hanzosbm
Premium Member
Reading the Secret Teaching of All Ages today, I came across a passage giving some information about Hiram that I had not previously read. Since Manly Hall was...shall we say, a little carefree with his statements, I went to the original source (a little book with the rather lengthy title of "...History of Freemasons, Containing Their Origine, Progress, and Present State: An Abstract of Their Laws, Constitutions, Customs, Charges, Orders and Regulations, For the Instruction and Conduct 0f the Brethern: A Confutation of Dr. Plot's False Insuations: An Apology, Occasioned by Their [unintelligible] in the Canton of Berne, and in the Pope's Dominions: and a Select Number of Songs and Other Particulars, For the Use of the Society") which Hall dates to 1771. I couldn't find the date, but based on a few of the letters it mentions in the text, that sounds right.
http://masoniclibrary.com/books/The Pocket Companion and History of Free-masons (1754).pdf
There is a lot of good information in this book, but the part in regards to HAB is as follows:
"He sent him also a man of his own name, a Tyrian by birth, but of Israelitish descent, who was a second Bezaleel, and honoured by his King with the title of Father; and in 2 Chron II 13 is called Hiram Abif. This inspired Master was, without question, the most cunning, skillful, and curious workman that ever lived, whose abilities were not confined by building only, but extended to all kinds of work, whether in gold, silver, brass, or iron; whether in linen, tapestry, or embroidery; whether considered as an architect, statuary, founder, or designer, separately or together, he equally excelled. From his designs, and under his direction, all the rich and splendid furniture of the Temple, and its several appendages, were begun, carried on, and finished. Solomon appointed him, in his absence, to fill the chair, as Deputy-Grand-Master, and in his presence, Senior Grand-Warden, Master of Work, and general overseer of all artists, as well those whom David had formerly procured from Tyre and Sidon, as those Hiram should now send."
It goes on to say that upon the completion of the Temple, King Hiram and Hiram Abif returned to consecrate it, but then, something happens.
"The Temple of Jehovah being finished, under the auspices of the wise and glorious King of Israel, Solomon, the Prince of Architecture, and the Grand Master Mason of his day, the fraternity celebrated the Cape-Stone with great joy; but their joy was soon interrupted by the sudden death of their dear and worthy Master Hiram Abif; nor less was the concern of King Solomon, who after some time allowed to the Craft to vent their sorrow, ordered his obsequies to be performed with great solemnity and decency, and buried him in the Lodge near the Temple, according to the ancient usages among Mason; and long mourned for his loss."
A few things I found interesting here:
1) HAB is the Senior Warden in this early telling. And considering that he supervised the craft while at work, this makes sense.
2) Obviously, the story of his death is a bit different than in our current ritual.
3) There's a LOT of detail in this story. This book does cite some sources which I have yet to look into, so I don't know how much was the author's invention versus coming from earlier sources.
To me, it is interesting to see various pieces of the story we all know starting to appear. The Graham MS from 1726 has the raising, but with Noah. Around 1723 we start seeing HAB showing up more and more in the history of the fraternity, but not as a central figure. Here, we see HAB dying at the Temple at the completion of the build. It definitely appears that the ritual we have today is made up of fragments of existing legends at the time that were pulled together and squeezed into a single cohesive story.
I thought the brethren might be interested.
http://masoniclibrary.com/books/The Pocket Companion and History of Free-masons (1754).pdf
There is a lot of good information in this book, but the part in regards to HAB is as follows:
"He sent him also a man of his own name, a Tyrian by birth, but of Israelitish descent, who was a second Bezaleel, and honoured by his King with the title of Father; and in 2 Chron II 13 is called Hiram Abif. This inspired Master was, without question, the most cunning, skillful, and curious workman that ever lived, whose abilities were not confined by building only, but extended to all kinds of work, whether in gold, silver, brass, or iron; whether in linen, tapestry, or embroidery; whether considered as an architect, statuary, founder, or designer, separately or together, he equally excelled. From his designs, and under his direction, all the rich and splendid furniture of the Temple, and its several appendages, were begun, carried on, and finished. Solomon appointed him, in his absence, to fill the chair, as Deputy-Grand-Master, and in his presence, Senior Grand-Warden, Master of Work, and general overseer of all artists, as well those whom David had formerly procured from Tyre and Sidon, as those Hiram should now send."
It goes on to say that upon the completion of the Temple, King Hiram and Hiram Abif returned to consecrate it, but then, something happens.
"The Temple of Jehovah being finished, under the auspices of the wise and glorious King of Israel, Solomon, the Prince of Architecture, and the Grand Master Mason of his day, the fraternity celebrated the Cape-Stone with great joy; but their joy was soon interrupted by the sudden death of their dear and worthy Master Hiram Abif; nor less was the concern of King Solomon, who after some time allowed to the Craft to vent their sorrow, ordered his obsequies to be performed with great solemnity and decency, and buried him in the Lodge near the Temple, according to the ancient usages among Mason; and long mourned for his loss."
A few things I found interesting here:
1) HAB is the Senior Warden in this early telling. And considering that he supervised the craft while at work, this makes sense.
2) Obviously, the story of his death is a bit different than in our current ritual.
3) There's a LOT of detail in this story. This book does cite some sources which I have yet to look into, so I don't know how much was the author's invention versus coming from earlier sources.
To me, it is interesting to see various pieces of the story we all know starting to appear. The Graham MS from 1726 has the raising, but with Noah. Around 1723 we start seeing HAB showing up more and more in the history of the fraternity, but not as a central figure. Here, we see HAB dying at the Temple at the completion of the build. It definitely appears that the ritual we have today is made up of fragments of existing legends at the time that were pulled together and squeezed into a single cohesive story.
I thought the brethren might be interested.