The Origins of Freemasonry and the Invention of Tradition
of Freemasonry was essential to maintain the prestige of the English Grand Lodge and to provide it with the authority to excommunicate other Grand Lodges in France and elsewhere .
Since the time of Gould , the conventional Anglophone view of masonic history has been what can be described as a ‘ big bang ’ theory , with freemasonry rapidly spreading across the world as a result of the creation of the Grand Lodge . Such a view of course again bolsters the self-image of the English Grand Lodge as the Premier Grand Lodge of the world . Does such a big bang model fit our understanding of the growth of freemasonry in the eighteenth century ? From the point of view of Britain and its colonies , such a model underplays the vital role of Scottish and Irish freemasonry , particularly through regimental lodges . In thinking about British freemasonry , we need to think much more about the interplay between these jurisdictions , and less about which is the premier organisation . While English influence can be seen in the earliest lodge in the Netherlands , with two of the founding members having been initiated in England , it seems like that the early development of freemasonry was also strongly shaped by the sociable and fraternal forms which had already arisen in the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century , including bodies such as the Chevaliers de la Jubilation described by Margaret Jacob . 70 Likewise , in France , freemasonry did not simply spread from England in a linear fashion . The growth of freemasonry meshed together various groups and practices , including both Jacobite and Hanoverian lodges as well as other forms of sociability . We need to look less at spread and single points of origin , and more at interconnections and cross-fertilisation .
Marc Bloch was a pioneer of trans-national history . A major regret in preparing this lecture is that , because of my training and previous experience as primarily a historian of Britain , I haven ’ t been able to open up sufficient trans-national perspectives . This is a pity , because it becomes increasingly clear that in studying the history of freemasonry we need to break out of national silos . Freemasonry is a cosmopolitan and international phenomenon , and needs to be studied in that way . Traditions are invented to bolster nationalism , and this is just as true in the history of freemasonry as elsewhere . We will not break free of these national blinkers by drilling further and further down towards imagined hidden origins . We will only develop a rounded trans-national view of freemasonry by looking at the way that different stories are told and imagined about it and seeing how these interconnect . Marc Bloch urged us to look at the interconnectedness of human institutions and cultures . Seeking this interconnectedness is the ultimate key to freemasonry .
70 Margaret C . Jacob , The Radical Enlightenment : Pantheists , Freemasons and Republicans , 2nd ed . ( New Orleans : Cornerstone Books , 2006 ).
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