THE ARCANE SCHOOLS - Fort Myers Beach Masonic Lodge No. 362

#/
III
at Crotona, and made many Masons, some of whom traveled into
France, and there made many more, from whence, in process of
time, the art passed into England.
With the conquest of Britain by the Romans, the _Collegia_, without
which no Roman society was complete, made their advent into the
island, traces of their work remaining even to this day. Under the
direction of the mother College at Rome, the Britons are said to have
attained to high degree of excellence as builders, so that when the
cities of Gaul and the fortresses along the Rhine were destroyed,
Chlorus, A.D. 298, sent to Britain for architects to repair or rebuild
them. Whether the _Collegia_ existed in Britain after the Romans left,
as some affirm, or were suppressed, as we know they were on the
Continent when the barbarians overran it, is not clear. Probably they
were destroyed, or nearly so, for with the revival of Christianity in
598 A.D., we find Bishop Wilfred of York joining with the Abbott of
Wearmouth in sending to France and Italy to induce Masons to return
and build in stone, as he put it, "after the Roman manner." This
confirms the Italian chroniclists who relate that Pope Gregory sent
several of the fraternity of _Liberi muratori_ with St. Augustine, as,
later, they followed St. Boniface into Germany.
Again, in 604, Augustine sent the monk Pietro back to Rome with a
letter to the same Pontiff, begging him to send more architects and
workmen, which he did. As the _Liberi muratori_ were none other than
the Comacine Masters, it seems certain that they were at work in
England _long before the period with which the_ OLD CHARGES _begin
their story of English Masonry_.[76] Among those sent by Gregory was
Paulinus, and it is a curious fact that he is spoken of under the title
of _Magister_, by which is meant, no doubt, that he was a member of the
Comacine order, for they so described their members; and we know that
many monks were enrolled in their lodges, having studied the art of
building under their instruction. St. Hugh of Lincoln was not the only
Bishop who could plan a church, instruct the workman, or handle a hod.
Only, it must be kept in mind that these ecclesiastics who became
skilled in architecture _were taught by the Masons_, and that it was
not the monks, as some seem to imagine, who taught the Masons their
art. Speaking of this early and troublous time, Giuseppe Merzaria says
that only one lamp remained alight, making a bright spark in the
darkness that extended over Europe:
/#[4,66]
It was from the _Magistri Comacini_. Their respective names
are unknown, their individual works unspecialized, but the
breadth of their spirit might be felt all through those
centuries, and their name collectively is legion. We may
safely say that of all the works of art between A.D. 800 and
1000, the greater and better part are due to that
brotherhood--always faithful and often secret--of the
_Magistri Comacini_. The authority and judgment of learned
men justify the assertion.[77]
#/