Met de oprichting in 1717 van de Grand Lodge of London and Westminster beoogde men mede een uniforme werkmethode en organisatievorm voor Loges van Vrijmetselaars te realiseren.
Bijna 20 jaar voordien was er in Schotland een initiatief genomen om uniformiteit te brengen bij de Loges, door hen een gemeenschappelijk statuut op te leggen.
Statuten van Schaw
Op 28 december 1598 vaardigde Robert Schaw, in zijn hoedanigheid van Master of Works en General Warden van de Meester-steenhouwers in Schotland, “The Statutis and ordinananceis to be obseruit by all the maister maoissounis within this realme” uit. In de preambule staat dat deze statuten waren opgesteld met instemming van een conventie van alle Master-Masons die op deze dag bijeenkwamen. Schaws eerste statuten vinden hun basis in de Old Charges, aangevuld met een gradenhiërarchie van Wardens, Deacons en Masters. Dit systeem zou ervoor moeten zorgen dat Masons geen werk op zich zouden nemen waarvoor ze niet bevoegd waren om het te voltooien, en ervoor zorgen dat er door de Master Masons een Warden zou worden gekozen, via wie de General Warden contact kon houden met elke specifieke loge. Master-Masons mochten tijdens hun leven slechts drie leerlingen in dienst nemen (zonder speciale dispensatie), en zij zouden zeven jaar aan hun meesters gebonden zijn. Er zouden nog eens zeven jaar moeten verstrijken voordat ze in de Craft konden worden opgenomen als Fellow, en er werd een boekhoudsysteem opgezet om dit bij te houden. Om toegelaten te worden moesten zes meester-metselaars en twee ingeschreven leerlingen aanwezig zijn. Er werden uniforme regels opgesteld voor het bestuur van de loge, het toezicht op het werk en boetes voor het niet aanwezig zijn op logevergaderingen.
Kopieën van het statuut (samen met het Tweede Schaw-statuut) werden in de notulen van de Loges van Edinburgh en Aitchison’s Haven, nabij Prestonpans, geschreven.
De Tweede Schaw-statuten werden op 28 december 1599 in Holyroodhouse ondertekend en bestonden uit veertien afzonderlijke statuten. Sommige hiervan waren specifiek gericht aan de Motherlodge Kilwinning, andere aan de loges van Schotland in het algemeen. Kilwinning Lodge kreeg regionaal gezag voor West-Schotland, de eerdere praktijken werden bevestigd, verschillende administratieve functies werden gespecificeerd en de functionarissen van de Lodge kregen de opdracht ervoor te zorgen dat alle ambachtslieden en leerlingen “alles van de kunst van het herinneren zouden uitproberen”. Meer in het algemeen werden regels vastgelegd voor een goede administratie van de loges, waarbij specifieke financiële bijdragen aan de Loges werden vastgelegd.
Volgens de statuten was Kilwinning de tweede loge in Schotland. Dit lijkt verband te houden met het feit dat Kilwinning voorrang claimde als de eerste loge in Schotland, maar dat volgens Schaw de Edinburgh Lodge de belangrijkste zou zijn, gevolgd door Kilwinning en vervolgens Stirling
De verwijzing naar de kunst van het geheugen betreft een mnemotechnische techniek om lange teksten te onthouden. Is dit een mogelijke impliciete verwijzing naar rituele esoterische teksten die men uit het hoofd moest reciteren en uitvoeren?
De statuten behandelen ook praktische zaken zoals gezondheids- en veiligheidsaspecten tijdens het werken op hoogte.
Een belangrijke bepaling was vervat in artikel 8 van de statuten van 1599, nl. de verplichting een Secretaris aan te stellen en Archieven bij te houden. In tegenstelling met voorheen werd men beter gedocumenteerd over de Schotse Loges.
Statuten van de Loge van Aberdeen
In 1670 werden door de Loge van Aberdeen nieuwe statuten opgesteld. Men heeft het hierin nog altijd over de Entered Apprentice , maar de “Fellow-Craft” werd vervangen door de “Master Mason”, terwijl de Loge niet meer wordt voorgezeten door een Warden (Opziener), maar door een Master, gekozen tussen de Master-Masons. Men bevestigt dat de Entered Apprentice bij zijn initiatie het Mason Word ontvangt (met o.m. de Woorden, Tekens en Aanrakingen), alsook een instructie krijgt van een “intender” (instructeur) met esoterische vragen en antwoorden (de catechismus). Dit toont aan dat men in de Loges niet alleen het operationele vak leerde, maar dat men ook werd ingewijd tijdens een ritueel gebeuren. Deze Aberdeen-statuten tonen ook aan dat aan het jaarlijks feest van Sint-Jan deelgenomen werd gentlemen-masons, die niet tot het bouwvak behoorden, maar behoorden tot de adel en de bourgeoisie. Ze moesten een hogere bijdrage betalen voor de “weldadigheidskas” dan de operationele Masons.
Bijlagen: teksten van Schaw-statuten
THE FIRST SCHAW STATUTE OF 1598
Edinburgh, the 28th day of December AD1598.
The Statutes and Ordinances to be observed by all the Master Masons within this realm. Set down by William Schaw, Master of Work to His Majesty and Warden General of the said Craft, with consent of the Masters specified hereafter.
(1) First, they shall observe and keep all the good ordinances established before, concerning the privileges of their craft, by their predecessors of good memory; and especially. They shall be true to one another and live charitably together as becometh sworn brethren and companions of the Craft.
(2) They shall be obedient to their wardens, deacons, and Masters in all things concerning their craft.
(3) They shall be honest, faithful, and diligent in their calling, and deal uprightly with their Masters, or the employers, on the work which they shall take in hand, whether it be piece-work with meals and pay, or for wages by the week.
(4) None shall undertake any work great or small, which he is not capable to perform adequately, under penalty of forty pounds lawful money or else the fourth part of the worth and value of the work, besides making satisfactory amends to the employers, according as the Warden General may direct or, in the absence of the latter, as may be ordered by the wardens, deacons, and Masters of the sheriffdom in which the work is undertaken and carried on.
(5) No Master shall take away another Master’s work after the latter has entered into an agreement with the employer by contract or otherwise, under penalty of forty pounds.
(6) No Master shall take over any work at which other Masters have been engaged previously, until the latter shall have been paid in full for the work they did, under penalty of forty pounds.
(7) A warden shall be elected annually to have charge of every lodge in the district for which he is chosen by the votes of the Masters of the lodges of such district and the consent of the Warden General if he happens to be present; otherwise the Warden General shall be notified of the election that he may send to the warden-elect necessary directions.
(8) No Master shall take more than three ‘prentices in his lifetime, without the special consent of all the wardens, deacons, and Masters of the sheriffdom in which the to-be-received ‘prentice resides.
(9) No Master shall take on any ‘prentice except by binding him to serve him as such for at least seven years, and it shall not be lawful to make such ‘prentice a brother or fellow of the craft until he shall have served other seven years after the completion of his ‘prenticeship, without a special license granted by the wardens, deacons, and Masters, assembled for that purpose, after sufficient trial shall have been made by them of the worthiness, qualifications and skill of the person desiring to be made a fellowcraft. A fine of forty pounds shall be collected as a pecuniary penalty from the person who is made a fellow of the craft in violation of this order, besides the penalties to be levied against his person by order of the lodge of the place where he resides.
(10) It shall not be lawful for any Master to sell his ‘prentice to another Master, nor to curtail the years of his ‘prenticeship by selling these off to the ‘prentice himself, under the penalty of forty pounds.
(11) No Master shall take on a ‘Prentice without notice to the warden of the lodge where he resides, so that the ‘Prentice and the day of his reception may be duly booked.
(12) No ‘Prentice shall be entered except according to the aforesaid regulations in order that the day of entry may be duly booked.
(13) No Master or fellow of craft shall be received or admitted without there being present six Masters and two entered ‘prentices, the warden of the lodge being one of the six, when the day of receiving the new fellow of craft or Master shall be duly booked and his mark inserted in the same book, with the names of the six admitters and entered ‘prentices, as also the names of the intenders which shall be chosen for every person so entered in the book of the lodge. Providing always that no man be admitted without an essay and sufficient trial of his skill and worthiness in his vocation and craft.
(14) No Master shall engage in any mason work under the charge or command of any other craftsman who has undertaken the doing of any mason work.
(15) No Master or fellow of craft shall accept any cowan to work in his society or company, nor send any of his servants to work with cowans, under the penalty of twenty pounds as often as any person offends in this matter.
(16) It shall not be lawful for any entered ‘Prentice to undertake any greater task or work for an employer, which amounts to as much as ten pounds, under the penalty just mentioned, to wit twenty pounds, and that task being done he shall not undertake any other work without license of the Masters or warden where he dwells.
(17) If any question, strife, or variance shall arise among any of the Masters, servants, or entered ‘prentices, the parties involved in such questions or debate shall make known the causes of their quarrel to the particular warden and deacon of their lodge, within the space of twenty-four hours, under penalty of ten pounds, to the end that they may be reconciled and agreed and their variances removed by their said warden, deacon, and Masters; and if any of the said parties shall remain wilful or obstinate, they shall be deprived f the privilege of their lodge and not permitted to work thereat unto the time that they shall submit themselves to reason according to the view of the said wardens, deacons, and Masters.
(18) All Masters, undertakers of works, shall be very careful to see that the scaffolds and gangways are set and placed securely in order that by reason of their negligence and sloth no injury or damage may come to any persons employed in the said work, under penalty of their being excluded thereafter from working as Masters having charge of any work, and shall ever be subject all the rest of their days to work under or with an other principal Master in charge of the work.
(19) No Master shall receive or house a ‘Prentice or servant of any other Master, who shall have run away from his Master’s service, nor entertain him in his company after he has received knowledge thereof, under penalty of forty pounds.
(20) All persons of the mason craft shall convene at the time and place lawfully made known to them under penalty of ten pounds.
(21) All the Masters who shall happen to be sent to any assembly or meeting, shall be sworn by their great oath that they will neither hide nor conceal any faults or wrongs done to the employers on the work they have in hand, so far as they know, and that under penalty of ten pounds to be collected from the concealers of the said faults.
(22) It is ordained that all the aforesaid penalties shall be lifted and taken up from the offenders and breakers of their ordinances by the wardens, deacons, and Masters of the lodges where the offenders dwell, the moneys to be expended ad pios usus (for charitable purposes) according to good conscience and by the advice of such wardens, deacons, and Masters.
For the fulfilling and observing of these ordinances, as set down above, the Master convened on the aforesaid day bind and obligate themselves faithfully. Therefore they have requested their said Warden General to sign these ordinances by his own hand in order that an authentic copy hereof may be sent to every particular lodge within this realm.
(Signed) WILLIAM SCHAW,
Master of the Work
THE SECOND SCHAW STATUTE OF 1599
In Edinburgh, December 28, 1599.
First, it is ordered that the warden within the boundaries of Kilwinning and other places subject to their lodge (1) shall be chosen and elected yearly by a majority of the masters of the said lodge on the twentieth day of December, and that within the church of Kilwinning as the head and second lodge of Scotland, that thereafter the General Warden shall be advised yearly who is chosen warden of the lodge, immediately after his election.
- – It is thought necessary and expedient by my Lord Warden General that every lodge in Scotland should have, in the future, their old and ancient liberties as before, and in particular, that the lodge of Kilwinning, second lodge of Scotland, shall have their warden present at the election of warden within the boundary of the Nether Ward of Clydesdale, Glasgow, Ayr and Carrick; with the said warden and deacon of Kilwinning having power to convene the remaining wardens and deacons within the aforesaid boundaries when they have any important need to do so, there to be judged by the warden and deacon of Kilwinning whenever it shall please them to convene, either in Kilwinning or in any other part of the west of Scotland and the aforesaid boundaries.
- – It is thought necessary and expedient by my Lord Warden General, that Edinburgh shall be in all future time, as before, the first and principal lodge in Scotland, and that Kilwinning shall be the second lodge, as it has been before notoriously manifest in our old ancient writings, and that Stirling shall be the third lodge, according to the old privileges thereof.
- – It is thought expedient that the wardens of every lodge shall be answerable to the Presbytries [courts of the church] within their sheriff’s jurisdiction, for the masons subject to their lodges, regarding all offenses any of them shall commit, and one-third part of the fines paid shall be used for the Godly uses of the lodge where any offense was committed.
- – That there shall be trials made yearly by the wardens and eldest masters of every lodge, extending to six persons, who will try all of the offenses, so that punishment may be executed in conformity to equity and justice, and good conscience and the ancient order.
- – It is ordered by my Lord Warden General that the warden of Kilwinning, as second in Scotland, shall select and choose six of the most perfect and worthiest masons within their boundaries, to test the qualification of all the Masons within the aforesaid boundaries of their art, craft, Science and ancient memory; so that the warden and deacon may be answerable hereafter for such persons as are responsible to them within his boundaries and jurisdiction.
- – Authority is given to the warden and deacon of Kilwinning as the second lodge, to exclude and expel from the society and company all persons who are disobedient either to church, craft, council and other statutes and acts to be made hereafter for good order.
- – It is ordered by my Lord Warden General that the warden and deacon, with his Quarter masters, shall select, choose and constitute a qualified notary (2) as an ordinary clerk and scribe, and that the said notary who is chosen shall occupy the office, and that all indentures, discharges and other writings whatsoever, regarding the Craft, shall only be written by the clerk, and that no type of record, neither title nor any other official document, shall be used by the said warden and deacon before named , unless it is made by said clerk and subscribed by his hand.
- – It is ordered by my Lord General that the entire old ancient acts and statutes previously made by the predecessors of the masons of Kilwinning shall be observed faithfully and kept by the Craft in all times to come, and that no apprentice or craftsman, in any time hereafter, be admitted or entered, except within the church of Kilwinning, as his parish and second lodge, and that all banquets for entry of apprentices of fellows of craft be made within the said lodge of Kilwinning.
- – It is ordered that all fellows of craft at his entry pay to the common books of the lodge the sum of ten pounds of money, with ten shillings worth of gloves before he is admitted, and that shall include the expense for the banquet, and he shall not be admitted without a sufficient test and proof of memory and art of craft by the warden, deacon and quarter masters of the lodge, under the supervision of the former and answerable to the General Warden.
- – That all apprentices to be admitted shall not be admitted until they have first paid to the common bank, aforesaid, the sum of six pounds of money, to pay for the banquet for all the members of the lodge and the apprentices thereof.
- – It is ordered that the warden and deacons of the second lodge of Scotland, Kilwinning, shall take the oath, fidelity and truth of all masters and fellows of craft within the entire boundaries committed to their charge, yearly, that they shall not keep company with cowans or work with them, nor any of their servants or apprentices, under the penalty contained in the former acts, and paying thereof.
- – It is ordered by the General warden, that the warden of the lodge of Kilwinning, being the second lodge in Scotland, shall test every fellow of the craft and every apprentice on the art of memory and science thereof, according to their vocations; and in case they have lost any point thereof required of them, they must pay the penalty as follows for their laziness, that is, each fellow of the craft, twenty shillings, each apprentice ten shillings, to be paid to the box for the common good, yearly, and in conformity to the common use and practice of the lodges in this realm.
And for the fulfilling, observing and keeping of these statutes and all other acts and statutes previously made and to be made, the warden, deacons and quartermasters of the aforesaid lodges, for good order, keeping in conformity to equity, justice and ancient order, to the making and setting down thereof, the General Warden has given his power and authority to the said warden and those above written to set down and make acts in conformity with the above rules.
And in sign and token thereof, I, the General Warden of Scotland, have set down and caused to be written these acts and statutes, and have subscribed the same with my hand, after the testimonial on this side and on the other side.
Be it known to the warden, deacon and to the masters of the lodge of Kilwinning that Archibald Barclay, being named Commissioner for the said lodge appeared in Edinburgh the 27th and 28th of December, where the said Archibald, in the presence of the Warden General and the masters of the lodge of Edinburgh, produced his commission, and behaved very honestly and carefully for the discharge of such things as were committed to him; but by reason of the absence of his Majesty out of town, and because there were no masters except those of the lodge of Edinburgh convened at this time, we could not get any settled order (as the privileges of the Craft require) at this time, but hereafter when occasion offers we shall get his Majesty’s warrant both for the authorizing of the lodge’s privileges, and for any penalty set down for the disobedient persons and disturbers of all good order.
Therefore, I thought it good to signify to all the brothers of the lodge, that in witness hereof, I have subscribed this present document with my hand at Holyrood House (3) the 28th day of December, the year of God 1599.
William Schaw, Master of Work,
Warden of the Masons