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

France it is still less likely that it originated elsewhere on the
continent, as, for example, in Germany. I conclude, therefore,
that it is of British birth and growth, though so far as records
are concerned it is first mentioned in America, in the Minutes of
a Royal Arch Chapter, dated August 28, 1769. I have sought to go
further back and so far have failed. It was certainly working at
Bristol in 1772, and two years later is heard of in Ireland. It is
a matter of deep regret that I can contribute nothing to so
interesting and vital a question, which appeals especially to
myself on account of the beauty and spiritual significance of the
Ritual in all its varied forms. The number of these may be a
source of surprise to many, and I have pointed out elsewhere that
however widely and strangely they differ from each other they have
two points of agreement: there is no traditional history
presenting a perpetuation myth or a claim on the past of chivalry,
while except in one very late instance, there is no historical
account whatever; and they are concerned with the one original
Templar purpose, that of guarding the Holy Sepulchre and pilgrims
to the Holy Places. They offer no version of Masonic origins, no
explanation of Craft Symbolism, no suggestion of a secret science
behind the Temple, no plan of restoring the Order to its former
glory, and, above all, to its former possessions. The issue is
direct and simple, much too simple and far too direct for a
Continental source. Moreover, the kind of issue would have found
no appeal in France; for example, or Germany, because there was no
longer any need in fact to guard the tomb of Christ, and there
were no pilrims in the sense of crusading times. Finally, they
would not have allegorised on subjects of this kind.
I am acquainted personally with nine codices of the Ritual,
outside those which belong to Irish workings, past and present, an
opportunity to examine which I am hoping to find. The most
important are briefly these: (1) That of the Baldwyn Encampment at
Bristol, which is probably the oldest of all: the procedure takes
place while a vast army of Saracens is massing outside the
Encampment. (2) That of the Early Grand Rite of Scotland,
subsequently merged in the Scottish Chapter General: the Pilgrim
comes to lay the sins and follies of a life-time at the foot of
the Cross, and he passes through various symbolical veils by which
the encampment is guarded. (3) That connected with the name of
Canongate Kilwinning under the title of Knight Templar Masonry, in
which there is a pilgrimage to Jericho and the Jordan. (4) That of
St. George Aboyne Templar Encampment at Aberdeen, a strange
elaborate pageant, in which the Candidate has a searching
examination on matters of Christian doctrine. (5) That of the
Royal, Exalted, Military and Holy Order of Knights of the Temple,