April - Grand Encampment of Knights Templar, USA

Knightsat the BookshelfBySir Knight Bryce HildrethKnights and Freemasons – The Birth of Modern Freemasonry by Albert Mackey andAlbert Pike, edited by Michael Poll, forward by S. Brent Morris, Cornerstone BookPublishers, ISBN-10: 1887560661, ISBN-13: 978-1887560665.Two of the most revered, studied, and disseminated Masonic scholars areAlbert Mackey and Albert Pike. Michael Poll condenses these two giants andtheir insights to the origin of Freemasonry into one book, Knights and Freemasons.By doing this he saves us the volumes of research and sorting through theirextensive writings, books, and papers to answer the question of their opinions onthe origin of Freemasonry.The excellent forward by S. Brent Morris puts into perspective how we should judgescholarship, research, and theories by the time in which the authors lived. Mackeyand Pike are remarkable in their research and in connecting the history of differentorders and sects to the possible origin of Freemasonry. But their history is oftheir age, before discoveries like the Dead Sea Scrolls, papal releases, and otherdocuments and artifacts. Their basic ideas, especially the link of Freemasonry to theKnights Templar, are still sound today and repeated by many modern day authors.To realize that they wrote in the mid to late 1800’s with such resolve gives the bestproof of their genius. Yes, with current knowledge, they would have come to somedifferent conclusions, but for us today, they offer a link to our remote Masonic pastand history from which we can make our own conclusions.This book is not necessarily for the idle, curious Mason or Knight Templar. The historyof the crusades, the formation of the Grand Lodge of England, the change from operativemasonry to speculative masonry, Albert Pikes’ rare history of the Order of theTemple, and other interesting thoughtsmake this an excellent reference book. Itis replete with names, dates, and places.Knights and Freemasons is a good condensedview of Mackey and Pike deservinga place on the shelf of any seriousstudent of Masonry and the Templars.Sir Knight Bryce B. Hildreth, PGC is thechairman for the Grand EncampmentCommittee on Public Relations and amember of the Editorial Review Board ofthe Knight Templar magazine.34 april 2011