THE STONEMASONS OF GERMANY.
were the direct result of
trade; or they
some quarrel which had threatened
may have taken
to
119
become
prejudicial to the
their rise from a feeling in the craft that the days of their
highest prosperity and power were slipping away from them, and that some mighty effort was
necessary to consolidate their associations and combine their interests or they may, on the
;
other hand, have been simply the outcome of a desire to obtain royal authority for their
future proceedings, as we find that immediately afterwards these statutes were laid before the
Emperor
for confirmation.
These Ordinances apparently remained in
alterations
1563, with possibly some slight
allowable according to the laws
proceeding perfectly
indeed supposes that such did take place, at the assemblies held
of individual sections
Heldmann
themselves.
;
full force till
a
he avers) in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries at Strassburg, Cologne, Bale, and other
he does not cite his authority for this statement.^ It is, however, quite
obvious that the Ordinances of 1459 are given in a very confused manner, without any
(as
places, although
attempt at natural sequence or order and for this, as well possibly as for other reasons, it
became highly desirable that they should undergo a general revision, which accordingly took
place in 1563, at two meetings, held respectively on the festivals of St Bartholomew and
;
These revised laws were printed in folio, and a copy distributed to every lodge
of importance, the master of which was willing to join the fraternity and the following is a
translation, in which will be presented as literal a rendering as possible, of the antiquated,
St Michael.
;
rugged German, at the sacrifice of all pretension to elegance of diction.- In the numeration
I have followed Kloss, and Eoman figures are used, in order to distingxiish the separate
articles from those of the 1462 code (to be given hereafter), to wliich attention will be called
by ordinary
figures.
THE BROTHER-BOOK OF