The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

Chapter 5 - Technical Terminology 265
Scottish Grand Lodges ("Grand Architect"). It is further a popular denomination
for high degrees, for example the XII. degree of the Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite (Grand Master Architect) 745 .
2. Baluster
A baluster (French: balustre) in its original sense is a small column or
pilaster, applied by the Scottish Rite Masons to any official circular or other
document issuing from a Supreme Council 746 . We find the same explanation in
the IFL: "Balustre, eigentlich eine schmale Säule, dient in der romanischen
Maurerei, namentlich des A. u. A. Schottischen Ritus, zur Bezeichnung einer
Veröffentlichung, eines Dekretes usw.". 747 Here, the meaning of the word has
changed completely, and a profane would not suspect that a column could
designate a document.
The French Masonic language offers even more metaphors from operative
masonry denoting Masonic books, for example with regard to the records of a
lodge kept by the Secretary in a journal, which is called Minute-Book: "The
French call it Planche tracée, and the Minutes a Morceau d'Architecture." 748
Another French expression for the book of minutes is "Livre d'Architecture." 749
Correspondingly, the verb "to write" is substituted by "to engrave" in French
Masonry: "In French Lodges, buriner, to engrave, is used instead of ecrire [sic],
to write. The "engraved tablets" are the "written records." 750
3. Broached Thurnel
Oliver states in the GHCDF that "Broached Thurnel" was the name of one of
the original immovable jewels of a Freemason's lodge, namely the stone that the
Entered Apprentice learned to work upon, which was subsequently called Brute
Stone or Rough Ashlar. 751 Mackey's EOF contradicts this thesis by stating that
the Broached Thurnel and the Rough Ashlar used to be two separate things, and
one did not result from the other. According to Mackey's findings, the Broached
Thurnel was for the Apprentice and the Rough Ashlar for the Fellow Craft to
work upon:
745 Cf. IFL, p. 89.
746 Cf. EOF, p. 96.
747 IFL, p. 120.
748 EOF, p. 484.
749 Ibid, p. 449. See also IFL, p. 943; in German: "Protokollbuch."
750 EOF, p. 244.
751 GHCDF, p. 441.