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

398 KNIGHT
KNIGHT
symbol of those who imitate without due
penetration. The members boasted that they
possessed all the secrets of the Ancient Templars,
on which account they were persecuted
by the modern Order . The lion and ape, as
symbols of courage and address, are found in
one of the degrees described m the Franc-
Magons Ecrases .
Knight of the Arch . (Chevalier de
l'Arche.) A degree found in the nomenclature
of Fustier .
Knight of the Argonauts . (Chevalier des
Argonautes .) The first point of the Sixth Degree,
or Knight of the Golden Fleece of the
Hermetic Rite of Montpellier.
Knight of the Banqueting Table of the
Seven Sages. (Chevalier de la Table du Banquet
des Sept Sages .) A degree in the Archives
of the Mother Lodge of the Philosophic Scottish
Rite .
Knight of the Black Eagle. (Chevalier de
l'Aigle noir .) 1 . The Seventy-sixth Degree of
the collection of the Metropolitan Chapter of
France ; called also Grand Inquisitor, Grand
Inspector, Grand Elu or Elect, in the collection
of Le Rouge . 2 . The Thirty-eighth Degree
of the Rite of Mizraim .
Knight of the Brazen Serpent . (Chevalier
du Serpent d'Airain .) The Twenty-fifth
Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish
Rite. The history of this degree is founded
upon the circumstances related in Numbers
ch . xxi . ver . 6-9 : "And the Lord sent fiery
serpents among the people, and they bit the
people ; and much people of Israel died . Therefore
the people came to Moses, and said, We
have sinned ; for we have spoken against the
Lord, and against thee : pray unto the Lord
that he take away the serpents from us . And
Moses prayed for the people . And the
Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery
serpent, and set it upon a pole : and it shall
come to pass, that every one that is bitten,
when he looketh upon it shall live . And Moses
made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a
pole ; and it came to pass, that if a serpent had
bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of
brass, he lived." In the old rituals the Lodge
was called the Court of Sinai ; the presiding
officer was styled Most Puissant Grand Master,
and represented Moses ; while the two
Wardens, or Ministers, represented Aaron and
Joshua. The Orator was called Pontiff ; the
Secretary, Grand Graver ; and the candidate,
a Traveler . In the modern ritual adopted in
this country, the Council represents the camp
of the Israelites . The first three officers represent
Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, and are
respectively styled Most Puissant Leader,
Valiant Captain of the Host, and Illustrious
Chief of the Ten Tribes. The Orator represents
Eleazar ; the Secretary, Ithamar ; the
Treasurer, Phinehas ; and the candidate an
intercessor for the people . The jewel is a crux
ansata, with a serpent entwined around it .
On the upright of the cross is engraved `tr,,
khalati, I have suffered, and on the arms jI11nN1~,
nakhushtan, a serpent . The French ritualists
would have done better to have substituted
for the first word "t11tUtt, khatati, I have sinned ;
the original in Numbers being 1]KUtt, Kathanu,
we have sinned . The apron is white,
lined with black, and symbolically decorated .
There is an old legend which says that this
degree was founded in the time of the Crusades,
by John Ralph, who established the
Order in the Holy Land as a military and
monastic society and gave it the name of the
Brazen Serpent, because it was a part of their
obligation to receive and gratuitously nurse
sick travelers, to protect them against the attacks
of the Saracens, and escort them safely
to Palestine ; thus alluding to the healing and
saving virtues of the Brazen Serpent among
the Israelites in the wilderness .
Knight of the Burning Bush. (Chevalier
duBuisson ardent.) A theosophic degree of the
collection of the Mother Lodge of the Philosophic
Scottish Rite .
Knight of the Chanuca . (Chevalier de
la Kanuka .) The Sixty-ninth Degree of the
Rite of Mizraim . The 71=r1 or Chanuca, is
the feast of the dedication celebrated by the
Jews in commemoration of the dedication of
the Temple by Judas Maccabeeus after its pollution
by the Syrians . In the ritual of the degree,
the Jewish lighting of seven lamps, one
on each day, is imitated, and therefore the
ceremony of initiation lasts for seven days .
Knight of the Christian Mark. Called
also Guard of the Conclave. A degree formerly
conferred in the United States on Knights
Templar in a body called a Council of the
Trinity. The legend of the Order is that it was
organized by Pope Alexander for the defense
of his person, and that its members were selected
from the Knights of St . John of Jerusalem.
In the ceremonies there is a reference
to the tau cross or mark on the forehead,
spoken of by the prophet Ezekiel, and hence
the name of the degree . The motto of the
Order is, "Christus regnat, vincit, triumphat .
Rex regnantium, _ Dominus dominantium ."
Christ reigns, conquers, and triumphs . King
of kings and Lord of lords .
Knight of the Columns. (Chevalier des
Colonises .) The Seventh Degree of the Rite
of the East according to the nomenclature of
Fustier.
Knight of the Comet . (Chevalier de la
Comete.) A degree found in the collection of
Hecart .
Knight of the Cork . (Chevalier du Boor
chon .) An androgynous secret society established
in Italy after the Papal bull excommunicating
the Freemasons, and intended by its
founders to take the place of the Masonic institution.
Knight of the Courts . (Chevalier des
Parvis .) The Third Degree of the Rite of the
East according to the nomenclature of Fustier .
Knight of the Crown . (Chevalier de la
Couronne .) A degree in the collection of Pyron.
Knight of the Door. (Chevalier de la
Porte .) The Fourth Degree of the Rite of the
East according to the nomenclature of Fustier .
Knight of the Dove. The Knights and
Ladies of the Dove (Chevaliers et Chevalieres