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Practicality of the apron

hanzosbm

Premium Member
We all know the lessons taught of why Masons wear their aprons in the fashion appropriate to their degree. However, I stumbled upon something recently that I found interesting and thought I might share.

As we know, originally, there were only 2 degrees, so likely, there were only 2 ways to wear the apron. If we assume the EA and MM methods (the FC has always seemed a bit contrived to me) then we are expected to believe that one does a better job of protecting clothing and for some reason the other doesn't need as much protection. Looking at the apron, this explanation, while plausible, seems a bit lacking. Does that small piece of fabric really protect that much? And if you're not using it, why wear it at all?

Switching gears a bit, I recently got into the hobby of blacksmithing; a discipline that requires an operative apron. Working in front of a forge is not only messy business, but also very hot. The apron is far from comfortable, but one wears it out of necessity. Most aprons are relatively simple; a loop goes over your neck and strings are tied at your waist. However, as time has passed and I have gotten more involved, I decided to upgrade my apron a bit. As I stated, it gets very hot, and I found at times that after I finished my project, I would move around to help others; acting in a somewhat supervisory capacity. While doing this, I didn't want to completely remove my apron because I might need to jump in to show a young craftsman how to do something. So, I simply reworked my apron so that it could be easily undone from my neck which allowed my upper body to breathe. I never really thought much of it till I caught a glimpse of my reflection.

ry%3D480

ry%3D480
 

Bill Lins

Moderating Staff
Staff Member
Looking at the apron, this explanation, while plausible, seems a bit lacking. Does that small piece of fabric really protect that much? And if you're not using it, why wear it at all?

Like many things in Masonry, the aprons we now wear are symbolic.
 

Akiles

Registered User
Freemasonry is a school for minds... A symbol is simply that, a symbol, and depend on you the meaning....

Anyway, for me, the explanation of @hanzosbm is very interesting. Think you for share it with us brother!.

Just one thing, really, in the past, there were EA and FC...not MM....the MM simply were the more experimented FC... That is what I found
 

Bloke

Premium Member
We all know the lessons taught of why Masons wear their aprons in the fashion appropriate to their degree.

No, we don't all know those lessons. In Australian Craft lodges, we dont wear aprons " in the fashion appropriate to their degree" we actually have different aprons for EA, FC, MM, PM and GL Officers...

Not reading the text, but check the pictures

Masonry might be universal, but many of the practices are not.

(oh, and interesting observation about your blacksmithing apron)
 

hanzosbm

Premium Member
No, we don't all know those lessons. In Australian Craft lodges, we dont wear aprons " in the fashion appropriate to their degree" we actually have different aprons for EA, FC, MM, PM and GL Officers...

Not reading the text, but check the pictures

Masonry might be universal, but many of the practices are not.

(oh, and interesting observation about your blacksmithing apron)
Excellent point! I appreciate the clarification and it makes me want to research when the split occurred. Thank you.
 

Bloke

Premium Member
Excellent point! I appreciate the clarification and it makes me want to research when the split occurred. Thank you.

It probably was not a "split" but maybe a difference between Scottish or English Freemasonry or that disruptive event in Freemasonry, the American War of Independence..... But it is a guess.... I too would be interested to know more of the history of the EA, FC and MM apron...
 

hanzosbm

Premium Member
It probably was not a "split" but maybe a difference between Scottish or English Freemasonry or that disruptive event in Freemasonry, the American War of Independence..... But it is a guess.... I too would be interested to know more of the history of the EA, FC and MM apron...
I had almost forgotten about this. Then, I remembered and decided to look into it. Here is a great article on the history and evolution of the apron.

http://www.freemasonry.bcy.ca/aqc/apron.html

In short, the differently decorated aprons seen in the UK and some other countries seems to have come about in 1815 from the UGLE. As the Revolutionary War predated that, it seems that us 'Yanks' found our own way. Interestingly though, the third degree emerged prior to 1745, yet it seems like different US jurisdictions have different ways for the FC to wear his apron. In that article, it is pretty obvious that MMs began wearing their bibs down (and my above posting, I discussed why this is done from an operative sense), so the EA and MM make sense, but the FC is a bit of a mystery and there doesn't seem to be much information about how they wore their aprons between 1745 and 1815.
My guess is, here in the colonies we kept up the tradition of the bib changing direction during advancement but otherwise decorating them as we saw fit, and in the UK and various colonies after 1815, they were standardized with specific decorations.

Edited to add: in this article, they mention how the upper strings hang loose when the bib is down, thus eventually evolving into the tassels. Looking at my pictures above, you can see what they're talking about. I do, however, disagree with the assertion that operative Masons tied their aprons in the front. I have found that doing so, while easier, leads to the strings being damaged as well as discomfort if anything needs to be placed against the body for carrying heavy objects, working things on one's lap, or leaning into something.
 
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