Qcy.Masonic.Library

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CALL FOR PAPERS!

Attention Masonic and fraternal historians! Do you want to publish your research? Heredom is accepting submissions for Volume 34 (to be published in autumn 2027).

***The deadline for Volume 34 is late September, 2026.***

*Please consult our style sheet and submit papers online at: https://scottishrite.org/media-publications/publications-srrs/

For more information about the SRRS, how to join, and FAQs, please visit: https://scottishrite.org/media-publications/scottish-rite-research-society/

Heredom is the annual journal of the Scottish Rite Research Society. Each year it features the most renowned authors and rising stars of modern Masonic research! Join our august community!

Please note that this post is from SRRS Editorial. If you have any questions or concerns about membership or subscriptions, please contact the SRRS at srrs@scottishrite[dot]org.

⚒️📜 A Rare Corner of Masonic History: The Rite of Baldwyn

Most Freemasons are familiar with the common path of Masonic progression:
the Craft degrees, followed by the Royal Arch, and then perhaps the Knights Templar or Scottish Rite.

But in one historic corner of England, a very different system still survives.

It’s known as The Rite of Baldwyn — sometimes called the Rite of Seven Degrees — and it exists only in Bristol, England.

And many historians consider it one of the most ancient and unique surviving Masonic systems in the world.

📖 A “Time Immemorial” Rite

The Baldwyn system claims origins “from time immemorial.”

In Masonic language, that means it predates the formation of the Premier Grand Lodge of England in 1717 — the event most often associated with the birth of modern organized Freemasonry.

While written records appear later, the system appears to preserve older ways of organizing Masonic degrees that were once more common in early English Masonry.

One of the earliest formal references appears in the Charter of Compact of 1780, which helped organize and preserve the rite within the Bristol Masonic jurisdiction.

Later, in 1786, the famous Masonic reformer Thomas Dunckerley became Provincial Grand Master of Bristol and helped integrate the Knights Templar element into the Baldwyn structure.

⚒️ The Seven Degrees of the Baldwyn Rite

Unlike most Masonic systems today — where degrees are separated into different governing bodies — the Baldwyn Rite presents a single progressive system of seven steps.

These degrees are worked in a very specific order:

I° Craft Masonry
Entered Apprentice
Fellowcraft
Master Mason

II° Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch
Notably includes the “Passing the Veils” ceremony, which has largely disappeared from modern English Royal Arch workings.

III° Knights of the Nine Elected Masters

IV° Ancient Order of Scots Knights Grand Architect / Kilwinning

V° Knights of the East, the Sword and Eagle

VI° Knights Templar & Knights of St. John
(Worked under warrant from the Great Priory of England)

VII° Knights of the Rose Croix of Mount Carmel
(Worked under warrant from the Supreme Council 33°)

Together, these form a complete Masonic journey within a single continuous rite.

🏛️ Unique Features of the Baldwyn Rite

What makes the Baldwyn system particularly fascinating?

🔹 It only exists in Bristol, England
🔹 It preserves the historic “Passing the Veils” Royal Arch ceremony
🔹 Entry is by invitation only
🔹 It blends Craft, Royal Arch, Chivalric, and philosophical degrees into one unified system

Members of the Baldwyn Encampment also wear a distinctive piece of regalia:

⚔️ A silver Maltese Cross suspended from a black ribbon for several of the higher degrees.

🧭 A Living Piece of Masonic History

The Baldwyn Rite is a reminder that Freemasonry has never been one single system.

Throughout history, many regional traditions evolved differently — each preserving unique interpretations of the Masonic journey toward light and knowledge.

The Baldwyn Rite is one of the few surviving examples of a system that still reflects the older, unified progression of Masonry before the modern separation of rites and orders.

For historians of the Craft, it’s a fascinating glimpse into how Freemasonry once operated in a much more interconnected way.

And for the rest of us…

It’s another reminder that the history of Masonry is deeper, broader, and more diverse than most people realize.

📜 And sometimes the oldest traditions survive quietly…
in just one city…
working much the same way they did centuries ago.

⚒️📜🏛️

🔺️ Today is March 14 (3.14) and it's Pi Day! The π is the irrational number that describes the relationship between a circle’s circumference and its diameter. No matter the size of the circle, that ratio is always about 3.14.

What makes π fascinating is that its digits go on forever without repeating. Because of this, mathematicians call π a transcendental number, meaning it cannot be neatly expressed using ordinary algebra.

For centuries, mathematicians tried to solve a famous puzzle called “squaring the circle”—drawing a square with exactly the same area as a circle using only a compass and straightedge. In 1882, mathematicians proved that this task is mathematically impossible, because π is transcendental.

Sometimes mathematics doesn’t just give answers, it tells us which questions cannot have one.

Did you know painter Marc Chagall was a Brother?

Fascinating discussion on Folklore and Freemasonry.

Episode 53 - The Folklore of Freemasonry Welcome to the Folkloring Podcast. In this episode I explore the mysteries of Freemasonry with Raymond Foster, Past Lodge Master and Officer’s Coach at hi...

Happy Holidays one and all!

Did you know?! 👇🏻

In the late 1910s, a polio epidemic swept across the United States, leaving many children without access to care.

That’s when Shriners International stepped in. United by a shared desire to help kids, they established the very first Shriners Children's location to meet this need. It's a tradition of compassion and care that continues to this day. ✨

Happy 4th of July from all of us at the Library!

A little of June’s (ok, a lot). A little bit of something extraordinary is coming to our letting the mix of cosmic to be drawn to the moon for a gorgeous fruity surface pallet.

and

of Worshipful Brother Ivan Paul of Herman Lodge # 39 A F & A M -Quincy, IL, graciously given to the library by his widow.

is a great for the grizzled veteran and nee Brother.