Mackey A G - Encylopedia of Freemasonry - The Grand Masonic ...

144 CHARLATAN
CHARTERED
disbursement of the current expenses, but
which is appropriated to the relief of indigent
brethren, their widows, and orphans . The
charity fund of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania,
which was bequeathed to it by Stephen
Girard, and which is the largest in America,
considerably exceeds fifty thousand dollars .
Charlatan. A charlatan is a babbling
mountebank, who imposes on the populace
by large pretensions and high-sounding words .
A charlatan in Masonry is one who seeks by
a display of pompous ceremonial, and often
by claims to supernatural powers, to pervert
the Institution of Masonry to the acquisition
of gain, or the gratification of a paltry ambition
. Every man, says a distinguished writer,
is a charlatan who extorts money by charging
for sixpenny trash the amount that should only
be paid for works of science, and that, too,
under the plea of conveying knowledge that
cannot otherwise be obtained . (Lond. Freem.
Mag., 1844, p. 505 .) The eighteenth century
presented many examples of these Masonic
charlatans, of whom by far the greatest was
Cagliostro ; nor has the nineteenth century
been entirely without them .
Charlemagne . The great Charles, King
of France, who ascended the throne in the
year 768, is claimed by some Masonic writers
as a patron of Masonry. This is perhaps
because architecture flourished in France during
his reign, and because he encouraged the
arts by inviting the architects and traveling
Freemasons, who were then principally confined
to Italy, to visit France and engage
in the construction of important edifices.
The claim has been made that at his castle
at Aix-la-Chapelle he set apart a room or
rooms in which the seven liberal arts and sciences
were taught . This comprised a liberal
education for that period . [E . E. C .j
Charles Martel . He was the founder
of the Carlovingian dynasty, and governed
France with supreme power from 720 to 741,
under the title of Duke of the Franks, the
nominal kings being only his puppets . He
is claimed by the authors of the Old Records
as one of the patrons of Masonry . Thus, the
Lansdowne MS. says: "There was one of
the Royall Line of France called Charles
Marshall, and he was a man that loved well
the said Craft and took upon him the Rules
and Manners, and after that BY THE GRACE OF
GOD he was elect to be the King of France,
and when he was in his Estate he helped to
make those Masons that were now, and sett
them on Work and gave them Charges and
Manners and good pay as he had learned of
other Masons, and confirmed them a Charter
from yeare to yeare to hold their Assembly
when they would, and cherished them right
well, and thus came this Noble Craft into
France and England."
Rebold (Hist. Gen.) has accepted this legend
as authentic, and says : "In 740, Charles
Martel, who reigned in France under the title
of Mayor of the Palace, at the request of the
Anglo-Saxon kings, sent many workmen and
Masters into England ."
Charles I . and II. For their supposed
connection with the origin of Freemasonry,
see Stuart Masonry.
Charles XIII. The Duke of Siidermanland
was distinguished for his attachment to Masonry.
In 1809 he ascended the throne of
Sweden under the title of Charles XIII . Having
established the Masonic Order of Knighthood
of that name, he abdicated in favor of
Charles John Bernadotte, but always remained
an active and zealous member of the
Order. There is no king on record so distinguished
for his attachment to Freemasonry as
Charles XIII., of Sweden, and to him the
Swedish Masons are in a great measure indebted
for the high position that the Order
has maintained during the present century in
that country .
Charles XIII., Order of. An order of
knighthood instituted in 1811 by Charles
XIII ., King of Sweden, which was to be conferred
only on the principal dignitaries of the
Masonic Institution in his dominions. In the
manifesto establishing the Order, the king
says : "To give to this society (the' Masonic)
a proof of our gracious sentiments towards it,
we will and ordain that its first dignitaries to
the number which we may determine, shall in
future be decorated with the most intimate
proof of our confidence, and which shall be
for them a distinctive mark of the highest dignity
." The number of Knights are twentyseven,
all Masons, and the King of Sweden is
the perpetual Grand Master . The color of the
ribbon is red, and the jewel a maltese cross
pendant from an imperial crown .
Charleston. A city in the United States
of America, and the metropolis of the State of
South Carolina. It was there that the first
Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite was established in 1801, whence
all other Supreme Councils have emanated
directly or indirectly. Hence, it has assume
the title of "Mother Council of the world."
Its seat was removed in 1870 to the city of
Washington . (See Scottish Rite .)
Charms, Magical . See Talisman.
Chart . 1 . A map on which is delineated
the emblems of a degree, to be used for the
instruction of candidates, formerly called a
carpet, which see . 2 . The title given by
Jeremy L . Cross to his Hieroglyphic Monitor,
which acquired on its first appearance in the
Lodges of America a popularity that it has not
yet entirely lost . ence the word chart is
still sometimes used colloquially and improperly
to designate any other Masonic manual
of monitorial instruction .
Charter. Often used for Warrant of Constitution,
which see .
Chartered Lodge. A Lodge working under
the authority of a Charter or Warrant of
Constitution issued by a Grand Lodge as distinguished
from a Lodge working under a
dispensation issued by a Grand Master . Chartered
Lodges only are entitled to representation
in the Grand Lodge . They alone can
make by-laws, elect members, or have their
officers installed . They are the constituent