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

CROSSES
CROWNS 189
Rite. But he soon withdrew his name, and
retired to the place of his nativity, where he
died at the advanced age of seventy-eight .
Although Cross was not a man of any very
original genius, yet a recent writer has announced
the fact that the symbol of the monument
in the Third Degree, the broken column,
unknown to the system of either Preston or
Webb, was invented by him . (See Monument.)
Crosses. In referring to the philosophic
triads and national crosses, there will be found
in a work entitled The Celtic Druids, by Godfrey
Higgins, the following : "Few causes have
been more powerful in producing mistakes in
ancient history than the idea, hastily formed
by all ages, that every monument of antiquity
marked with a cross, or with any of those symbols
which they conceived to be monograms of
Christ the Saviour, was of Christian origin .
The cross is as common in India as in Egypt
or Europe ." The Rev . Mr . Maurice remarks
(Indian Antiquities) : " Let not the piety of
the Catholic Christian be offended at the assertion
that the cross was one of the most usual
symbols of Egypt and India . The emblem of
universal nature is equally honored in the
Gentile and Christian world . In the Cave of
Elephanta, in India, over the head of the
principal figure may be seen the cross, with
other symbols ." Upon the breast of one of the
Egyptian mummies in the museum of the London
University is a cross upon a Calvary or
mount . People in those countries marked
their sacred water-jars, dedicated to Canopus,
with a Tau cross, and sometimes even that
now known as the Teutonic cress . The fertility
of the country about the river Nile, in
Egypt, was designated, in distance on its
banks from the river proper, by the Nilometer,
in the form of a cross. The erudite Dr. G . L .
Ditson says : "The Rabbins say that when
Aaron was made High Priest he was marked
in the forehead by Moses with a cross in the
shape of that now known as St . Andrew's ."
Proselytes, when admitted into the religious
mysteries of Eleusis, were marked with a cross .
Crossing the River . The Kabbalists have
an alphabet so called, in allusion to the crossing
of the river Euphrates by the Jews on their
return from Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild
the Temple. It has been adopted in some of
the high degrees which refer to that incident .
Cornelius Agrippa gives a copy of the alphabet
in his Occult Philosophy .
Cross-Legged Knights . In the Middle
Ages it was the custom to bury the body of a
Knights Templar with one leg crossed over
the other ; and on many monuments in the
churches of Europe, the effigies of these
knights are to be found, often in England, of
a diminutive size, with the legs placed in this
position . The cross-legged posture was not
confined to the Templars, but was appropriated
to all persons who had assumed the cross
and taken a vow to fight in defense of the
Christian religion . The posture, of course,
alluded to the position of the Lord while on the
cross .
Cross-Legged Masons . A name given to
the Knights Templar, who, in the sixteenth
century, united themselves with the Masonic
Lodge at Sterling, in Scotland. The allusion is
evidently to the funeral posture of the Templars,
so that a "cross-legged Mason" must
have been at the time synonymous with a
Masonic Knights Templar .
Crotona . One of the most prominent cities
of the Greek colonists in Southern Italy,
where, in the sixth century, Pythagoras established
his celebrated school . As the early
Masonic writers were fond of citing Pythagoras
as a brother of their Craft, Crotona became
connected with the history of Masonry,
and was often spoken of as one of the most
renowned seats of the Institution . Thus, in
the Leland MS., whose authenticity is now,
however, doubted, it is said that Pythagoras
"framed a grate Lodge at Groton, and maked
many Maconnes," in which sentence Groton, it
must be remarked, is an evident corruption of
Crotona.
Crow . An iron implement used to raise
heavy stones. It is one of the working-tools of
a Royal Arch Mason, and symbolically teaches
him to raise his thoughts above the corrupting
influence of worldly-mindedness .
Crown. A portion of Masonic regalia worn
by officers who represent a king, more especially
King Solomon . In Ancient Craft Masonry,
however, the crown is dispensed with,
the hat having taken its place .
Crown, Knight of the . See Knight of
the Crown.
Crown, Princesses of the. (Princesses de
la Couronne.) A species of androgynous Masonry
established in Saxony in 1770 . (Thory,
Acta Latomorum, i ., 303 .) It existed for only
a brief period.
Crowned Martyrs. See Four Crowned
Martyrs .
Crowning of Masonry. Le couronnement
de la Maconnerie . The Sixty-first Degree 7th
series, of the collection of the Metropolitan
Chapter of France. (Thory, Acta Latomorum,
i ., 303 .)
Crowns. As the result of considerable
classification, Bro. Robert Macoy presents
nine principal crowns recognized in heraldry
and symbolism : 1st . The Triumphal
crown, of which there were three kinds-a
laurel wreath, worn by a General while in the
act of triumph ; a golden crown, in imitation
of laurel leaves ; and the presentation golden
crown to a conquering General . 2d . The
Blockade crown of wild flowers and grass, presented
by the army to the Commander breaking
and relieving a siege . 3d . The Civic
crown of oak leaves, presented to a soldier
who saved the life of his comrade. 4th . The
Olive crown, conferred upon the soldiery or
commander who consummated a triumph .
5th. The Mural crown, which rewarded the
soldier who first scaled the wall of a besieged
city. 6th . The Naval crown presented to
the Admiral who won a nava' victory . 7th.
The Vallary crown, or circlet of gold, bestowed
on that soldier who first surmounted the