James Anderson (Freemason)

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James Anderson (* around 1678 in Aberdeen ( Scotland ); † May 28, 1739 in London ) was a Scottish preacher of the Scottish Presbyterian Church in London, a Freemason and author of the first constitution (" Old Duties ") of the First Grand Lodge of England .

Life

James Anderson went to Marischal College , where he received his MA and in 1731 the degree DD. He came from a Masonic family. His father was secretary of the Scottish Masonic Lodge in Aberdeen and was Master of the Chair there from 1688 to 1689 . Presumably, James Anderson became a Freemason during this time, because he introduced Scottish terms into English Freemasonry and specifically referred to writings from Scotland. When he moved to London is unknown, but from 1712 onwards one can find announcements of his sermons in newspapers. There he was a member of the Masonic lodges Horne Tavern in Westminster and Lodge of Salomon's Temple on Hemmings Row. In 1720 he lost almost all of his fortune and sat in the debt tower until he was allegedly released by Freemasons.

"Goose and Gridiron" was
the place where the
First Grand Lodge of England was founded in  1717

When, on June 24, 1717, four builders' huts in London united to form the First Grand Lodge of England , Anderson was not present. As George Payne was elected for the second time in 1720 to the Grand Master, he based the ancient gothic Cooke manuscript a series General Rules ( General Regulations ) together. These were announced on June 24, 1721 at the Grand Lodge meeting. In 1721, the first English noble grand master Duke John von Montagu (* 1690; † 1749) commissioned James Anderson to draw up a new constitution for them from old Gothic documents. According to his own statements, he adapted these to old (Scottish) guild sagas and adopted the General Regulations, slightly modified, in his constitution of 1723.

When the first edition of these Old Obligations appeared in 1723, he was exposed to polemics that prompted him to stop visiting lodges until he did not become Masonic again until 1735. Up to this point it was not necessary to follow the laws of a grand lodge in order to found a lodge. The only condition for a new recognized lodge was to be founded by true Freemasons in conformity with ancient traditions. In violating these ancient freedoms, the Grand Lodge of England caused protests from old lodges in York and Scotland.

Anderson's funeral received little attention. The "Daily Post" of June 2, 1739 reported:

“Last night, the body of Dr. Anderson, a dissenter minister , is buried. The bier was carried by five dissenting clergymen and pastors Desaguliers . She was followed by about a dozen Freemasons who stood around the tomb. After Dr. Earl had a speech held by the uncertainty of life without the deceased while in a word to say, the brothers raised in a solemn mourning position the arms, sighed and struck three times in honor of the deceased on the Schurz skins . "

Egypt

His work The Constitutions of the Free-Masons contains, in addition to the duties of a Freemason , a history of Freemasonry , which, however, has to be understood purely ideally and symbolically due to the lack of a historical basis. Anderson puts Freemasonry in relation to the Egyptian pyramids, where many lodges would have arisen through their construction. The idea of ​​an Egyptian reference to Freemasonry was later taken up again by Alessandro Cagliostro and in the Memphis Misraïm rite .

Works (selection)

His works have little scientific value, as his quotations and information are extremely dubious.

  • The Constitutions of the Free-Masons: containing the history, charges, regulations, & c. of that most ancient and right worshipful fraternity; For the use of the lodgers. London 1723 - The Old Duties
  • Royal Genealogies, or The Genealogical Tables of Emporors, Kings, and Princes, from Adam to these Times (1732, second edition 1736)
    - a pedigree of no historical value, but he used some of it for the second edition of the Constitution
  • News from Elysium (1739) - Talks with the dead

See also

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Anderson, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British pastor, freemason
DATE OF BIRTH around 1678
PLACE OF BIRTH Aberdeen , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH May 28, 1739
Place of death London