SCOTTISH FREEMASONRY 1725-1810 ... - Lodge Prudentia

freemasonry. Chapter 3 focuses on the development of Scottish freemasonry
and the Grand Lodge of Scotland between the years 1740 until 1790, arguably
the pinnacle of the fraternity, especially for Edinburgh lodges. Boasting a wide
variety of artisans, literati, and government figures, and with its steadily-
increasing number of lodges, freemasonry – under the steady, if not staid – gaze
of the Grand Lodge became one of the most popular associations of eighteenth-
century Scotland.
While clubs and societies appeared and thrived in Scotland during the
1800s, other nations boasted their own array of clubs and societies. After 1789,
however, certain groups assumed the mantle of political radicalism. Chapter 4
will outline the climate of growing hostility towards British and European
freemasonry in the years leading up to and following the outbreak of the French
Revolution, the intrusion of the Grand Lodge of Scotland and national politics
into lodge life, and the impact of masonic and governmental legislation aimed at
eradicating the perceived threats of secret and seditious societies on British
freemasonry. This chapter will also consider the alleged and actual links
between radical organizations and the freemasons, and what were the ultimate
ramifications of their self-imposed adherence to secrecy and rituals during a
time of heightened scepticism of such practices.
The presence of national politics in lodges and the concomitant loss of
lodge autonomy directly caused two major Scottish legal cases at the beginning
of the nineteenth century. Both incidents culminated in courtroom battles and
created further tensions among masons, in addition to fuelling the growing
10