THE STONEMASONS OF GERMANY.
,33
mason, might acquire the rights of a stonemason by serving an extra three years only. As this
concession is withdrawn in 1563 it is probable that it had acted unfavourably to the trade
interests of the stonemasons.
Paragraphs XX., XXI., XXIIL, XXIV., XXV., XXXVI., L. to LVIL. LIX., LXII. are
in 1563.
Also from LXIV. to the end, with the exception of LXXII.
all
new
We also find that a few paragraphs of the 1459 Ordinances are totally omitted in 1563.
These principally provide for divine worship, the singing of masses for the departed, and the
return of the book and box to Strassburg, should a master's building be completed, and he have
no further employment for his fellows. One of the omitted Ordinances
and to render our review complete I now insert it here
:
"
Whoever
Item.
—
is,
desires to enter this fraternity shall promise ever to
however, curious
keep steadfastly
;
all
these articles hereinbefore and hereafter written in this book; except our gracious lord the
Emperor or the king, princes, lords, or any other nobles, by force or right should be opposed to
his belonging to the fraternity
But
therein.
for
what he
with the craftsmen who
This
is
that shall be a sufficient excuse
;
;
so that there be
no harm
indebted to the fraternity, he shall come to an agreement thereon
are in the fraternity."
is
rather suggestive of a practice not
employ non-union men.
The 1563 code of Ordinances
uncommon
at the present
day
— of masters
pre-
ferring to
come
to light;
Brother-book.
it
is
the latest relating to the
was supplied in printed
We may
fairly
presume that
it
German stonemasons
that has
large works, and denominated
continued to regulate their trade until quite
folio
form to
all
recent times, with the exception of the supremacy of the Strassburg lodge of which more
anon.
It hardly, however, suffices to fill up the details in the picture of the Steinmetzen
;
which
it
our purpose to draw
is
in broad outline.
We
still
;
a careful study will show that
it
only treats of the subject
require something in the nature of a copy of by-laws, in order
life, and this we happily find in a code of
discovered this code in manuscript form, in the
Ordinances drawn up in 1462.
Stieglitz^
It has
stonemasons' lodge at Eochlitz (in Saxony, on the Mulde), and published it in 1829.
since been republished in German as an appendix to Fort's work, but no English translation
has yet appeared.
The invocation to the Trinity and the four crowned martyrs, in tlie
to penetrate into the mysteries of mediaeval lodge
1459 Ordinances, and we gather from the preamble, that the
Strassburg masters had sent a copy of their Statutes to the masons' lodges in North Germany,
in view of confirmation.
The list of signatures in 1459, shows that these were not repreintroduction, resembles the
sented at Eatisbon and Strassburg, although their territory was made directly dependent on
The North German masters expressly declare their adhesion to this code, and
Strassburg.
complete the ^vork by enlarging on the various paragraphs in a separate document, for the use
of their separate lodges, in order that the original book may remain intact and well preserved.
And
they expressly declare that these articles (which are not new or in ojiposition to the 1459
Ordinances, but merely elucidatory thereof) are drawn up from the ancient landmarks
How, therefore, Fort could have fallen into the error of
who met at Torgau (in Saxony, on the Elbe), dissenters and
attributable to the holy martyrs.
calling the masters and fellows,
protesters,
is
He not only does so, but implies that the 1459
landmarks, and states that the masters at Torgnu
perfectly incomprehensible.
Ordinances departed
'
from
the old
C. L. Stieglitz,
Ubcr
die Kirche dor Heiligen Kiiniguude zu Koclilitz.