Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Legend Of The Introduction Of Masons Into England.
I have no wish to enter into a discussion upon the styles of architecture which have been classed under Bomamim opus , nor has this term been mentioned by me . *" The references to buildings constructed " in the Roman manner , " which I have quoted , state that the Masons were from Gaul , and to
have said that these were Roman Masons , as Bro . Woodford attributes to me , would have been to go against the extracts produced from the chronicles . What I did suggest was that the expression might mean stone buildings in distinction to those built of wood , etc ., said to be made , as we shall see in "Asser ' s Life of Alfred , " when referring to the
walls of a castle , " in our own manner , " i . e ., I suppose , of stakes and sods . I quite agree with Bro . Woodford that , so far as the truth of the matter is concerned , it is not of much consequence whether Masons were introduced into England , direct from Rome or via Gaul , except
so far as they brought Gallic influence , and have never insisted on the value of either or any statement as an historical fact . Nor do I care much about attempting to substantiate any theory of an origin from the Collegia or Roman Gilds . It must , however , be evident that if the Masons were imported from Rome they could not primarily be connected with the Collegia , introduced by the Roman Conquest of Britain . '
It seems to me , nevertheless , of very much importance to discover from what sozirce the legends in the Old Charges were obtained . This has been the only point I have had in view , and one which has already entailed a considerable amount of trouble . I do not believe that the legends were invented as we now have them , but that they were taken
from some supposed history other than the early English chronicles . Naturally , one would have expected to find ( allowing for a moderate amount of extension and ornamentation ) , that they would not in their main points differ from what was received as history , but evidently such is not the case .
One word as to the truth of the various traditions . I am sorry that I cannot agree with Bro . Woodford that the legend of St . Alban and his fortifications is older than that about Benedict Biscop and his Gaulish masons , and I must confess that I cannot accept and reconcile the differences as easily as might be wished . The differences to my
mind is , that the introduction of Gaulish masons into England is in all probability a fact of history—may be a little one—recorded only a few years after the act ; and , on the contrary , the life of St . Alban , as we have it , appears to be nothing more than a pious fraud , for which there is no evidence earlier than 1415 , or in its completest form 1560 .
But to continue the extracts from Bede . In 429 , when it became T
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Legend Of The Introduction Of Masons Into England.
I have no wish to enter into a discussion upon the styles of architecture which have been classed under Bomamim opus , nor has this term been mentioned by me . *" The references to buildings constructed " in the Roman manner , " which I have quoted , state that the Masons were from Gaul , and to
have said that these were Roman Masons , as Bro . Woodford attributes to me , would have been to go against the extracts produced from the chronicles . What I did suggest was that the expression might mean stone buildings in distinction to those built of wood , etc ., said to be made , as we shall see in "Asser ' s Life of Alfred , " when referring to the
walls of a castle , " in our own manner , " i . e ., I suppose , of stakes and sods . I quite agree with Bro . Woodford that , so far as the truth of the matter is concerned , it is not of much consequence whether Masons were introduced into England , direct from Rome or via Gaul , except
so far as they brought Gallic influence , and have never insisted on the value of either or any statement as an historical fact . Nor do I care much about attempting to substantiate any theory of an origin from the Collegia or Roman Gilds . It must , however , be evident that if the Masons were imported from Rome they could not primarily be connected with the Collegia , introduced by the Roman Conquest of Britain . '
It seems to me , nevertheless , of very much importance to discover from what sozirce the legends in the Old Charges were obtained . This has been the only point I have had in view , and one which has already entailed a considerable amount of trouble . I do not believe that the legends were invented as we now have them , but that they were taken
from some supposed history other than the early English chronicles . Naturally , one would have expected to find ( allowing for a moderate amount of extension and ornamentation ) , that they would not in their main points differ from what was received as history , but evidently such is not the case .
One word as to the truth of the various traditions . I am sorry that I cannot agree with Bro . Woodford that the legend of St . Alban and his fortifications is older than that about Benedict Biscop and his Gaulish masons , and I must confess that I cannot accept and reconcile the differences as easily as might be wished . The differences to my
mind is , that the introduction of Gaulish masons into England is in all probability a fact of history—may be a little one—recorded only a few years after the act ; and , on the contrary , the life of St . Alban , as we have it , appears to be nothing more than a pious fraud , for which there is no evidence earlier than 1415 , or in its completest form 1560 .
But to continue the extracts from Bede . In 429 , when it became T