Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Pronouncing "Zerubbabel" in 1914

Scottish Rite ritual abounds with names that might trip up even the most well-read Mason. A number of Hebrew, Latin, and Greek names and phrases show up in the rituals of the Scottish Rite's Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. What's a man to do when faced with memorizing lines that might contain Biblical names like Adoniram, Nebuchadnezzar, and Zerubbabel?

How about a handy reference book?

In 1914, the Scottish Rite's Northern Masonic Jurisdiction saw a pressing need for providing guidance on the pronunciation of a number of words that show up in the staged productions that are the Scottish Rite degrees. The Supreme Council published a Hand-Book of Pronunciation of Words Used in the Ritualistic Ceremonies and Work of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A., "for the purpose of securing uniformity in the pronunciation of words used in the Rituals, Ceremonies, and Work of the various Degrees of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States of America," according to the book's introduction.

The introduction continues,

"It is not intended to indicate the classical pronunciation or to supply the frequently obsolete forms of the languages from which the words may be derived. The work of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in this Jurisdiction is rendered in the English tongue, and where Hebrew, Latin, Greek, or other proper names and words have been authoritatively represented by English substitutes or by English forms it appears pedantic and unwise to adhere to original forms or to attempt pronunciation often impossible to English utterance.

For the same reason compromise has been sought between conflicting schools of pronunciation of Latin words and phrases, and the pronunciation here given, it is believed, will avoid the extremes of the classical scholar while being in full accord with polite usage."

Today, there isn't a single book that contains a pronunciation guide for all of the Scottish Rite degrees. Instead, the introductory material to each of the individual degree rituals [pdf] includes a pronunciation guide for the difficult words found in that particular degree.

As for Zerubbabel, who appears as a character in the 15th and 16th degrees, the name was pronounced the same in 1914 as it is today: accent on the second syllable.

Hand-Book of Pronunciation of Words Used in the Ritualistic Ceremonies and Work of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A. Published by the Supreme Council for the use of the Bodies of the Rite, 1914.
Call number: 00 .S959d 1914

Our Banner Project!

Last spring, the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library received an American Heritage Preservation grant of almost $3,000 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to support conservation treatment and archival storage housing for three fraternal banners in the collection. The Museum was one of only four institutions in Massachusetts to receive an award.

The IMLS grant is particularly important to the Museum & Library because of the nature of its Masonic and fraternal collections. Many of the objects in the Museum’s collection are not widely collected by other history museums, so the staff often has to devise creative solutions to store the objects and to protect them through conservation. Pursuing best practices for our collection and working to conserve and preserve delicate materials are highly prioritized stated goals in our Collections Plan.

By 1900, over 250 fraternal groups existed in the United States, numbering six million members. Banners were an important component of American fraternal activities. These colorful textiles were used inside lodges and also in public parades and at cornerstone layings and other ceremonies. Photographs and prints from the Museum’s collection show us just how widespread the use of these banners was. An image clipped from a newspaper or magazine around 1868 shows a group of Odd Fellows taking part in a public parade (see below). Their banner is clearly shown in the picture near the center of the group. Many fraternal groups made sure to include their banner when they took formal portraits. For example, a Modern Woodmen of America Axe Drill Team from Kentucky prominently showed off their banner in an early 1900s photograph (see below).

The banners that were treated are all double-sided, allowing their respective groups to advertise themselves to audiences in front of and behind them during parades and processions. Two of the banners covered by the grant are from the Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A., the Museum’s parent organization. The third banner was originally used by the fraternal group known as the Journeymen Stonecutters Association. The oldest active union in the United States, the group formally organized in 1853. Members were (and are) working stone cutters and carvers. This particular banner was used by the branch in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It was locally made by the William H. Horstmann Company in Philadelphia, a company that made regalia and props for many American fraternal groups during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

One of the Scottish Rite banners received much-needed conservation treatment (above left). It showed signs of age, as well as damage from long-term exposure to the environment and stress from gravity. The surface was rippled throughout and the painted sections were worn, with some loss. The banner showed structural damage and staining. The treatment, performed by Windsor Conservation of Dover, Massachusetts, provided conservation cleaning and stabilization of the most critical structural damage. The banner has been surface cleaned, with special attention paid to mitigating the stained areas. Detached fringe trimming on the edges and the detached valance at the top were re-attached. The banner’s decorative tassels were also repaired and stabilized.

The second Scottish Rite banner and the Journeymen Stonecutters banner (at left) - both of which show significant areas of split silk that could only be treated at great cost – have been rehoused in specially-fabricated archival boxes. This archival storage treatment provides a preventive measure for the banners, which were previously stored uncovered on large, heavy pieces of plastic. The banners are now tacked to a padded fabric-covered board that can be used safely for occasional display and for handling. The new storage boxes protect the banners from light damage and the added resting boards prevent the need to move the banners from one flat surface to another, cutting down on the risk of further damage.

We are currently working on plans to exhibit at least one of the banners this coming summer, so please check our website for upcoming details!

Scottish Rite Banner, 1890-1930, American. Gift of the Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A., 2011.017. Photograph by Windsor Conservation.

Journeyman Stone Cutters Association of North America Parade Banner, 1891, William H. Horstmann Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Gift of Jane Hilbert-Davis in memory of Nell Francis, 98.014. Photograph by Windsor Conservation.

Semi-Centennial Celebration of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, ca. 1868, Theodore R. Davis, New York. Museum Purchase, 96.042.3.

Modern Woodmen of America Axe Drill Team 1908-1912, Schroeter Studio, Green River, Kentucky. Museum Purchase, 2003.022.2.  Photograph by David Bohl.

Registration Now Open! April 28, 2012 Symposium

Plan now to join us on Saturday, April 28, 2012, for the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library Symposium – Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism, Lexington, Massachusetts.  Registration is now open!  Visit our website for a registration form.

The symposium seeks to present the newest research on American fraternal groups from the past through the present day. By 1900, over 250 American fraternal groups existed, numbering six million members. The study of their activities and influence in the United States, past and present, offers the potential for fresh interpretations of American society and culture.

Seven scholars from the United States, Britain and Belgium will fill the day’s program:

• Jeffrey Tyssens, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, “The Goatee’s Revenge: A Founding Myth and a Founder’s Cult in American Fraternalism”

• Yoni Appelbaum, Brandeis University, “The Great Brotherhood of Toil: The Knights of Labor as a Fraternal Order”

• Adam G. Kendall, Henry W. Coil Library and Museum, “The Shadow of the Pope: Anti-Catholicism, Freemasonry, and the Knights of Columbus in 1910s California”

• Samuel Biagetti, Columbia University, “A Prehistoric Lodge in Rhode Island? – Masonry and the Messianic Moment”

• Alyce Graham, University of Delaware, “Secrecy and Democracy: Masonic Aprons, 1750-1830”

• Bradley Kime, Brigham Young University, “Masonic Motifs in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”

• Kristofer Allerfeldt, Exeter University, “The Significance of Fraternalism in Three Criminal Organizations of Late Nineteenth Century America: The Mollie Maguires, the Ku Klux Klan and the Mafia”

All Symposium attendees are invited to a public lecture by Michael Halleran, Independent Scholar, “Gentlemen of the White Apron: Freemasonry in the American Civil War,” at 1 PM, in the Maxwell Auditorium. This presentation is made possible through the generous support of Ruby W. Linn.

The symposium is funded in part by the Supreme Council, 33°, N. M. J., U.S.A. Registration is $65 ($60 for museum members) and includes morning refreshments, lunch and a closing reception. To register, complete the Registration Form and fax to 781-861-9846 or mail to Claudia Roche, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421; registration deadline is APRIL 14, 2012. For more information, contact Claudia Roche at croche@monh.org or 781-457-4142.

Solomon's Temple Samplers

One of the National Heritage Museum’s Solomon’s Temple samplers is the cover star for the new issue (Winter 2011) of Sampler and Antique Needlework Quarterly magazine! Pictured below, the sampler was stitched by Margaret Jane Leadbitter in 1846 in Sandoe, England.

My interest in Solomon’s Temple samplers began when I started working at the museum in 2006 and quickly came across three samplers in the collection that depict the temple. Leadbitter’s depiction of the temple is prominently placed at the center of her sampler and is clearly identified by her stitched inscription “South View of Solomons Temple.”

Established in 1975, as a gift to the American people from the Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A., the museum collects objects and documents to support the interpretation of the historical, social and cultural role of Freemasonry, fraternal organizations and voluntary associations in America. The sampler was donated to the Museum in 1980 by Mr. and Mrs. James S. Demond in honor of Gertrude and John D. Lombard (1906-1985). They made the gift around the time that the Museum purchased a second Solomon’s Temple sampler made by Mary Sandiford in 1840 (see below at left). A history of the Museum’s early years explains that building the collection was a priority at that time, “as often as possible we purchased Masonic items that came on the market, and solicited gifts from known owners of fine Masonic material.” An anonymous donor gave a third Solomon’s Temple sampler to the Museum.

These three samplers were added to the collection undoubtedly because they were considered to be “Masonic” through their inclusion of the Temple, so central to Masonic ritual and teachings. Indeed, in the case of the Leadbitter sampler, the donor and his honoree were both Freemasons who received the Scottish Rite’s 33rd degree. However, as I started to study the samplers, I began to question whether they were “Masonic” and whether they were even American. Today, I would not classify them as “Masonic samplers.” Instead, I think that the makers included the Temple on the samplers as a symbol of virtue. To date, I have located descriptions of over 60 of these samplers, with none that can be conclusively documented as having been made in the United States.

The results of my research on these samplers are detailed in the magazine, based on a scholarly paper I presented in 2008 at the “Expressions of Freemasonry” conference in The Hague, The Netherlands. In addition, by working with magazine staff, a chart of the Leadbitter sampler is included in the magazine, so that stitchers can make their own reproduction, approximating the size and colors of the original. To order a copy of the magazine, visit its website.

Freemasonry was not formed in a vacuum - instead, it drew from values and ideas espoused by the surrounding society and culture - as it formed in England during the 1710s and 1720s and throughout the next 150 years.  By analyzing the samplers as a representation of shared ideals between Freemasonry and the larger culture of 19th-century Britain and America, we can see that the expression of Masonic ideology was spreading out into the communities where it was practiced.

Sampler, 1846, Margaret Jane Leadbitter, Sandoe, England. Collection of the National Heritage Museum, gift of Mr. and Mrs. James DeMond in honor of Gertrude and John D. Lombard, 80.49.1. Photograph by John M. Miller.

Sampler, 1840, Mary Sandiford, England. Collection of the National Heritage Museum, Special Acquisitions Fund, 80.27.1.

Miss Rose Lipp: Masonic Authority

In March 1912, the New England Craftsman, a monthly Masonic magazine published in Boston, Massachusetts, noted that one of the city’s regalia makers had recently changed storefronts and reminded readers that the owner “is recognized as an authority on correctness of design for the costumes of every period.” Rather than a brother Freemason, this notice referred to Miss Rose Lipp, a female manufacturer and dealer in “Masonic Supplies,” who maintained her business over at least thirty years, providing the aprons, jewels and uniforms essential to Masonic meetings and rituals.

The 44 items with Rose Lipp’s label in the collection of the National Heritage Museum attest to the variety available from her shop, as well as to her facility with regalia from all Masonic groups. We have 28 aprons, most for local lodges, but a few were sewn for Royal Arch chapters. For example, in 1924, she made a set of officer’s aprons for the newly-constituted Russell Lodge in Arlington, Massachusetts. The 14-apron set is now in the Museum’s collection and the Master’s apron is seen here. These aprons were a gift to the lodge from the other lodges in the district.

In addition to the aprons, we have two turbans, two robes, one sword, one sword belt, one hat, one fez, one badge, one collar, two miniature souvenir aprons, and four Scottish Rite sashes with Lipp’s label. One of those sashes is shown here; it was originally presented to Josiah T. Dyer when he received his 33rd degree from the Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A.  All of these objects help us to better understand the role that a female entrepreneur like Rose Lipp played in Boston Freemasonry.

Label Detail from Scottish Rite 33rd-degree sash (see below).

Masonic Apron, 1924, Rose Lipp Regalia Co., Boston, Massachusetts, collection of the National Heritage Museum, gift of Russell Lodge, A.F. & A.M., Arlington, Massachusetts, 94.012.5a.

Scottish Rite 33° Sash, 1910-1930, Miss Rose Lipp, Boston, Massachusetts, collection of the National Heritage Museum, gift of the Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A., SC79.12.6a. Photograph by David Bohl.

Mark your calendar - Date Changes for 2012 Symposium!

The date for our 2012 symposium, Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism, has been changed to April, 28, 2012.  Please mark you calendar - registration information will be available in January.  Also, we have extended the deadline for the call for papers to January 2, 2012, so please consider submitting a proposal.  See the full call below.

The National Heritage Museum announces a call for papers for its biannual symposium, “Perspectives on American Freemasonry and Fraternalism,” to be held on Saturday, April 28, 2012, at the Museum in Lexington, Massachusetts.

The National Heritage Museum is an American history museum founded and supported by Scottish Rite Freemasons in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States. As the repository of one of the largest collections of American Masonic and fraternal objects, books and manuscripts in the United States, the Museum aims to foster new research on American fraternalism and to encourage the use of its scholarly resources. The symposium seeks to present the newest research on American fraternal groups from the past through the present day.

By 1900, over 250 American fraternal groups existed, numbering six million members. The study of their activities and influence in the United States, past and present, offers the potential for new interpretations of American society and culture. Diverse perspectives on this topic are sought; proposals are invited from a broad range of research areas, including history, material and visual culture, anthropology, sociology, literary studies and criticism, gender studies, political science, African American studies, art history, economics, or any combination of disciplines. Perspectives on and interpretations of all time periods are welcome.

Possible topics include:

• Comparative studies of American fraternalism and European or other international forms of fraternalism

• Prince Hall Freemasonry and other African-American fraternal groups

• Ethnically- and religiously-based fraternal groups

• Fraternal groups for women or teens

• Role of fraternal groups in social movements

• The material culture of Freemasonry and fraternalism

• Anti-Masonry and anti-fraternal movements, issues and groups

• Fraternal symbolism and ritual

• The expression of Freemasonry and fraternalism through art, music, and literature

• Approaches to Freemasonry – from disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transnational perspectives; the historiography and methodology of the study of American fraternalism

Proposals should be for 30 minute research papers; the day’s schedule will allow for audience questions and feedback.

Proposal Format: Submit an abstract of 400 words or less with a resume or c.v. that is no more than two pages. Be sure to include full contact information (name, address, email, phone, affiliation). Send proposals to: Aimee E. Newell, Ph.D., Director of Collections, National Heritage Museum, by email at anewell@monh.org or by mail to 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421. Deadline for proposals to be received is January 2, 2012. For more information about the National Heritage Museum, see www.nationalheritagemuseum.org. For questions, contact Aimee E. Newell as above, or call 781-457-4144.

Another Mystery to Be Solved...

In 2009, the National Heritage Museum was given a fez for its collection. Normally, we consider the prospective gift of a fez very carefully, because we are fortunate to have an extensive collection of these regalia items and we try not to collect objects that duplicate our existing holdings. However, this fez was unusual. As you can see in the photo to the left, it is green and embroidered with a camel and the words “Caliphs of Bagdad.”

As I cataloged it in our computerized database, I did some research trying to determine what group might have used it originally. Unfortunately, I could not find any information about when or where it came from and the donor could only tell me that it was passed down in his wife’s family. So, in November 2009, I turned to the readers of The Northern Light, the quarterly magazine of the Scottish Rite Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A., and asked for their help with identifying it.

I received a number of responses, including several that offered plausible leads. A reader from Springfield, Massachusetts, told me that the Association of Shrine Oriental Bands of North America has a subsidiary group of Past Presidents called the Caliphs, but admitted that he never saw a fez for that specific group. A man from New Jersey asked how I knew that this fez was Masonic. And, as I was quick to tell him, I do not know if this fez is Masonic.  It may well have been used by a non-Masonic fraternal group.

Indeed, several readers suggested that it might come from other groups. One mentioned the Phi Delta Kappa fraternity explaining that the group often tried to come up with new ideas to promote interest over the years and that this fez might be one of those ideas. A Pennsylvania reader called in to tell me about the Princes of Bagdad, a group associated with the Knights of Malta, but research into their logo did not turn up any similarities. And, a reader from Iowa suggested that perhaps the fez was associated with the fraternal group, the Order of Camels, which was founded in Milwaukee in 1920. If anyone knows of regalia from that group, I would love to hear about it or see a photograph.

Perhaps the most exciting response to my query was the arrival in the mail of a second green “Caliphs of Bagdad” fez! A reader from Pennsylvania had received the fez from a friend thirty years previously and generously decided to donate it to the Museum (while we try not to collect multiple copies of the same item, we often make an exception with textile items because it is helpful to have a second piece that can rotate into an exhibition and protect them both from overexposure to the lighting in the gallery). Unfortunately, like the donor of the first fez, this donor did not know where his friend had originally found the fez.

From my perspective, two of the leads I received were the most plausible. The first came from two different Northern Light readers, one from Michigan and one from Ohio, who called in and told me that they knew of green fezzes being awarded as honorary gifts in their respective communities. One man said that it was the Knights of Columbus that did this, while the other cited an example of a Shrine Temple doing the same. The second came from a reader in New Jersey who tracked down a newspaper account of the 1937 Shrine convention in Detroit, Michigan. That article, from the June 23, 1937, issue of The Detroit News reads “The Chicago unit, the largest delegation, was next with a pink and white striped group of caliphs drawing a golden sphinx and a live camel and a band of 110 musicians wearing white and green and flying yellow pennants…” A green and yellow fez seems like it might have been just the right headwear for this group.

What do you think? Have you ever seen a fez like this? Do you know when and where it was originally worn? Please let us know by leaving a comment below.

Fez, early 1900s, National Heritage Museum collection, gift of Stanley A. McCollough, 2009.022. Photograph by David Bohl.

 

Inspired by Fashion: American Masonic Regalia

If you ever watched Happy Days on TV, you probably remember the funny hat that Mr. Cunningham would put on to go to his Leopard Lodge meetings. For decades, popular television programs and movies have poked fun at fraternal groups by having characters belong to made-up organizations with goofy names and wild hats and costumes. Members and non-members alike have often perceived Masonic costume as weird, funny or outlandish. And, garments like the red knitted devil costume seen here seem pretty strange. One of the most unusual costumes in the National Heritage Museum collection, the devil suit was used by Scottish Rite Masons in Rochester, New York, to perform the 19th Degree. The degree explores the perennial conflict between good and evil. The Spirit of Evil character required a “Satanic costume of red,” like this one.

But, when we look at prints, paintings and photographs from the 1700s and 1800s, we also think that some of the clothing in those images is pretty weird and funny too. And, when we compare the clothing to Masonic regalia, we can see that perhaps it was not as outlandish as it now seems to us. Often, regalia manufacturers took their cues from contemporary fashion houses.

The National Heritage Museum’s new exhibition, “Inspired by Fashion: American Masonic Regalia,” uses clothing and images from the Museum’s collection to trace the inspiration behind Masonic regalia and costume. Each section explores a different source – contemporary fashion, the military, Orientalism, and theater – in order to show the connections between everyday style and fraternal fashion.

Scottish Rite Freemasons, the same group that founded and continues to support the Museum, are known for their elaborate theatrical degree ceremonies, which became popular during the early 1900s. They may have been partially inspired by the craze for historical pageantry that began around 1900. People across the country had begun putting on elaborate plays about their town’s history. Like the Scottish Rite degree ceremonies, these productions offered a shared sense of values, built a collective story of the community, and helped to create an identity for participants and audience alike.

The painting shown to the right, Degree Night at the Robing Room, captures a backstage scene at a Scottish Rite degree ceremony. The artist, Frank A. Stockwell (1890-1970), was both a commercial artist and a Scottish Rite Mason with firsthand knowledge of the group’s rituals. After his death, his brothers remembered him for “his dramatic roles in many of the degrees.”

“Inspired by Fashion: American Masonic Regalia” is on view through March 10, 2012 at the National Heritage Museum, 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, Massachusetts. The Museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, please visit our website.

Scottish Rite 19th Degree Devil Costume, 1940-1960, American, National Heritage Museum collection, Gift of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Valley of Rochester, New York, 2004.017.1. Photograph by David Bohl.

Degree Night at the Robing Room, 1935-1939, Frank A. Stockwell (1890-1970), Buffalo, New York, Loaned by Buffalo Consistory, Valley of Buffalo, New York, A.A.S.R., EL2006.001.2. Photograph by David Bohl.

Wings Up or Wings Down?: Using Books to Find An Answer

[Note: this article originally appeared in the November 2010 issue of The Northern Light, the membership magazine for the Scottish Rite's Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.]

Maybe you've just joined the Scottish Rite, or maybe you’ve been a Scottish Rite member for years and have been elected to receive the 33°. You or a family member enthusiastically set out to buy something to commemorate the occasion. Right away, you notice that many of the double-headed eagles are available in either the "wings up" or the "wings down" position. You wonder, "what’s the difference?"  Asking your Scottish Rite brothers, you receive answers that are all slightly different and sometimes contradictory.

Where can you find a definitive answer?
Call me biased, but I’d say one of your best bets (short of reading this article) is to contact the Van Gorden-Williams Library and Archives at the National Heritage Museum. I’ve had members contact me with this question and here’s how I was able to deliver a definitive answer.

First, I looked at two popular books on Freemasonry. Christopher Hodapp’s Freemasons for Dummies and S. Brent Morris’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry both address this question. They draw the same conclusion: in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, the wings-up version of the double-headed eagle is reserved for Active and Active Emeritus members. (No importance is attached to wing position in the Southern Jurisdiction.)

That’s a good start, but I wanted an authoritative source, so I looked at the Supreme Council 33°, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction’s own Constitutions. In the 2009 edition of the Constitutions, articles 1216 through 1219 address the design of caps (optional in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, but still sometimes worn) and lapel buttons.

In the description of 33° Active and Active Emeritus caps (art. 1219.1) and lapel buttons (art. 1216), the double-headed eagle is described as "a double-headed eagle, wings extended and pointing up." For the cap (art. 1219.2) and label button (art. 1217) of a 33° Honorary Member, the eagle is described as a "double-headed eagle, wings extended and pointing down," and for 32° lapel buttons (art. 1218.1) the eagle is described as a "double-headed eagle of gold, wings extended and pointing down."

It looks like the Supreme Council’s Constitutions first addressed wing position in 1934, with the description of lapel buttons, which had been formally introduced in 1927. The Constitutions did not describe caps until the 1955 revision and the position of the double-headed eagle’s wings on caps was not addressed until the 1960s.

Double-headed eagles only appear on 32° rings and are described in article 1209 of the Constitutions: "A Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret is authorized to wear a ring, the basic design of which shall be the double-headed eagle." We can infer that the wings should be pointed down.

Looking at the published Proceedings of the Supreme Council, I found that the wings-up versus wings-down question is not new. In a report on the double-headed eagle delivered by the Committee on Ritual and Ritualistic Matter at the 1885 Annual Meeting of the Supreme Council, they concluded "The rising eagle [i.e. wings up] is not improperly represented, and to those who prefer the ascending position there is, and can be, no objection." This indicates that the question was being asked 125 years ago, although the answer back then was different.

While I have focused on the personal use of double-headed eagles in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, it’s also worth noting that some Supreme Councils in the world use a wings-up double-headed eagle as the emblem of their Council. Both Supreme Councils in the United States use a wings-down version.

In conclusion, unless you are one of the approximately fifty 33° Active Members or an Active Emeritus Member of the Supreme Council, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, the answer to the question "wings up or wings down?" is this: wings down.

Captions:

Detail from cover of Samuel H. Baynard’s History of the Supreme Council, 33°…Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, 1938. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, 17.9735 .B361 1938.

Detail from cover of By-laws of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Orient of Philadelphia, Valley of Pennsylvania, 1878. Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library, 17.9735 .Un58 1878.

What's the Difference Between a Monitor and a Ritual Book?

Masonic libraries, like the Van Gorden-Williams Library and Archives, have multiple editions of various books that are called "monitors," and which, at first glance, look a lot like books that contain Masonic rituals. So what's the difference between a monitor and a ritual book?

It might help to start with an analogy. One can think of Masonic degree ritual as a sort of morality play, in which the candidate is the main protagonist and other members of the lodge take on other dramatic roles in the cast. (This is more true of Scottish Rite ritual than other Masonic ritual, but all Masonic ritual is presented in a dramatic form.) Ritual books contain the scripts to these "plays," and contain material that is considered either secret or not intended for non-members. Monitors, on the other hand, contain the non-secret excerpts of rituals, lectures, and other ceremonies, and are sometimes a bit more like the CliffsNotes or SparkNotes version of the play. In other words, monitors include extracts of parts of Masonic ritual that, when read, may give the reader a general sense of the ritual while including neither the text of the ritual itself, nor the passwords, signs, grips, etc. that are a part of what Masons pledge not to reveal to non-Masons. Most monitors, however, presume a familiarity with Masonic ritual, so the average reader may still find reading a monitor a somewhat confusing adventure. Historians interested in Freemasonry can use monitors to see how Masonic ritual has changed over time.

Monitors exist for the Craft degrees (i.e. the first three degrees), Scottish Rite, York Rite, and various other degrees. Monitors of Scottish Rite ritual often include descriptions of how the lodge room or stage is decorated and often contain an outline of the narrative story of the degree. Monitors of the Craft degrees usually contain excerpts from the various "lectures" in which the metaphorical meaning of various Masonic symbols is explained. An example of this can be found in the description of the plumb, level, and square in a monitor published in 1861:

The Plumb admonishes us to walk uprightly in our several stations before God and man, squaring our actions by the Square of our virtue, and remembering that we are traveling upon the Level of time, to that undiscovered country, from whose bourn [i.e. destination] no traveler returns.

Despite the popular impression that Masonic ritual does not change, the fact is that it does - especially in the Scottish Rite's Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. The first official Scottish Rite monitor was Charles T. McClenachan's The Book of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, which was published in conjunction with the "Union of 1867" when two competing Scottish Rite Supreme Councils merged to form the present day Supreme Council, 33°, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A.

McClenachan's monitor provides a peek into what Scottish Rite degrees were like almost 150 years ago. It might surprise Scottish Rite Masons today to find that in those days, Scottish Rite ritual was not staged in a theater setting (that innovation came a bit later), but took place in the same kind of rectangular lodge room in which the Craft degrees are held. The illustrations seen here are from McClenachan's monitor, and show an artist's rendering of how the lodge room was to be decorated for the Fourth Degree, Secret Master (above, left) and the Ninth Degree, Knights Elect of Nine (above, right). It's worth noting that these depictions don't represent current Scottish Rite ritual in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. In fact, as Arturo de Hoyos has pointed out, ritual in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction has changed so often over the years, that a mere three years after the publication of McClenachan's book it was already outdated.

For more information about Scottish Rite monitors, we recommend "Scottish Rite Monitors: A Brief Overview," which can be found in Arturo de Hoyos's The Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide. C. DeForrest Trexler's The Degree Rituals of The Supreme Council, 33°, AASR, for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction United States of America, published by the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction's Supreme Council in 2008, is the definitive overview of the history of the development of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction's degrees.

Sources mentioned

Rob Morris. The Freemason's Monitor, or Illustrations of Masonry, by Thomas Smith Webb... Cincinnati, OH: Published by John Sherer, 1861.
Call number: 14 .W368 1861

Charles T. McClenachan's The Book of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. New York: Masonic Publishing and Manufacturing, Co., 1867.
Call number: 14.7 .M126 1867 [Also available online]

Arturo de Hoyos. The Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide. Washington, DC: The Supreme Council 33°, Southern Jurisdiction, 2007.
Call number: REF 14.7 .D4 2007

C. DeForrest Trexler. The Degree Rituals of The Supreme Council, 33°, AASR, for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction United States of America. Lexington, MA: Supreme Council, 33°, AASR, NMJ, 2008.
Call number: 14.6 .T75 2008 [Also available online, from this page on the Supreme Council's website]