tfiitiiMffiaairitieitftmawiitftitiHfidtMiai FROM THE BENNO LOEWY LIBRARY COLLECTED BY BENNO LOEWY 1854-1919 BEQUEATHED TO CORNELL UNIVERSITY Cornell University Library HS598.L84 Q21 The Quatuor Coronati Lodge, na^^^^ 1924 030 301 646 3 Overs olin.anx The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030301646 THE QUATUOR CORONATI LODGE, No. 2076, of Ancient, Free, and Accepted Masons, London. BY BRO. RODERICK H. BAXTER, P.P.G.W., East Lanes. Printed by E. WriglEy and Sons Limited, Rochdai,e, FOR The Manchester Association for Masonic Research. 1918. , v/ DEDICATED TO THE V.-. W.-. Brd.-. Sir Alfred Robbins, P.G.D., President of the Board of General Purposes of the United Grand Lodge of England, in appreciation of long and valuable services rendered to administrative, benevolent, literary, and other phases of Masonic activity. The Quatuor Coronati Lodge. On the 28th November, 1884, a warrant was issued for the formation of a Lodge bearing the somewhat peculiar title of " The Quatuor Coronati," and being numbered 2,076 on th-e register of the United Grand Lodge of England. It is perhaps safe to say- that there is now no Lodge on the register so well known in all parts of the world, and there is certainly none which has exercised such an influence on the intellectual development of the craft. The founders—nine in number—were all men of literary distinction, and in addition to the Master-designate, Lieut.-General Sir Charles Warren, comprised such: stalwarts as Bros. Robert Freke Gould, William James Hughan, Revd. Adplphus Frederick Alexander Woodford, George William Speth, William Harry Rylands,. John P^ul Rylands, Sir Walter Besant and Colonel Sisson Cooper Pratt. The objects of the founders were to form a centra and bond of union for masonic students, and generally to cultivate masonic research in all its phases. Membership of the Lodge has always been restricted to brethren who have made some contribution of note to literature, art or science in general, or that of the craft in particular, and there must never be more than forty members at the same time-— a number which I may say has never thus far been attained. By a resolution, however, of 2nd December, 1886, a sort of literary society was formed under the protection of the Lodge to be known as the Correspondence Circle. To this body, which may be fittingly described as the Outer Circle to distinguish it from the Lodge itself, which is generally described as the Inner Circle, any Master Mason in good standing in any part of the world may be admitted on the payment of the nominal entrance fee, .of half-a-guinea and an annual subscription of like amount. For these small contribu- tions he will be entitled to have all the summonses of the Lodge sent to him, to attend the meetings, to take part in the discussions, and to receive as issued the printed Transactions {Ars Quatuor Coronatorum) which appear in three parts annually, as well as the St. John's Card, which contains a greeting from the presiding Master and a list of all the members of both Circles. The Correspondence Circle now numbers spme 3,500 brethren in its ranks, and forms a valuable recruiting ground for the Inner Circle ; and it must be evident that its financial contributions enable the work of the Lodge to be successfully prosecuted. The name of the Lodge has created some inquiry and discussion. TJie Quatuor Coronati [i.e. the four crowned ones), appear to have been recognised as the Patron Saints of the building fraternity in the Middle Ages. One of the first attein,pts to deal fully with the legend attaching to them was made by the Revd. Broi.WgOdford,. P.G.C:, who acted as Chaplain at the consecration of the Lodge-r-which did, not takes. place until 12th January, 1886, owing to t^ie absence of the Master-designate, on important State duty in South Africa—and since then a good deal has been written concerning 2 THE QUATUOR CORONATI I,ODGE. the subject, including a very fine contribution by Bro. Dr. Chetwode Crawley. The most succinct account, however, is perhaps that of the late Bro. G. W. Speth, for so many years the able and indefatigable Secretary of the I^odge. This is printed along with the By-laws, which, unfortunately, are only supplied to the members of the Inner Circle. According to Bro. Speth's article the 8th day of November is marked in the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church as the Festival of Quatuor Coronati, which celebrates the memory of nine martyrs—a group of five masons and another of four soldiers. The masons (or sculptors) were named Claudius, Nicostratus, Sym- phorianus, and Castorius, who were afterwards joined by an artisan, Symplicitus. Being of superior skill, they seem to have attracted the attention of the Emperor Diocletian, who frequently commissioned them to carve pillars, capitals, and other objects, including a statue of ^Esculapius. Being secretly Christians they steadily neglected to carve the statue—or idol—as they regarded it. This fact was ultimately laid before the emperor, who being incensed—^not at their religion, but at their dis- obedience to his commands—ordered them to be examined by the Tribune Lampadius, who sentenced them to be cast into prison. In the same hour I,ampadius was seized by an evil spirit, and tearing himself, expired in his judgment seat. This suggestion •of the use of magic so incensed the emperor that he ordered the five to be enclosed, whilst still alive, in leaden coffins and cast into the Tiber, which event occurred on the sixth day of the ides, of November, or as we now calculate it November 8th. Bishop Quirrilus, who had some time previously baptised the five Christians, hearing of their martyrdom, passed to his rest on the same day. The year, so far as can be ascertained, was A.D. 302. Shortly after this event Diocletian entered Rome and ordered a temple to be made to ^^^sculapius in the Baths of Trajan, and an image of the god to be set up therein. When this had been done he ordered that all the soldiery should present themselves before the image and offer incense. Amongst the city militia were four " cornicularii," who, being Christians, refused to do so, for which offence the emperor ordered them to be scourged to death with lead-weighted thongs. This martydom occurred on the 8th November, A.D. 304. The question of how these four soldiers came to be called " coronati "has been solved by Dr. Begemann, who cites the tenth book and forty-fourth chapter of Livy to prove that there were two personal dis- — " tinctions or decorations in the Roman army, viz. : " armillis aureisque coronis and " corniculis armillisque argentis," so that there were two classes of decorated " " soldiers ; coronati," the higher, and cornicularii," the lower. It is every way likely that the soldier martyrs would be designated by the higher rank as a sort of brevet honour after their death, even if they were not so distinguished during their military career. The names of the four soldiers, which were not revealed until the ninth century " by the Grace of God " are stated to have been Severus, Severianus, Carpophorus, and Victorianus. Only one authority alleges them to have been " own brothers." " . It cannot be shown that any masonic guild in England ever recognised The Four Crowned Ones," but on the continent not only masons but other trades using the hammer, square, and chisel were dedicated to them, and the fact that they were well known in this country is proved by the existence of a Church of the Quatuor Coronati at Canterbury in A.D. 619, whilst reference to them is to be found in the oldest preserved masonic document now in the British Museum and known of latie years as the " Regius MS," fHE QUA^UOR COROnA'TI 1,0DGE. 3 It is very appropriate that the foremost literary lodge in the world, founded as it was to foster masonic archaeology, should have adopted the name of " The Quatuor Coronati " and have settled their installation festival for the 8th of November. It was quite in keeping with the purpose of the founders that their number should have been fixed at nine, but purely by a happy accident that the. nine should have com- prised four brethren who had held commissions in the military service of the crown and five speculative masons who had not adopted the profession of arms. During the period of over three decades"which have now elapsed since its forma- tion much good work has been accomplished by the I/odge. At every meeting an original paper has been read and discussions of great value have followed, all of which have been duly printed. Other articles have been contributed to the Transactions and many fine illustrations have been included. Reviews of masonic works have appeared from time to time, and valuable notes on all sorts of masonic and cognate subjects as well as biographical and memorial sketches have enriched the annual volumes. In addition ten sumptuous volumes of antiquarian reprints, entitled " Quatuor Cotonatorum Antigrapha," have been produced, and several other publica- tions hr.ve been undertaken. , It is not necessary for me here to particularise the contents of these volumes as it is my intention to include, in the form of an appendix, lists of all the members of the I,odge since its foundation, of Worshipful Masters, of publications, and a table of articles contained in these publications.