Canonbury Masonic Research Centre
The First International Conference organised by CMRC
Saturday & Sunday 6-7 November 1999
Canonbury Academy, 6 Canonbury Place, London N1 2NQ
Professor James Stevens Curl
This paper outlines the detachment of the dead from the living, the separation of the burial-ground from the Church, and the evolution of the garden-cemetery as a means of civilising Death and promoting a new ethos of tenderness towards the dead. It will demonstrate the significance of Freemasonry in this respect, and will pull together Freemasonic, literary, architectural and other themes. Illustrated with numerous slides, the paper will cover a vast conspectus of ideas, allusions and disciplines.
Professor Ivor Grattan-Guinness
This paper presents some features of arithmetic and geometry pertaining to orthodox Christianity, apocryphal Christianity and Freemasonry — with precursors. In addition to differences arising from rival doctrines, the general issue of mathematics influencing faiths is raised.
Throughout the 18th Century, at the beginning of which Grand Lodge of England was founded, geometry was the science of great interest to those active in and propagating the ideas of Enlightenment. It was widely seen as the science the knowledge of which should make it possible to recognise the principles upon which both nature and society were built. As such, geometry was an embodiment of the true and good principles, a blueprint for the replication of models upon which social institutions themselves can be erected. the paper shows this concept of geometry was employed by Freemasonry and how it continues to play an important role within its modern structures.
Masonic science is a complex and apparently contradictory phenomenon, whose study yields interesting methodological problems. The case of masonic scientific production in eighteenth-century Naples has been recently chosen to suggest that it was characterized mainly by its anti-mechanistic and neo-naturalistic aspects. I will suggest a rather different interpretative approach, which is centered on the recognition of a crucial epistemological shift operated by masonic scientists.
Dr Sanda Miller
Sanda is lecturer at the Southampton Institute, teaching on a range of courses, including the History of Art. She will bring some new and interesting material on the influence masonic lore had on some of the leading artists belonging to the era of the European Avant-garde.
This paper looks at the relationship between English Freemasonry and Religion and the emergence and development of its symbolism. The framework for the former was a dissertation for a degree in Comparative Religion at Manchester University. Using sources from the University Library and Freemasons’ Hall, the aim was to address whether Freemasonry could be defined as a religion. The examination included definitions from a number of sources — anthropological, psychological and theological. The study also looked at aspects of Masonic history and ritual which could be deemed religious, and its relationship with formal religion. Sources used included a number of Masonic histories. The content for the latter was a thesis for an MPhil degree at SOAS, University of London. Sources for research into the history and development of Masonic symbolism in period between middle of 17th century to late 18th were taken from the British Library and Library at the Freemasons’ Hall and included early exposés of the ritual and visual examples of symbolism e.g. jewels, certificates and aprons. An analysis and comparison of the collected data determined when particular symbols first appeared and provided an historical context into which they emerged.
Professor Charles Porset
Professor Porset will make an analysis of the ways masonic history is written. He will reflect on the development of historiography in masonic scholarship.
Dr Joy Porter
An explanation of the attraction of the image of the Indian to American Freemasonry, the social and religious causes of the conflict, and the way it was eventually solved with focus on noteworthy Indians since the colonial period and their experiences as Freemasons will be the theme of this talk. The emphasis will be upon what has connected Masonic rhetoric with the trope of the Indian and how the histories of Masons and Indians have interlined across time. This talk will reveal how, as well as satisfying needs within the dominant culture, Masonry has advanced a multiplicity of Native American objectives and served as an important conduit for cultural exchange.
Professor Cecile Revauger
Professor Revauger will base her talk on the book she recently published on the masonic conflict between the Antients and the Moderns in 18th century England. She will explore 1813.
The origins of Freemasonry to this day remain a mystery, which has given rise to a good deal of speculation, myth and legend. The orthodox view of Masonic beginnings is that it emerged in 1717, with the formation of the Grand Lodge in St Paul’s Churchyard, near Sir Christopher Wren’s landmark cathedral. According to this view, not much is known of the craft before this date, except for the initiation of Elias Ashmole in 1646. However, new evidence concerning the early history of the craft and one particular master craftsmen, begins to suggest an altogether different story.
Dr Jan Snoek
This paper praises as well as criticises both Hamill and Stevenson, and then moves on to show what we may reconstruct of what happened when we integrate the information provided by both. It is therefore, among other things, a critical evaluation of the historiography and methodology of these two authors.
Dr Yuri Stoyanov FRAS BA MPhil PhD
The paper explores the interpretations of some main Masonic narratives in 19th-Century literary texts, both in texts deriving from Masonic circles and in non-Masonic works. It intends to contribute new material and observations to the little-studied area of the interchange of themes and images between literature and Masonic narratives.
Professor Leon Zeldis
Design Lambent Technology