Luigi Visentin
Registered User
I hope that the following short article can catch your interest as I would like to propose a small quiz, unfortunately for you with no prizes!
First of all a premise to be clear, I'm an amateur researcher who claims to have decoded the Legend of the Craft (I know that someone would call me a "crackpot", and likely it could be true, but I'm not alone ) to which I have dedicated some years (of my free time obviously) and I have written also a book about, but only in Italian.
Basically, in my opinion, the Legend really tells a story of a group of persons who were our ancient Brothers. The history, even if "heretical" if referred to what we currently believe, is absolutely in line with what has happened in certain places and at certain times. Unfortunately it is not possible to demonstrate with certainty if this story is real or simply "invented" (using real facts) in order to give an historical background to the Brotherhood. I have to say that there are some clues that it could be real. Unfortunately there is not any "not Masonic" text, which says clearly "masons were XXXX" except some versions of the Legend so this question will remain likely unanswered.
The key to understand the method used to compose the Legend is that, a part of some misspelling and some later changes, the composer (or composers) has used simply "nicknames" or alternative definitions to identify the personages, while some of them are called with their own real name. Some nicknames have been invented by Masons (Abraham and Euclid, for example), but others not and those not invented by Masons can be traced in the non Masonic history. Another important point is that the author has avoided to give some indications, or it has hidden them with symbolical terms, when it was clear that the information would have allowed to identify who were the Masons and this has avoided him to lie, so we can be confident that history, at least, is sincere. Unfortunately passing the time the history has been modified as the memory of some facts or names had been lost. One example is about Athelstan's son. Initially the responsible who has given the final Charges to Freemasons was Athelstan (Regius). Later it becomes Athelstan's son (Cooke). However as no son of Athelstan is known, someone thought that the "son" should have been Edwin, the brother. But "son" can have different meaning and indeed I can say that Athelstan had one "son" or better, based on the same explanation and according to history, he had at least two sons: one of them is the one that is interesting for the Legend.
Coming back to the "nicknames" what it has been written was something that any learned people of the Middle Age could easily decode. This explains why not all the information have been given and why there are so many mistakes and inconsistencies like the meeting between Abraham and Euclid, but also the whole part dedicated to king David and to king Solomon. The reference to the Bible is simply a way to mislead the "not Mason" reader, but also is according to a tendency existing in the Middle Age to relate a current fact to a similar one of the Bible, in order to give the idea of a "divine Will" behind the fact itself. Knowing the history behind the Legend it is simple to verify that mistakes and inconsistencies do not exist (a part those introduced later by our Brothers themselves).
Now, after this long introduction, here is the little quiz that I have invented about the Legend of the Craft. Pay attention that the Legend talks about two Salomons (one of the inconsistencies). One is the son of king David, but the other one lived more or less in the same days and was not a son of king David (at least it could have been an illegitimate as his father is unknown) therefore the Legend makes some confusion about them. Knowing this, the quiz is the following: "if king Salomon was not king Salomon and king David was not king David but king Salomon is known to the History as king Salomon, with which name is known to the History king David?".
Indipendently from the fact that about the Legend I could be right or wrong, this quiz can be solved from everybody as it is not so difficult but needs a little search. Enjoy!
First of all a premise to be clear, I'm an amateur researcher who claims to have decoded the Legend of the Craft (I know that someone would call me a "crackpot", and likely it could be true, but I'm not alone ) to which I have dedicated some years (of my free time obviously) and I have written also a book about, but only in Italian.
Basically, in my opinion, the Legend really tells a story of a group of persons who were our ancient Brothers. The history, even if "heretical" if referred to what we currently believe, is absolutely in line with what has happened in certain places and at certain times. Unfortunately it is not possible to demonstrate with certainty if this story is real or simply "invented" (using real facts) in order to give an historical background to the Brotherhood. I have to say that there are some clues that it could be real. Unfortunately there is not any "not Masonic" text, which says clearly "masons were XXXX" except some versions of the Legend so this question will remain likely unanswered.
The key to understand the method used to compose the Legend is that, a part of some misspelling and some later changes, the composer (or composers) has used simply "nicknames" or alternative definitions to identify the personages, while some of them are called with their own real name. Some nicknames have been invented by Masons (Abraham and Euclid, for example), but others not and those not invented by Masons can be traced in the non Masonic history. Another important point is that the author has avoided to give some indications, or it has hidden them with symbolical terms, when it was clear that the information would have allowed to identify who were the Masons and this has avoided him to lie, so we can be confident that history, at least, is sincere. Unfortunately passing the time the history has been modified as the memory of some facts or names had been lost. One example is about Athelstan's son. Initially the responsible who has given the final Charges to Freemasons was Athelstan (Regius). Later it becomes Athelstan's son (Cooke). However as no son of Athelstan is known, someone thought that the "son" should have been Edwin, the brother. But "son" can have different meaning and indeed I can say that Athelstan had one "son" or better, based on the same explanation and according to history, he had at least two sons: one of them is the one that is interesting for the Legend.
Coming back to the "nicknames" what it has been written was something that any learned people of the Middle Age could easily decode. This explains why not all the information have been given and why there are so many mistakes and inconsistencies like the meeting between Abraham and Euclid, but also the whole part dedicated to king David and to king Solomon. The reference to the Bible is simply a way to mislead the "not Mason" reader, but also is according to a tendency existing in the Middle Age to relate a current fact to a similar one of the Bible, in order to give the idea of a "divine Will" behind the fact itself. Knowing the history behind the Legend it is simple to verify that mistakes and inconsistencies do not exist (a part those introduced later by our Brothers themselves).
Now, after this long introduction, here is the little quiz that I have invented about the Legend of the Craft. Pay attention that the Legend talks about two Salomons (one of the inconsistencies). One is the son of king David, but the other one lived more or less in the same days and was not a son of king David (at least it could have been an illegitimate as his father is unknown) therefore the Legend makes some confusion about them. Knowing this, the quiz is the following: "if king Salomon was not king Salomon and king David was not king David but king Salomon is known to the History as king Salomon, with which name is known to the History king David?".
Indipendently from the fact that about the Legend I could be right or wrong, this quiz can be solved from everybody as it is not so difficult but needs a little search. Enjoy!