the inspiring body at the
* Freimaurer Lexicon, Gi.^\^&{]. Q,.). Berlin; 1818.
+ J. G. YxxiA^i History of Freemasonry, p. 721. Translated from
and German ed. with preface by G. von Dalen. London ; 1866.
% The Royal Masonic Cydo^eedia, ■^. 126. London | 1877.
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 55
back. But we must now turn to some of the Societies
which had " Unknown Heads," as given in our list.
J. M. Ragon, in his Orthodoxie Maqonnique, gives
the following interesting account of one of these
bodies, more information on which will be added from
other sources.
Order of the Architects of Africa, or the African Brothers
{1767).
This Order was composed of educated and well-
principled brothers. Their lodges, in Europe, were all
closed, excepting perhaps that of Constantinople (at
Berlin).
Only one of their Grand-Masters . was known ; this was
the councillor of war, Kbppen.
Their first degree offered a more extensive and complete
instruction than all the degrees of the Scotch systems together.
They said that the Lodges of St. John neglected the great
end, and that instruction was hardly to be had there, and
that the Strict Observance did not know the grounds of the
continuation of the Masonic Order. They occupied them-
selves with hieroglyphics, especially with those relating to
Freemasonry, which they sought to know well. They made
a mystery of their goal up to the seventh degree, which
could only be gained by zeal, perseverance and discretion.
Their secondary occupations were the sciences, especially
history and antiquities, the study of which they considered
indispensable for the true Freemason.
Their first degree was symbolically called the Architect
or Apprentice of Egyptian secrets.
They called themselves the Africans,* because their
* This tradition came from Egypt and passing along North Africa,
swept over into Spain, and was at the foundation of the great Arabic
mystic development which has made Spain immortal. The true name
56 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
studies began with the history of the Egyptians, in whose
mysteries they found indications of Freemasonry, although
they placed its origin much later, as to which the Crusades
gave them no light.
Their customs were simple and noble. They never laid
any stress on decorations, aprons, ribbons, jewels, etc., but
they liked a certain luxury, and sententious inscriptions with
a sublime but hidden meaning. In their assemblies they
read treatises and communicated to each other the result of
their researches.
Their banquets were simple, decorum prevailed, and
instructive and scientific discourses were given at them.
Admissions were given without any fees. Earnest
brothers who fell into distress received much assistance.
They have published many important documents in
Germany on Freemasonry.
This Order was established in Prussia, in 1767, with the
assent of Frederick II., called the Great.
Its degrees, to the number of eleven, were divided into
two temples, viz. :
First Temple.
1. Apprentice.
2. Companion.
3. Master.
Second Temple.
4. Architect, or Apprentice of the Egyptian secrets
(Manes Musae).
5. Initiate in the Egyptian secrets.
6. Cosmopolitan Brother.
7. Christian Philosopher (Bossinius).
8. Master of the Egyptian secrets, Alethophilote
^ (Friend of Truth).
of this African tradition is Manichseism, and in the Church of North
Africa the Gnostic teaching lived for many a century : and among the
Copts the tradition yet endures.
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 57
Higher Degrees.
9. Armiger.
10. Miles.
11. Eques.
The Grand Chapter gave each year, during the life of
Frederick II., a gold medal of 50 ducats as a prize for the
best treatise or discourse.
In 1806 only one Chapter of this system remained, that
of Berlin (' Constantinople ').
On the supposed Origin of the Order, Ragon
writes as follows :
When Frederick II. came to the throne, seeing that
Freemasonry was no longer what it had been, and
appreciating what it might be, he conceived the plan of an
Inner Order which might at the same time take the place of
a Masonic Academy. He made choice of a certain number
of Masons capable of comprehending his ideas, and charged
them with the organisation of this body. Among these
were to be noticed the brothers Stahl, de Gone, Meyerotto
and du Bosc. They instituted the Order under the name
of an extinct society. The Architects of Africa, and estab-
Hshed statutes in accordance with the views of the King,
who on his side granted privileges, and in 1768 had erected
in Silesia, by his architect Meil, a building specially designed
for the Grand Chapter, and endowed it with an ample fund,
with a choice library and rich furniture, the whole being of
an elegance worthy of the Order and of the King.
This Order, without pretending to dominion, teaching
tolerance, professing the primitive principles of Free-
masonry, and making a special study of its history,
prospered in silence and in complete freedom. Its chief
statutes were to fear God only, to honour the King and to
be discreet, to exercise universal tolerance towards all
Masonic sects without ever affiliating itself to any. It was
58 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
for this reason that they never submitted to the act of
obedience of the Baron de Hund, notwithstanding all the
entreaties that were made to them to do so. In the
admission of candidates they observed the strictest caution.
It is said that Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick was refused
because he meddled with sectarian affairs. They devoted
themselves to active researches into the history of the
mysteries, of secret societies and their various branches, and
cultivated the sciences, chiefly mathematics. In their works,
carried on often in Latin, reigned morality, a high tone,
a solid and unostentatious teaching.
Their library and their archives obtained through the
protection of the King and of persons of distinction, among
others the Prince von Lichtenstein at Vienna, some real
treasures of manuscripts and documents, which no Masonic
branch can boast. (Dkouverte sur le Systime de POrdre des
Architectes Africains, Constantinople. Berlin ; in 8vo, 51 pp.,
1806.) This article is taken from the Masonic library of
the very kind brother, Th. Juge.*
Few monarchs have more thoroughly protected
the Mystic Schools within the Masonic body than
Frederick II., King of Prussia, well named "The
Great." Not onl}- did he protect them, but he also
actively sympathised with them. While still Crown
Prince, he was initiated as a Mason at Brunswick in
August, 1738, and was from that period the staunch
protector of the Masonic Fraternity ; nor did he omit
to penetrate very deeply into the early traditions of
Masonry, far more so, indeed, than many who have
fewer duties to engage their time.
Frederick the Great was, however, by no means the
* Ragon, op. cit. , pp. 239, et seq.
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 59
vague and dreamy mystic of popular representation ;
his Academy and Schools were the centres of the
most brilliant intellects of the period, while the
choice of his friends, literary, philosophical, and
mystic, testifies to the breadth of his knowledge,
and it also illustrates the manifold sympathies of
his nature, both as soldier and mystic, philosopher
and scholar ; though not saintly, by any means,
he was thoroughly appreciative of ideals that were
beyond him.
His sympathy with mystics is evidenced by his
selection of a librarian, for he gave that post at the
Royal Public Library in Berlin, with the title of
Academician, to Dom Antoine Joseph Pernetty (or
Pernety), a man who had been a Benedictine monk,*
but having become — like many others — dissatisfied
with the Order, he applied to the Pope for a
dispensation from his vows. This was no obstacle in
the eyes of the King, deeply interested as he was in
the researches of this well-known Hermetist and
Alchemist.
That the opinions of Dom Pernety were publicly
known is demonstrated by a writer of the period,
who says :
A remarkable trait in the character of this Acade-
mician was, that he believed in the philosopher's stone,
* Benedictine Monk of the Congregation of Saint-Maur, Abbot of
Burgel in Thuringia, Librarian of the King of Prussia : author of Les
Fables igyptiennes et gricques devoileis et riduites au mime Principe, I^
Dietionnaire Mytho-Hermitique, and other treatises on Alchemy.
6o MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
the mysteries of the Cabala, apparitions, patagonians,
witcheries, enchantments, the race of giants, etc. But,
notwithstanding this inconceivable and ridiculous weakness,
he was beloved by everyone, and the more as, to his
other excellent qualities, he joined that of the most perfect
discretion in regard to such affairs as were at any time
confided to his secrecy ; never did a word from his lips
give room for the smallest explanation or disagreement.*
Such is the comment on this mystic's character
by one who, while adverse to his opinions, neverthe-
less renders justice to a personality which some
traduced.
Dom Pernety was for some time in personal
relationship with M. de St. Germain ; and later on,
he founded the Acad^mie des Illumines d' Avignon,
which was essentially Hermetic in its aims, and had
also a close connection with the Swedish system.
This was a secret body, but it was also under the
general Masonic regulations. It was also in close
union with the followers of Martinez Pasquales, and
that bond has been kept up, for some of the treatises
written by Dom Pernety are now being published by
the Martinists in America. To pursue this interesting
topic would, however, lead us too far from our
" Afrikanische Bauherren " and their protector, the
King of Prussia, with whom our attention is at
present engaged.
The most succinct account of the opinions held by
' Original Anecdotes of Frederic 11. , JCing of Prussia, translated
from the French of Dieudonn^ Thiebault, Professor of Belles-Lettres
in the Royal Academy of Berlin, II., p. 383. London, 1805.
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 6 1
the leading Freemasons in Germany at this juncture
is given by Findel, who, although a pronounced
antagonist, shows very lucidly the underlying mystic
basis on which the outward Masonic forms were
supported, and it is of value to these researches to
quote his testimony in full, illustrating, as it unwit-
tingly does, the hypothesis put forward, namely, that
all the societies similar to the African Brothers, the
Fratres Lucis and others of like calibre, were but the
outward manifestations of hidden forces which were
attempting to indoctrinate the whole Masonic body
with true spiritual, mental and moral mystic know-
ledge. Says Findel :
The Grand Lodge of Germany* further assumes,! that
in the Building Fraternities J of the Middle Ages, besides
* This Lodge " Zu den drei Weltkugeln " (The Three Globes) was
established by Frederick II., who was its first Grand Master. It
became the Grand Mother Lodge of Germany in 1744. It was also
the protectress of the mystic element in Masonry for many years.
+ Findel had been disputing the point held by the "Grand Lodge,"
viz. , that the links of true Masonry are to be found not in England, but
in Scotland.
J " It has been argued with much force and apparent truth, that
the building art was, in times of remotest antiquity, regarded as sacred,
and existed under special concession and care of the native priesthood
where it was practised, but this allegation cannot be accepted without
qualification." Fort (George F.), TAe Early History and Antiquities
of Freemasonry. Philadelphia, U.S.A., 1875, p. 363. And again,
Mr. Fort tells us (p. 374) that in the years 643 and 729, " the
inhabitants of Como had already attained to so high a degree of
.skill as to be designated Magistri Comacini, or Masters of Como." He
further points out that their knowledge was obtained firom the East, and
directly from Byzantium, and then goes on to say " the secret arts thus
obtained by the Teutonic races were perpetuated in fraternities or
Guilds, whose existence ascends to the oldest forms of Germanic
government."
62 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
their art, a secret science was carried on ; the substratum of
which was a real Christian mystery, serving as a preparatory
or elementary school and stepping-stone to that and the St.
John's Masonry, which latter was not a mere system of
moral philosophy, but closely allied and connected with this
mystery. It was conceded, that the Freemasonry of our
days (St. John's Freemasonry) sprang from the Building
Fraternities of the Middle Ages, but at the same time
asserted that in the early ages there existed a secret society
which strove to compass the perfecting of the human race,
precisely in the same manner, and employing similar means,
as did the Swedish system, which in fact only followed in
the wake of its predecessor, being concealed in the Building
Fraternities, so that our society did not rise from them, but
made itself a way through them. The secret science, the
mystery, was very ancient indeed. This mystery formed the
secret of the Higher Degrees of the Rite, which were not
merely kept hidden from the rest of the confederation, but
also from the members of the inferior degrees of the system
itself. This mystery was fully confirmed by documents,
which the Grand Lodge of Germany had in its keeping.
. . . . This secret legend is the same as that of the
Carpocratians, which is that Jesus chose some of the
Apostles and confided to them a secret science, which waS
transmitted afterwards to the priests of the Order of the
Knights-Templars, and through them to the Building
Fraternities, down to the present Freemasons of the
Swedish Rite. . . . The Swedish system teaches that
there have been men of all nations who have worshipped
God in spirit and in truth, and surrounded by idolatry and
superstition have yet preserved their purer faith. Separate
from the world, and unknown to it, this Wisdom has been
preserved by them and handed down as a mystery.
In the time of the Jews they had made use of the
Essenes, in which sect Jesus was brought up, and had spent
the greater part of His life. Having been instructed by
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 63
Him in a more perfect knowledge of Holy things, they had
amidst persecution taught in silence that which had been
committed to their keeping.* At the period of the Saracens
and the Crusades they were so greatly oppressed that they
must ultimately have sought for protection from without.
As fate, however, would have it, seven of them, Syriac
Christians, pursued by unbelievers near Bastrum, were
rescued by the Knights-Templars, and afterwards taken
under their protection. When they had lived there for a
certain time they begged for permission to dwell with the
Canons or Prebendaries of Jerusalem, as the life there led
agreed better with their own inclinations and habits. This
was accorded them, and Andreas Montebarrensis effected a
union of these Syrians with the Canons, to whom, out of
gratitude, they imparted all their science, and so completely
did they make the priests of the order the depositories of
their secrets that they kept them and handed them over to
others under certain conditions.
Thus, this secret knowledge, which was continually being
added to, lived on in the very heart of the Order of Knights-
Templars till its abolition. The clergy were dispersed with
the persecution that ensued, but as the secular arm did not
touch them as it did the Knights, they managed to rescue
many of their secret writings, and when the Knights sought
refuge in Scotland, they founded a chapter at Aberdeen, the
first Prior of which was Petrus de Bononia. The science
was disseminated from this place, but very cautiously, first to
Italy, then to the extreme North (Sweden and Russia) and
France. In Italy Abbot Severin had been the guardian of
the True Science, t
* Compare with this statement, that a comparatively small body of
men had received the inner teaching, and had a mission to hand it on,
what was quoted about the "World- Wise Men" in the Theosophical
Review, xxiii. 354.
+ Findel (J. G.), History of Freemasonry, translated from the
second German edition, by C. von Dalen, pp. 316-318. London, 1866.
64 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
Findel quotes all this histoiy in a purely sceptical
way, with adverse remarks of his own of doubt and
derision. Nevertheless the history of this ancient
secret teaching is true, and it coincides in its details
with accounts which come to us from other sources.
In order that the " Hidden Sources " may thus be
more clearly kept in view, we will quote the words of
a well-known Masonic writer, Mr. Lawrie :
Although it will be acknowledged by every unbiassed
reader, that Freemasonry has a wonderful resemblance to
the Eleusinian and Dionysian mysteries, the fraternity of
Ionian architects and the Essenian and Pythagorean
associations, yet some may be disposed to question the
identity of these institutions, because they had different
names, and because some usages were observed by one
which were neglected by another. But these circumstances
of dissimilarity arise from those necessary changes which are
superinduced upon every institution, by a spirit of innov-
ation, by the caprice of individuals, and by the various
revolutions in civilised society. Every alteration or im-
provement in philosophical systems, or ceremonial institu-
tions, generally produces a corresponding variation in their
name, deduced from the nature of the improvement, or
from the name of the innovator.
The different associations, for example, whose nature
and tendency we have been considering, received their
names from circumstances merely casual, and often of
trifling consideration ; though all of them were established
for the same purpose, and derived from the same source.
When the mysteries of the Essenes were imported by
Pythagoras into Italy, without undergoing much variation,
they were there denominated the mysteries of Pythagoras ;
and, in our own day, they are called the secrets of Free-
masonry, because many of their symbols are derived from
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 65
the art of building, and because they are believed to have
been invented by an association of architects, who were
anxious to preserve, among themselves, the knowledge
which they had acquired.*
The Dionysia, or Mysteries of Bacchus, were intimately
connected with those of Ceres and perhaps still more with
Freemasonry, says Mr. Lawrie ; the rites came from Egypt,
and there according to Plutarch Ceres was the Egyptian
Isis, and Bacchus was Osiris.
The Dionysian artificers or architects were an association
of scientific men, who were incorporated by command of the
Kings of Pergamus into a corporate body, some three hundred
years B.C. They had the city of Tecs given to them. The
members of this association which was intimately connected
with the Dionysian mysteries, were distinguished from the
uninitiated inhabitants of Teos, by their Science, and by
words and signs by which they could recognize their
Brethren of the Order. Like Freemasons they were
divided into Lodges which were characterised by different
names.
From some circumstances which are stated in these
inscriptions, but particularly from the name of one of
the Lodges, it is highly probable that Attalus, King of
Pergamus, was a member of the Dionysian Fraternity.
Such is the nature of that association of architects, who
erected those splendid edifices in Ionia, whose ruins even
afford us instruction, while they excite our surprise. If it be
possible to prove the identity of any two societies, from the
coincidence of their external forms, we are authorised to
conclude that the Fraternity of the Ionian architects and
the Fraternity of Freemasons, are exactly the same; and
as the former practised the mysteries of Bacchus and Ceres,
* Symbols derived from the art of building, were also employed by
the Pyth^oreans, for conveying instruction to those who were initiated
iotp their fraternity. See Proclus in Eucl. lib. XI. def. 2, etc,
E
66 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
several of which we have shown to be similar to the
mysteries of Masonry, we may safely affirm, that, in their
internal as well as external procedure, the Society of
Freemasons resembles the Dionysiacs of Asia Minor.
The opinion, therefore, of Freemasons, that their Order
existed, and flourished at the building of Solomon's Temple,
is by no means so pregnant with absurdity, as some men
would wish us to believe.
We have already shown, from authentic sources of
information, that the mysteries of Ceres and Bacchus were
instituted about four hundred years before the reign of
Solomon ; * and there are strong reasons for believing that
even the association of the Dionysian architects existed
before the building of the Temple.
It was not, indeed, till about three hundred years before
the birth of Christ, that they were incorporated at Taos,
under the Kings of Pergamus ; but it is universally allowed,
that they arose long before their settlement in Ionia, and,
what is more to our present purpose, that they existed in the
very land of Judea.
The difference in the ceremonial observances of these
institutions, may be accounted for nearly upon the same
principles. From the ignorance, or superior sagacity of
those who presided over the ancient fraternities, some
ceremonies would be insisted upon more than others, some
of less moment would be exalted into consequence, while
others of greater importance would be depressed into
obscurity. In process of time, therefore, some trifling
changes would be effected upon these ceremonies, some
rites abolished, and some introduced. The chief difference,
however, between the ancient and modern mysteries, is in
* According to Playfair's Chronology, the Temple of Solomon was
begun in 1016 and finished in 1008, B.C. The Eleusinian mysteries
were introduced into Athens in 1356, B.C., a considerable time after
their institution.
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 67
those points which concern religion. But this arises from
the great changes which have been produced in reUgious
knowledge. It cannot be supposed that the rites of the
Egyptian, Jewish, and Grecian religions should be observed
by those who profess only the religion of Christ ; or that we
should pour out libations to Ceres and Bacchus, who
acknowledge no heavenly superior, but the true and the
living God.*
The connection-f- of the Afrikanische Bauherren
with the Templars and their secret traditions is
common to all those mystic associations I who
* Lawrie, (Alexander), TAe History of Freemasonry, drawn from
authentic sources of information, with an account of the Grand Lodge
of Scotland, p. 28 et seq. Edinburgh, 1804.
t They have both a common bond in Manichzeism, the Templars
were ' ' Sons of the Widow " in the earlier times, as well as the African
Brothers. Both bodies again hold the Egyptian line of tradition, and
were versed in its grand symbology and hieroglyph. — Lenning (C).
Allgemeines Handbuch der Freimaurerei, I., p. 7. Leipzig, 1863.
X " There is no portion of our annals so worthy of investigation as
that which is embraced by the middle ages of Christendom when the
whole of Europe was perambulated by our Brethren, in associations of
travelling artizans, under the name of ' Free and Accepted Masons,'
for the purpose of erecting religious edifices. There is not a country of
Europe, which does not at this day contain honourable evidences of the
skill and industry of our Masonic ancestors. I therefore propose, in the
present article, to give a brief sketch of the origin, the progress, and the
character of these travelling architects. Clavel, in his Histoire
Pittoresque de la Franc-Mafonnerie, has traced the organisation of these
associations to the collegia artificum, or colleges of artizans, which were
instituted at Rome by Numa, in the year B.C. 714, and whose members
were originally Greeks, imported by this law-giver for the purpose of
embellishing the city over which he reigned. These associations existed
in Rome in the time of the Emperors. They were endowed with certain
privileges peculiar to themselves, such as a government by their own
statutes, the power of making contracts as a corporation, and an
immunity from taxation. Their meetings were held in private, like the
esoteric schools of the philosophers. Their presiding officers were called
68 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
claimed, like them, to have deeper truths and more
spiritual knowledge in charge for the human race.
Seeing, then, that the African Brothers have this
link with other mystic bodies, we can investigate the
details of their system with interest, and we find that
the members of this school were almost without
exception learned men and persons of position and
rank, often selected by the King as suitable members.
Devoted to mystic research, in general they paid the
closest attention to symbolism and hieroglyphs.
The description given of them by Ragon differs
somewhat in detail to that given by Lenning, which
runs as follows :
The double character of the Order confirms what we
know about the tendency and ritual of the first four grades.
They are as follows :
Grade i. Pupil of the Egyptian secrets (Menes Musae).*
Here the doctrines of the true Religion, as concealed under
the hieroglyphs which were already in the Egyptian
Mysteries, were brought forward for the pupil. The first
degree shows already that Moses was held as an important
teacher of these doctrines even to the Egyptians.
Grade 2. The Initiates of the ^gaeic secrets. Here
Moses was presented as one of the greatest of the Wise
Men of the world, who instructed the Jews in the
" magistri." They were divided into three classes, corresponding with
the three degrees of Freemasonry, and they admitted into their ranks as
honorary members persons who were not by profession operative
Masons. Finally, they used a symbolic language drawn from the
implements of masonry, and they were in possession of a secret mode of
recognition." — Mackey's Lexicon of Freemasonry. Charleston, 184S,
p. 316-
* Ragon gives " Manes" where Lenning uses " Menes."
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 69
doctrines of religion from his knowledge of nature and the
world.
Grade 3. The Cosmopolitans (or citizens of the world)
had for its object the necessity for self-knowledge, because
most ethical teachers failed in teaching this, for they
depicted all human nature as being utterly corrupt, while
instead of this, human nature was capable through self-
knowledge of, and self-respect for, its destiny, of becoming a
great instrument for the work of God.
Grade 4. The Christian world-wise men (or Bossonians)
— was the expounding of the intimate connection between
man and the world, so that to call each of them the
' Temple,' and to call Christ the Foundation Stone was the
True Religion.
Grade 5. Was practically that of the Alethophiles, or
Friends of Truth, which was identical with the society of
that name, and whose tendency is expressed in the name.
After these five, or lower student-grades, there follow
three higher, or inner grades, of which, however, only the
names are known in the outer world. According to what is
told, they were the same as the Freimaurerei Ritterwesen.
. . . The names are variously given and are of but little
consequence, this Order was never a very large one, for the
qualifications as to learning and education were somewhat
restrictive at that period. It appears to have had its Lodges
in Berlin, and also in Oberlavsitz ; there were some of the
same Lodges in Cologne, Worms, and also in Paris under
the guidance of a certain Kiihn. He came into contact
with Baron von Hund and his system of 'The Strict
Observance' of which Von Koppen was a devoted
member.*
The brief mention of the highest grade, the
Knights of Silence, or Everlasting Silence, is
* Lenning (C), Allgemeines Handimch der Freimaurerei, pp. 7-8.
Leipzig, 1863.
70 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
interesting, for it has reference to an edict which was
published from the "Unknown Heads" suspending
all studies and all work for a time — the limit of time
was not specified. There will be more, however, to
be said on this point at a later date. The Minister of
War, Herr von Koppen, was aided in his work of
organisation in the African Brothers by Herr von
Hymmen, a Councillor of Justice in Berlin ; both men
were Rosicrucians, and von Hymmen was an adherent
of the Baron von Gugomas, another celebrated mystic
in the last century.
Von Koppen and von Hymmen published the
well-known work. Grata Repoa, or Initiation in the
Ancient Secret Society 0/ the Egyptian Priests*
Another leader of this confraternity was Karl du
Bosc, one of the chamberlains at the Prussian Court.
He was also connected with the Rosicrucians and
some of the other mystic sects. It confirms the
accuracy of our hypothesis when we find all these
public ofiRcers working harmoniously in different
organisations, aiding all for the general weal, knowing
well that each Society represented, as it were, one
facet of the precious stone of truth which lay hidden
securely beneath the surface.
Turning now to the links which connect the
African Brothers with other mystic fraternities we
shall find the Deutsche Ritter, or Kreuz-Herren, akin
to them ;' the origin of the last-mentioned association
* Crata Repoa, oder Einweihungen in der alien geheimen
Gesellschaft der Aegyptien Priester. Berlin, 1770.
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. 7 1
can be traced back to the year 1 190, where their
history is closely allied with another interesting
body, viz., the Maltheser-Ritter, or Knights of Malta ;
coalescing again with these we find the well-known
Johanniter-Ritter, or Knights of St. John, whose
history is so intimately interwoven with the Johannite
Masonry, dedicated as it was to the two St. John's,
the Baptist and the Evangelist.
Further, we find a curious secret sect existing in
Africa of which Mollien gives a most interesting
sketch. He calls this sect " Les Almousseri," and
connects their community with the Freemasons as
follows :
In Foutatoro, and among the Moors, there exists a sort
of freemasonry, the secret of which has never been revealed ;
the adept is shut up for eight days in a hut, he is allowed to.
eat but once a day, he sees no person excepting the slave
appointed to carry him his food ; at the end of that period
a number of men in masks present themselves, and employ
all possible means to put his courage to the proof; if he
acquits himself with honour he is admitted. The initiated
pretend that at this moment they are enabled to behold all
the kingdoms of the earth, that the future is unveiled to
them, and that thenceforward heaven grants all their
prayers. In the villages where persons of this fraternity
reside, they perform the functions of conjurors, and are
called Almousseri. One day Boukari told me, after attesting
the truth of what he was about to say by the most solemn
oaths, that being in a canoe with one of these men, there
fell such a heavy shower of rain that he would not depart ;
yielding, however, to the wishes of the Almousseri, he set
sail ; " torrents of rain fell on all sides," added Boukari,
"but our bark remained perfectly dry, and a favourable
72 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
wind swelled our sails. I asked this Almousseri to explain ,
his secret, but he answered that if he revealed it his brethren
would infallibly destroy him."*
From many sources it is evident that scattered
communities -f- with mystic knowledge, existed in
various parts of Northern Africa. Such communities
having nothing to do, of course, with the fetish-
worship of the negro tribes, but adhere to the
Egyptian tradition of mystic teaching, for they are
off-shoots of the Manich^an and Coptic teachers
who spread the secret doctrines of Manes in Northern
Africa ; his disciples carried on this line of work
immediately after his death. They kept up also a
communication with the mystics in Europe, for M. de
St. Germain at one period of his travels was in
Northern Africa.
Some reference has been made to the fifth grade
of the African Bauherren system, namely the
" Master of the Egyptian Secrets " ; " Alethophilote "
or " Friend of Truth." This grade is given as the
eighth by Ragon,J and Lenning in his encyclopaedia
says :
There appears to have been some connection between
this grade and the little known society of the "Aletho-
philotes " in! Berlin. This is probably the earlier sect which
* MoUien (G.), Travels in the Interior of Africa, translated from
the French, edited by T. E. Bowdich, p. i6i. London, 1820.
t These communities were chiefly Moors and Arabians, and we
touch the Sufite mystic tradition along this line.
X See The Theosophical Review, xxiii., 358.
HIDDEN SOURCES OF MASONRY. •] ■>>
is alluded to sometimes, and it was founded, so far as is
known, by the Graf von Manteuffel in 1736.*
The details of this system will be of interest to
students, as it throws some light upon the older
association, of which very little is told ; they are
given by Kundmann as follows :
I. Let Truth be the sole aim of your understanding
and of your will.
II. Consider nothing true, consider nothing false, if
you are not convinced about it by adequate reasons.
III. Be satisfied with this, that you know and love the
Truth ; seek to impart it, that is to make it known and
agreeable to your fellow-citizens. He who buries his
experience, buries a thing which has been committed to
his care for the furtherance of the glory of the Highest ;
and he thus diverts its use from humanity, which might
have profited therefrom.
IV. Do not deny your love and help to those who
know the Truth and are seeking it themselves, or who are
honestly trying to defend it. It would be too disgraceful
and contrary to the actual vocation of an Alethophilote
(Friend of Truth) if you were to deny protection and
defence to those whose object is one with yours.
V. Never contradict a truth when you see that you are
being overborne by others whose insight is more keen than
yours. An Alethophilote would be unworthy of his name if
he undertook to combat the Truth out of pride or conceit,
or from any other unreasonable cause.
VI. Be pitiful with those who either are ignorant of
the Truth, or who have incorrect perceptions of it ; instruct
* Lenning (C), AlUgemeines Handbuch der Freimaurerei, i., 15.
Leipzig, 1863.
74 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
them without bitterness, and seek to bring them into the
right way solely by the strength of your arguments and by
no other way. You would disgrace the Truth and make it
appear suspicious if you were to fight for it and defend it
with any other weapons but those which Reason gives into
your hand.*
It is an interesting, but somewhat difficult, matter
to understand the reason why such bitter war was
carried on against bodies of men with tenets so high
and aims so pure. As each of these semi-Masonic
sects is investigated the astonishment of the student
increases at the groundless accusations with which the
ordinary historian is content.
In the passage quoted from Findel, he gives the
traditions and Masonic tenets held by the Grand
Lodge of Germany, and also by the Afrikanische
Bauherren, these bodies being practically identical,
the latter being but a more advanced and occult
section of the Mother-Lodge. In the passage just
referred to the Carpocratians are particularly
alluded to ; this Gnostic sect is of especial interest
to students of Theosophy, seeing that metempsychosis
— or re-incarnation — was one of their tenets ; and if
we summarise a well-known authority on the subject
we get an identity of view which is remarkable.
These sectarians called themselves Gnostics. In most
respects the teaching of their Founder coincides with that
of Basilides. He held there was one principal virtue from
*Kundmann, Die hShen und niedern Schultn Deutschlands, p. 769.
Breslau, 1741.
HIDDEN SOURCES OF IVfASONRY. 75
whom proceeded all other virtues and angels who founded
this world ; that Jesus Christ was not born of a virgin, but a
man truly born of the seed of Joseph, though better than
other men in integrity of Life. . . Virtue was given Him
by the Great First Cause whereby He retained the
recollection of things seen in a former state of existence. .
. . Metempsychosis and the pre-existence of the soul was
an integral part of the system.*
There is much more of interest in the summary
given for the student of Modern Gnosticism or
Theosophia, and it can also be readily seen that if the
tenets of the Carpocratians were held by the African
Brothers, the Templars and other mystic sects, then
there was indeed a vital necessity for secrecy and
silence, since these heretical views brought about the
destruction of the Templars in the Middle Ages, and
would have called forth the direst wrath not only
of the Catholic, but also the Protestant authorities.
* Blunt (John Henry, D.D.), Dictionary of Sects and Heresies,
p. 102. London, 1891. See also Mead (G. R. S.), "Among the
Gnostics of the First Two Centuries," Lucifer, xx. 207.
THE TRADITIONS OF
THE TEMPLARS REVIVED IN
MASONRY.
The Rite of the Strict Observance. ,
Ancient history is like a night-landscape, over which we
grope, vaguely discerning a few outlines in the general gloom,
and happy if here or there the works of a particular author
or a ruin or work of art momentarily illumine, like a lightning
flash in the dark, the particular field which we are exploring.
— Philo about the Contemplative Life, p. 349, F. C.
CONYBEARE.
Dupes or charlatans ! Such is the stricture of the
Masonic authorities on the leading spirits of the Strict
Observance ; but as the student wades through the
pile of polemical literature which has heaped itself
round this particular body, he is moved to ask : Is it
possible that all the honesty and wisdom is with the
critics ; and is it rational to suppose that in this wide-
spread development of mystic Masonry there existed
no one clear-sighted enough to do within the body the
76
THE TEMPLARS. 'J'J
work which the " enemy at the gate " ever arrogates
to himself as his special function, the work of healthy-
investigation ?
One well-known authority opens fire with the
following critical broadside :
Of all the wonderful perversions of Freemasonry which
owe their origin to the fervid imaginings of our brethren of the
last century, none can compare in point of interest with the
system of the " Strict Observance."* . . . The whole system
was based upon the fiction that at the time of the destruction
of the Templars, a certain number of Knights took refuge
in Scotland, and there preserved the existence of the Order.
The sequence of Grand-Masters was presumed never to have
been broken, and a list of those rulers in regular succession
was known to the initiates, but the identity of the actual
Grand-Master was always kept during his life-time a secret
from everyone except his immediate confidants — hence the
term " Unknown Superiors."
In order to secure their perfect security these Knights
are said to have joined the Guilds of Masons in Scotland,
and thus to have given rise to the Fraternity of Freemasons, t
The trail of the materialistic serpent is traceable
in his valuable work, although the author is in advance
* " The mysteries of Mithras were solemnized in a consecrated
cavern, on December 2Sth, which was the date fixed for the celebration.
They began from the moment that the priests at midnight saw the
constellation of Virgo appear, which on setting ushered in the year by
calling forth the sun, which appeared as a son supporting itself on its
Mother's lap.
"Some Masonic Systems have preserved the Magian degree, it is
the last in the Strict Observance." Acerrellos (R. S.), Die Freimau-
rerei in ihrem Zusammenhange mit den Religionen der alien Aegypter,
derjuden, und der Ckrislen, I., p. 293. Leipzig, 1836.
t Gould (R. F.), Hisl. of Freemasonry. V., p. 99. London,
1886.
78 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
of some German critics by giving credit for honest
motives to one at least of the leaders of this Rite.
But even with this extension of generosity it is evident
that " dupes or charlatans " is the summing up by at
least two-thirds of the Masonic writers in the last
century and in the present one, of the mental and
moral condition of the members of the Strict
Observance.
The evidences of the position — mental, moral and
worldly— of many of the members, however, preclude
such a hasty generalisation, for it should not be
overlooked by critics who thus stigmatise the students
of mysticism that more royalties, members of reigning
families, scholars and officers, belonged to this Order,
than were enrolled on any other Masonic list. And
among these princes and grand-dukes were earnest
students, good and wise rulers, men respected by all
who knew them both for their judgment and their
probity. With them we find scholars, nobles and
officers of high standing, with stainless records ; these
again cannot be swept up into one category or the
other, and even allowing for a residue of members
whose principles were not of the highest, and making
a generous allowance for such persons, who are found
in every society, even then there remains too large a
body of honest members devoted to mystic research
to allow of any hasty generalisations, and the fact
remains of a widespread feeling that within Masonry
was hidden that occult and mystic tradition which is
the true history of spiritual evolution.
THE TEMPLARS. 79
In reading the merciless and shallow criticisms
upon those members of the Strict Observance who
were trying to re-assert the mystic doctrine, it is
amusing to note the cool assumptions of honesty and
clear-sightedness which — from their own stand-point
— appear to have been the sole prerogatives of an
all-knowing few who had sounded — as they thought —
mysticism and its supernatural follies with an
illuminated wisdom that angels might envy.
Before passing to the system itself, however, it will
be well to note some of the members who have fallen
under the " mangling tooth of criticism." We find in
the year 1774 no less than twelve reigning princes
were members of this Rite, and in the list which
follows — in which by no means all the royal members
are cited — we find that in some cases whole families
joined the Society. They cannot all have been
dupes, and they were certainly not charlatans ; they
were also in too responsible positions for them to
have taken up with what was doubtful. The list
stands as follows :
Karl George, Landgraf of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Friedrich, Landgraf and Prince of Hesse-Kassel.
Ludwig, Grand - Duke and Prince of Hesse-
Darmstadt.
. Christian Ludwig, Landgraf and Prince of Hesse-
Darmstadt.
Friedrich George August, Prince of Hesse-Darm-
stadt.
Ludwig George, Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt.
8o MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
Friedrich Karl Alexander, Markgraf of Branden-
burg, Onolzbach and Baireuth.
Karl I., Duke of Brunswick, and his three sons :
Friedrich August, Maximilian Julius Leopold,
Wilhelm Adolf
Karl, Grand-Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
Karl, Prince of Hesse-Kassel.
Karl, Prince of Courland.
These are a few of those who joined this much
decried Rite, and the same class of members may be
found in Austria, Italy, France, Russia, and Sweden.
All, moreover, were real lovers of mysticism ; many
of them were members of the Rosicrucian and other
allied bodies, all were seeking in various systems for
the old narrow path which leads to wisdom ; not
seeking by one way alone, but testing all ways that
presented themselves. A sketch, therefore, -of some
of the leading spirits in this interesting Order may
perhaps be of interest, and it will serve to bring the
leading spirits more clearly before our readers.
The most important personage is Charles Gotthelf,
Baron of the Holy Roman Empire, of Hund and Alten-
Grotkare, a Lusatian nobleman, born in 1722. He became,
in 1753, a Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon Chamberlain,
and in 1755 was elected senior of the nobility of Upper
Lusatia. The seven years' war brought great misfortune to
him, his estates being occupied and plundered by the war-
waging armies. He had himself, as an adherent of
Austria, to flee to Bohemia, where he remained until the
end of the war. King Augustus of Poland appointed him a
Privy Councillor in 1769, and Maria Theresa in that yeaa"
THE TEMPLARS. 8 1
did the same ; but he did not accept the post in Vienna,
being desirous of accomplishing the contemplated reform of
Masonry.
He entered the Masonic Order in 1742, when at
Frankfurt-am-Main. In the next year he is said to have
estabUshed a Lodge at Paris, and while staying with the
French Army he became acquainted with the heads of
a Rite which pretended to be, in its higher degrees,
the continuation of the famous Order of Knights Templars.
According to his repeated declarations, maintained even on
his death-bed, he was received into this Order in Paris by
Lord Kilmarnock, Grand-Master of Scotland, a Jacobite
nobleman, on which occasion Lord Clifford acted as Prior.
He was presented to a very high member of the Order,
a mysterious personage called only " the Knight of the Red
Feather." Perhaps this was Prince Charles Edward himself.
Von Hund supposed him to be the Supreme Grand
Master of the Order, and was appointed by him coadjutor
of the Seventh Province of the Order (Germania Inferior).
Hund visited Scotland also, where he was bidden to raise
the Order in Germany, together with the then Master of the
Seventh Province, de Marschall, whom he always con-
sidered his predecessor. Marschall had founded Lodges at
Altenburg and Naumburg, but found only in the latter men
worthy of being led further, viz., to be received into the
Templar degrees. He did not care for the rest of the
German Lodges, and on his return to Germany (about
1751) Hund placed himself in connection with Marschall,
who, unfortunately, was very ill already, and died soon
afterwards.
Before his death he destroyed nearly all his Templar
papers, only a very few of which he had given to Hund.
He (Hund) hoped to find the missing rituals, etc., with the
Naumburg Lodge, but was disappointed. He, therefore,
sent two brethren of that Lodge to England and Scotland,
in order to acquire the missing documents. They returned,
F
82 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
carrying with them only a patent to him as Master of the
Seventh Province, written in cypher, and nothing more.*
A full account of the working arrangements of the
Order is given by the writer from whom we sum-
marise, and he tells us these were changed from time
to time according to the conditions that arose
incident upon the constant attacks that were being
made on this and all other occult societies by the
group of materialists in Germany, Herr Dr. Blester
and his colleagues, of whom mention has already been
made.f and there will be necessity to refer to these
critics again a little later on. Another interesting
sketch of the Baron von Hund by Reghellini runs as
follows :
In 1756 the wars had caused the Prussian (Masonic)
Lodges to be abandoned. Baron de Hund, who had
received the High Templar's Degree in the Chapter of
Clermont at Paris, on returning to Berlin declared that he
had been raised to the dignity of Grand-Master of the
Templars by M. Marschall, who called himself the
successor of the G .'. G .'. Master-Templars by uninter-
rupted transmission from the time of Jacques Molay ; that
Marschall on his death-bed had delegated this high dignity
to him, and had declared him his successor, transmitting to
him all his powers and dignities. He did not omit to give
Hund a list of all the names of the Templar Grand-
Masters, which must therefore have been a curious contrast
to the list of the Order of the Temple of Paris. 1
* This summary is taken from an interesting study on the Baron
yon Hund, written by a well-known Hungarian mason, which appeared
in the Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, " Transactions of the Lodge Quatuor
Coronati," No. 2076. VI., part ii., p. 89. Margate, 1893.
t The Theosophical Review, xxii. p. 431.
THE TEMPLARS. 83
Hund placed himself at the head of the German
reformers : he persuaded them that his Rite would restore
Freemasonry .-. to its ancient brilliancy and its former
splendour; he was even bold enough to establish, at his
own expense, a Lodge at Kittlitz, near Lobau. At the
same time he caused a Protestant church to be built. It
was the Brother Masons of this Lodge who laid the first
stone ; Baron de Hund placed upon this stone a copper
plate on which he had his Masonic .-. opinions engraved,
and if we except that of the continuation of the Ancient
Templar Order in the Masonry .-. to which he especially
belonged (for in order to be received into the Rite of the
Clerks of the Strict Observance he had even become a
Catholic*) — if we except, as we say, this opinion, we believe
that his principles were altogether philosophical. In the
doctrines of his Eques Professus, the eighth rung which he
added to the Templar ladder of the Strict Observance, he
maintains that these Pontiffs are the only Priests of the
True Light, the Worshippers of God, and the disciples of
the pure doctrines of Jesus and of John.f
There are very many details about the work done
by Von Hund in his efTorts to dravir the mystic side
of Masonry into prominence ; details which can be
read in the work of any real authority on the history
of Masonry, and which cannot, for want of space, be
entered into in these pages. Most of the German
Masonic authorities, such as Keller, Rebold, Krause,
Lenning, Findel, and others, concede his personal
asceticism and moreover his entire honesty of
purpose, but he is usually summed up as a dupe.
* This is contradicted by some authorities.
tReghellini da Schio (Par le F .-. M .-. R .-. da S .-.), La
Mofonnen'e consider^ comme le Resultat des Religions igyptienne, juive
et chritiemte, II., pp. 374, 375. Paris, 1833.
84 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
Passing on to another aspect of this much-tangled
web of Masonic evolution, we find that about 1770
events of great importance transpired in Germany ;
Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick had become a Mason,
and he induced his brother, the reigning Duke
Charles, and his nephews — the sons of Duke Charles
— to enter the Masonic Fraternity, and they all
joined the Rite of the Strict Observance. It was at
this juncture that there appeared also on the scene
Johann Augustus Starck, a profoundly striking per-
sonality from all accounts.
He had been in St. Petersburg from 1762-65 as
teacher of Oriental languages, and was also a deep
student of theology and philosophy. Starck had held
many public positions of trust and importance,
amongst others that of interpreter of Oriental MSS.
at the Royal Library in Paris. He had travelled in
England, Scotland, Italy and Russia, and was an
ardent searcher after hermetic and theosophic mystic-
ism. In St. Petersburg he had come into contact with
the Melesino System, which was both hermetic and
theosophic in its tenets.
Starck held that the mystic traditions of the
Knights-Templars, derived by them from those still
older fraternities with whom they had been in contact
in the East, were preserved amongst the clericals of
that Order who had cherished their unbroken con-
tinuity until his days, and he announced that he was
in communication with certain Superiors, or chiefs of
the Order.
THE TEMPLARS. 85
Our well-known English authority, writing on the
Strict Observance, says :
On February 17th, 1767, some Masons, chief amongst
whom may be mentioned Von Vegesack, Von Bohnen and
Starck, founded at Wismar the Lodge of the "Three Lions,"
and added thereto a Scots Lodge, " Gustavus of the Golden
Hammer."
Shortly afterwards they added a hitherto unknown body,
a " Clerical Chapter." To these brethren we are indebted
for the historical fiction (sic) that the Knights-Templars were
divided into miUtary and sacerdotal members; that the
latter possessed all the secrets and mystic learning of the
Order ; and that they had preserved a continuous existence
down to the eighteenth century. Starck claimed to be the
emissary of these Clerical Templars, asserted their and his
superiority over the Secular Knights, and offered, on his
claims being acknowledged, to impart their valuable secrets
to Von Hund and his disciples. Starck (1741 — 1816), was
a student of GSttingen, and a very learned man, an Oriental
linguist of great attainments, and had held scientific appoint-
ments in St. Petersburg, Paris, Wismar, and elsewhere.*
The author of this work — a standard work on
Masonry — regards Starck as a charlatan, although he
brings no proofs, other than his assertions, which are
upheld by many modern materialistic critics, that
there were no leaders, or unknown Superiors, that the
tradition was false, and that no real connection
existed between the Templars and the Masons.
Unfortunately for many of these critics this tradition
was not " written in the stars " but preserved on
stones, and we find the eminent archaeologist Baron
* Gould^ Hist, of Freemasonry, V., p. 104. London, l88^.
86 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
Joseph von Hammer* demonstrating the connection
between the Masons and the Templars. He traces
the Eastern origin of both by means of engraved
symbols, showing the extraordinary identity between
those used by the Masons, and those of the Templars,
and practically makes them identical in their incep-
tion, that is to say, developed from the same original
stock of mystic Eastern lore, and when we have to
sketch the history of the Knights-Templars we shall
turn to these researches for their monumental records,
proving the Eastern sources from which the secret
traditions of the Templars were derived ; justifying
the claim of all those later societies which based their
assertions on the same tradition.
At present we must coniine ourselves to the Strict
Observance, and so we pass on to what Johann Starck
says in his own writings on the subject. One of his
works deals entirely with the accusation brought
against the Strict Observance and other secret societies,
namely that they were derived from the Jesuit order.f
He was particularly attacked on his belief that the
Knights-Templars could have continued in existence
for four hundred and iifty years, unknown to the
world at large. To this charge he replied that
If he [Dr. Blaster |] had been somewhat better
* Fundgruben des Orients, V\., p. 445 (Wien, 1818), "Gegenrede
wider die Einrede der Vertheidiger der Templer."
t See his long dissertation on the subject in Uber Krypto
Katholicismus, Proselyten-Macherey,Jesuitismus, Geheime Gesellschaften,
etc. Frankfort und Leipzig, 1787.
% Editpr of th? Berliner Monatfchri/t, See above, p. 13.
THE TEMPLARS. 87
acquainted with ecclesiastical history, he would have found
not only one, but several religious bodies, which under far
more violent oppression and persecution than those endured
by the Knights-Templars, have secretly continued to exist
for a longer period than four hundred and fifty years.
Starck's view is upheld by a modern writer of
note, who, speaking of the Templars says :
Considering how widely the Order had spread its
branches, obtained possession and afifiliated to itself
multitudes both male and female amongst the laity all over
Europe, it would be a mere absurdity to believe that all its
traditions were swept away at one stroke by the suppression
of the Templars in the year 1307.*
Thus we find this view supported a century later
than the time when Starck penned his defence of the
tradition. Starck proceeds, moreover, to show how
many scholars were of the same opinion. He writes :
How great are the number of scholars "who joined it
[the Strict Observance] and accepted the opinion that the
order of the Templars had continued to exist for four
hundred and fifty years, secretly truly, but uninterruptedly !
There are Professor Dahmart at Greifswalde, Eques ab abiete.
Doctor and Professor Rehfeld, Eques h caprea. Doctor and
Professor Rolpen, Eques d tribus specis. Professor and
Preacher Ruhlenkamp at Gottingen, Eques a gallo cantante.
Professor Schwarz at Reval, Eques d, rota. Professor Eck at
Leipzig, Eques h, nodua, etc.
These men are scholars and students holding
responsible public positions and as such would hardly
be all fools or charlatans. Space will not permit us
* King (C.W.), The Gnostics and their Remains, Ancient and
Medieeval, p. 399, 2nd ed. London, 1887.
88 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
to follow at present all the arguments brought forward
by Starck, in order to show the absurdity of the
accusations of Jesuitism, an accusation which was
freely brought against many of the societies of the
period ; we must pass on to the condition of the
society itself, and trace even this but briefly.
Ragon, in speaking of the Strict Observance, says
that in Germany a society was formed of Reformed
Masons, that is to say :
Approaching more nearly to the true institution than
the ordinary Freemasons. The study of the Kabala, of the
Philosopher's Stone, and of Necromancy or the invocation
of spirits, occupied them chiefly, because according to them
all these sciences formed the system and the object and end of
the ancient mysteries of which Freemasonry is the sequel.*
The studies enumerated in this quotation appear
to have been carried on chiefly in one of the higher
grades of the Strict Observance called Clerici Ordinis
Templariorum. It was this branch that took up the
study of Alchemy, and which was under the
particular direction of Starck, Herr von Raven, and
others, who were entirely devoted to the mystic side
of Masonry. Ragon gives the following divisions and
grades into which the System was divided, namely :
I
2,
3-
4-
Apprenti
Compagnon
Maltre
Maltre Ecossais
Novice
Symboliques.
' Ragon (J. M.), Orthodoxie Maconnique, p. 210. Paris, 1853.
THE TEMPLARS. 89
6. Templier, divis^ en 3 classes „ .
, , J- Socius.
sous les noms de • .
J Armiger.
Between 1768 and 1770 the Baron von Hund
added a seventh grade, which he called :
7. Eques Professus.
It is also stated by Ragon* that the largest
portion of this society became Martinists, and were
known later by the name of the " Knights of the
Holy Sepulchre." This change was made at the
convention at Lyons, which took place in 1778. The
Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick and the Baron von
Raven also joined this division. Another group took
the name of the " Beneficent Knights of the Holy
City," and amongst them we find the two mystics, the
Comte de St. Martin and Willermoz.
It will be better to add here a few details about
the Knights Templars, since they are so intimately
connected with the Masonic Order just mentioned ;
details which will also serve to show the inner aspect
of their tradition. Much has been written about
them and their history — from one aspect — is better
known than that of almost any other mystic organ-
isation, but the fact of a secret teaching is not
sufficiently clear. That there was a secret doctrinef
* op. (it. , p. 230.
t If these fects already point to the existence of secret statutes in
the Order of the Knights Templars, this will also be proved by a
number of other notes and finally substantiated by some quite positive
statements which are most explicit.
A great number of witnesses, who give information on the
go MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
amongst the Templars is shown by Neaf* ; he points
out that the Knights Templars considered that the
Roman Church had failed in its ideal, and that when
the terrible persecutions fell upon them that they
divided and joined two different associations, one the
body of Freemasons and the other a body named the
Johannites. Another writerf points out the con-
nection between the Templars and the Bogomiles,
who were the Manichasans of the Balkan Provinces,
and the Gnostics of the early Christian period and
their descendants, the Cathari of the mediaeval ages.
Dr. SimrockJ suggests a deeply interesting idea with
regard to the connection between the tradition of the
Holy Grail and the secret teachings of the Templars ;
he appears to consider that the Grail tradition, which
is drawn in some parts from the Apocryphal Gospels,
is the basis of the secret teaching of the Templars.
Some of the early sources of the tradition are given
ceremonies of admission in question refer the same to certain definite
phrases which describe them. It then furthermore transpires that these
secret statutes were not only received by means of oral tradition but also
existed in manuscript form. Gervais de Beauvais saw at one of the
Heads of the Orders, a little book with the Statutes of the Order of
1 128, which was shown without thinking, and he knew that the
same man had also possessed another book about which he was very
mysterious and which he "would not show anyone for all the world."
Prutz (Hans Dr.), Geheimelehre des Templherren Ordens, p. 45.
Berlin, 1879.
* Naef (F.), Recherches sur les Opinions religieuses des Templiers,
pp. 25 to 41. Nismes, 1890.
t Loiseleur (Jules), La Doctrine SecrHe des Templiers, pp. 35, 48.
Paris, 1872.
X Simrock (Dr. K.), Parzifal u. Titurel, Rittergedichte von
Wolfram von Eschenbach, I., 497. Stuttgart und Tubingen, 1842.
THE TEMPLARS. 9 1
by the author of Sarsena, and also the connection
between the Templars and the Essenes.
All these links are of importance if we wish to
understand the close connection between these various
organizations, and also how one developed out of the
other. Another writer says :
Taking the rules of their Order and of the Christians in
equal division, they (the Kabalists) began to draw a parallel
between the books of Moses and the records of the Magi,
and formed from all this material a new Brotherhood into
which they imported certain rules that could exist together
with those of the Christians. During the Crusades there
were several orders of widely different views ; and among
numerous others in the year 1118, the Knights of the
Temple, with whom the Magi joined themselves, and to
whom they imparted their principles and mysteries. The
fall of the Templars and the entire demolition of the Order
by the Council held in Vienna in 131 1, is due to the fact
that all the knowledge which we may consider as part of the
Wisdom of the ancient Magi, and also the Natural Sciences,
had at this time begun to be lost. There is one section of
Freemasons which finds in Freemasonry the restoration of
the Order of the Knights Templars, and the systems of the
Great German Lodge and that of the Swedish Brothers are
certainly pre-eminently connected with the former.
According to this system, and in especial according to all
the various systems which obtain in this particular Order,
Freemasonry is a mystical conception of the principle
doctrines of Christianity, the slain Master no other than the
Christ ! And here the question fairly arises, had the teachings
of the Christ in truth mysteries, unsearchable, incomprehen-
sible doctrines, which were only to be made comprehensible
to a small number of specially chosen disciples, and
were not the Essenes that body among whom He had
92 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
learned those mysteries, for the Essenes demanded of those
initiated, moderation, justice, avoidance of injury, love of
Truth and detestation of evil ; holy water belonged to the
ritual of admission to their highest grade, and John said
" Repent and be baptized." Christ who led the blameless
life, suffered himself to be baptized. Does not this lead us
to the almost certain conclusion that Christ, and even more
John, were initiated members of the Essenes? Were
sufficient documents available to prove the historic truth of
this statement, it would be perfectly obvious why John (the
Baptist) who bled for Truth and Goodness, should have been
chosen as the Patron of the present Order and of nearly all
that precede it. The keeping of John the Baptist's Day as a
Festival by the Freemasons is adduced in confirmation of
this idea that the Freemasons had for over six hundred
years identified themselves with the " Johannrittern '' and St.
John the Baptist had been chosen Patron by both Orders.
And as it is certain that much of the ritual of the form of
Reception means something quite other than that which
has been substituted latterly, it may very easily be that
there is some truth in this assertion. For it is just as little true
that the Freemasons identified themselves six hundred years
ago with the " Johannrittern " as that they now crown the
Master, Hiram, in the Lodge in real earnest. Christ, as has
been said above, founded no secret society, and yet He gave
out His teaching only by degrees as regarded its inner
significance, for he said " I have many things to say unto you,
but ye cannot bear them now." After His death the pure
doctrine was falsified by additions, but yet it may be possible
that its pristine purity and simplicity may have been
preserved, and where else than in some kind of Order ? In
the early Christian Church there was a disciplina arcani, and
in this manner were the mysteries transmitted among the
few, and even in the time of the Crusades there were still
living descendants of the Essenes. The Order of Knights
of the Temple was founded in the year 1113 by Gottfried
THE TEMPLARS. 93
von St. Omar, Hugo de Paiens, and seven others whose
names are not known. They consecrated themselves
to the service of God according to the form of the Canoni-
corum Regularium, and took solemn vows before the Bishop
of Jerusalem. Baldwin the Second, in consideration of the
office of these seven servants of God, lent to them a house
near the Temple of Solomon. They bound themselves (as
we are told by the author of the book called Die theoretische
Bruder U.S.V.) with certain Essenes who formed a secret
society consisting of virtuous Christians and true seekers
after Truth in Nature, and learned also their secrets. That
the Templars had mysteries in their keeping is beyond
contention. The Order had secret ceremonies of admission,
gloried in possessing such, and for this reason several of its
members endured martyrdom. The Order of Knights
Templar contained many of the best and most far-seeing
minds among the parents of Freemasonry ; and, as is well-
known, there were whole branches of Freemasonry specially
devoted to the restoration of the Templars. And the
Johannine and other systems taught this descent, even
before the "Strict Observance" became generally known,
which insisted on the restoration of the Templars as the
highest aim of the mysteries. If we consider closely the
similarity between the customs of both Orders we shall find
that the Reception and other ceremonies of the Order of
Freemasonry relates to that of the Knights of the Temple
exactly in so far as to enable us to say with positiveness that
the Freemasons preserve in their midst the mysteries of the
Templars and transmit them. That the Templars possessed
secrets is witnessed by the evidence in their procedure : the
Freemasons claim the like procedure for themselves, for
from grade to grade the Aspirant is told that later he shall
experience yet more. More what? Also a secret. Nine
Brothers founded the Order of the Templars ; the chief
and hieroglyphic number of the Freemasons is three times
three. The Templars held Divine Service in places which
94 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
were interdicted. By the strictest observances they reserved
these for themselves (or set these aside) they appealed to the
rights of their forefathers.
In the general organisation, Roessler tells us :
The Brother Templars were, according to their statutes
as Hospital Brothers divided into three classes : i, into the
class of the serving who, without distinction, nursed sick
pilgrims and Knights Templars ; 2, into that of the spiritual
Brothers destined for the service of pilgrims ; 3, into that of
Knights who went to war.
We find in the Instructions of the Chevalier d'Orient
where are celebrated the foundation of the Knights
Templars and the spread of their teachings in Europe the
following declaration on the matter is given :
" Eighty-one Masons* under the leadership of
Garimonts, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, went, in the year
1 150, to Europe and betook themselves to the Bishop of
Upsala who received them in very friendly fashion and was
consequently initiated into the mysteries of the Copts which
the Masons had brought with them ; later he was entrusted
with the deposit of the collection of those teachings, rites
and mysteries. The Bishop took pains to enclose and
conceal them in the subterranean vaults of the tower of the
' Four Crowns ' which at that time, was the crown treasure
chamber of the King of Sweden. Nine of these Masons,
amongst them Hugo de Paganis, founded in Europe the
Order of the Knights Templars ; later on they received
from the Bishop the dogmas, mysteries and teachings of the
Coptic Priests, confided to him.
" Thus in a short time the Knights Templars became
the receivers and depositors of the mysteries, rites and
* " These Masons are always in the figurative sense Knights of the
Cross who had been admitted to the mysteries of the working in the
mystic Temple, and to the religion of the Children of the Widow. "
THE TEMPLARS. 95
ceremonies which had been brought over by the Masons
from the East — the Levites of the true Light
" The Knights Templars, devoted entirely to the sciences
and to the dogmas brought from the Thebaid, wished, in
course of time, to preserve this doctrine in solemn fashion
by a token. The Scotch Templars served as pattern in the
matter, they having founded the three degrees of St. Andreas
of Scotland, and adapted them to the allegorical legend to
be found in the instructions referred to.
"Scotch Templars were occupied in excavating a place
at Jerusalem in order to build a temple there, and precisely
on the spot where the temple of Solomon — or at least that
part of it called the Holy of Holies — had stood. During
their work they found three stones which were the corner
stones of the Solomon temple itself. The monumental form
of these excited their attention ; this excitement became all
the more intense when they found the name Jehovah
engraved in the elliptical spaces of the last of these stones —
this which was also a type of the mysteries of the Copt — the
sacred word which, by the murder of the Master Builder,
had been lost, and which, according to the legend of the
first degree, Hiram had had engraved on the foundation
stone of Solomon's temple. After such a discovery the
Scotch Knights took this costly memorial with them, and,
in order eternally to preserve their esteem for it, they
employed these as the three corner stones of their first
temple at Edinburgh."*
Our author further tells us that :
The works began on St. Andreas' day; and so the
Templars who had knowledge of this fact, of the secret of
the three stones, and of the re-discovered word, called them-
* The legend of these three stones has a striking resemblance to
that of the three mysterious stones which the Nymphs found and
brought to Minerva — the Goddess of Wisdom.
96 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
selves Knights of St. Andreas ; they appointed degrees of
merit in order to attain, and these are present in the
apprentice, companion, and master degrees known under
the name of the Little Master-Builder, the Great Master-
Builder, and the Scotch Master.
By the instruction common to all Knightly Orders the
Crusaders were under obligation to make many journeys
and pilgrimages where, as is said, they had to see themselves
surrounded by dangers. Therefore they founded those
degrees in order to recognise each other and to assist each
other in need. For these journeys they took signs, words,
and particular touches or grips, and imparted to all Brothers
a principal sign in order to find help in case of a surprise.
In order to imitate the Christians of the East and the
Coptic Priests, these Knights preserved among themselves
the verbal law which was never written down, and took care
that it should remain concealed to the initiated of the lower
degrees. All this is preserved with exactitude in the
philosophic rite of our days, although this rite does not
precisely seek to derive its origin from the Knights
Templars.
The Knights Templars united the possessions of the
Old Man of the Mountains under their rule, as they had
perceived the supernatural courage of his pupils, they
admitted these into their order. Some historians have thus
come to the opinion that the Knights Templars had been
induced themselves to accept the institutions of those
admitted. Gauthier von Montbar was acquainted with
these teachings, and transplanted them into Europe.
All these circumstances were very detrimental to the
religion of Rome ; it lost many of those who had belonged
to it; more .especially many Crusaders who were sojourning
in Syria, Palestine and Egypt, where all the forms of belief
of the first Christians were preserved and tolerated by the
Saracens.
Eastern Christians regarded the dogma of the unity of
THE TEMPLARS. 97
God as a mystery and saw in it a divine manifestation.
They, therefore, only imparted the knowledge thereof at
initiation which they held very secret. They practised the
morality commanded by the Son of Mary, but did not
believe in his divinity ; for all those who followed Gnostic
and Kabalistic traditions considered him to be their Elder
Brother.
The Knights of the Cross who had come to know these
dogmas and mysteries of the Christians of the East, were
obliged, when they had returned to Europe, to hold this
initiation still more secret, for the mere suspicion of such a
faith would have been sufficient to bring these new religious
professors to the rack and the stake.*
We will now pass on to some of the religious and
philosophic views held by the Knights Templars
which are summarised from the Abbe Gr^goire and
which show the link with the Gnostic teachings.
The Order of the Temple is cosmopolitan ; it is divided
into two great classes : i, the Order of the East ; 2, the
Order of the Temple.
The Order of the Temple sprang from the Order of the
East, of which ancient Egypt was the cradle. The Order
of the East comprised different orders or classes of adepts.
The adepts of the first order were at once legislators,
judges, and pontiffs.
Their policy was opposed to the propagation of meta-
physical knowledge and the natural sciences, of which they
made themselves the sole depositories ; and whoever should
have dared to reveal the secrets reserved for the initiates in
the order of the sacerdotal hierarchy, would have been
punished with most dire severity. They gave to the people
only unintelligible emblems constituting, the exoteric
* Accerrelos (Roessler, Dr. Karl), History of Freemaionry,
l^ipzig, 1836, II., p. Sseisej.
C
98 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
theology, which was a compound of absurd dogmas and
extravagant practices tending to give more ascendency to
superstition, and to consolidate the government.
Moses was initiated in Egypt. He was profoundly
versed in the theological, physical, and metaphysical
mysteries of the priests. Aaron, his brother, and the other
Hebrew chiefs became the depositories of these doctrines.
These chiefs or Levites were divided into several classes,
according to the custom of the Egyptian priests.
Later on, the Son of God was born into the world. He
was brought up in the Alexandrian school. Filled with a
spirit altogether divine, endowed with the most marvellous
intelligence, he succeeded in attaining all the degrees of
Egyptian initiation.
On returning to Jerusalem, he presented himself before
the chiefs of the Synagogue, and pointed out to them the
numerous alterations that the Law of Moses had undergone
at the hands of the Levites ; he confounded them by the
power of his spirit and the extent of his knowledge ; but
the Jewish priests, blinded by their passions, persisted in
their errors.
However, the moment had come when Jesus Christ,
directing the fruit of his lofty meditations towards the
universal civilisation and welfare of the world, tore down
the veil which hid the truth from the people, preached the
love of one's neighbour and the equality of all men before
the common Father. Finally, consecrating by a sacrifice
worthy of the Son of God the heavenly doctrines which he
had come to spread, he established for ever on the earth, by
his gospels, the religion inscribed in the Book of Eternity.
Jesus conferred on his disciples the evangelical
initiation, caused his spirit to descend upon them, divided
them into different orders, according to the custom of the
Egyptian priests and Hebrew priests, and placed them under
the authority of St. John, his beloved disciple, and whom he
had made supreme pontiff and patriarch.
THE TEMPLARS. 99
John never quitted the East ; his doctrine, always pure,
was not altered by the admixture of any other doctrine.
Peter and the other apostles, on the contrary, carried
the teachings of Jesus Christ to distant peoples ; but as they
were often forced, in order to propagate the faith, to
conform to the manners and customs of these different
nations, and even to admit other rites than those of the
East, slight variations and changes crept into the different
gospels, as well as into the doctrines of the numerous
Christian sects.
Down to 1 1 1 8, the mysteries and the hierarchical order
of the Egyptian initiation, transmitted to the Jews through
Moses and afterwards to the Christians through Jesus Christ,
were religiously preserved by the successors of the apostle
John. These mysteries and these initiations regenerated
through the evangelical initiation or baptism formed a
sacred deposit which, thanks to the simplicity of primitive
customs from which the brothers of the East never departed,
never underwent the slightest alteration.
The Christians of the East, persecuted by the infidels,
appreciating the courage and piety of those valiant crusaders
who, sword in one hand and cross in the other, flew to the
defence of the holy places ; doing justice, above all, to the
virtues and the ardent charity of Hugh of Payens, con-
sidered it their duty to entrust to hands so pure the
treasures of knowledge acquired during so many centuries,
and sanctified by the cross, the teachings and the ethics of
the Man-God.
Hugh was then invested with the patriarchal apostolic
power, and placed in the legitimate line of the successors of
John the Apostle or Evangelist.
Such is the origin of the foundation of the Templars,
and of the introduction amongst them of the different
modes of initiation of the Christians of the East designated
by the name of Primitive or Johannite Christians. It is to
this initiation that belong the various degrees consecrated
lOO MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
by the rules of the Temple, and which were so much called
in question in the famous but terrible action brought against
this august Order.
Jacques de Molay, foreseeing the misfortunes that
threatened the Order, appointed as his successor Brother
Jean Marc Larmenius, of Jerusalem, whom he invested with
full patriarchal apostolic authority, and with magisterial
power.
This Grand Master passed on the supreme power to
Brother Theobald, of Alexandria, as is evidenced by the
charter of transmission, etc.
Let us come finally to the Levitical doctrines : — God is
all that exists ; every part of all that exists is a part of God,
but is not God.
Immutable in His essence, God is mutable in His parts,
which after having existed under the laws of certain
combinations more or less complex, live again under laws
of fresh combinations. All is increate.
God being supremely intelligent, every one of the parts
which compose Him is endowed with a portion of His
intelligence, in virtue of its destiny, whence it follows that
there is an infinite gradation of intelligences resulting from
an infinity of different compounds, the union of which
forms the entirety of the worlds. This entirety is the Great
All, or God, who alone has the power to modify, change,
and govern all these orders of intelligences, according to the
eternal and immutable laws of an infinite justice and
goodness.
God — infinite Being — is composed of three powers ;
the Father, or Being ; the Son, or action ; the Spirit, or
mind, proceeding from the power of the Father and the
Son. These three powers form a trinity, a power infinite,
unique and individual.
There is but one only true religion, that which acknow-
ledges one only God, Eternal, filling the infinity of time
and space.
THE TEMPLARS. lOI
The Order of Nature is immutable ; therefore all
doctrines that any one would attempt to build up on a
change of these laws would be founded only on error. . .
Eternal life is the power with which every being is
endowed, of living in his own life and of acquiring an
infinity of modifications by combining himself unceasingly
with other beings, according to what is ordained by the
eternal laws of the wisdom, the justice and the infinite
goodness of the supreme Intelligence.
According to this system of modification of matter, it is
natural to conclude that all its parts have the right of
thought and free-will, and therefore the power of merit and
demerit ; hence there is no longer anything of what is
called inorganic matter ; if, however, any must be admitted,
where is the limit, for instance, among mineral, vegetable,
and animal substances ?
However, the high Initiates do not profess to believe
that all the parts of matter possess the faculty of thought.
It is not thus that they profess to understand their system.
They certainly admit a series of intelligences from the
elementary substance, the most simple molecule, or the
monad, up to the reunion of all these monads or of their
compounds, a reunion which would constitute the great All,
or God, which, as the Universal Intelligence, would alone
have the power of comprehending Itself But the manner
of being, of feeling, and of using the intelligences, would
be relative to the hierarchical order in which they found
themselves placed ; consequently the intelligence would
differ according to the mode of organization and the
hierarchical place of each body. Thus, according to this
system, the intelligence of the simple molecule would be
limited to seeking or rejecting union with certain other
molecules. The intelligence of a body composed of several
molecules would have other characters, according to the
mode of organization of its elements, and the higher or
lower degree that it occupied in the hierarchical scale of
I02 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
compounds. Man, for example, among the intelligences
which form part of the earth, would alone have that
modification or organization which would fully give the " I "
consciousness, as well as the faculty of distinguishing good
from evil, and consequently which would procure the gift
of free-will.
Such is a summary of the version given by the
Abb^ Gregoire* of some of the inner philosophy held
by the Knights Templars. There is a distinctly
Eastern tone of thought in even these few fragments,
fragments which indicate quite clearly to many
students the sources from which these traditions were
drawn.
The Strict Observance ejideavoured to recon-
stitute a Gnostic teaching when it sought to revive
the Traditions of the Templars.
* Grfgoire (Abb^), Histoire des Sectes Keligieuses, II., pp. 292
et seq. Paris, 1828.
THE TROUBADOURS,
The Singing Messengers from East to West.
Oh, these are voices of the Past,
Links of a broken chain. — Procter.
Mysterious songsters of the Middle Ages, mes-
sengers who were burdened — by right of the royal
gift of song — with a knowledge that transcended that
of their fellow-men — such were the Troubadours, who
formed an integral portion of the mystic thread, and
thus served in the weaving of the glorious traditions
of eastern arcane lore into the young web of the
western child-life.
Much has been already set down by many
competent writers on this most complicated and
interesting period of the Middle Ages ; here and
there some few frankly acknowledge that in the
study of the writings and poems of the Troubadours,
traces of hidden knowledge on their part become
revealed, a knowledge which pertains to some more
ancient tradition than that of the Catholic Church,
104 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
It is these traces that must be collected, in order to
demonstrate that these " Messengers of Love," as
they were often termed, were inheritors of a
" Kingdom of Heaven " — a mystic heaven, indeed,
of pure doctrine, noble life, and holy aspirations.
It is but slightly that we need touch on their
general history, for the outer aspect of their work can
be easily followed by students ; our chief attention
must be centred on the most important part of their
mission, and the part but little known in the general
world, namely, that of their work as spiritual teachers,
their secret language, and above all their secret
doctrine.
Rossetti* in his valuable book gives many proofs
of the existence of a mystic language in the " Secret
Schools," and of the " double " and even " triple
language" used by these Troubadours in com-
municating with each other. These details must be
investigated if we desire to arrive at any clear
comprehension of the extent to which these Secret
Schools were organised and developed during the
Middle Ages, and on this point Rossetti writes as
follows :
The existence of such a style of language is an
historical fact affirmed by many, and denied by none;
it is a not less notorious fact that the persecuted sect
conformed in public to the language and ceremonies of
the persecuting religion ; while they give in secret to every
* Rossetti (Gabriele), Disquisitions on the Anti-papal Spirit which
■broduced the Reformation, \\, 112, 170. London, 1834.
THE TROUBADOURS. IO5
sentence of that language, and to every act of those
ceremonies, an arbitrary and conventional meaning, cor-
responding with their own designs. There is scarcely a
contemporary or succeeding historian who does not tell
us that the Patarini, or Cathari, or Albigenses, were Mani-
cheans ; and we know that Silvanus, one of the successors of
the murdered Manes, so artfully used that doctrine " that it
seemed all drawn from the Scriptures, as they are received
by catholics. He affected to make use of Scriptural phrases
and he spoke like the most orthodox among us, when he
mentioned the baptism, death, burial or resurrection of our
Lord Jesus Christ." And he and his proselytes did all
this so cunningly that "the Manicheans seduced numbers of
people; and their sect was considered by the simple-minded
to be a society of Christians, who made profession of an
extraordinary perfection.'' These are the words of the
Abbe Pluquet {Diet, des Hirh., art.. Silvan and Manicheans),
who traced the existence of this sect in Italy as far back as
1022, when many of them were discovered and burned for
the love of God. Let us hear the same author describe the
actions of later sectarians after other innumerable examples
of inhuman cruelty. "The Clanculars were a society of
anabaptists who taught that on religious subjects it was
necessary to speak in public like other men, and only in secret
to express the thoughts.'' And the Albigensis and Mani-
cheans show the best means of succeeding in this design
with the following fact.
Persecuted incessantly by the remorseless Inquisition,
one of their chiefs had recourse to a cunning device. He
knew that he and his friends were accused of refusing to
worship the saints, and of denying the supremacy of the
Romish Church, and that they would be forced to make a
profession of faith and to swear by the Holy Mary to have
no other religion than that of the Holy Church. He was
resolved not to betray his inward sentiments, but he desired
if possible, to escape death. " O, muses ! O, high genius !
I06 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
Now vouchsafe your aid ! " He shut himself up in a cave
with two aged females of his own sect, and gave the name
of Holy Church to the one and Holy Mary to the other,
" In order, that, when the sectarians were interrogated by
the Father Inquisitors, they might be able to swear by the
Holy Mary that they held no other faith than that of the
Holy Church." Hence, when we desire to estimate properly
the devout and holy things written in those times, we must
first consider who composed them ; and thus we shall be
able to reconcile the frequent contradictions which are
apparent between the verses and the actions of the
Troubadours and Trouveurs."*
It is remarkable that this Secret language should
have remained so little knowrn, since it gives a clue of
almost unmeasured importance to many a hidden
mystery in the Troubadour life of the Middle Ages.
It is to Eugene Aroux that wre owe the largest
debt of gratitude for unveiling this Mysterious bye-
way of Mystic Studies ; he denounces, with the wrath
* Rossetti, Gabriele, Disquisitions on the Antipapal Spirit which
produced the Reformation, ii., 113-115. London, 1834.
Another writer makes the following comment: — "D'apr^s les
ideas de M. Rossetti, il y aurait encore dans les poesies de Dante et de
P^trarque, ainsi que dans les romans de Boccace, quelque chose que ces
hommes n'ont jamais entierement exprini6 dans leurs ecrits latins. II
semblerait, a entendre le nouveau commentateur de la Divine Comedie,
qu'une grande et ^ternelle verity, partie de la bouche des Orph^es, des
Thales, des Pythagores, et bondissant d'echo en echo jusqu'a nous, par
I'interm^daire des proph^tes, de Platon, des Sibylles, de Virgile et de
Bo^tius, a ^te recueillie enfin, tenue voiMe, mais exactement transmise
aux generations modernes, par une succession de sectaires, comme les
manich^ens, les templiers, les patarins, les gibelins, les rosecroix, les
sociniens, les swedenborgiens, les francs-ma9ons, et enfin les carbonari. "
— Del^clure (E. J.), Dante Alighieri, ou la Poisie Amoureuse ; pp.
605-606. Paris, 1848.
THE TROUBADOURS. I07
of a good, but bigoted Catholic, the teachings of
Dante, and he unveils for us the real reason of his
wrath : and from his stand-point he is right, Dante
was not an Orthodox Catholic ; he was a true Mystic,
and his Church was composed of all those great and
liberated souls who have existed in every clime :
without distinction of race, religion or caste. Aroux
draws the attention of the Student to the following
important points : with relation to the real views
of Dante, thus he says, in commenting on the Poet :
Though we may seem to have gone back quite beyond
the deluge, it is evident that we are really completely in the
Middle Ages. And in fact, though people may talk to us
of the origin of the human species and of its dispersion over
the earth, the question is really that of the starting-point of
the Manichean-Gnostic doctrine and of its course from East
to West. Let the following lines be carefully considered :
" We do not readily believe that men were, immediately on
the confusion of tongues, dispersed all over the world. The
root of the human race was first planted in the countries of
the East, then our race spread itself by putting forth
numerous shoots on one side and another, [like] palm-treks,
and it finally reached the extreme boundaries of the West,
whence it resulted that rational throats quenched their
thirst for the first time at the streams of Europe, at some at
least, if not at all. But whether they were foreigners
coming there for the first time, or whether, born in Europe,
they had returned there, they brought with them a triple
language. "
Here is the text of this passage, so singular as it is,
understood in a literal sense :
'■^ Ex prmcedenti memorata confusione linguarum non
leviter opinamur per universa mundi climata . . . tunc
I08 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
homines primuni fuisse disperses. Et cum radix humana
propaginis principaliter in oris orientalibus sit plantata ;
nee nan ab inde ad utrumque per diffusos multipliciter
PALMiTES. Nostra fuit extensa propago ; demumque ad
fines ocddentales protracta, unde primitus tunc vel totius
EuropcB, vel saltern quadam, rationalia guttura pot-
averunt. Sed sive adven^e tunc primitus advenissent,
sive ad Europam indigence repetissent, idioma secum
trifarium homines attulerunt."
However little it may now be remembered that,
according to Dante, those only are men who make use
of their reason, others being brutes in his eyes ; that,
further, he has taken care to explain to us in the Vita
Nuova that the name of palms, palmieri, was affected by
those who had made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem, it will be
acknowledged that the true meaning of this- passage is quite
different from that which we have given it, and that it
conceals another which is as follows :
Our doctrine had its origin in the East ; its votaries,
constituting the true human race, were not at first spread
all over the earth : it was by slow degrees that our Sectarian
race, nostra propago, multiplied itself with the help of Syrian
pilgrims, palms palmieri, who brought the light to the
confines of the West, and then rational throats, men using
their reason, quenched their thirst at the streams of Europe.
These missionaries of the sect being either Orientals or
Europeans returning to the country of their birth, they
brought with them a language of three-fold meaning,
allegorical, moral, and mystical.
To reject an interpretation so plain and so thoroughly
in accordance with all that we have previously seen, it would
have to be explained how it could have come into Dante's
head that men were born in Europe, when no rational throat
had as yet drunk of its streams, that these Europeans had
been to the East to learn a triple language, to bring it back
into their own country, which no doubt had one of its own,
THE TROUBADOURS. IO9
and that the human race born in the East had to people the
West, already inhabited by men, whether rational or not.
Now this explanation is none of the easiest.
It is always the case that these importers of the triple
language are divided into three bands, having each their
own idiom ; to one was allotted the South of Europe, to
another the North, to the third the part of Asia and of
Europe occupied by those who are now called Greeks, quos
nunc Grmcos vocamus, as if they did not bear this name ages
ago. But let us explain : here it is a question of the
refugees of the Sect, of the Sinon of the party, whom we
have seen so ill-treated in Hell, who are also spoken of in
the Monarchy under the name of Greek pastors. These
hold to white and yellow, as one of the aspects of Lucifer ;
they have one foot on the European soil of the Catholics,
the other on the Eastern land of the Manicheans, and,
which is very disturbing, they understand for the most part
the artifices of the conventional vocabulary. The three
idioms were then subdivided in each of the regions men-
tioned ; but those of the north, such as the Hungarians,
Slavs, Teutons, Saxons, and English kept the monosyllable
is as the sign of their common origin. For the rest of
Europe there was a third idiom, " though it may not be
perceived that it is triple, licet nee videatur trifarium.''
Among the inhabitants of this region, " some say, as
affirmation, oc, others oil, and others again si ; that is to say,
Spaniards, French, and Italians. But what proves the
common origin of their idiom is that they use some of the
same words to express many things, such as Dieu, del,
amour, mer, terre, vivre, mourir, aimer, and others besides.
[God, heaven, love, sea, earth, to live, to die, to love.] "
Dante knew very well that the Spaniards did not use oc
as an affirmation, that they used si like the Italians, but he
desired to call attention to the chief centre of the
Albigensian doctrine, to the land of the langue d'oc, and
not venturing to name Toulouse, he made use of this very
no MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
visible artifice, especially when it is recognised that the
words which he mentions as revealing the common origin of
the language in the three countries are precisely those which
the sectarian poets so frequently use in their mysterious
compositions.
Aroux further explains that these " importers " of
the " triple language " were divided into three bands,
each having its own idiom : one set traversed the
South of Europe, another the North, another the part
of Asia and Europe occupied by those novi^ called
Greeks. Then Aroux breaks out in wrath : " They
have one foot on the European soil of the Catholics,
the other on the Eastern land of the Manichaeans."
But it is from another of his interesting worksf
that we get the most intimate details about the
organisation of these Troubadour heretics, and their
spiritual teaching ; the passages are so important
that it is better to give them in full.
The eminent professor § whom we follow untiringly
because he is an authority on the subject, had no suspicion,
when making researches into the elements composing the
* Aroux (Eugene), Dante HirHique, Rivolutionnaire ei Socialiste,
Rivilations d'un Catholique, p. 388. Paris, 1854.
+ Aroux (E.), Les Mysteres de la Chevalerie, pp. 161-169. Paris,
1858.
J The phrases "True human race " and "Sectarians " are generally
applied to Mystics, also to the Manichaeans, Albigenses, Troubadours,
Palmers, and Palmieri ; it meant those men and women throughout the
world, of every nation and in every clime, who were seeking the inner
life in its true sense ; and who will be the " first fruits " of the
" Redeemer," in the mystical sense.
§ Aroux is here referring to Fauriel (M.P., Paris), whose works on
the Proven9al literature have been so often quoted in these pages.
THE TROUBADOURS. Ill
personnel oi Provengal literature, that he was digging into
the archives of the Albigensian Church. So it is, however,
as will be shown by a rapid estimate of these elements in
the light of common sense. One may believe with him that
previous to the Xlth century there were in the south of
France men, who under the name of jesters, joculatores,
made it their profession to recite or to sing romantic fictions.
But it was precisely because the apostles of the dissenting
doctrine found this custom established in the countries
where it had survived the Roman domination, that they
eagerly adopted it for the furtherance of their propaganda.
For just as they excelled in turning to account the heroic
traditions, the religious fables of the various peoples in order
to engraft their ideas on this national foundation, they
displayed exceeding skill in adapting themselves, according
to times and places, to the manners and customs of the
countries in which they carried on their ministry. Thus
they became mi?inesingers in Germany, bards and skalds in
Scandinavia, minstrels in England, trouvires in northern
France, troubadours and jugglers in ancient Aquitaine,
giullari, men of mirth, in Italy — leaving everywhere monu-
ments of their genius and a most popular memory.
The missionaries of the heresy certainly preached the
religion of love long before the time when William of
Poitiers spoke of them, towards iioo, by the name of
Troubadours, for before winning over the higher classes of
society, their doctrines must have taken a long time to
filter through the lower ranks.
At the time of the complete organization* of the
sectarian propaganda, that is to say from 1 1 50 to 1 200, the
most brilliant period of Provenjal literature, Faiiriel rightly
distinguishes different orders of troubadours and jesters.
* This was just before the most deadly persecutions began. There
was an extraordinarily extended organization of this so-called heretical
church.
112 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
the very necessity of things having obliged their division
into two distinct classes. The one in fact addressing
themselves more especially to social parties, singing only for
courts and castles ; the other, appealing more to popular
instincts, composed for public places, for the mercantile and
working classes, for the country population. We have said
that the former were the dissenting bishops, combining the
qualities of the Perfect Knights and the Perfect Trou-
badours. We have explained how, having no less courage
than skill, knowing how at need to employ cunning, and
giving constant evidence of a patience and humility proof
against everything, they were of the type of Renaud de
Montauban, the chivalrous figure in contrast to Maitre
Renard, the symbolical representative of the Roman clergy.
The latter, no less useful on account of the recruits that
they unceasingly made amongst the most numerous classes,
amongst those who had most to suffer from clerical
oppression and exactions, furnished the model of the
knights errant, as also that of the wild knights [" chevaliers
sauvages "], personified in the romance of which Guido the
Wild is the easily to be recognised hero.
Lastly, above these two orders of knights and trou-
badours, there was that of the barons and feudal lords, who,
having embraced the Albigensian faith, having become its
protectors or godfathers, carried on the propaganda in their
own way and in their own social sphere. These men often
cultivated poetry, and used it to impress on the nobility,
and still more on the bourgeoisie, ideas hostile to pontifical
omnipotence. Not only did they encourage the people to
shake off the theocratic yoke by setting them the example,
but they further upheld them and resolutely took up their
defence against prelates, inquisitors and legates, the Estults,
Galaffrons, giants and necromancers that abound in the
romances of Geste. Thence, we have that heroic personage
Roland, in contrast to Master Issengrin ; that son of Milo,
whose powerful words, under the name of Durendal, made
THE TROUBADOURS. II3
an enormous breach in the granite of the mountains, a
breach through which an invasion was made on to Spanish
soil, where it could exclaim, long before Louis XIV., " The
Pyrenees exist no longer ! "
These noble sectaries, of the type of the chivalric
Roland, were, as a matter of fact, feudal lords, true knights.
As such, they did not hesitate to confer in case of need, in
accordance with the ideas of the time, and especially in
masonic [? " masseniques "] lodges, the order of knighthood
on distinguished members of their communion whom
religious or political interest drew into foreign countries.
On another side, observe how generously certain
German Emperors — such as a Conrad, an Otho, the two
Fredericks — once came down into Italy, lent themselves to
bestowing the order of knighthood on the bourgeois of
Milan, on merchants and bankers of Genoa and Florence.
For them it was a means of recruiting their forces against
the papacy, and of strengthening in Italy an opposition
which they well knew to be not simply political. And
Dante also is careful not to forget the families who
quartered on their shields "the arms of the great baron,"
vicar of the Emperor Otho; and it is with pride that he
recalls the promotion of his great-great-grandfather Cac-
ciaguida, knighted by Conrad.
As to the jesters, properly so-named jesters of song, of
sayings, of romance, as they were called — they must be
distinguished from the mimic jesters, that is to say, from the
mountebanks and buffoons. The clerical jesters were, as
has already been said, evangelical ministers, still subject to
the preliminary discipline of the priesthood. Holding the
rank of deacons in the sectarian church, they were with
regard to the pastors to whom they were attached, in a
position analogous to that of squires to knights, and it is
under this title that they figure in the romances.
If distinguished troubadours are spoken of, and, among
others, Giraud de Borneil, as always accompanied by two
H
114 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
jesters, it is unquestionably that these troubadours were
Albigensian bishops, whose dignity and functions required
the assistance of two deacons. This is why it is said of
them that " They never went on a tour (episcopal) without
having both of them in their retinue."
It would be a great mistake to think that the first
comer could be admitted to the functions of a jester.
Fauriel will tell you that it was necessary to have "an
extraordinary memory, a fine voice, to be able to sing
well, to play well on the accompanying instrument, and
also to have a knowledge of history, of traditions, of
genealogies. Several jesters indeed are cited for their
historical knowledge." The learned member of the
Institute thinks that this knowledge could not have
been very great, at a time when all history was
reduced to barren chronicles; but is it quite certain that
their blunders, their anachronisms, their confounding of
personages, countries, and dates, may not be voluntary?
Would they not on the contrary be a proof that their know-
ledge in this respect was much greater than one is willing
to suppose ? As to the genealogies, it is a question of those
of Geste's romances.
Besides the jesters attached to the person of the bishop
or of the mere pastor, were those who, having already
completed their probation, went forth, furnished with the
recommendation of the one or the other, to give instruction
or carry consolation into courts and castles. It was these
who were called elder sons [of age? " fils ma/eurs"\
deacons of the first-class. The others, designated younger
sons [under age? "fils mtneurs"\ performed the same
functions in towns and villages ; but for the most part
their own special aptitudes marked them out for the kind
of service expected from them.
These two classes of one and the same priesthood were
recruited from all ranks of society, on the sole condition of
uniting to a true vocation the natural gifts and the know-
THE TROUBADOURS. 115
ledge necessary for success in so difficult and dangerous
a mission.
One curious matter, to state precisely,- would be how
many personages came down into these poetic classes from
a station generally considered superior. Nothing was more
common in the 12th and 13th centuries, in the countries of
the Provengal tongue, than to see knights, castellans, canons,
clerics, become troubadours or simple jesters. Several of
the most distinguished among both had begun by being
considerable personages in society. Peyrols had been a
knight ; Pierre Cardinal was born of a noble and wealthy
family ; Pierre Roger had been a canon at Clermont ;
Arnaud de Marueilh had been a clergyman, and the
famous Arnaud Daniel was a noble who had received a
first-rate education. Assuredly these men did not consider
that they were lowering themselves by embracing the
apostolate, but on the contrary were raising themselves in
their own eyes and in those of their brethren. The
mysterious Sordello was a noble lord.
Moreover, how should knights such as Sordello, such as
the Dauphin of Auvergne and so many others, have
hesitated to become troubadours out of zeal for their faith,
when kings like Richard of England and Peter of Aragon,
powerful suzerains like William of Poitiers, had declared
themselves professors of the Gay Science ; when they
added their voices to those of the servants of love, to exalt,
in interests perhaps less religious than poUtical, the
mysterious and Perfect lady who under various names — as
star, flower, light — was appealed to, to cast down to hell the
Roman she-wolf, to crush the pontifical serpent? The
Infamous dates not from Voltaire.
Just as episcopal mandates, days for the sermons of
preachers, and the order of the offices, &c., are affixed to
the doors of churches, so did the troubadours give out
their notices in the castles by a kind of poetical programme,
thus making known the lyric, pastoral or romantic com-
Il6 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
positions which were to serve as the text for their teachings.
In how many places was not the Divine Comedy thus recited
and commented on before a select audience ? Fauriel cites
as a specimen a whimsical piece by Pierre Cardinal, "in which
the author," he says, "envelops himself in veils of allegory
of the most fantastic kind till it appears to him unintelligible."
These veils would have appeared to him transparent if he
had understood the true composition of the balsam of
Fierabras.
As this famous balsam, the unguent proclaimed by the
troubadour knight and probably bishop, Pierre Cardinal,
the unguent which heals all kinds of wounds, even the
bites of the venemous reptiles (in the orthodox ranks,
be it understood) — is in fact none other than the word of
the Gospel ; so also the golden vessel in which it is con-
tained, the vessel adorned with the most precious stones, is
none other than the Holy Grail itself, or the book of the
Gospels, as the Albigenses had adopted and translated it ; the
golden book, the vessel containing the true light, visible only to
the initiated, to the professors of the gay science [" du gay
saber"\ Now, among the romances given out by Pierre
Cardinal, we find in the nick of time that of Tristan of
Leonois, so well-known to Dante, and which, celebrating
the conquest of England by the law of love, should
have more than one claim to the interest of the people
of Provence.
We have seen, on the one hand, that the Albigensian
clergy, so skilful and so full of zeal, were recruited from the
ranks of the priesthood as well as from those of the nobility
and the bourgeoisie ; on the other hand we have become
convinced, from the interpretations that we have given of
the decrees of the Courts of Love and of the decisions in
the amorous casuistry, that ecclesiastics converted to the
faith of Love could not continue their cure of souls in the
parish where they had performed their vicarial functions.
What then became of those fresh recruits enrolled under
THE TROUBADOURS. I 1 7
the banner of heresy when once dispossessed of their cure
or of any other sacerdotal function ?
Like the other aspirants to the sectarian priesthood,
they went into seminaries or lodges to receive instruction ;
then, having become deacons or squires, having undergone
tests and given the required pledges, they were admitted to
the rank of Perfect Knights, or Perfect Troubadours.
Having thus graduated, they started in the character of
missionaries or of pilgrims of love (" pellegrini d'amore ") as
Dante says, sometimes undertaking long and dangerous
journeys. And so we find traces of them everywhere, from
the icy north and the depths of Germany even to the east,
in France and the low countries, in England, Spain and
Italy. Then it was that, in the symbolical language of the
faithful in love, they were called by the name of Knights-
errant.
Preaching the doctrine of love, the true law of the
Redeemer, their mission was to redress the wrongs of
Rome, to take up the defence of the weak and oppressed ;
they were also represented and celebrated as the true
soldiers of the Christ, the champions of the poor, attacking
under all their forms the monstrous abuses of theocratic
regime; as comforters of the widow Rachel, that Gnostic
church so cruelly tried by the pontifical Herod ; as the
devoted supporters of the sons of the widow, those humble
members of the " massenie " of the Holy Grail ; as the
terror of ogres, dragons, and giants.
Fauriel must then believe in them, writing : " It is
unquestionable that in all the countries in Europe in which
there were Knights, there was one particular class known by
the title of Knights errant ; " and he cites in proof of this
the tax which was levied upon them in 1241 by Henry III.
of England, who was in great need of money and would
naturally turn to his best allies to obtain it ; would he
necessarily call them by their true name of Albigensian
missionaries ?
Il8 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
" It is in the poetical monuments of southern France,
he adds, that I find the most ancient traces of knight-
errantry. What may be gathered from them as a whole, is
that the condition of Knight errant was rather accidental and
transitory than fixed and permanent.'' Where else indeed
than in Provence could one find more traces of their
pilgrims of love since Provence was their native soil ? And
was it not the least that could be expected, after the trials
of a wandering life, that these zealous missionaries, called
back to sedentary functions, might rest after their prolonged
fatigue ?
Contrary to the romances which represent them as
always solitary, and running about in search of adventures,
" the Provencal poets depict them to us as usually travelling
several together, and to all appearance temporarily asso-
ciated for some enterprise or common quest." Yes, indeed !
Exactly like the missionaries of our own times, and they were
always accompanied by their socius, whom the Troubadours,
their colleagues, turned into their squire.
One of the most illustrious among these knights-errant
— an authentic personage, at least as a Troubadour — was
Raimbaud de Vaqueiras, whose platonic amours with
Madame Beatrice, who called him her beautiful knight
("beau chevalier"), are extremely curious, but would make
too long an episode. We will merely say that Boniface,
Marquis de Montferrat, whose sister Raimbaud's Beatrice
must have been, was one of the nobles of the south of
Europe who most especially occupied the attention of the
Troubadours, for the very simple reason that, sharing their
faith, he sheltered under his protection the Vaudois, whose
cradle was in the valleys of Piedmont.
Other knights are mentioned at the same period in the
historical monuments of the south of France and of the
Catalogue, under the name of the " Chevalier Sauvages "■ —
Wild Knights. The romance entitled " Guido, the Wild,"
presents the poetical personification of these guides or
THE TROUBADOURS. I I9
pastors of Alpine districts. He figures in Ariosto's "Roland,"
which we shall probably annotate some day, with some heroes
whose symbolical value is not more difficult to estimate.
An article of certain constitutions of James I., of Aragon,
who wanted to treat with Rome, forbade in 1234, the making
of Wild Knights; another article, says Fauriel, "seems to
establish a connection between this class of Knights and the
jesters ; it prohibits the giving of any gratuities to ^. jester or
to a Wild Knight." I can well believe it, and such a
connection was a matter of course. Was not the jester the
squire, the socius of the Wild Knight, and the King of
Aragon wishing to give pledges to Rome, how could he
separate them in the prohibition he was issuing ? Would
not the gratuity given to one have been given to the other ?
The Wild Knights had in reality the closest relations with
the Knights errant ; like them they were ministers of the
proscribed worship, forced to disguise their character
carefully. They differed from them on one point only, and
that was that instead of going to a foreign land to catechise
and convert the orthodox population, they had to fulfil
their own ministry in their own native country. Further,
instead of exercising sedentary functions in a single
parish, they had to move over a much more extensive area.
They were obliged to go up hill and down dale, in Alpine
districts, to carry the words of peace and consolation to the
isolated populations, who were too few in number to have a
resident pastor ; and also to those whom persecution or the
stake had deprived of their own.
Unlike the ministers of towns, boroughs and castles, the
gentle knights, as titularies of this or that church, their lady-
love — they themselves were the pastors of the woods and
mountains, compelled, in order to feed their sheep, to travel
through the wildest districts ; hence the name given to them
by their co-religionists, who caused it to be taken, like so
many other conventional terms, outside their church, in a
totally different sense.
I20 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
The most bitter feeling on the part of the Catholics
was aroused from the fact that the teachings they
denounced were so closely allied to those inculcated
by themselves, and that the lives of the heretics shone
out as stars against the blackness of the mediaeval
monastic life.* Indeed, the majority of the higher
classes became Troubadours, and when prevented by
persecution from speaking, they took refuge in song,-]-
and treated their subjects sometimes seriously, some-
times lightly, but ever was there, as we have seen, a
dual meaning in La gate saber, or the "Art of loving ":
for the true " union of love," as Aroux points out,
meant the attachment of the " Perfect Chevalier " to
the " celestial chivalry," for such were those knightsj
called who gave themselves to the service of the
" Holy Grail," or the " Mystic Quest," i.e., to the inner
service, or initiation, of their secret body. They
were indeed :
The soldier-saints who, row on row,
Burn upward each to his point of bliss.
The perfect passion of self-sacrifice was theirs,
and moved those men of the Middle Ages to martyr-
dom and suffering in their zeal for the spreading of
the knowledge of the mystic doctrine. Such, for
* Lecky (W. E. H., M.A.), History of European Morals, ii. 217.
London, 1877.
t Thus we have the " Bible" of Guiot von Provins ; and the whole
cycle of the " Grail legends."
X Wolfram von Eschenbach was one of these.
THE TROUBADOURS. 121
instance, was Peter Waldo* who became the founder
of the powerful groups of Waldensians.-j- or the
" Poor of Lyons," a secret body with masonic
connections. He was first attracted to serious
subjects by a Troubadour who was reciting a poem
in the streets of Lyons — a chant in favour of the
ascetic life ; Waldo invited the Troubadour in, and
from that time became one of them.
We must here digress from the mystic aspect, in
order to give a slight outline on the general organi-
sation, which can be taken from Baret's admirable
work on the subject ; { he gives a chart of the chief
School of Troubadours as follows : §
The School of Aquitaine
The School of Auvergne
The School of Rodez
The School of Languedoc
The School of Provence
The general compositions of the Troubadours
may be classified under the following heads :
" The Gallant," " The Historical," " The Didactic,"
" The Satirical," and the purely " Theological " ; then
* See Gilly, D.D. (W. S.), The Jfomaunt version, of the Gospel
according to St. John; from MSS. preserved in Trinity College,
Dublin. Introduction, pp. xc. xcix.
t Also called Valdes, Valdernis, Valdensis, and then Waldensis.
*" X Baret (Eugene), Les Troubadours et leur Influence sur la
Littirature du Midi de t Europe, p. 64. Paris, 1867.
§ These are the French Schools only ; Germany, Italy, Austria,
and the Danubian Provinces contained as many.
All these were again
sub-divided into
groups.
122 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
further, others we may term " The Mystical," or even
" Hermetic " ; the " Satirical " were often Theological
from an essentially belligerent standpoint. Baret
emphasises the fact that theological matters occupied
the attention of the Troubadours much more than
history. Nostradamus enumerates several works of
this kind.* In the Vatican Library, says Baret, there
are four anonymous treatises which belong to the
Provencal Literature.
But the object which was the special search of the
Inquisition was the translation of the Bible into the
Catalonian tongue, and very carefully was this work
concealed ; for the organisation of these mystic
schools was admirable and their Bishops and Deacons
were disguised as Troubadours. Throughout Spain,
Germany, Italy and Central Europe, this powerful
" secret organisation " extended with its mystic
traditions. Aroux, in connecting the Troubadours
with the Albigenses on one side, links them also to
the Manichaean religion on the other, that most
pernicious — according to the Roman Church — of all
heresies, because the most vital ; -f- and, indeed,
nothing but the wholesale bloodshed undertaken by
* There is one of importance, TraiU sur la Doctrine des
Albigeois et Tuschius, by Raoul de Gassin.
t Says Lea : " When to Dualism is added the doctrine of trans-
migration as a means of reward and retribution, the sufferings of man
seem to be fully accounted for. . . . Manes had so skilfully compounded
Mazdean Dualism with Christianity and with Gnostic and Buddhist
elements, that his doctrines found favour with high and low, with the
subtle intellects of the Schools, and with the toiling masses." Hist, of
the Inquisition, i. 89. London, 1888.
THE TROUBADOURS. 1 23
the Dominicans could have crushed out its public
organisation ; still, it lived again in other forms and
under other names, and when Rutherford and other
writers connect the Manichaeans with the Freemasons
they are touching a deeper truth than perhaps they
know. As the above-mentioned writer points out,
the Troubadours and the " Steinmetzen or Bridge-
Builders " were connected, and " among them,
too, the Freemasons found ample occupation " ;
this is accurately true, for from Manes* "the
widow's son," descends the tradition which was
common to Troubadour and Freemason ; their
hieroglyphs were in many cases identical and the
signs common to both. Manes went into Egypt
and brought back from thence the ancient tradition,
he who was crucified for reforming the Magian
Priesthood, became the originator of the powerful
symbolic phrase used among " the sons of the widow "
with its corresponding sign. It is this tradition
which underlies the well-known societies of the
Knight Templars, the Fratres Lucis, the Asiatische
BriJder, and many others who have kept alive the
mystic teaching, and handed it on.
From the death of Manes, 276 A.D., there was
* Mani — or Cubricus — was the pupil of Terebinthe (who was after-
wards called Buddas). He was an Egyptian Philosopher, and from
him Manes received the Hermetic tradition ; Manichseism was based on
the Ancient Babylonian religion with Christian, Persian and Egyptian
elements introduced. The Gnostics who joined the Manichjean stream
were the Basilideans, Marcionites, and Bardesanites. See Beausobre
(M. de), Histoire critique dt Manichle, 2 vols. Amsterdam, 1734.
124 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
an intimate alliance* — even a fusion — with some of
the leading Gnostic sects, and thence do we derive
the intermingling of the two richest streams of
Oriental Wisdom : the one, directly through Persia
from India ; the other, traversing that marvellous
Egyptian period, enriched by the wisdom of the
great Hermetic teachers, flowed into Syria and
Arabia, and thence with added force — garnered
from the new divine powers made manifest in the
profound mystery of the blessed Jesus — into Europe,
through Northern Africa, finding a home in Spain,
where it took deep root. From this stock sprang
into full flower that richness of speech' and song for
which the Troubadours will live for ever, Manichseans,
who sang and chanted the Esoteric Wisdom they
dared not speak.
Next we see them dispersed in sects, taking local
names, — separated in name only, but using the same
secret language, having the same signs. Thus, every-
where they journeyed, and, no matter by what name
they were called, each knew the other as a " widow's
son," bound together on a Mystic Quest, knitted — by
virtue of a secret science — into one community ; with
them came from the East the chivalric ideal, and they
* Says Lea: "Of all the heresies with which the early Church
had to contend, none had excited such mingled fear and loathing as
Manichseism." And again : " The Manichseism of the Cathari,
Patarins, or Albigenses, was not a mere speculative dogma of the
schools, but a faith which aroused fanaticism so enthusiastic that its
devotees shrank from no sacrifices in its propagation." Lea (H. C),
op. cit, i. 89.
THE TROUBABOURS. I 25
chanted of love and sang of heaven : but the love was
a " Divine Love," and their heaven was the wisdom
and peace of those who sought the higher life. As
Aroux* says, the chief object which dominated the
work of these " Trouveurs " [Troubadours] was
Chivalry — " not the feudal, fighting, iniquitous
Chivalry, as corrupt as it was ignorant," but that
tone of thought which is well termed mystic, and
which sees in all life only a manifestation of the
Divine power ; they fought for the purity of their
ideal against the ever-increasing corruption of the
Roman Church.
A word must here be added on the origin of
chivalry which is mistakenly supposed to be of
Christian inception. Viardot says :
In recalling what Christian Europe owes to the Arabs
with regard to knowledge, we must not omit what she owes
to them with regard to manners. The high civilisation to
which they had attained bore its natural fruit, and the
Arabs were no less distinguished by the advance and the
gentleness of their manners than by the extent and variety
of their knowledge. The humanity, the tolerance that they
displayed towards conquered nations, to whom they gener-
ously left their possessions, their religion, their laws, and
-mostly their civic rights, bore a striking testimony on this
point, which was thoroughly confirmed by their whole
* Aroux (Eugine), Les Mysterh de la ChevaUrie, pp. 69-71.
aris, 1858.
"Every Knight has the power to create Knights. There is in
the hand and in the sword of every Knight a power (I nearly wrote ' a
fluid,' but I did not dare) which is really capable of creating other
Knights."— Gautier (L^on), Chivalry, its. Henry Frith, p. 223.
London, 1891.
126 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
history. This high civilisation appeared under two chief
aspects — gallantry in private manners, chivalry in public
manners. Gallantry (as we will call the delicacy of social
relations) arose among them from the extreme reserve
imposed on the two sexes, from the severity of the laws and
of opinion, in fine, from the cultivated mind of the women,
who knew Jiow to inspire love and to command respect.
In all social relations, in all family customs, the Arabs
showed extreme austerity. "Those people," they said of
the Spaniards, " are full of courage, and endure privations
with fortitude; but they live like wild beasts, washing
■ neither their bodies nor even their clothes, which they only
take off when they fall into rags, and going into each other's
houses without asking permission."*
Chivalry was the virtue of warriors. Founded on justice,
it corrected the abuses of force, which is the right of war ;
founded on humanity, it tempered the excesses of hatred,
reminding men of their brotherhood even in the midst of
combat ; it was a kind of association or confraternity
between men of arms which drew together and united all
its members when politics or religion separated them, and
which imposed on them noble duties when all rights were
disowned. Chivalry was the most powerful correction of
feudalism by giving to the weak and the oppressed,
protectors and avengers . . .
Bravery, however, the sole virtue of German soldiers,
was neither the only one nor even the first, required of an
Arab Knight. Ten qualities were indispensable to give him
a right to this name, namely : goodness, valour, courtesy,
poetry, elegance of speech, strength, horsemanship, skill in
the use of lance, sword and bow. f
* " O believers ! enter not into a strange house without asking
permission to do so." (Xoran, Sour. XXIV., v., 27). Jos. Conde,
Part I., cap. 18.
t "Fue muy buen caballero, y se decia de (A que tenia las diez
prendas qu6 distinguen ^ los nobles y generosos, qu6 consisten en
THE TROUBADOURS. 1 27
This " Celestial Chivalry" — Aroux demonstrates
— was derived from the " Albigensian Gospel," whose
" Evangel " or " Gospel " was again derived from the
Manichaean-Marcion tradition.* These Albigenses
were identical with the Cathari, and the Troubadours
were the links bearing the secret teaching from one
body to another. " Thus one sees them taking every
form : by turns, artizans, colporteurs, pilgrims,
weavers, colliers . . . deprived of the right to
speak, they took to singing."
It must be remembered that simultaneously with
the inflow of this Manichaean Oriental wisdom into
bondad, valentia, caballeria, gentileza, poesia, bien hablar, fuerza,
destreza en la lanza, en la espada, y en el tirar del arco." (J. Conde,
perto II., cap. 63.)
He was an excellent Knight, and it was said of him that he
possessed the ten accomplishments that distinguish nobles and
honourable men, which consist in goodness, valour, horsemanship,
courtesy, poetry, excellence of speech, ability, skill in lance, sword, and
in drawing the bow.
The word "gentileza" or " gentillesse," which has greatly
changed in meaning with the lapse of time, means charming manners,
the good tone of a man well born and well bred, of one whom the
English call a gentleman. Viardot (L), Histoire des Araies et des
Mores d^ Espagne, ii., pp. 197, 199. Paris, 1851.
* Lea (H. C), op. cit., i. 92 : A further irrefragable evidence of
the derivation of Catharism from Manichaeism is furnished by the sacred
thread and garment which were worn by all the Perfect among the
Cathari. This custom is too peculiar to have had an independent
origin, and is manifestly the Mazdean kosti and saddarah, the sacred
thread and shirt, the wearing of which was essential to all believers,
and the use of which, by both Zends and Brahmins, shows that its
origin is to be traced to the prehistoric period anterior to the separation
of those branches of the Aryan family. Among the Cathari the wearer
of the thread and vestment was what was known among the inquisitors
as the ' haretictts indutus ' or ' vestttus,' initiated into all the mysteries
of the heresy."
128 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
Spain, there had been the same development in Italy
from Sicily, and all through the Danubian Provinces
into Hungary, over the Caucasus to Russia, and along
the shores of the Caspian Seas ; just as the legend of
the Holy Grail was everywhere, so also was this
stream of thought, for the two were one.
The most prominent public development takes
place, as we see, in the eleventh and twelfth centuries,
but the enormous spread of the teaching was the
result of centuries of quiet work. Travel was slow,
and nearly all communication was from person to
person. Hence when we see in the twelfth century
the " flowering of the plant," it must be remembered
that this result was the work in each country of small
bands of — even isolated — travelling mystics who were
true missionaries in life and heart.
To turn to another aspect it is curious to think of
the Troubadours as authorities in dress and etiquette.
Rutherford says : * " They prepared the youth of both
sexes for society, and they drew up rules for their
guidance therein," and then he gives a most interesting
quotation from a Troubadour, Amanieu des Escas,
who instructed a young man of rank while he was a
Page or Esquire as follows : " Shun the companionship
of fools, impertinents, or meddlers, lest you pass for
the same. Never indulge in buffoonery, scandals,
deceit, or falsehood. Be frank, generous, and brave ;
be obliging and kind ; study neatness in your dress,
* Rutherford (John), The Troubadours, their Loves and Lyrics, p.
4. London, 1873.
THE TROUBADOURS. I 29
and let elegance of fashion make up for plainness of
material. Never allow a seam to remain ripped and
gaping ; it is worse than a rent ; the first shows ill-
breeding, the last only poverty, which is by far the
lesser evil of the two. There is no great merit in
dressing well if you have the means : but a display of
neatness and taste on a small income is a sure token
of superiority of spirit," etc., etc. There is much more
of the same kind, but this citation serves to show how
eminently practical was the advice given to the young
men in olden days.
Very bitter and violent were the attacks made
upon these men by the monks, who were jealous
of the real purity and asceticism of these heretical
Troubadours, and who were infuriated at the publicity
given to their own misdeeds ; such an attack is
graphically described by Huefifer in his thoughtful
work on the Troubadours. The writings of "Izarn
the Monk," for instance, he well describes as a " strik-
ing specimen of monkish effrontery " and he proceeds
to criticise the " unctuous self-laudation " of his work,
the Novas del Heretge, or the Tale of a Heretic, a
dialogue between the author and a Bishop of the
Albigeois sect.
" The opening lines," says Hueffer, "are important
to the historian of theology. They prove that the
Neo-Manichsean heretics believed, or at least were said
by the Catholics to believe, in something very like
metempsychosis. ' Tell me,' the monk begins, ' in
what school you have learned that the spirit of man,
I
1 30 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
when it has lost its body, enters an ox, an ass, or a
horned wether, a hog, or a hen, whichever it sees first,
and migrates from one to the other until a new body
of man or woman is born for it ? . . . This thou
hast taught to deluded people, whom thou hast given
to the devil and taken away from God. May every
place and every land that has supported thee perish ! ' "
It is curious and suggestive to find that St.
Francis of Assisi had been a Troubadour ; Gorresf
speaks of him as a '' genuine Troubadour," and there
is no doubt that he and some of his Franciscans were
at one time members of the heretical Cathari : indeed
it is questionable whether he was at any time an
orthodox Churchman, though — ^like that other
Troubadour, Dante — the Church has ever claimed
him as a " faithful son."
x\ few words must now be devoted to what may
be termed the general position of the Troubadours,
the place and functions of some of them at least.
Among the most illustrious of the Troubadours was,
Alfonso the Second, King of Arragon (1162-1196).
Ticknorj says : " From 1209 to 1229, the shameful
war which gave birth to the Inquisition was carried,
on with extraordinary cruelty against the Albigenses,,
a religious sect in Provence, accused of heresy, but
persecuted rather by an implacable political ambition..
* Huetfer (Francis), TAe Trotidadours, p. 32. London, 1878.
+ Gorres (J. ), Der Jieilige Franciskus von Assisi, ein Troubadour..
Strassburg, 1826.
J Ticknor (George), History of Spanish Literature, i., p.p. 284.
285. 1849.
THE TROUBADOURS. 13I
To this sect — which in some points opposed the
pretensions of the See of Rome, and was at last
exterminated by a crusade under the Papal Authority
— belonged nearly all the contemporary Troubadours,
whose poetry is full of their sufferings and remon-
strances.* In their great distress, the principal ally
of the Albigenses and Troubadours was Peter the
Second of Arragon, who in 1213 perished nobly
fighting in their cause at the disastrous battle of
Muret. When therefore the Troubadours of Provence
were compelled to escape from the burnt and bloody
ruins of their homes, not a few of them hastened to
the friendly Court of Arragon, sure of finding them-
selves protected, and their art held in honour, by
princes who were at the same time poets." These
passages and the accompanying notes are of import-
ance to students, for they show how intimate a part
was played by the Troubadours in the religious
movements of the period ; and how they were
instruments in keeping the mystic teaching alive,
and in handing on the Wisdom of the East clothed
in this, its latest, poetical disguise.
In Germany also the Troubadours dwelt in high
places, for, according to M. de Saint-Peloie, the Baron
* The following note is given by this author : " Sismondi (Hist,
des Frattfais, Paris, 8vo. torn. vi. and vii. 1823, 1826), gives an ample
account of the cruelties and horrors of the war of the Albigenses, and
Llorente (Histoire de F Inquisition, Paris, 1817, torn, i., p. 43), shows
the connection of that war with the origin of the Inquisition. The fact
that nearly all the Troubadours took part with the persecuted Albigenses
is equally notorious. Histoire Litt. de la Franu, torn, xviii., p. 588.
132 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
Zurlandben had just (1773) found a MS. in the library
of the King, containing the sonnets of princely Trou-
badours, written about the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries. Among these royal writers were the
Emperor Henry VI., Conradin, King of Bohemia, and
other Princes, Electors, Dukes and Margraves.
The emotional life of the young European nations
was largely educated by means of the chivalric
romances, based, as they were, on the highest religious
and mystic teaching ; and later, in 1400-1500, the
Celestial Chivalry was the great standard set before
the people, as a national ideal.
Says Ticknor :* " Religious romances were written.
. . . in the form of Allegories, like the ' Celestial
Chivalry,' the ' Christian Chivalry,' ' The Knight of
the Bright Star ' " ; and this author remarks that the
object of that interesting book — the Celestial Chivalry,
written by Hier6nimo de San Pedro (at Valencia, in
1554) was to drive out of the world "the profane
books of chivalry."
The titles he uses are worth attention, the first
part being called " The Root of the Fragrant Rose " ;
the second, " The Leaves of the Rose." The names
are suggestive, for it was just at this period, when,
owing to bitter persecution, the Cathari and Albig-
enses were nearly exterminated,-]- that the Rosicrucians
* Ticknor (George), Hist, of Spanish Literature, i. 220, 221.
London, 1849.
+ " By order of the same Fran9ois I. , his General Almeida extirpated
with a cruelty unusual even in those times, the remnant of the Albigenses
still lurking in the villages of Provence, a sect, it should be remembered.
THE TROUBADOURS. 1 33
began to revive the same old Eastern tradition, and
the blessed Christian Rosencreutz turned his steps
eastwards, and in Arabia spent three years fitting
himself for the work to come.
The Rose was one of the ancient traditional
mystic symbols, re-adapted by the Rosicrucians,
and used, indeed, by all sectaries and mystics
Aroux* asserts that the famous Roman de la Rose\
was not only a satire against the Pontifical Court,
but also the apotheosis of heresy, for it contained
the Hermetic Science under the guise of a religious
poem.
RossettiJ is as emphatic about this symbolic
language, and Warton § gives us the following
suggestive hints : " In the preface of the edition [to
this poem,] printed in the year 1583, all this allegory
is turned to religion. The Rose is proved to be a
state of grace or divine wisdom, or eternal beatitude,
or the Holy Virgin to which heretics cannot gain
of genuine Manichseans, transplanted thither from the East at a com-
paratively recent date. As Manichseans, they would naturally have
preserved the symbols and tokens for mutual recognition so much
in vogue, as history and existing monuments attest." King M.A.
(C. W.), The Gnostics and their Remains, p. 399. London, 1887.
* Aroux (Eugene), Dante, HMtique, R&volutionnaire et Socialiste,
p. 83. Paris, 1854.
t Begun by Guillaume de Loris — a Troubadour — 1260, finished by
Jean de Meung, Poet, Alchemist, and Astrologer. It is a Hermetic
treatise of much value.
J Rossetti (Gabriele), // Mistero dell 'Amor Platonico del Medio
Evo, ii. 411-414. London, 1840.
§ Warton (Thomas), Hist, of English Poetry, II., p. 149, note d.
London, 1840.
134 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
access. It is the White Rose of Jericho
the Chemists made it a search for the Philosopher's
Stone." There is ever a mystery in the crucified
Rose, typical of light and glory springing from
the blood of Adonis, himself Dionysus, the best
of heavenly beings. Endless are the exquisitely
beautiful and refined symbolic meanings of the sacred
Rose.
Thus as we study the Troubadours it becomes
evident that an enormous under-current of secret
teaching was being carried on, and Rutherford
gives us some important hints on this point which
have been previously noticed* but may again
be usefully referred to since they illustrate this
particular fact and verify much that is said by
Aroux.
The body of the learned in the Middle Ages — or the
inner circle of that body — seems to have formed a secret
society, whose purpose was to keep as much knowledge
as possible confined to itself, after the manner of the
Druids, or of the Egyptians and Chaldaen Sages; when
compelled to put the more occult portions of their scientific
acquirements into a more permanent form they adopted
one perfectly unintelligible to the vulgar. Some wrapped
up their more valuable secrets in parables, others threw
them again into the shape of illuminations, and others
again adopted the device of Roger Bacon, who, giving the
name of an important ingredient of gunpowder in an
anagram, rendered the whole receipt for the composition
of the substance a complete mystery to the uninitiated.
* The Theosophical Review, xxiv. 202. London, 1899.
tMfi TROUBADOURS. 1^5
It has been said that Rutherford has allied the
Troubadours with the Freemasons, and the latter
body has an undoubtedly Manichaean tradition. For
confirmation on this point we can refer to what is
said by a very well-known Masonic authority,* whose
knowledge about Masonry is unquestionable :
Sons of the Widowf — a powerful society founded by
Manes, a Persian slave .... and continued to
the present day; it consisted of two degrees: i. Auditor.
2. Elect. It was at peace under the Mother of the
Emperor Anastasius (A.D. 491-518), but was persecuted
by Justin. In the course of time, its agents secretly
instigated the Crusades; but being betrayed, had to
veil their mysteries under many names. In Bulgaria
and Lombardy it was known as the Society of the
Paterini, in France as the Cathari and Albigenses, and
from it originated the Hussites, Wyckliffites, and Lollards.
The Dutch sect of the Family of Love also sprang
from it.
Such is the statement of a high Mason on this
connection, corroborating the links that have already
been outlined, and many more might be instanced,
showing that all the tenets of these mediaeval sects of
Troubadours are traceable to Gnostic and Mani-
chaeistic doctrines. Very wonderful is the part filled
by the " Messengers of Love " in the spiritual evolution
of Europe during the Dark Ages. Martyrs many,
* Mackenzie (Kenneth R. H., ix°), The Royal Masonic Cycloftedia,
p. 768. New York, 189S.
t This term is applied to the Albigensian Troubadours ; and it was
employed amongst themselves.
136 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
and Saints not a few — such will be the roll-call of the
Minniesangers, Troubadours, and Bards of these
olden days, when in the future the Ancient Wisdom
once more reigns supreme.
THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM OF
THE HOLY GRAIL.
PART I.
And like a flying star
Led on the gray-haired Wisdom of the East.
I saw the spiritual city and all her spires
And gateways in a glory like one pearl —
No larger, tho' the goal of all the Saints —
Strike from the sea ; and from the star there shot
A rose-red sparkle to the city, and there
Dwelt, and I knew it was the Holy Grail,
Which was an image of the mighty world.
— The Holy Grail and The Passing of Arthur,
Tennyson.
The legend of the founding of the City Spiritual —
the Kingdom of the Holy Grail* or San Greal — is so
interwoven with myth and superadded tradition that
to trace its origin is as difficult as to see through
a dense fog the delicate outline of some fair gothic
* See The TheosophiccU Seview, xxiii., pp. 9-16. Hardcastle
(Miss A. L. B.), "The Secret of the Holy Grail."
137
138 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
spire whose lofty head towers beyond the mists
towards the blue heights above. But as we gaze with
straining effort, slowly through the gloom line upon
line reveals itself, and finally the whole structure
takes form most definite before us. Thus is it with
the priceless " Legend of the Holy Grail," and as we
trace it back from Western lands to its Eastern
home, gradually from the mists of time's obscurity
there stands revealed once more the glorious tradition
of the Wisdom Religion, another messenger from
East to West bringing the ancient mystic teaching
from the old worlds to the new.
In this case the gracious message is vestured, not
as usual in religious forms, but veiled in garb of
chivalry, so that it may, perhaps, in this new
presentation more readily touch the hearts of men,
and draw them to seek for the Kingdom Spiritual,
the " house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens."
Gathered round the " Holy Grail" are the Knights
— the Guardians of the " Grail Kingdom," led by
Titurel,* the mystic King, to whom is entrusted the
charge of the Holy Teaching. Then later we find
the Knights Templars taking up the sacred mission.-}-
* Hammer-Purgstall (Baron J. von), Fundgruben des Orients,
vi. 24., n. 33. Vienna, 1818.
+ See Naef (F.), Opinions religieuses des Templiers, p. 36.
Nismes ; 1890. " The cult with which this mysterious chalice is
surrounded far surpasses in grandeur and exaltation the worship paid
by the Church even to the most sacred relics, and it is just this exalta-
tion of mystery and of holiness which unveils so clearly the symbol and
the allegory." And again p. 38, "In the Grail does one not see the
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 39
But everywhere and always is there the inner doctrine
for the few who seek the Holy Grail, for it is invisible
to all but those who form the " Ingesinde " * (inner
circle).
The chief function of the Grail Kingdom was to
supply a constant type of a divinely governed
Society, a Society ruled from the inner and spiritual
planes, and to train in "the kingly art of ruling"
striking symbol of Mystic Wisdom (Sagesse mystique) and of the
communion which is established between God and man?"
* J. Rutherford writes ( Tlie Troubadours, their Loves and Lyrics,
p. 43. London, 1873) :
"The body of the learned in the Middle Ages — or the inner
circle of that body — seems to have formed a secret society, whose
purpose was to keep as much knowledge as possible confined to itself,
after the manner of the Druids, or of the Egyptians and Chaldean
Sages ; when compelled to put the more occult portions of their scientific
acquirements into a permanent form, they adopted one perfectly
unintelligible to the vulgar. Some wrapped up their more valuable
secrets in parables, others threw them again into the shape of illumina-
tions, and others again adopted the device of Roger Bacon, who, giving
the name of an important ingredient of gunpowder in an anagram,
rendered the whole receipt for the composition of the substance a
complete mystery to the uninitiated.
" Our reading shows us that much more was known to the few,
six or seven hundred years ago, than modern savants are inclined to
think. Strange and startling glimpses of this knowledge flicker over
the pages of the poets and romancists of the Middle Ages. Selecting
but two examples from many, we may remark that no one could have
written that passage in the Inferno of Dante (Canto xxxiv., lines 70-84),
descriptive of the transit of Virgil and his follower through the centre
of the earth, who was not well acquainted with the leading principles of
the theory of gravitation, as elaborated by Newton. Nor could any
one have evolved from the depths of his internal consciousness a
passage so singularly anticipative of the discovery of America as that
contained in Stanzas 228-230 of the twenty-fifth canto of the Morgante
Maggiore — precisely the Canto in which it is said that the author, Pulci,
was aided by the erudite Marsilio Ficino." See Canti (Cesare), GU
Eretici d" Italia, i. 178. Torino, 1865.
140 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
leaders for such communities as needed them. It
was destined to be a practical civilising power as well
as a Palace Spiritual, not a passive force only, but
active and powerful for the suppression of all evil on
earth. Titurel* is the type and ideal leader round
whom revolves the whole of Mystic or Celestial
chivalry .-f- The Grail kingship is indeed the paradigm
of the highest perfection, " the goal of all the Saints,"
but the goal cannot be reached except by the con-
quest of the lower nature ; every human being must
struggle and must suffer ere he sees
those shores
Where tideless sweep the waves of time
Hard by the city of the Saints of God.
Let us now trace the origin of this time-honoured
tradition, the stock from which developed all the
" Arthurian " legends, all the " Graal-sagas " of
Germany, and the " Romans " of Provence. Two
dominant variants of the earliest traditions have come
to us.
I. The Grail as a Secret Gospel J or Tradition.
* There are two Titurels ; the poem Titurel of Wolfram von
Eschenbach ; and, later, Der Jiingere Titurel, by Albrecht von
Scharffenberg, written about 1270. An interesting notice on the subject
is given by Vilmar (A. F. C), Geschichte der deutschen National-
Literatur, 147, Marburg u. Leipsig, 1870.
+ Chivalry was divided into Heavenly and Earthly orders during
part of the Middle Ages, especially in Spain.
t Aroux (E.), Les Mysteres de la Chevalerie, p. 166. Paris, 1858.
Paris (A. Paulin), Les Jiomans de la Table Ronde, Addenda to p. 102.
Vol. I. Paris, 1868. Helinandi Op., Ed. Migne, Patrol., Vol. CCXII.,
col. 814. Fauriel (C. C), Histoire de la Polsie Provenfale, ii. 332,
et seq. Paris, 1846.
THE HOLY GRAIL. I4I
2. The Grail as a Mystic Cup* with miraculous
power.
Both variants are of vital interest to the Theoso-
phic student ; we must here, however, confine our-
selves to tracing.
I. The earliest sources of the Grail Legend.
II. The history of Titurel, the type of divine
kingship and spiritual knighthood.
III. The links which prove this popular mystic
legend to be part of the Great Wisdom Tradition
which is guarded by the " Masters of Wisdom " yet
on this earth.
I.
The Origin of the Tradition. — I.
This can be definitely followed through Arabia to
India ; for according to a large number of author-
ities,-f the tradition is mainly Eastern in origin,
* Burnouf (Emile) writes as follows: "La vraie legende du Vase
Sacr^ est celle qu'on pent suivre dans le pass^ en remontant d'aujourd'hui
meme par les textes chr6tiens, grecs, perses et bouddhiques jusqu' aux
hymnes du V^da, oil elle trouve son explication.'' Le Vase Sacri et ce
qu'il contieni — dans I'Inde, la Perse, la Grece, et dans I'Eglise chr^tienne
avec un appendice sur le Saint-Graal, p. 189. Paris, 1896.
* The Theosophical Review, xxiii. pp. 12-15. London, 1899.
Hammer-Purgstall (Baron J. von), Fundgruben des Orients, vi. p. 24.
Rio, L' University Catholique, i. p. 241.
t Rosenkranz (Dr. Karl), Handbuch einer Allgemeinen Geschichte
der Poesie, ii., 84. Halle, 1832. Hagen (F. H. von der), Heldenbilde
aus dem Sagen Kreisen, II., iii. 8. Breslau, 1823. Simrock (Dr.
K.), Parzifal und Titurel, p. 484. Stuttgart und Tubingen, 1842.
Bergmann (Dr. F. G.), The San Great ; an Enquiry into the Origin
and Signification cf the San Greal. Edinburgh, 1870. Bartsch (Karl),
Wolfram von Eschenbach — Parzifal und Titurel, pt. i. p. xxiv.
Leipzig, 1870. Vilmar (A. F. C.), Geschichte der Deutschen National-
Literatur, i. 129-130. Marburg and Leipzig, 1870.
142 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
especially that of the Gral-king and Founder, with
which are linked most intimately those of Parsifal
and Lohengrin. Rosenkranz divides them as follows :
Titurel is Oriental in its inception ; Parsifal is Gallic
(from Anjou) ; and Lohengrin* is Belgian.
The most sympathetic and interesting version
perhaps, is that given by Gorres-f- in his introduction
to the translation of the oldest MS. which is in the
Vatican Library. This manuscript was seen by von
Hagen,! who gives an interesting account of it in his
letters ; another sketch of the Gral-saga, but less
sympathetic, is given by Dr. Bergman in a small
pamphlet printed in 1870. From all these various
sources must be gathered the important fragments
which will help us to find those details which are a
necessity to the student for a clear understanding of
the real meaning of this grand old legend.
Our attention must first be directed to what may
be termed the " setting " of the tradition, that is to
say the channel by which it comes to the Western
world. The record of Titurel was first made
known by Wolfram von Eschenbach, a Troubadour
of a noble but poor family ; born within the
* The history of Lohengrin, or Garin-le-Loherain was first treated
by Hugo Metullus, in 11 50.
+ Gorres (Joseph), Lohengrin, ein altdeutsches Gedicht nach der
Abschrift des Vaticanischen Manuscriptes, von Ferdinand GlSckle
herausgegeben. 1813.
Koberstein (A.), Grundriss zur Geschichte der Deutschen National-
Literatur, p. 50- Leipzig, 1830.
X Hagen (F. H. von der), Briefe in die Heimat, ii. 305.
Breslau, 1818.
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 43
last thirty years of the twelfth century, he died
about 1220 ; his monument was still existing at
Eschenbach in Bavaria in the fifteenth century. He
was one of a brilliant circle of Troubadours or
Minnesanger* who at that period were gathered at
the then famous Court of Herman, Landgraf of
Thuringia. Wolfram began a history in verse of
Titurel, the old Gral-king, which was however left in
an unfinished and fragmentary condition at his death.
Then about the year 1 270, Albrecht von Schaffenberg
wrote a poem upon Titurel which for long passed as
the work of von Eschenbach. It was called Der
Jungere Titurel, to distinguish it from the original
poem of Wolfram. Speaking of it San Martef
says :
Titurel — two fragments to which, according to the
opening lines of the first piece, this title has been given,
should according to Wolfram von Eschenbach's own
assurances have formed part of a history of Sigune and
Schiantulander, for it stands in close relation to Parzifal,
the material having been drawn from the same source —
remained unfinished. That work, however, and especially
the sayings of the Holy Grail contained therein, aroused
such excitement, that after Wolfram's death an unknown
poet decided to write, in strophe form, the history of the
Gral and its race of kings (Titurel), in accordance with the
same source. . . . This also remained unfinished until
* Trouvires in Northern France ; Troubadours in the South of
France ; Minnesanger in Germany ; Skalds or Scalds in Norway; Bards
in Wales and Ancient Britain.
t San Marte (A. Schulz), Leben und Dickten von W. v. Eschenbach,
xiv. Magdeburg, 1 836.
144 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
about 1270, when a certain Albrecht completed it. This
so-called Jiingere Titurel and the Parzifal, both of which
come frpm the same source, contain pretty well the whole
history of the Holy Grail and in many passages they
supplement one another. *
These form undoubtedly the most authentic
versions of the Gral legend, but there is another
line of tradition written down by Chrestien de
Troyes, which eliminates the Oriental and gives
the purely Christian version of the vision of Joseph
of Arimathaea. Of this Wolfram was cognisant,
or, as Nutt-f tells us.
He knew Chrestien's poem well, and repeatedly refers
to it, but with great contempt, as being the wrong version
of the story, whereas he holds the true version from Kyot|:
the singer, a "Provenzal," who found the tale of Parzifal
* The fragments of " Titurel " written by Wolfram were first made
known by Docens (l8io). They are in Karl Lachmann's edition of
Wolfram v. Eschenbach (1833). The only edition of the Jiingere
Titurel, which exists in a good many MSS., is that of Hahn (1842).
+ Nutt (Alfred), Studies on the Legend of the Holy Grail, p. 6.
London, 1888. See The Theosophical Review, xxiii. 10.
X Many materialistic critics have tried to disprove the very existence
of Kyot (or Guiot de Provins), and further have tried to prove that the
tradition was invented by Wolfram. But research shows definitely that
at this very period there was a Jongleur, or singer, of this name. He is
mentioned by the Abb^ de la Rue in his Essais historiques sur Us
Bardes, les Jongleurs, et les Trouvires, i. 216. Caen, 1834. In this
passage is mentioned a Satire written by Guiot de Provins ; Rosenkranz
also mentions him in his Handbuch einer Allgemeinen Geschichte der
Poesie, ii. 114. The same conclusion has also been arrived at by San
Marte in an interesting article " Der Mythus vom Heiligen Gral," which
appeared in the Neue Mittheilungen aus dem Gebiet historisch antiquar-
ischer Forschungen. Herausgegeben von dem Thuringisch-Ssechsichen
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 45
written in a heathen tongue at Dolet (Toledo) by Flegetanis,
a heathen, and who first wrote concerning the Grail, put it
into French, and after searching the Chronicles of Britain,
France, and Ireland in vain, at length found the informa-
tion in the Chronicle of Anjou. »
Later on we shall see why it was found in
these chronicles to the exclusion of the rest. The
basis of the Christian legend is from the Gnostic
tradition, and said to have been founded on the
Apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, which was trans-
lated into Provengal verse, a " mystical Gospel " in
every sense, says Paulin Paris,* who, in referring to
the MS. in the Vatican, further writes : " This latter
text was of great antiquity and evidently mystical,
showing a profound knowledge of the Apocryphal'l'
Gospels containing the secret teachings of the
Eucharist." J This of course refers to the Christian
aspect, and had to do with the Christian arcane
doctrines, but this aspect must be left for treatment
at some future time.
A digression, however, must be here made, the
subject of which is so intimately interwoven with the
Verein fUr Erforschung des Vaterlandischen Alterthums. (III., pt.
iii., pp. 1-40). The author identifies the supposed mythical Guiot von
Provence with the historical character Guiot von Provins (the town in
Brie ?) which is called Proruts by Wolfram.
* Paris (A. Paulin), Les Manuscrits franfois de la Bibliothique
du Roi. Paris, 1848. Vol. vii., p. 377.
t " Books v^ithdrawn from public perusal, or in other words,
hidden or secret." See Mead (G. R. S), " The Secret Sermon on the
Mountain," The Theosophical Review, xxiv. 26.
JSee Fauriel (C. C), Histoire de la Poisie Prm/ettfale, iii. 5.
Paris, 1846.
K
146 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
mystic foundation of the Grail tliat it is necessary to
go into some important details in order to form a
clear conception of the many forces which were at
play during this epoch.
It has been said that Wolfram von Eschenbach,*
the writer of Titurel, was a Troubadour, and according
to some authorities Guiot (or Kyot) de Provins was a
Jongleur. Who, then, are these Troubadours and
Jongleurs who played a part so important in the
so-called dark ages ? On another occasion we hope
to take up this subject separately, forming as it does
an important link between Eastern mysticism and
Western development ; it will be enough for the
present to cite one important Catholic writer, who
makes a very clear statement as to the hidden
functions of these Troubadours.-}- Says Aroux :
The Troubadours, hostile to Rome, were, to say the
* Mysticism was "in the air" at this epoch; in Calabria the
Abbate Gioachimo di Flor was preaching his Evangelic EUrno.
Educated at the Court of the Duca di Puglia, a pilgrim to the Holy
Land, a monk at Mount Tabor, he became a mystic and was according
to Canti deeply tinged with Buddhistic views (Gli Eretici d' Italia,
i. 120-135. Torino, 1865). He had a large following. A quantity
of important writings were left by this great mystic. His prophecies
were known even in England, for we find an English Cistercian,
Rudolph, Abbot of Coggeshall, coming to Rome in 1 195, had a
conference with him, and left an account of it (Mart^ne, Amplissima
Collectio, V. 837), and Felice Tocco (VEresia nel Medio Evo, i.
261-409. Florence, 1884) writes : " The works of Joachim were
printed at Venice in the years 1517-19, and his life was written by a
Dominican named Gervaise in 1745. A full summary of his opinions,
and those contained in Tie Everlasting Gospel, may be found in Natalis
Alexander's Ecclesiastical History, VHI., pp. 73-76."
+ Aroux (Eugene) Dante, Hiritiqtie, Rivolutionnaire et Socialiste ;
Rivilation cPun Catholique sur le Moyen Age, p. 14. Paris, 1854.
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 47
truth, the journalists of the period ; and in this way con-
stituted one of the powers of society and took up sides
for republican liberty in the towns of the south, for the
feudal suzerainty and its patrons — that is to say chivalry —
against the church or authority. ... for chivalry
itself had become a machinery of war on the side of the
Albigensian* heresy.
Strange and striking statements, but they can be
tested and verified by testimony from all sides.
Through these secret mystical channels came pouring
the old teachings from the East, and Wolfram von
Eschenbach and Guiot de Provins were but instru-
ments or channels for that tradition.
A few words must here be said about Guiot, or, as
Wolfram von Eschenbach calls him in his German
tongue, Kyot. As we have seen from the Abb^ de la
Rue, he was a Jongleur, and Aroux has given a clue
as to the real metier of the true Jongleur at that
period. He appears to have been a native of the
Duchy of Anjou, and was not a noble but a lay
commoner, for Wolfram terms him simply Meister.
Guiot studied literature and philosophy in the south
of France in the Province of Saint Giles — a centre
of Albigensian mystic tradition, and in constant
communication with northern Spain, which was
permeated, at this period, with Arabian mysticism.
He also studied for some time in Spain at Toledo
* The mystic doctrines of the Albigenses will be treated later.
They believed in re-incarnation and other fundamental theosophic
doctrines.
148 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
under the learned Arabian philosophers, to whom the
Western world owes a heavy debt. Meister Guiot le
Provengal found at Toledo an Arabian book compiled
by an astrologer and philosopher named Flegetanis,*
containing the story of the Holy Greal. This volume
was written in a foreign character, of which Guiot
was compelled to make himself master. After
reading this Guiot began to search the records of
other countries, Brittany, France, Ireland, and he
found the legends of this in some old Chroniques
(f Angevin (Anjou). These he used as corroboration,
and introduces the Western elements into his history,
but, as Warton and Gorres both insist, the scene
for the most part is laid in the East, and a large
proportion of the names are of Oriental origin.
Then, again, the Saracens are always spoken of with
consideration ; Christian knights enroll themselves
under the banner of the Caliph,f and no trace of
hatred is to be found between the followers of the
crescent and the cross. Speaking of the widespread
development of this mysterious legend, or tradition of
the Holy Grail, Gorres % says :
From the waters of the Ganeas (Ganges) in the land
* Flegetanis was both an astronomer and an astrologer. Both
Gorres and Warton (Thomas Warton, The History of English Poetry,
Vol. I., London, 1824) consider that Flegetanis is a corruption of the
Arabic name Felek-daneh, an astronomer.
t It can be proved from various sources that there was a friendly
interchange of visits between the Caliph at Cairo and the Templars.
(King, C. W., The Gnostics and their Remains, p. 418. London,
1887.)
X Lohengrin, p. ix.
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 49
of Tribalibot, that is Palibothra* in Tricalinga, the Sanskrit
name of the Ganges Provinces, it has spread itself over the
Caucasus, or as the poem more correctly says, Kukkhasus,
or again, as Titurel says, Kaukasus, where the red gold
grows, from which the heathen weave many a beautiful
coat (Wat) and over the mountains Agrimontin, where
the warm Salamanders weave their glittering uniform amid
the fire-flames' dance, and where the Queen Gekurdille
rules.
Everywhere can be found the tradition of a sacred
cup.f and it is said by Flegetanis, who had carefully
recorded the result of his nocturnal studies at Toledo,
that this mysterious cup J with the name of Graal
emblazoned on it was left behind on earth by a band
of spirits § as they winged their way to their celestial
abode. This holy vessel is delivered by an angel to
Titurel, at whose birth an angel had announced that
God had chosen him to be a defender of the faith II
* " Pitaliputra (Palibothra des Grecs) qui est aujourd'hui Patna."
Burnouf, op. cit. p. 109.
t In the Persian tradition a similar miraculous and mystical vessel
was given to Jemshad, the pattern of perfect kings, in whose reign the
Golden Age was realised in Iran. He was the favourite of Ormuzd
and his legitimate representative on earth ; he discovered the " Goblet
of the Sun " when digging the foundation of Persepolis, and from him
it passed to Alexander the Great. It is a symbol of the world. See
Burnouf (Emile), Le Vase SacH et u qu'il contient. Dans Vlnde, la
Perse, la Grice et dans PEglise chritienne, p. 189. Paris, 1896.
X In Grecian mythology Apollo, or Helios, rises out of a golden-
winged cup.
§ BIavatsky(H. P.) The Secret Doctrine, ii. 379 : " The beneficent
Entities who . . . brought light to the world, and endowed
Humanity with intellect and reason."
II The Gnosis, or Wisdom Mysteries.
150 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
and the guardian of the Sangreal. He became, in
fact, one of the custodians of that Secret Wisdom
which has been left in the charge of the elect, the
group of humanity's perfected sons.
THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM OF
THE HOLY GRAIL.
PART II.
The Origin of the Tradition. — II.
. . . The Grail, throughout all Ages, may never by man
be known,
Save by him God calleth to It, whose name God doth know
alone.
And the tale shall be told in all lands ....
Parzival, translated by J. L. Weston, i. 162.
We must trace the history of the World-Religion, alike
through the secret Christian sects as through those of other
great religious subdivisions of the race ; for the Secret
Doctrine is the Truth, and that religion is nearest divine
that has contained it with the least adulteration. Our
search takes us hither and thither, but never aimlessly
do we bring sects, widely separated in chronological order,
into critical juxtaposition. There is one purpose in our
work to be kept constantly in view — the analysis of religious
beliefs, and the definition of their descent from the past to
the present.
Blavatsky (H. p.), his Unveiled, ii., 292.
It is now necessary to add some more important
details to the question of the origin of the tradition
of the Holy Grail. Too much care cannot be given
152 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
by students to the most fundamental portion of this
research.
It has already been said that many German* and
French writers, in their zealous efforts to prove the
Grail tradition to be a myth, have made efforts to
disprove the existence of Guiot von Provins, but
owing to the careful researches of San Marte-f- there
is evidence of his existence so conclusive that no
further doubt can remain ; in the review from which
we quote he gives a careful resume of the evidence,
and he has made a thorough study of Guiot's Bible,
which was written as a denunciation of the priests of
that period, and of the iniquities of the Roman
Church : " Guiot was, without doubt, a learned man,
and had been a monk as well as a courtier," says San
Marte, from whose article the following summary is
made.
He was present in the year 1184, at Mainz, at the great
court day of the Emperor Frederick I., at which the French
nobility were also present in great numbers. He further
assures us that he had seen the Hospitallers at Jerusalem ;
the information he gives us as regards the Knight Templars
in Syria will consequently rest likewise on first-hand
observation. In the EastJ he saw King Araalrich of
* Lachmann (K.), Wolfram von Eschenbach, xxiv., and Gervinus,
Deutsche National Literatur, i., 358, 1835, are both of this opinion.
t San Marte (A. Schuiz), "Wolfram von Eschenbach and Guiot
von Provins " ; Germania, iii. 445. Wien, i860.
X This fact that Guiot von Provins was himself in the East, that he
was, moreover, a Troubadour, gives us those links which were needed
to prove the direct connection of this Grail Tradition with the Eastern
Wisdom ; as a Troubadour he was one of the Secret Society already
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 53
Jerusalem, who died in the year 1 1 73, in the flower of his
age and his glory. But in the year 1147 there was the
second, and in the year 11 90 the third Crusade ....
it may be inferred from his writing that he journeyed into
the Holy Land, not as a warrior, but in the retinue of a
Prince or Baron, and we learn that Guiot was also in the
monastery of Clairvaux,* and moreover, when he wrote his
Bible he had already worn the black cowl for more than
twelve years ; thus his denunciations would rest on personal
observations, and not on any mere gossip or scandal.
Guiot shows himself, in this writing, to be a man
of scholarly education, of penetrating mind, keen
observation and full of biting sarcasm. His com-
parisons and examples are of incisive acuteness, he
has an exact knowledge of the Bible, and brings
forward passages from the Scriptures in confirmation
of his judgment, and in justification of his reproaches
of the clergy. To quote again from San Marte :
His language is incisive and severe
pouring out his noble anger, galling blame and bitter
sarcasm, over priests and nobles, higher jind lower clergy,
mentioned both by Rossetti in his Disquisitions on the Anti-fapal
Spirit which produced the Reformation, (ii., 115. London, 1834), and
by Aroux ; see The Theosophical Review, xxiv. , p. 207. San Marte
added a footnote stating that he was preparing an edition of Guiot's
Bible and Lyric Poems, in French and German, to which Professor G.
Wohlfart was adding notes.
* S. Bernard of Clairvaux was one of the Church Mystics of the
twelfth century ; he gave the first rules to the Order of the Knights-
Templars, the regulations having been arranged at the Council of
Troyes in 1 1 18. The great Abbey of Clairvaux was one of the chief
centres of education at this period. S. Bernard considered the con-
templative life as the highest, and he was himself a contemplative
mystic.
154 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
and over pretended erudition, he nevertheless loves to add
that, of course, there are glorious exceptions. . . . We
perceive in hitn a mind which, formed in the school of life,
has seen and experienced much ; a man who with keen
vision and solid judgment watched and weighed the crimes
of all positions He very clearly distinguishes
genuine piety from the hypocritical appearance of holiness —
the true faith from professional sanctity Truth
is for him beyond all else ; it is his light.
Such is the judgment of this well-known German
author upon the man through whom the tradition
comes. Miss Weston, another authority, says :
Such a man would have been thoroughly familiar with
the legends that had gathered round the early Angevin
Princes, as well as with the historical facts connected
with their successors ; he would have come into contact
with the Order of the Knights Templars .... he
would be familiar with many a legend of precious stones,
the favourite talismans of the East, and would know
the special virtue ascribed to each. ... In
fact, if we will allow the existence of such a writer as a
travelled Angevin might well have been, we shall find all the
principal problems of the Parzifal admit of a rational
explanation. Even the central puzzle. Wolfram's representa-
tion of the Grail, is explicable on such a hypothesis. We
know how very vague Chretien's* account of the Grail is ;
how much in the dark he leaves us as to Its outward form.
Its influence and its origin. A writer before Chretien is
scarcely likely to have been more explicit ; what more
likely than that a man long resident in the East, and
familiar, as has been said above, with Eastern jewel
talismans, and the legends connected with them, when
* Troyes (Chretien de), Li conte del Graal. 1189.
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 55
confronted with this mysterious Grail, of which no definite
account was given, yet which apparently exercised a
magical life-sustaining influence, should have jumped to the
conclusion of Its, at least partial, identity with the precious
stones of the power of which he had heard so much ?
Then later on the same writer says :
To sum up the entire question, the drift of the internal
evidence of the Parzival seems to indicate that the author
of Wolfram's Source was a warm partisan of the House of
Anjou,* sometime resident in the East, familiar with the
history of the House whose fortunes he followed, and with
much curious Oriental lore, and thoroughly imbued with
the broader views of life and religion inspired by the
crusades. That he wrote his poem after 11 72 seems most
likely from the connection between England, Anjou and
Ireland noted in Book IX ; . . if we grant the
correctness of the Angevin allusions to be found in the
earlier parts of the poem, we must logically grant that these
two first books, and as a consequence the latter part of the
poem which agrees with them, are due to the French source
rather than the German redaction ; that it was Kiot (Guiot
de Provins) who introduced the characters of Gamuret,
Belakane, Feirefis and LIhelein; that to Kiot is due the
first germ of the ethical interpretation amplified by Wolfram.
It was probably in a great measure owing to the
unecclesiastical nature of Kiot's teaching, and the freedom
with which he handled the Grail myth, that his work failed
to attain the popularity of Chretien's. When the Grail
legend was once definitely stamped with the traditional
* He was in the retinue of Fulk of Anjou, who, in 1129, became
the son-in-law of Baldwin, King of Jerusalem, and eventually became
its King. There is, however, a much earlier connection of the House
of Anjou with the East, for in 987 Fulk Nerra, or Fulk the Palmer,
went to Jerusalem. See Croniques des Comtes cF Anjou, par M. Emile
Mabille, p. Ixxviii. Paris, 1856.
156 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
Christian character which it finally assumed and retained,
the semi-pagan character of Kiot's treatment would cause
his version to be regarded with disfavour by the monkish
compilers of his day.*
There is no difficulty in perceiving that the
Christian version has become the more popular,
almost to the extinction of the Oriental tradition,
but the suggestion here made by the w^riter is of
importance — for Guiot, having been in contact with
the Secret and Mystical Societies in the East, would
certainly bring that doctrine into his work, which
accounts for what Miss Weston terms the "uneccle-
siastical nature of Kiot's (Guiot) teaching."
It is an important fact for the students of this
tradition to bear in mind, that the Roman Church
monopolised and adopted this Legend of the Holy
Grail, laying stress upon the version given by
Chretien de Troyes, ignoring its Oriental descent,
and popularising the idea that the Legend was
founded on a purely Christian basis ; hence many
of the contemporaries of Wolfram von Eschenbach
were writing solely from the Christian standpoint ;
but we have also many writers who took a broader
view, and who recognised that the tradition had
descended from some earlier doctrine. In San Marte
(A. Schulz), for instance, we have a German scholar
of profound research adopting practically the same
view as that of Eugene Aroux in his Mysthes de la
Chevalerie, to which book reference was made in the
* Weston (Jessie L.), Parzival, ii. 191, 197, 198. London, 1894.
THE HOLY GRAIL. 157
last number. We must now summarise some impor-
tant passages from this new source, relating as they
do to the same view, namely, that the Legend of the
Holy Grail is, in truth, part of the mystical tradition
of those so-called heretical sects, the Albingenses, the
Cathari, and others of that date, descendants of
the older Gnostic Sects. Says San Marte :
The conflicts of the Hohenstaufen with Rome bear
witness to the strength of this movement in Germany ;
princes, knights and poets accepted* it with fullest
consciousness [of its significance]. Guiot's Bii/e, and other
similar writings, the Proven9al poets, the numerous heretical
sects of Southern France, of Northern Italy and Spain prove
the same thing regarding these countries. Among the
Waldensians there even gradually arose, under the influence
of the Provencal poets, a literature, the content of
which was chiefly spiritual, and which, in a poetical
form, made the peculiar principles of the sect current
and familiar among the people.f We may mention the
* The writer is referring to the enormous spread of these mystical
and heretical teachers. See San Marte (A. SchuU), "Wolfram's
Parzival und seine Beurtheiler," in Germania, vii., p. 60. Wien, 1862.
t This was the secret language to which Aroux refers so often. In
one passage he says : " Let the Philologists make as much outcry as
they will, our old Troveurs knew more about it than they do, and when
they adopted certain names they thought far more of the hidden mean-
ing than of the actual etymology, for which they cared very little " ;
again, referring to the well-known legend of Amadis, " the Knight of
the Lion," he adds : " We may easily recognise him, by these
various signs, as a ' Poor-man of Lyons.' Like his colleagues, this
Apostle of the Albigensian Gospel leaves Aquitanian Gaul,
his own country, to go into Spain and win over that country to
the Religion of Love, as in other romances. What gives an
account of his acts and deeds is the journal, the record of his
apostolic feats, of his triumph over the agents of Rome. What could
be easier to recognise ? Amadis, the ' Perfect Knight of Lyons,' under
158 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
celebrated didactic poem, written about 1180, La nobla
Leyczon, which leads up to Waldensian through sacred
history, and other poems such as La Barca, Lo novel
Sermon, Lo novel Confort, Lo Payre Eternal, Lo Desprecza
del Mont (Contentio Mundt) and L'Avangeli de It quatre
Semenez, which deals with the parable, Matthew xiii. 5, of
the different seeds. They all possess peculiarly strong
anti-papistic elements and belong to those products of
anti-hierarchy, which transplanted the conflict against Rome
from ecclesiastical domain to the ground of popular life.
How wrathful is Bernard of Clairvaux against Abelard ; *
he says that, thanks to him, the street-boys of Paris are to
be heard discussing the doctrine of the Trinity ! It was a
storm which raged through the whole of western Christendom
in all strata of the population, a process of fermentation
which, originally repressed by force, repeated itself in the
Reformation and forced itself to the forefront. When,
therefore, Reichel t reproaches me with having introduced
far more theological elements than the poem itself justifies,
into my interpretation of the oracle of the Grail and of
Parzival's refraining from questions, I reply that, on the
contrary, not nearly enough of the theology of the twelfth
century has been applied to the understanding of our poem,
disguise of person and language is enamoured of the beautiful Oriane.
This name, derived from the East, also indicates the close connection
established between the local Vaudism and the oriental Albigensianisni
typified by the beautiful lady, Flower, Rose, Star of the East. All
light, all good, was in this literature reputed to come from the East."
Aroux (E.), Les Mystires de la Chmalerie, pp. 175, 176. Paris, 1858.
* One of the Scholastic mystics, a heretic, and condemned by the
Pope about 1140; he opposed the view of those who extol the faith
that yields an unreasoning assent, without examination, to whatever is
heard. See Blunt, D.D. (J. H.), article, "Schoolmen"; Dictionary
of Sects and Heresies, p. 530. London, 1874.
t Reichel, Studien au Wolfram's Parzival, p. 6. Wien, 1858.
San Marte (A. Schulz), Parzival Studien, Heft ii. Halle ; Waisenhaus,
1861.
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 59
and my attempt to examine it from that standpoint is only a
first beginning on those Hnes.
For that which we now after the lapse of centuries can
only laboriously and yet imperfectly discover about the
explanation of the external historical phenomena of those
religious conflicts — all that surround the then existing world
like a fiery atmosphere in which it breathed, and which
penetrated all the pores of its life, the elements of religious
discord which can now hardly be understood and methodi-
cally arranged by the scholars who make the subject their
special study — was formerly in the minds and mouths of the
masses and urged them on to action ; and if the poems* of
that period afford us in almost every other respect a faithful
mirror of contemporary phenomena in action and thought,
the same must be true of a work which has a predomina-
tingly religious tendency, that finds expression even in the
first two lines [of the poem].
It is very desirable that the Church historians of to-day
should, in their writings and academic lectures, pay greater
attention than they do to the investigations and the treasures
which have been brought to light in the ever-increasing
study of the early German and French literatures, indeed
they would then find much which preceded and led up to
the Reformation, and would recognise more clearly the
forms taken by the dogmatic theses in the practical faith
and opinions of the people, and the special expression
which they there received. For there is a difference
between the doctrinal formulation of an article of faith
and its acceptance and transmission by the laity.
The position taken up by Wolfram, whether Guelph or
Ghibelline, Apostolic -Evangelical or Roman- Hierarchic,
• The poems of the Troubadours, which contained the mystical
teaching, as we have seen from Aroux, in his Mystires de la Chevalerie,
and also from Rutherford in his Troubadours, their Loves and Lyrics,
p. 43. London, 1873. See for quotation. The Theosophical Review,
xxiv., p. 202.
l6o MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
must determine the standpoint from which his poem must
be judged and understood. And even if we condemn the
poet as a heretic, we must not demand of his poem that it
should teach what he rejects,* but in order to do it justice
we must enter into his religious tendency, which it brings
quite clearly and candidly to light. In view of the historical
situation and the religious stream of tendency at the end
of the twelfth century the intention of our poet can no
longer be open to doubt. He wished, namely, to depict
in the institution of the Templars a Christian brother-
hood,t a kingdom of the faithful and the elect of the
Lord, without a Roman hierarchy, without a Pope and a
privileged priesthood, without ban, interdict or Inquisition,
where God Himself, through the revelation of the Grail, is,
in the spirit of the pure Gospel, Ruler and Judge of His
people. He considered the real priesthood to belong to the
individuals struggling towards a true knowledge of God, not
to an exclusive class, however highly he may have esteemed
the latter; finally, he borrowed from the order of the
Templars, at that time still flourishing and immaculate,
the poetical symbol of the ideal constitution of this
brotherhood.
This idea, plainly heretical from the Roman point of
view, necessarily implied that the Kingdom of the Grail,
which alone led to salvation, stood in quite as sharp a
contrast to Roman orthodox Christianity, as represented by
the existing visible Church, as it did to paganism ;J but it is
a fine trait in the poet that he is neither led away into open
* This is precisely what the dogmatic Christian writers have tried
to do by eliminating the Gnostic traces, and the yet more eastern
sources of the grand old tradition.
t This is the true Christian Brotherhood open to every Soul, the
Elect of Humanity, that " Communion of Saints " of which the Great
White Lodge is the sole earthly representative.
i Even San Marte, in spite of his frankly acknowledged change of
position, is still bound by the obsolete views about paganism.
THE HOLY GRAIL, l6l
polemic against the ruling Church nor into fanatical hostility
to Paganism. There is, therefore, small ground for astonish-
ment at the facts ' that no trace is to be found in the poem
of any subordination of the Templars to clergy or Pope,'
that Parzival attains to the kingdom of the Grail without
any ecclesiastical mediation, and that he did not gain the
crown of martyrdom in the conflict, as the fundamental
thought of the poet logically demanded.*
This fundamental thought, however, is not based on the
Dictatus Gregorii VII. nor on the saying of Innocent III.,
^ Papa vert Dei vicem gerit in terra,' but directly on the
Gospel and on the saying of the Apostle : ' But ye are a
chosen generation — a royal priesthood — a holy nation — a
peculiar people ; that ye should show forth the praises of
Him who hath called you out of darkness into His
marvellous light ' ; t which saying is repeated almost
literally in strophes 44 and 45 of Wolfram's Titurel-frag-
ments. It is, therefore, inadmissible to regard the Grail as
'a Christian relic,' to make it the representment of
the pre-cosmic genesis of Evil, and to speak of
' the spiritual side of the poem ' as ' weighed down
by the fetishism of the impersonal relic ' ; this view
could only arise through the introduction of evidence
regarding Lucifer's fall and the Holy Grail much
later than Wolfram's poem, or which — in the cases when
this [evidence] is earlier, he does not himself introduce, and
which, therefore, must be treated as non-existent in the
criticism of our poem. Wolfram makes no special allusion
to the dish of CsesareaJ used in the Lord's Supper, never
speaks of Joseph of Arimathea, nor does he mention the
* See Studies, I.e., pp. 30 et seq.
1 1 Peter, ii., 9, 10.
X The " dish of Caesarea " belongs to the other version, Joseph of
Arimathea, by Sires Robiers de Borron, which was " englisht" in 1450,
by Henry Lonelich. See The Grand St. Graal, from Furnivall's
edition. Early English Text Society. Trubner, 1874.
L
1 62 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
Stone of the Grail having been originally in the crown of
Lucifer ; on the contrary, according to him, it is the lapis
exilis,"^ the Stonef of the Lord, which at the beginning of all
things was with God.
The symbolism of man as a stone, is the idea that
is being expressed by the writer ; an ancient idea,
and one that is found in almost every religion.
There is one beautiful tradition connected with,
this legend of the Grail, supposed to have had its
origin in Great Britain, and therefore of peculiar
interest to us. It is said to have been inscribed in
the Chronicles of Helinandus, who was " well-known
at the time the Romance was written, not only as a
historian but as a Troubadour, at one time in high
favour at the Court of Philip Augustus, and in later
years as one of the most ardent preachers of the
Albigensian Crusade." J He lived aboiit 1229. The
passages here summarised are from Paulin Paris"
charming work ; the marvellous vision was revealed
to a hermit in Britain about 720, and runs thus :
On Holy Thursday of the year 717, after concluding;
* Writers vary in their spelling of the stone ; Lapis, Lapsit or
Jaspes, exilles, exiUxor, exillis, and other variants are given. Lapis:
Electrix is given by William Hertz in his Parzival, pp. i6o, 528.
Stuttgart, 1898. He draws attention to the fiery and life-giving-
properties of the stone. This to some students of Theosophy will be a
valuable suggestion.
t In the old symbolism, " Man," chiefly the Inner Spiritual Man,
is called a "stone." Christ is called a corner stone, and Peter refers to
all men as "lively" (living) stones. Blavatsky (H. P.), The Secret
Doctrine, ii. 663, 3rd edition. London, 1893.
J Evans (Sebastian), The High History of the Holy Grail, II.,
p. 293. London, 1898.
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 63
the office of the Tenebrae, I fell asleep, and presently
methought I heard in a piercing voice these words : —
" Awake ! Hearken to three in one, and to one in three ! "
I opened my eyes — I found myself surrounded by an
extraordinary brightness. Before me stood a man of most
marvellous beauty : " Hast thou rightly understood my
words ? " he said. " Sire, I should not dare to say so." " It is
the proclamation of the Trinity. Thou didst doubt whether
in the three Persons there were only one God, one only
Power. Canst thou now say who I am ? " " Sire, my eyes
are mortal ; Thy great brightness dazzles me, and the tongue
of man cannot give utterance to that which is above
humanity."
The Unknown bent towards me and breathed upon my
face. Thereupon my senses expanded, my mouth was
filled with infinity of speech. But when I would fain have
spoken I thought I saw bursting forth from my lips a
fiery brand which checked the first words I would have
uttered.
" Take courage," said the Unknown to me ; " I am the
source of all truth, the fount of all wisdom. I am the
Great Master, he of whom Nicodemus said : ' We know
that thou art God.' I come, after confirming thy faith, to
reveal to thee the greatest secret in the world."
He then held out to me a book which could easily have
been held in the hollow of the hand ; " I entrust to you,"
he said, "the greatest marvel that man can ever receive.
This is a book written by my own hand, which must be
read with the heart, no mortal tongue being able to
pronounce the words without affecting the four elements,
troubling the heavens, disturbing the air, rending the earth,
and changing the colour of the waters. For every man
who shall open it with a pure heart, it is the joy of both
body and soul, and whosoever shall see it need have no fear
of sudden death, whatever be the enormity of his sins."
The great light that I had already found so hard to
1 64 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
endure then increased until I was blinded by it. I fell,
unconscious, and when I felt my senses returning, I no
longer saw anything around me, and I should have taken
what I had just experienced for a dream, had I not still
found in my hand the book that the Great Master had
given me. I then arose, filled with sweet joy ; I said my
prayers, then I looked at the book, and found as its first
title : This is the beginning of thy lineage. After reading until
Prime,* it seemed to me that I had only just begun, so
many letters were there in these small pages. I read on
again until Tierce, and continued to follow the steps of my
lineage, and the record of the good life of my predecessors.
Beside them, I was but the shadow of a man, so far was
I from equalling them in virtue. Continuing the book,
I read : Here beginneth the Holy Grail. Then, the third
heading : This is the beginning of Fears. Then, a fourth
heading : This is the beginning of Wonders. A flash of
lightning blazed before my eyes, followed by a clap of
thunder. The light continued, I could bear its dazzling
brightness no longer, and a second time I fell unconscious.
How long I remained thus I do not know. When
I arose, I found myself in profound darkness. Little by
little, daylight returned, the sun resumed its brightness, I
felt myself pervaded by the most delicious scents, I heard
the sweetest songs that I had ever listened to ; the voices
from which they proceeded seemed to touch me, but I
neither saw them nor could I reach them. They praised
Our Lord, and repeated : Honour and glory to the
Vanquisher of death, to the source of life eternal.
Having repeated these words eight times, the voices
ceased; I heard a great rustling of wings, succeeded by
perfect silence ; nothing remained but the perfumes whose
sweetness entered into me.
* Six o'clock in the morning. Tierce corresponds to 9 ; Sexte,
Nones, and Vespers to noon, 3 o'clock and 6 o'clock.
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 65
The hour of Nones came, and I thought myself yet at
the earliest dawn. Then I closed the book and commenced
the service for Good Friday. We do not consecrate on this
day, because our Lord chose it for His death. In presence
of the reality one should not have recourse to symbol ; and
if we consecrate on other days, it is in commemoration of
the real Sacrifice of the Friday.*
As I was preparing to receive my Saviour, and had
already divided the bread into three portions, an angel came,
took hold of my hands and said to me : " Thou must not
make use of these portions until thou hast beheld what I am
about to show thee.'' Then he raised me into the air, not
in the body but in the spirit, and transported me to a place
where I was immersed in a joy such as no tongue could tell,
no ear could hear, no heart could feel. I should speak no
untruth in saying that I was in the third heaven, whither
St. Paul was caught up ; but that I be not accused of vanity
I will merely say that there was revealed to me the great
secret which, according to St. Paul, no human speech could
utter. The angel said to me : " Thou hast seen great
wonders, prepare thyself to see still greater." He carried
me higher yet, into a place a hundred times clearer than
glass, and a hundred times more brilliant in colouring.
There I had a vision of the Trinity, of the distinction
between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and of
their union in one and the same form, one and the same
Deity, one and the same power. Let not the envious here
reproach me with going against the authority of St. John
the Evangelist, in that he has told us that mortal eyes never
will or can behold the Eternal Father, for St. John meant
the bodily eyes, whereas the soul can see, when it is
* " For where the truth is, the symbol should be put in the back-
ground. On other days we consecrate in remembrance of his being
sacrificed. But on that day of Good Friday he was veritably sacrificed ;
for there is no meaning whatever in it when the day comes on which he
was actually sacrificed."
l66 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
separated from the body, that which the body would
prevent it from perceiving.
While I was thus contemplating I felt the firmament
trembling at the sound of the loudest thunder. An infinite
number of heavenly Virtues surrounded the Trinity, then
fell down as if in a swoon. The angel then took me and
brought me back to the place whence he had taken me.
Before restoring its ordinary covering to my soul, he asked
me if I had beheld great marvels. " Ah ! " I replied, " so
great that no tongue could recount them." " Then resume
thy body, and now that thou hast no longer any doubts as
to the Trinity, go, and receive worthily Him whom thou
hast learnt to know."
The hermit, thus restored to the possession of his body,
no longer saw the angel, but only the book, which he read
after he had communicated, and which he laid in the
reliquary where was kept the box for the consecrated wafers.
He locked the coffer, returned to his binnacle, and would
not touch the book again until after he had chanted the
Easter service. But what were his astonishment and grief
when, after the office, he opened the reliquary and found
that it was no longer there, though the opening had never
been unclosed ! Presently a voice spoke these words to
him : " Wherefore be surprised that thy book is no longer
where thou didst lay it ? Did not God come forth from the
sepulchre without removing the stone from it ? Hearken
to what the Great Master doth command thee ! To-morrow
morning, after chanting- mass, thou shalt break thy fast, and
then thou shalt take the path leading to the high road.
This road will lead thee to that of the Prise, near the
Perron. Thou shalt turn a little aside and take the path
towards the right which leads to the cross-roads of the
Eight Paths, in the plain of Valestoc. On reaching the
Fountain of Tears, where the great slaughter formerly took
place, thou wilt find a strange beast commissioned to be
thy guide. When thy eyes lose sight of him, thou wilt
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 67
enter into the land of Norgave* and that will be the end
of thy quest, t
This vision is perhaps one of the most spiritual
expressions of the Grail legend that can be found,
and whoever the hermit was to whom the angel came,
or the chronicler who wrote the vision down, the
imagination of the person was pure and holy, and the
teaching has the ring in it of a high and holy truth.
Yet one more version of this many-leaved book
must we glance at before passing on. We have seen
the Gnostic Eastern tradition, and the purely
Christian, now must be seen the Druidic, or the
so-called pagan tradition. Mr. Gould says that there
exists a " Red Book," a volume of Welsh prose begun
1318 and finished in 1454, which contains "a Welsh
tale entitled Pheredur, which is indisputably the
original of Perceval." This book is preserved in the
library of Jesus College, Oxford.
Pheredur is mentioned as well in the Annales
CambricB, which extend from the year 444 to 1066.
Mr. Gould says :
Pheredur is not a Christian. His habits are barbarous.
The Grail is not a sacred Christian vessel, but a mysterious
relic of a past heathen rite.
Taliesin ben Beirdd, the famous poet says: "This
vessel inspires poetic genius, gives wisdom, discovers the
* I have not discovered a trace of any of these names of places ;
I am much inclined to think them disguised.
t Paris (A. Paulin), Romans de la Table Ronde, i., pp. 156-162.
Paris, 1868.
1 68 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
knowledge of futurity, the mysteries of the world, the whol^
treasure of human sciences."
That this vessel of the liquor of Wisdom held a
prominent place in British mythology is certain from the
allusions made to it by the bards. Taliesin, in the descrip-
tion of this initiation into the mysteries of the basin, cries
out, " I have lost my speech ! " because on all who had been
admitted to the privileges of full membership secrecy was
imposed. This initiation was regarded as a new birth ; and
those who had once become joined members were regarded
as elect, regenerate, separate from the rest of mankind, who
lay in darkness and ignorance.
This Druidic mystery was adapted to Christianity by a
British hermit a.d. 720. . . . It is likely that the
tradition of the ancient druidic brotherhood lingered on and
gained consistency again among the Templars. Just as the
Miles Templi fought for the holy sepulchre, so did the
soldier of Montsalvatsch for the Holy Grail. Both orders
were vowed to chastity and obedience, both were subject
to ahead, who exercised regal authority.*
One more link with the ancient Wisdom Religion
is forged for us by another author, one perhaps more
sympatheticf and he connects the Grail-cult with that
Gnostic body named " Mendaeens '' or the " Christians
of St. John " ;| this is a point of extreme interest to
* Baring-Gould (S), Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, pp. 617,
622-3-4. London, 1881.
+ Simrock (R., jr.), Parzival und Titurel, p. 776. Stuttgart und
Augsberg, 1857.
t See Blunt (J. H.), Dictionary of Sects and Heresies, p. 309.
London, 1874. He says: "An ancient Eastern Sect found in Persia
and Arabia, but chiefly at Bussara . . . who profess to be Mendai-
Ijahi or disciples of St. John the Baptist ! They are called ' Christians
of St. John ' by many European writers, and Sabians or Tzabians by the
Mahometans. "
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 69
Students of Theosophy, for it makes a direct con-
nection between the legend of the Holy Grail and the
" Order of the Knights Templars," who were so closely
allied with this body.
Mackenzie,* moreover, includes the "Johannite
Christians," as he terms them, among other bodies
connected with Masonry, and indeed many of the
Masonic Lodges were dedicated to St. John the
Baptist, and looked on him as their patron saint.
Simrock builds his theory on the solid fact that Prester
John, a mysterious Priest-King of the East (with
whom we shall deal next time), was himself a leader
of one of the Gnostic Sects, a heretic of course ; but,
as the author points out, the Grail Legend is too
intimately interwoven with him for him to be left out.
It is to Indiaf indeed, that the Grail goes when the
western world becomes too cold for worship, too dead
for ideals to stir it to a higher life.
* Mackenzie (R. R. H.), The Royal Masonic Cyclopadia, p. 386.
New York, 1877.
t Weston (Jessie L.), Parzifal, ii., notes 184, line 589, p. 223.
"The belief in a Christian Kingdom in the East, ruled over by a king
who was at the same time a priest, was very widely spread in the
middle ages, but it is very curious to find it thus connected with the Grail
Legend. Simrock takes this connection to be a confirmation of his theory,
that the Grail Myth was originally closely connected with St. John the
Baptist. According to Der Jiingere Titurel, a poem which, professedly
written by Wolfram and long supposed to be his, is now known to be
the work of a certain Albert von Scharffenberg, the Grail, with its
guardians, Parzival, Lohengrin, Konwiramur, and all the Templars,
eventually left Monsalvasch and found a home in the domains of
Prester John, but the story seems to be due rather to the imagination of
the writer than to any real legendary source."
THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM OF
THE HOLY GRAIL.
PART III.
II.
The History of Titurel.
The fairest of old men ancient whom ever his eyes had seen,
Grey was he as mists of morning.
Parzifal, i. 137, by Jessie Weston.
Apd the Grail, it chooseth strictly, and its Knights must be
chaste and '^vx&.—Ibid., i. 283.
To the founding of the Palace Spiritual, and to
Titurel, the noble ancestor of the Grail-Kings, our
attention must now be turned. Many and varied are
the versions which may be found of the history of
this Grail-Race, and each interpretation of its
traditional history differs according to the writer's
sympathy with and comprehension of the mystical
history of the human family. Few and far between
are those clear-sighted critics who recognise, in this
fascinating tradition of Oriental generation, a link
which relates the outer life of man to its hidden basis,
and sets forth the type of an ideal life which had its
THE HOLY GRAIL. I7I
inception on this earth when the " Sons of God " still
trod its paths, and the " Children of the Fire-mist "
had not withdrawn from the outer world, but yet
dwelt among the children of men.
From the despised mental dust-bins of the " Dark
Middle Ages" — as they are termed — precious gems of
rarest literary worth are being disinterred, of quality
so pure, with richness so wondrous, that the geniuses
of the 19th century show poor and forlorn when
measured by the power and mental strength of their
predecessors of that despised time. No peers are the
modern poets of those noble singers who created the
chivalric virtues in the hearts of the men and women
of their time, and who sent their burning words
ringing through the centuries fraught with love ideals
both pure and true, and religious fervour at once self-
sacrificing and humble. Their ideals of noble man-
hood and pure womanhood are still the ideals of the
present time, for the " Legend of the Holy Grail " is
yet potent, nor can time destroy its " infinite variety."
Titurel, the Perfected One, who
Like a flying star
Led on the gray-haired Wisdom of the East,
is in modern days deemed to be but the poetical
creation of a more than usually fertile -brained
troubadour of the Middle Ages ; but it is the
chronicle of this first spotless Grail-King which must
now be studied, for he was the type of the model
ruler, pure in life, just in action, living for his people,
172 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
with his heart set on a higher kingdom than his
earthly realm.
The most detailed description of the descent and
genealogy of Titurel that we can briefly summarise is
given by a group of German authors* in a careful and
laborious study of the " Jiingere,"f which runs as
follows : Among the princes who gathered round
Vespasian at the siege of Jerusalem were Sennabor, a
Prince of CappadociaJ and his three sons, Parille,
Azubar and Sabbilar. After the fall of the city
these three brothers went to Rome, and were
overwhelmed with gracious gifts by the Emperor.
Parille received his daughter Argusilla § for wife,
and some provinces in France were also given to
him. To the brothers Azubar and Sabbilar were
given Anschowe (Anjou) and Kornwaleis (Cornwall).
To Parille and Argusilla was born a son whom they
* Hagen (Dr. H. von der), Docen (B. J.), Busching (J. G.),
Museum fur Altdeutsche Literatur und Kunst, i. , 502 et seq. Berlin,
1809.
t Scharffenberg (Albrecht von), Der Jiingere Titurel ; circa 1270.
Vilmar (A. F. C. ), Geschichte der deutschen National-Literatur, i, 147.
Marburg u. Leipzig, 1870.
t Cappadocia was at this time a Roman Province. Sennabor is
rendered by some authorities as "Senbar." Says San Marte : "The
first forerunners of Christianity in the West were demigods ; and in
Asia is rooted the main stem of the Senaboriden. (B6readen) Senebar
der Reiche — Senber, in Arabic a sage — he came from Cappadocia, from
the Caucasus, and Colchis, whence Odin also brought his bloody
worship." See "Der Mythus vom Heiligen Oral" in the Neue
Mittheilungen aus dem Gebiet historisck antiquarischer Forschungen.
Herausgegeben von dem Thuringisch-Sachsichen Verein fUr Erforschung
des vaterlandischen Alterthums, III., iii., 5.
§ Sometimes given as Orgusille.
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 73
named Titurisone, who became the stem of the Grail-
Race. Parille tried to reform and Christianise his
pagan provinces, which had fallen into degraded
superstitions, but he was poisoned by the people and
Titurisone reigned in his place.
He married Elizabel of Arragonia, and the royal
couple went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. There
it was they received the prophecy about the great
future of the son who should be born to them. He
was to be under the special protection of God,
and he would be dowered with great gifts. His
name was to be formed from those of his father and
mother ; thus Titurel was he called, which includes
a part of Titurisone and Elizabel. He grew in grace
and in " favour with God and man." In him was
embodied the true type of the ideal Knight, noble,
pure, tender and chivalrous. Such was Titurel,
the first Grail-King ; and — say some accounts —
he conquered the rebellious heathen of Auvergne
and Navarre, with the help of the Proven5als, and
the people of Aries and Lotheringen. These com-
bined forces — so runs the tradition — conquered the
Saracenic union, and put down the degraded remnants
of the old Druidical worship. It was after these long
struggles were completed that Titurel was bidden to
prepare and build the Temple for the reception of
the Holy Grail — that perfect treasure which was to
be entrusted to his charge. Amongst the " powers "
and "gifts" with which Titurel was dowered was that
of " length of days," for when the temple was builded,
174 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
and he was commanded to marry, in order that the
Grail-Race might be continued, Titurel had reached
four hundred years of age. The site where the Sacred
Shrine, or Grail -Temple, was to be founded was
shown to him by an angel-guide ; so carefully
secluded was the spot, that it could not be discovered
but by the aid of a higher Power.
It is without doubt on the far side of Pyrenees*
that we find this legend most deeply engrafted,
though the name of its abiding place is differently
rendered by various writers. Thus the name Mon
Salvdsch^ or Mont Salvat, may from its wild and
inaccessible position only mean the uncultivated
mountain, Mont Salvatge or Sauvage. It is said
that between Navarre and Arragon there is still a
place named Salvaterra.
The site of the Temple was shown to Titurel, and
the " Invisible Helpers " brought him materials for
the building ; the description is marvellously elabor-
ate, full of symbolical detail, | entirely oriental in its
whole construction, both material and ideal, but it
cannot here be given, as our sketch is limited to
* Says Gorres : "The Temple of Mont Salvatsck stands in Salva-
tierra, and not as people thought in distant Gallizein, but in Arragonia
just at the entrance into Spain, and close to the Valley of Ronceval and
the great road which leads from France towards Gallicia and Cotn-
postella." — Lohengrin. Koblentz, 1812.
+ Sometimes called San- Salvador, or Salvez.
X See Boisser^e (Sulpiz), Uber die Besckreibung des Heiligen Grab.
Munich, 1834. Also Transactions of the Munich Academy, i. 30. The
description is in the Jiingere Titurel, edited by Hahn, strophe 311,
1842. San Marte (A. Schulz), Leben und Dichten Wolfram's von
Eschenbach, ii., 357. Magdeburg, 1836.
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 75
Titurel himself. When the building of the Temple
was completed he was four hundred years old, but
such was the power of the Holy Grail that he looked
— says the tradition — only forty. And now he
gathered around himself that goodly company of
knights— the Knights of the Temple Holy— and
gradually their influence and their power spread into
other lands ; first Arragon and then Navarre were
drawn to this spiritual society, then followed
Catalonia, Grenada and Gallicia ; the chief town
of this great alliance was concealed in the forests
on the boundaries between Navarre and Arragon,
on the ridge of the Pyrenees. The centre of the
spiritual supremacy of the new faith reached from
Gallicia beyond Provence, towards Burgundy and
Lorraine. All of this was done during the four
hundred years of Titurel's reign. San Marte speaks
of it as a " similar institution to that which existed in
the Pythagorean Alliance."
The Sacred Grail was enshrined in the Temple,
and the instructions to the King and his knights
appeared on its surface, remained there for a while,
then faded slowly away. And now was given the
order for Titurel to marry, and the wife chosen for
him was Richonde, a maiden consecrated to God.
Her father's name was Frimutelle, a king of a
Spanish province ; messengers were sent to her,
and she came to Mon Salvatsch accompanied by
a great suite of maidens and of warriors,
all of whom returned to Spain except those
176 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
whom the Grail ordered to remain. Titurel
had to select two hundred knights from amongst
those who came ; moral qualifications alone fitted
them to enter the service of the Grail. Two children
were born to Titurel. His son Frimutel, who married
the daughter of the King of Grenat, became the next
Grail-King, and they had five children — Amfortas,
who succeeded him as Grail-King ; Herzeloide, the
mother of Parzival ; Treverizent, the hermit ; Tchoy-
siane, and Urepanse. This was the male line. The
daughter of Titurel married Kailet, King of Spain,
the capital of which was, at this time, Toledo, and
this marriage connected the Kings of Spain with the
Kings of the Grail-Race. It must be remembered
that it was at Toledo that the manuscript on the
Holy Grail legend was found by Flegetanis, the
contents of which gave the Eastern sources of this
tradition.
By daily contemplation of the Grail Titurel's life*
had been prolonged for five hundred years, and when
he knew his forces were beginning to fail him, he
gathered his children round him to instruct them on
the spiritual significance of the Holy Grail.
Thus he taught : no one may ever see the Grail
but the elect ; those who do not live a holy life, and
guard themselves in purity and from all strife, are not
fit to gaze upon that holiness ; no tongue may ever
tell the Grail's true form.
* In Persian history the life ofjemshad was extended to nearly
seven centuries from a similar cause.
THE HOLY GRAIL. 177
Titurel also instructed his knights as to the inner
meaning of the symbols and ceremonial they used,
particularly the spiritual significance and power of the
twelve precious stones. He sorrowed that his son
Frimutelle had not been " called " by the Grail
to be the Grail-King. Shortly after this, we are
told, the name of Frimutelle appeared on the
Grail, and then followed the names of the Knights
who were to enter the Grail service. Titurel
was also warned that his son, and his grandson,
Amfortas, would suffer bodily injuries, as the result
of their ungoverned natures. Finally, Titurel died
in India, more than five hundred years old.* Of
his journey thither we know nothing, but the
tradition runs, that there is a " waiting place,"-f-
whence the return of these knightly souls is expected,
in that region of peace, where they dwell and watch
over the human race. Thus passes the Founder of
the Grail-Kingship from our immediate view ; he had
but to strike the keynote of a higher purity and a
nobler manhood, and his work in the material world
of that period ended.
He still holds, we are told, communication with the
* One of the few definite dates is given to us by Gorres in his
Lohengi-in, p. Ixiii. where, speaking of Lohengrin's death, he says :
" It was known now to the murderers who this Prince was ....
they became monks . . . these events took place five hundred
years after the birth of Jesus Christ."
tHere we have a clear and most definite hint given that the
doctrine of re-incarnation was taught by this Troubadour, who is hand-
ing down the Secret Wisdom of the Holy Grail.
M
178 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
world, and occasionally despatches a faithful champion to
grant assistance in cases of momentous need. There also
the Grail maintains the sanctity of its character, and
becomes at once the register of human grievances and
necessities, and the interpreter of the will of heaven as to
the best mode of redressing them.
Immense stress is laid on the necessity for a
perfect purity, but so corrupt did the court grow, that
at one time only the infant children of Perceval and
Lancelot, and the daughter of Gawain, v/ere con-
sidered worthy to step within the sacred shrine.
Warton speaks quite frankly in his book of
"esoteric doctrines" which belonged to the "heathen
world" (sic), and which have been transplanted into
Christendom, a new name having therein been given
to the old teachings of the East.*
But we must pass on to the other aspects of this
legend, and one of the most curious is the connection
traced by many authors between the Holy Grail and
the traditions of the Knights Templars.f
* Warton (Thomas, B.D.), T/te History of English Poetry, i., 85,
London, 1824.
t " Le Temple du Graal une fois bati dans les Pyrte^es, Titurel
institua pour sa defense et pour sa garde une milice, une Chevalerie
sp^ciale, qui se nomme la Chevalerie du Temple, et dont les membres
prennent le nom de Templiens, ou de Templiers. Ces Chevaliers font
voeu de chastet6, et sont tenus ^ une grande puret6 de sentimens et de
.conduite. L'objet de leur vie, c'est de d^fendre le Graal, ou pour
mieux dire, la foi chr^tienne, dont ce vase est le symbole, contre les
infidHes. Je I'ai d^ji insinu^, et je puis ici I'affirmer express^ment, il y
, a dans cette milice religieuse du Graal une allusion manifeste i. la milice
des Templiers. Le but, le caract^re religieux, le nom, tout se rapporte
entre cette derni^re Chevalerie et la Chevalerie id^ale du Graal : et I'on
THE HOLY GRAIL. I79
Aroux, is very definite on this point :
"It must be acknowledged," says he, "that the romances
of the Sangreal (the legend of which is borrowed from the
Apocryphal Gospels) composed, according to an essentially
Albigensian idea, in glorification of the Templars, mark the
period when the poets of the South felt the need of pro-
curing auxiliaries in the North."*
It is Aroux to whom we are chiefly indebted for
the secret thread which guides us through much of
the tangled maze of the struggles of the mystics
during the Middle Ages. He points out that the
Holy Grail was a mystic Gospelf as well as the Holy
Chalice, containing a mysterious power. Another
GermanJ thinker connects the legend of Titurel with
the origin of the Masonic Orders, and the early
Ritter-Orden in Germany. It is Herr Doctor Simrock
who has given us much detail with regard to the
tradition of the Holy Grail and its connection with
the " Order of the Knights Templars " ; it is his view,
and that of other serious students, that that Holy
Grail tradition, which is termed by Aroux the " book
of the Gospels," was in reality the Secret Doctrine of
the Templars, for which they suffered so bitterly.
a quelque peine a comprendre la fiction de celle-ci, si I'on fait abstraction
de ['existence r^elle de I'autre." Fauriel (C), " Romans Proven9aux,"
Revue des Deux Mondes ; Premiere sitie, viii. 185. Paris, 1832.
* Aroux (E.), La Comidie de Dante, i. 39. Paris, 1857.
t Aroux (E.), Les Mystires de la Chevalerie, p. 166. Paris, 1858.
X Rosenkranz (Karl), Doctor der Philosophie, zu Halle. Uber den
Titurel und Dante's Komodie mit eitur Vorerinnerung iiber die
Bildung der Geistlicken Ritter-Orden, pp. 52-7°- Halle a. Leipzig,
1829.
l8o MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
Founded in 1118 on the base of the old Society of
the Magian Brothers, drawn together by the same
guiding powers, the Templars did but develop the
ideal seed which Titurel had sown. Let us see what
Simrock says on these points.
It seems our duty to bring forward here that which has
already been shown to hold good as regards this view.
Fauriel, who finds in the Templeisenthum — or the Knight-
hood of the Grail — that there is only a play on the Knights
Templars, appeals to the evidence given by the power and
the riches which that Order had already obtained in
Southern France and the South-East of Spain, but
especially in the Pyrenees, where since the founding of the
Temple-lands as the first in Europe, 'by Roger III. Graf von
Foix, castles, churches, temples, and chapels had rapidly
increased. San Marte lays stress on the agreement of the
name as well as on the different rules and customs of the
Order which coincided [with those of the Grail] : for
instance the Templars at the Lord's Supper, diverging from
the Roman Liturgy, made use of the opening words of the
Gospel of St. John, which change also occurs at the baptism
of Feirefis ■* but he bases his arguments chiefly upon the
heresies of which the Templars are known to have been
accused : the worship of certain idols .... their
belief in spirits and demons, which recall the " Heavenly
Host " [around the Grail] — angels who, according to
Trevrezent's statement had to serve the Grail as they
* Baptism had a much deeper meaning among the Gnostic sects
than among the orthodox church people. A " true baptism is only that
which takes place in the living water ; " and again, speaking of S. John
the Baptist, " He . . . baptised with the living baptism and
named the Name of Iiife." Brandt (A. J. H. W.), Die Manddische
Religion, ihre Entwickelung und Geschichtliche Bedeuiung, pp. 98 and
100. Leipzig, 1889. It was an Initiation into the Real Mysteries,
and is so still.
THE HOLY GRAIL. l8l
hovered around it. The fact remains, however undecided
[to San Marte] whether the accusers took their incriminating
charges from the Romances of the Grail, or from the scraps
which had been pubUshed of the real teachings of the
Templars.* Other authorities t think that by these
Templeisen are to be understood the Knights of San
Salvador de Mont Real, who were, however, founded at
a much later date, in the year 1120. Another Knightly
* Simrock (K. Dr.), Parzi/al und Titurel, Rittergedichte von
Wolfram von Eschenbach, p. 793, third edition. Stuttgart 11. Augsburg,
1857.
t Hagen (Dr. H. von der), Docen (B. J.), Busching (J. G.),
Museum fiir Altdeutsche Literatur und Kutist ; i., 507. Berlin, 1809.
Shallow J. (J. Y. A. Morshead), The Templet's Trials, p. 62. London,
1888. " M. Loiseleur considers that the Temple compiled its heresy
from the principles of three contemporary sects — Bogomiles, Euchetes,
Luciferians. The actual history of these sects, however, rather gives
one the impression that each was suggested to some heresiarch by some
particular phase of that Manichaean feeling which always existed in
Bulgaria or Asia Minor." Mignard (Monographic du Coffret de M. le
Due de Blacas, Paris, 1852), proves that the Templars were Cathari —
another name for Albigenses — who believed in the doctrine of reincar-
nation. Says Aroux : " How did Walther of Aquitaine, how did the
romance of Perceval, the Perfect Knight of the Saint-Graal, accurately
translated by a Templar — Wolfram vpn Eschenbach, after the poem of
the Troubadour Guiot — become transplanted into Germany, if the
Proven9al missionaries had no relations with that country, if their
romances, their symbols were not understood there ? . . . . Who
but themselves and their disciples conveyed thither the ideas and
romances of chivalry, and by turning to account the national
traditions, worked on the foundation of the ancient sagas and im-
pressed on the modern ones the very visible stamp of Albigensianism ?
Traces are again to be found not only in Europe, but even as far as
Asia. True Knights errant of the Church Militant, in open war (but
more often war secret and hidden) with Roman Catholicism, they
journeyed unceasingly .... sometimes they went as bearers of
secret messages or were charged with transmitting verbally important
information from Prince to Prince." Thus was the secret mystical
teaching preserved through the dark ages. Aroux (E.), Mysth-es de la
Chevalerie, p. 189. Paris, 1858.
1 82 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
Order was founded at this period, who wore a "five-
pointed star " upon their breasts ; they were the
Knights of Monfrac in Castille and Knights of Mongoia,
on Mont Gaudii in Catalonia. There had, moreover, been a
close connection between the Order of the Templars and
the House of Anjou, for a tax on his dominions for the
benefit of the Templars had been imposed by Fulk. V. of
Anjou, on his return from Jerusalem in 1120. It is, how-
ever the learned Baron von Hammer-Purgestall* who gives
the most detail on the connection of the Templars with the
Holy Grail, by tracing its history from the identity of
hieroglyphs which he found on the old churches and buildings
in the Danubian Provinces. He unfortunately is for ever
trying to find the most unsavoury interpretation for all the
ancient symbolism ; with his views we are not concerned,
but to the work of research which he carried on with such
ability we are profoundly indebted. His statement is very
decided, for on p. 88, in note 33, of his article, he says :
The whole poem T8 Titurel, is nothing but the allegory of
the Society and the doctrines of the Templars.
Upon these details we cannot dwell, for we must
trace the passing of the Holy Grail to India, and this
will bring to view another mysterious personage, whose
name was Prestre John — a man about whom legends
were rife in both East and West during . the early
Middle Ages. Colonel Yule speaks of his history as
* Hammer-Purgestall (J. Baron von), " Mysterium Baphometis
Revelatum ; seu ftatres militise Templi, quS Gnostici et quidem ophiani,
apostasiee, idololatrise et quidem impuritatis convicti per ipsa eorum
monumenta." See Fundgruben des Orients, vi. p. 3. Vienna, 1818.
Nell (M. von) writing on Hammer's " Baphometum," says that Hammer^
insists that the Cup of the Holy Graal is Gnostic, and of the same set as
the Baphometo of the Templars, which all have Gnostic-Ophite
symbols on them. But Nell says they are theosophical and alchemical :
in both cases these authors trace the Grail legend to hereticail sects,
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 83
" that of a phantom taking many forms."* The
so-called apostate Nestorians, and the personage
called Presbyter Johannes, appear to have been
Manichaean Buddhists ; the country of Prestre John
was Indian Tartary, and the real Prestre John was
the Grand Lama, the incarnation of Wisdom or
Gnyana.f Every authority joins in admitting that
there was some mysterious and powerful individual of
this name, some identifying him with Gengis-Khan.J
* Yule (Col.) : see sub voce, Encyclo. Brit.
" Prestre John " seems to have been the title of an office, for the
periods of time at which we hear of this curious person are various.
The person who succeeded to the position took the designation Prestre
John.
t Sir John Maundeville, an old knight, writing in the fourteenth
century, relates (Cassell's National Library, TAe V^ages and Travels
of Sir John Maundeville, p. 169) the following: "This Emperor
Prester John takes always to wife the daughter of the great Chan, and
the great Chan also in the same wise the daughter of Prester John.
For they two are the greatest lords under the firmament. . . . And
Prester John has under him Seventy-two provinces, and in every
province is a king, all which kings are tributary to Prester John, and in
his lordships are many great marvels, for in his country is the sea called
the Gravelly Sea. . . . Three days from that sea are great
mountains, out of which runs a great river which comes from Paradise,
and it is full of precious stones without a drop of water. . . .
Beyond that river is a great plain, and in that plain every day at sunrise
small trees begin to grow, and they grow till midday, bearing fruit ;
but no man dare take of that fruit, for it is a thing of fairie. . . .
This Emperor Prester John when he goes to battle against any other
lord has no banners borne before him, but he has three large crosses of
gold full of precious stones, and each cross is set in a chariot full richly
arrayed. . . . And when he has no war but rides with a private
company, he has before him but one plain cross of wood, in remem-
brance that Jesus Christ suffered death upon a wooden cross. And
they carry before him also a platter of gold full of earth, in token that
his nobleness and his might and his flesh shall turn to earth. And he
has borne before him also a vessel of silver, full of noble jewels of gold
184 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
We must now return to the Grail Legend and
trace the connection which is therein made between
this cryptic entity and that tradition.
" The passage of the Grail to India," says San Marte,
"and the transformation of Parzival into Prestre John is
important for us to notice; according to the version of
Wolfram, this curious and interesting person is the son
of Urepanse,* hence a cousin of Parzival ; no details are
given to us about this mysterious personage, whose
existence, however, cannot be denied. The Monk Wilhelm
von Rubruquisjt passing through the East about 1253, told
of a ruler in the northern regions of India, in 1057, called
Ken-Khan. The Turks sought his help against the Chris-
tians. The Nestorians called him King Johannes. Interior
Asia was peopled by numerous sects ; besides the Nestorians
were the Jacobites, Monophysites, and the Zaboer or
Johannes Christians. All travellers of the thirteenth
and precious stones, in token of his lordship, nobility and power . . .
the frame of his bed is of fine sapphires, blended with gold to make him
sleep well. This Emperor Prester John has evermore seven kings with
him to serve him, who share their service by certain months. "
* Urepanse was one of the grand-daughters of Titurel.
t In the account of the travels of Rubruquis, in the Geography of
the Middle Ages, Book III., p. 270, London, 1831, we read : "There is
reason to believe that the Nestorians had penetrated into China as early
as the sixth or seventh century, and carried into that kingdom the
civilisation of the Bactrian Greeks." Rubruquis says, that in his time
they "inhabited fifteen cities in Cathay. . . . The Nestorians of
Tartary had imbibed the specious doctrine of the transmigration of
souls." They then told him of a child about three years old who could
write and reason, and who stated " that he had passed through three
several bodies." William de Rubruquis — or more properly. Van Ruys-
broek — was a Minorite Friar, from a village of that name near Brussels.
He started on his travels in 1253. He also said (p. 273), "that he had
been told by Baldwin de Hainault at Constantinople some facts about
the direction of the rivers in Tartary which he afterwards found to be
true."
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 85
century speak of a widely-spread Christianity in the East,
and the information thereof may have come to the West
with the first crusade — confused with vague intelligence
about the Hierarchy of the Dalai Lama, of whom Kiot
may have heard."*
Writing on the " Disciples of St. John," Madame
Blavatskyf says :
Glancing rapidly at the Ophites and Nazareans, we
shall pass to their scions which yet exist in Syria and
Palestine, under the name of Druzes of Mount Lebanon ;
and near Basra or Bassorah, in Persia, under that of
Mendaeans, or Disciples of St. John. All these sects have
an immediate connection with our subject, for they are of
kabalistic parentage and have once held to the secret
"Wisdom-Religion," recognizing as the One Supreme, the
Mystery-God of the Ineffable Name. Noticing these
numerous secret societies of the past, we will bring them
into direct comparison with several of the modern.
Our object is not to write the history of either of them ;
but only to compare these sorely-abused communities with
the Christian sects, past and present, and then, taking
historical facts for our guidance, to defend the secret
science as well as the men who are its students and
champions against any unjust imputation.
One by one the tide of time engulfed the sects of the
early centuries, until of the whole number only one sur-
vived in its primitive integrity. That one still exists, still
teaches the doctrine of its founder, still exemplifies its faith
in works of power. The quicksands which swallowed up
every other outgrowth of the religious agitation of the times
* Neue Mittheilungen aus dem Gebietc Historisch- Antiqttarischer
Forschungen, ii. 36.
t Blavatsky (H. P.), Isis Unveiled, ii. ; pp. 289, 290. New York,
1884.
1 86 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
of Jesus, with its records, relics, and traditions, proved
firm ground for this. Driven from their native land, its
members found refuge in Persia, and to-day the anxious
traveller may converse with the direct descendants of the
" Disciples of John," who listened, on the Jordan's shore,
to the " man sent from God," and were baptized and
believed. This curious people, numbering thirty thousand
or more, are mis-called "Christians of St. John," but, in
fact, should be known by their old name of Nazareans, or
their new one of Mendaeans.
The poem entitled Der Jungere Titurel* deals
most minutely with the passing of the Grail-Kings to
the realms of Prestre John ; and in this work it is not
Parzival around whom the chief interest is grouped,
but Titurel and his race, as they follow the Founder ;
then — when the darkening of the spiritual fervour
begins, and the falling away from the standard of
purity grows more general — then with prayer and
fasting do the few sorrowing knightly souls, the
Templeisen, make preparations to return to that East
whence had come their early inspiration. Led by
Parzival they pass from West to East. The
description of the kingdom of Prestre John far
surpasses, however, in splendour that of the Holy
Grail. There, we are told, the whole of nature is
sanctified ; it is a land free from crime, perfidy,
scoffing, and lack of faith.
Prestre John is described as a man holy before
God and man, perfect in virtue, and glorified with
* Scharffenberg (A. von), Der Jungere Titurel, 1270, line 5893
et seq.
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 87
humility : he gives honour to Parzival, who comes
bringing the Holy Grail to its Indian home, and the
Priest-King of that land offers his crown and kingdom
to the king of the Grail-Race ; Parzival desires, in his
humility, to give himself to the service of Prestre
John, and finally it is the Grail which decides the
noble strife of these two great souls. The decree was
given that Parzival should accept the kingship, but
his name was to be changed into that of Prestre John.
Then was fulfilled a prophecy, formerly made by
an angel, that Prestre John should receive a son who
should be a more powerful ruler than himself But it
was also decreed that Parzival should only wear the
crown for ten years, since he was not entirely purified
from the sin that his mother, Herzeloide, had died of
grief for him. As San Marte* points out, the sin
was entirely unintentional on his part ; nevertheless,
it was still unexpiated and stained that spotless-
purity of a perfect life which was demanded of every
knight who entered the service of the Holy Grail.
Thus it appears that even a more perfect condition
was required in the office of the Priest-King Johannes
* San Marte (A. Schuk), " Vergleichung von Wolfram's Parzival
mit Albrecht's Titurel in Theologischer Beziehung," Gtrmania, viii.,
454. Wien, 1863. This writer also remarks in the same inter-
esting article that " the poem appears as a mirror of those religious
movements at the end of the twelfth century which were struggling
towards freedom from the compulsion of the Church .... the
fundamental appreciation of both poems, 'Titurel' and 'Parzival,' is
only obtained by comparing them from the theological standpoint. .
. . Titurel is full of learned and varied reminiscences brought from
afar.'' Op. eit. supra, pp. 431, 423,
1 88 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
than in that of the Grail-Kingship. The holders of
both offices were nominated by the Holy Grail.
III.
The Links of the Mystic Chain.
The strongly Eastern tinge that characterises
this tradition may be noticed in many different
points. The knowledge, for instance, of the occult
properties of precious stones and metals and their
powers ; the stone that enables the wearer to make
himself invisible, the condition being that he should
do nothing dishonourable, Then we have the
mysterious land of mist, where people* are neither
dark nor light, but have lost all ordinary human
colour. Again, there is the magic column brought
from India, in which all that happens for miles
around is represented ; and one of the most important
links is the clear reference made to reincarnation in
the belief held that Titurel and his knights may
return, and that the Perfect King still holds com-
munication with the earth and its sorrows.
The moral and mystic teaching of the Grail
tradition is the most vitally interesting to the student
of Theosophy and Mysticism, for the resemblances
between the present laws of spiritual development
and those given to the Knights of the Grail are
strikingly identical : The knight who watched
* Some of the Kamalokic planes might be thus described.
THE HOLY GRAIL. 1 89
the Grail — the highest office— had to be entirely
pure ; all sensual love, even within the bounds
of marriage, was forbidden ; one single thought* of
passion would obscure the eye and conceal the
mystic vessel ; the only marriage that was permitted
amongst those who stepped on to this " Path " was
the marriage of the King, and even that was not
based on personal attractions or attachments ; the
Grail alone decided whom the Grail-King should take
as wife. Not for himself, not for gratification, but for
the service of the race was he to marry.
As we search into the mystic chalice symbolism
of the Grail myth does it not become clear that we
are face to face with a symbol of man : man who is
the temple of the Holy Spirit. The chalice or cup is
but another way of denoting the " coats of skin," the
" veils " or " vestures " which garriient man on earth ;
robes woven by the nature powers, in which and
through which the divine spark has to dwell, until in
process of time the vestures or chalice become
permeated through and through by the divine light
within. Says one writer on this subject :
" In that marvellous relic of Gnostic Philosophy called
the Pistis-Sophia, the three vestures of the Glorified
Christos or perfected man — what we may all be in some
future birth — are thus described :
" And the Disciples saw not Jesus because of the great
light with which He was surrounded, or which proceeded
• One single thought about the past that thou hast left behind
will drag thee down." Blavatsky (H. P.), Tht Voice of the Silence,
p. 23. London, 1892.
1 9© MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
from him. For their eyes were darkened because of it.
But they gazed upon the Light only, shooting forth great
rays of light. Nor were the rays equal to one another, and
the Light was of divers modes and various aspect, from the
lower to the higher part thereof, each ray more admirable
than its fellow in infinite manner, in the great radiance of
the immeasurable Light. It stretched from the earth to the
heaven. ... It was of three degrees, one surpassing
the other in infinite manner. The second, which was in
the midst, excelled the first, which was below it, and the
third, the most admirable of all, surpassed the other twain."
The Master explains this mystery to His Disciples as
follows :
" Rejoice, therefore, in that the time is come that I
should put on my Vesture.
" Lo ! I have put on my Vesture and all power has been
given me by the First Mystery. Yet a little while and I
will tell you every Mystery and every Completion ; hence-
forth from this hour I will conceal naught from you, but in
Perfectness will I perfect you in all Completion, and all
Perfectioning and every Mystery, which indeed are the End
of all Ends, and the Completion of all Completions, and
the Wisdom (Gnosis) of all Wisdoms. Hearken ! I will
tell you all things which have befallen me.
" It came to pass, when the sun had risen in the places
of the East, a great Stream of Light descended, in which
was my Vesture."*
The vesture of the Self in its perfect glory is of a
purity of transcendent perfection. No mortal stained
with earthly passion can gaze upon that garment of
the soul.
And as the upward striving soul struggles to free
*Mead (G. R. S., B.A.), The World-Mystery, pp. 102, 104.
London, 1895. ■.
THE HOLY GRAIL. I9I
itself from the bondage of the lower bodies and their
subtle forces, and as it purifies one vehicle after
another pertaining to the three lower planes of
matter, finally it reaches that step on the Path
whereof the substance is perfect purity, and the soul
perceives that " Light vesture" which is the garment
— spoken of in theosophic terms as the buddhic body
— veiling the divine mysterious Self
This is the great reality which is typified by the
Holy Grail, the symbolic Cup or Chalice, the first
container of the Holy Life of the Logos. In all
religions is this myth to be found ; truly an " outward
and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace."
Titurel had told his knights that no tongue may ever
tell the Grail's true form. This shows that some
mystery was concealed behind the outward symbolism
of the Cup and Chalice, or Gospel.
Burnouf says : " In spite of the difference produced by
the influences of the place, the study of the legend of the
Vase permits us to understand and discover that esoteric
teaching which has never ceased to animate or ensoul the
five great Aryan religions. This theory — which in the
Christian churches was transmitted under the name of the
Secret Doctrine, disciplina secreti — is of a Fire as the
universal force under different names, always the same at
the basis, and manifesting itself by the same words and
symbols."
This Fire is the true Spirit of life, the living Word,
Burnouf (E.), Le Vase Sacri et ce qu'il contient : dans rinde, la
Perse, la Grece, et dans PEglise Chritienne; avec un appendice sur
le Saint Graal, p. 172. Paris, 1896.
192 MASONRY AND MYSTICISM.
which inflames the soul of man, and gives it that force
by which it can conquer the kingdoms of the lower
world, and, crossing the ocean of births and deaths,
can finally land itself on the further shore, a holy,
purified " Son of God," a Saviour of Worlds to come.
Thus runs the Legend of the Holy Grail.
THE END.
William Byles & Sons, Printers, 129 Fleet Street, London, and Bradford.
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