THE STONEMASONS OF GERMANY.
because he lieth sick, he shall be assisted from the box, and
live
pay
143
if
he recover he
sliall
it.
112.
And
if
make a journey for
be paid him out of the box.
any fellow
his expenses also shall
A
shall
careful comparison of these
particular only, do they
clash.
the guild in that that concerns the craft,
documents will clearly demonstrate that in one small
of 1459 and 1563 provide (Art. LVIII.) that
The Ordinances
not be appointed warden; whereas those of 14G2 (Art. 29) permit the
master to appoint an apprentice to the office of warden, "if he be able to maintain it;" that is,
In all
if he be sufficiently instructed and capable, in order that no harm may thereby ensue.
an apprentice
shall
other points, the Torgau Ordinances are merely complemental to those of 1459.
As far as regards mere trade regulations, all these Ordinances are probably only confirmations of previously existing customs, the preamble of 1459 stating clearly enough that
the "masters and fellows at Spires, Strassburg, and Eatisbon renewed and revised these
which is plainly expressed ly
;" but the fraternity was quite a new departure,
the words "kindly and affably agreed upon these statutes and fraternity."^ The "fraternity"
was agreed upon as something new the usages, being ancient, were confirmed. Further proof
"
No craftsman or master shall be received into the guild," which
is afforded in Art. XVII.,
ancient usages
;
was renewed
1563
in
;
so that
we may presume
every master had joined the fraternity
;
which
is
that,
even
after
further confirmed
more than a century, not
by the
first
clause of Art.
XVIII., also by Art. XXVII., and others.
Again, we find that the Torgau masters drew up a special code, containing divers
Ordinances that were obligatory on all workmasters and fellows that is, even such as were
;
not of the fraternity. And in effect, throughout the 1462 Ordinances, the brotherhood or fra"
guild" is only mentioned
ternity is not once mentioned or taken into account, and the word
word "craft" being always substituted. Kloss^ very cogently
insists on the previous absence of this fraternity, and strengthens his proofs by quotations
from the correspondence carried on in 1618-1521 between Annaberg and Strassburg; from
in the very last paragraph, the
undeniably evident, that the Saxon masters had not then all joined the fraternity,
and were only induced to do so after strong persuasion on the part of Strassburg. Why
our purpose to
subsequent writers have chosen to ignore Kloss's very logical proofs it is not
which
it is
inquire, although their reasons are perhaps not far to seek.
The stonemasons were divided, like all other crafts whatsoever,
The apprentices, however, though
masters, fellows, and apprentices.
into
three
of the craft,
classes,
—
were not
in this respect an analogy existing with the other craft guilds.
;
with the stonemasons, as their laws reveal, the master remained a member of the
admitted to the brotherhood
But
brotherhood, and
owed
tion of workmaster
;
stances,
by one
of
were presided over in some inin others by one or more of the journeymen
"
In both cases, however,
Old- fellow
(Alt-gesell).
and the journeymen
the masters of the locality, and
and the journeymen
themselves,
his position in the fraternity as presiding judge, solely to his qualificawhereas in other crafts the masters had formed fraternities of their own,
also
;
who then took
the
title
of
"
fraternities
the officer was elected by the votes of the members; and in the former the master was
'
*
See translation in Steinbrenner, Origin and Early History, etc., p. 86.
G. Kloss, Die Frcimaurerei in ihrer walircn Bedeutung, pp. 240-250.