Some new from the “Russian Archives”
about the early history of the high degrees:

The Scottish Order in Berlin from 1742 to 1752

By Pierre Mollier

Article paru dans le n° 131-132 (tome XXXIII, 2002).
Texte reproduit intégralement mais sans les notes et références bibliographiques, ni les illustrations.

The appearance of high degrees, along with their origins, role and purpose prior to the 1760s, remains one of the most obscure issues in Masonic history. There is little information before 1745, and what does exist is often allusive and always difficult to interpret. The first reference is a list of English lodges dated 1733-1734, which mentions a “Scotch Masons Lodge.” The second reference is an except from a Minute Book from the Bath lodge, again in England, recounting that in 1735 brothers were “admitted and raised to Master Scottish Masons.” In London in 1740, the Minute Book of the Old Lodge no. 1 also records that on June 17, brethren were named “Scottish Master Masons.” The next evidence turns up in Paris, where on December 11, 1743, the Grande Loge de France, in article 20 of its Ordonnances Générales, warns brethren against what appears to be a new development: “Having heard recently that some brethren are presenting themselves as Scottish Masters, and in certain lodges, claim rights and privileges…” Writings from this period, such as L’Ordre des Francs-maçons trahis, Le Parfait Maçon and La Franc-maçonne, all allude to this “Secret of Scottish Masons… which is starting to become known in France.” Finally, in 1745, the “Statutes drawn up by the R.L. St. Jean de Jérusalem” on June 24 leave no room for doubt, as they state: “Ordinary Masters will meet with the Irish and Perfect Masters three months after St-John’s Day; Elect Masters six months after; Scottish Masters nine months after; and those holding higher degrees when they deem it necessary.” With very few documents and with just a few lines at most in each, it is clear that a more complete understanding of this difficult question depends above all on the discovery of new archives.
This underscores the major importance of the work that we will reveal. A logbook from the “Most Respectable Society of Scottish Masters of the Worshipfull and Most Respectable Union Lodge since its creation on the thirtieth of November, 1742” has just come to light. It was found in the collection of historical documents in the library of the Grand Orient de France recently returned by Russia. This is not merely a few lines, but a volume consisting of 140 pages! It is bound in a green hardback binding – 21 by 35 centimeters – and is in perfect condition. The work – both the paper and ink – seem to be new. There is no difficulty in reading any section of this valuable manuscript. The first sixteen sheets contain the “Laws, Statues and Regulations,” in other words, the regulations of the Scottish lodge that have been amended several times over the years. This section is followed by the signatures of nearly eighty masons admitted into the lodge, and who thereby acknowledged their acceptance of these statutes. The next section consists of 141 meetings held by the Scottish lodge from November 30, 1742 to November 13, 1752. The third and final section of the document presents a detailed directory – the civil status of members is often indicated – of brethren who became Scottish Masters during this period. An in-depth study of this exceptional work provides a rich source of information concerning the early years of “Scots Masonry.” Historians already had some knowledge of the existence of this Scottish lodge. It was noted in the sixth edition (1903) of the history of the Grand Mother National Lodge of the Three Globes.

The origins

“The Worshipfull and Most Respectable Scottish Union Lodge” was founded in Berlin on November 30, 1742 by brothers Fabris, Roman, Pérard, Fromery, Roblau, Fünster and Perret. The capital of the Prussian Empire was in the second year of the promising reign of the young Frederick II, known as Frederick the Great (1712-1740-1786). The first Masonry institution appeared in Prussia on September 13, 1740 with the creation of the lodge called “The Three Globes.” As early as 1738, however, Frederick (at the time crown-prince) had been accepted as a Mason by a delegation from a lodge in Hamburg, the first lodge opened in the two German states in 1737. “Scottish” masonry appeared in Prussia two years after the symbolic Masonry that included three degrees.
As Prussia grew increasingly important in Europe, its elite followed the example of their monarch by adopting the French culture as a model. The sovereign greeted French visitors to his capital warmly, and many came to Berlin during this period – Voltaire, for example, was one of the most famous among them. The painter Jacopo Fabris (born in Venice in 1689 and died in Copenhagen in 1771) was a cosmopolitan Italian, while Fünster was probably German (judging from their names). On this same basis, we can assume that five of the seven founding members were French. Although the immense majority of brethren who became Scottish Masters during nearly ten years were German, all the loge reports were written in French. When signing the statues, some of the new members even gallicized their first names.
Where did the founders themselves become Scottish Masters and on what basis did they found this new lodge? We don’t know. We can only point out that while the Scottish Union lodge was very careful to provide the Scottish lodges it created in different cities with due and proper warrants, the members did not have any founding document in 1742. It seemed to have been created during a meeting as part of a joint project of seven Scottish Masters held on Saint-Andrew’s Day in 1742. It is even possible that the new degree was taken to Berlin by a brother, for example the founding Worshipfull Master, Fabris, and that the six other founding Scottish Masters received it only the day before founding the new Scottish lodge. We only have conjectures on this subject.

The degrees

When the Scottish lodge was created in 1742, it appears to have practiced and transmitted one degree, that of Scottish Master. Indeed, most of the meetings consisted of a vote admitting candidates, then followed by a ceremony conferring the degree to those accepted during the preceding meeting. New members must have received the three symbolic degrees, and those who became Scottish Masters were “Blue” Master Masons. There were therefore no intermediate degrees such as Perfect Master, Irish Master or Elect Master. Unfortunately, we do not know the Scottish Rite practiced by the Union Lodge. We sincerely regret that we do note have “Scottish publication in catechism form” proposed by Brother Roblau on April 22, 1745 and “approved by the W.Master and by the entire lodge,” but a certain number of indications in the minutes provide a basis for a general idea. Hence, we learn during a meeting on October 14, 1743 that the regalia are uniformly green, because:
“Brother Fünster was responsible for having made the fourteen aprons lined with a green sash and the collars of officers decorated with taffeta of the same colors, that of the Worshipfull Master distinguished by embroidery (?) on the collar.”
Furthermore, “the honors of Scottish Masonry [are performed] four by four” (December 31, 1743), and the Saint-Andrew’s cross was one of the chief elements of the degree’s symbolism. The color green, the four by four acclamation and the Saint-Andrew’s cross inevitably bring to mind the “Green Scottish” of the Strict Observance and, in a wider sense, the family of “Scottish Master” rites, of which it is the most representative. It is interesting that Eric Ward suggests that this “Green Scottish” could very well be the English “Scott Master Mason” of the 1730s and 1740s.
Did this Scottish degree originate in France, as did, in all likelihood, most of the founders of the lodge? This new degree would then be a Masonic manifestation of the French fashion that reigned over Prussia at that time. In contrast, the last signs of activity from the Scottish lodge in Berlin coincide with the change in public opinion toward France and the start of the Seven Year’s War that pitted Louis XV against Frederick II.
If this degree of Scottish Master were not French, could it then, like Masonry itself, have come from Britain? The names of certain officers of the Scottish lodge offer some support of this theory. Names such as “Ainé Surveillant” and “Jeune Surveillant” appear to be literal translations of the traditional titles of “Senior Warden” and “Junior Warden” that exist in England – as for the office of the “Stuart de la lodge,” the term was probably untranslatable. Could this have been an attempt to legitimatize this new degree by suggesting that it had a British origin, which provided it with a certain Masonic authenticity? – especially as the body of the reports uses the terms Premier and Second Surveillants, according to French usage. Another argument supporting the British theory of origin is that the Scottish Union lodge in Berlin was in contact with the Union lodge in London (December 31, 1743). Correspondence with a London lodge would seem to imply that at one time or another there would have been an exchange of information concerning the rites. Especially as Fabris, the founding Worshipfull Master, had himself been initiated in London in this same Union lodge!
Up through 1743, when the lodge carried out an initiation, new members were “admitted Scottish Masters in due and proper form.” Starting with the founding meeting, held on November 30, 1742, the lodge celebrated “Saint Andrew’s Day, the patron saints of the Scots, with all the decorum demanded of such a solemn day.” One year later, on November 30, 1743, Saint Andrew’s Day was once again the occasion for a particularly important meeting. A ceremony was added to the rites of the lodge; this ceremony appears to have been a significant complement to the degree of Scottish Master. Indeed, after the elections:
“The Worshipfull Past Master Brother Fabris raised the New Master in the Chair Brother Roman to a Knight of the Scottish Order by three blows to the back by a sword, while reciting these words: ‘I raise and name you Knight of the Scottish Order by these three blows. This first is for the King, the second for the master, the third is for the lodge.’ He then gave him the Scottish Order. Finally, the Worshipfull Master who had taken possession of the Chair named Past Master Brothers Fabris, Lamprecht, de Gerresheim, Fromery, Roblau, Fünster, Pérard, D’Alençon, Rollet, de Often and de Brefeld as Knights of said Order, according to the same rites and ceremonies mentioned above. He then pronounced a short speech concerning the duties linked to this Order to which the Secretary replied with a second speech in which he discussed the illustrious history of this Order, its noble progress and its sublimity.”
Where did this knightly ceremony come from? Was it an innovation, and if so, what were its sources and motives? It’s as if we are watching the creation of a new degree “live,” directly as it happened. It is interesting to note that Brother Fabris named Brother Roman a Scottish knight; this latter then promoted the leading members of the Scottish lodge to this same degree, including the man who, several minutes earlier, had dubbed him. This procedure is hard to interpret within the ways and customs of knighthood, unless it involved an error in the labor or in the report.
Had this rite been kept secret up to this point by the chief founder of the lodge, who would become its first Worshipfull Master, Brother Fabris, who may have considered that after one year in existence, he could finally reveal to the brethren all of the Scottish ceremonies?
It was, in any case, a second knightly degree. It consisted of two fundamental components: the dubbing ceremony and the speech concerning “the illustrious history of this Order, its noble progress and its sublimity.” Hence, on December 31, 1743, the Master of the Chair “raised the Most Dignified Brother Katsch – who had been named a Scottish Master on October 14, 1743 – to Knight of the Scottish Order in due and proper form [… and] Secretary Roblau declared that the Most Dignified Brother Patonnier ardently wished to be initiated into our sublime Scottish Order.” The lodge gave a favorable opinion, so that on the following meeting, held January 23, 1744, “Secretary Roblau raised […] the Most Dignified Brother Patonnier to a Scottish Master in due and proper form, then the Worshipfull Master raised this same Brother to a Knight of the Scottish Order in accordance with the customs used during this occasion.” Even though they are always granted one after the other, there were indeed two ceremonial rites practiced in the Scottish Lodge, starting on Saint Andrew’s Day in 1743. The Scottish Order was also called the Order of Saint Andrew during the official admittance of “His Royal Highness Magrave Charles, our Most Illustrious Brother – on February 13, 1744 – […] the Worshipfull Master in the Chair Brother Roman, after opening the lodge, received S.A.R. Scottish Master in due and proper form, and Secretary Roblau gave him the explanation of the origins, the words, the signs and marks of the Scottish Master, then the Worshipfull Master presented him with the Order of Saint-Andrew our Patron, which he accepted.” Furthermore, on July 12, 1745, “Brother Salimbeni suggested to the lodge that from that date on, the members wear the Order of Saint Andrew attached to a wide sash, hanging from the left shoulder to the right side.”

A “Mother Scottish Lodge”?

The Scottish Union lodge did not only set up another type of Masonry in Berlin, it also worked to expand it. A reading of the reports from a meeting held October 28, 1743, reveals that: “The Most Dignified Brother Fomery notified the lodge that he has opened a Scottish Lodge in Leipzig and that, with the participation of the Most Dignified Brother Perret, they named the Most Dignified Brother, Baron d’Often, Semsch and Gérard de Dresden as Scottish Masters.” Frankfurt followed Leipzig: “On the 6th of March, 1745, the Most Sublime Scottish Lodge of the Berlin Union granted a warrant to the Most Dignified Scottish Master Brother of the city of Frankfurt-am-Main for the establishment of a Just and Perfect Scottish lodge in this city, under the name of The Sincerity, and declaring by unanimous consent of the brethren mentioned above that the Most Dignified Brethren Stuyrtz be our deputy master of this daughter lodge.” The lodge was set up on September 4, 1745 and, that same day, admitted eight Scottish Masters. This same Brother Strurtz formed Scottish Master centers in Iéna and Erffurth in September and October 1745. This is where a Brother who would play an important role in the history of the upper degrees in Germany became a Scottish Master: “de Knigge, Gentleman Courlandais, admitted in Iéna on October 8, 1745.” On November 25, 1745, the Union granted a warrant for the creation of a Scottish Lodge in Halle to be called The Concorde, under the direction of Brother Galafrès. On January 11, 1749, the lodge gave a warrant to Brother Neégard “for the creation of a Scottish lodge named Four Shining Stars, in the city of Copenhagen. On January 30, 1740, “the Worshipfull Scottish Union lodge in Berlin, granted to the Most Dignified Brother Seulen, a Transylvanian gentleman, a warrant granting permission to establish a Just and Perfect Scottish Lodge in Transylvania to be called The Four Moons.” On January 23, 1751, “The Worshipfull Lodge, on the requisition of His Serene Highness, Brother Louis-Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Gotha, granted him a patent for the establishment of a Scottish Lodge in the city of Altenburg, his residence, under the name of Four Cubic Stones.”

Given its activism, the Scottish Union lodge appears to have been one of the first Mother Scottish Lodges. It is unique – but is it really so surprising? – to see here that “authentic” and “positive’ history supports the Masonic tradition according to which Berlin and the entourage of Frederick II formed one of the oldest centers actively disseminating the “Scottish Rite.”

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