Tim Wallace-Murphy and Marilyn Hopkins in their book Rosslyn – Guardians of the Secrets of the Holy Grail tell us that various initiatory orders existed among the craftsmen who built the great cathedrals of Western Europe. In England, these craft guild were known as Craftmasons. In France there were at least three such fraternities: The Children of Father Soubise, The Children of Master Jacques and The Children of Solomon. Their spiritual heirs are known as Les Compagnons des Devoirs du Tour de France. All of them observed a moral tradition of chivalry within their craft and a submission to work that must be done. All ‘shared the same bread’ (an outward sign of community and fraternity) and were men ‘who knew how to use a pair of compasses’, which in masonic terms means they had been granted insight into the secret laws, knowledge and harmony of sacred geometry. Quoting English author Ian Duncan in his book The Cathedrals’ Crusade on the importance of this skill, he said: “It is not uncommon in medieval illumination to find God the Father [the Ancient of Days] represented as the “elegans architectus” holding a large pair of compasses”. In modern masonic terms, he represents the Great Architect of the Universe.
The initiated Masons of the Craft were described as a hierarchy of three ascending degrees: apprentice, companion and attained companion or master. As an outward expression of their divinely inspired duties, these enlightened craftsmen refused to bear arms or build fortresses and prisons. Apprentices learned their trade moving from yard to yard in the course of a ‘tour de France’, receiving instruction from ‘compagnons’. They later underwent initiation by their masters in secret enclaves called ‘cayennes’.
The three fraternities, which later emerged into one single association, had, at first, different duties and they utilised different techniques. The Children of Father Soubise were to be found at the heart of the Benedictine monastic system and mainly built in the Romanesque style. Their signatures or masonic marks differed widely from those of the builders of Gothic, even when their work was contemporary.
The Children of Master Jacques, known also as the ‘Compagnons Passant du Devoir’, were supposedly founded by Master Jacques, the son of Jacquin (Joachim), a master craftsman who, as legend relates, was created master after journeys in Greece, Egypt and Jerusalem (MJF: shades of the journeys of Christian Rosenkreutz here!). The same legends explain that it was he who made the two pillars of the Temple of Solomon that stood guarding the porch of the Temple: Boaz and the one that is actually called Joachim. It is worth pointing out here that these twin pillars are amongst the most prolific symbols and allegorical key figures of modern Freemasonry. Hence, we may be seeing a connection here between this medieval French craft guild and modern Masonic teachings. Wallace-Murphy and Hopkins add that the medieval Children of Master Jacques were the successors to the ancient Celtic (Druid) builders who signed their work with an oakleaf.
The Children of Solomon
From our perspective though, it is the third brotherhood, the Children of Solomon, that is the most important group to focus on. This fraternity are credited with building Chartres Cathedral (an awe-inspiring cathedral I have visited on a number of occasions) and most of the other ‘Notre Dame’ cathedrals such as Rheims and Amiens. Wallace-Murphy and Hopkins point out that many of the churches and cathedrals they constructed bear their signature of the ‘chrisme à l’epée – a Celtic cross enclosed within a circle (MJF: there are those who claim that the Celtic cross is a symbol inherited from Atlantis). Apart from sharing with the Fraternity of the Dionysian Artificers the connection to Solomon in their name, as Many P Hall states that the former were also called the ‘Sons of Solomon’, what else may these two groups of builders have had in common? Could they have shared access to the same esoteric knowledge perhaps?
In this last regard, we should note that the Children of Solomon were instructed in sacred geometry by Cistercian monks, the order of St Bernard of Clairvaux who had helped to establish the Knights Templar. The Fraternity was named after King Solomon who, according to the Old Testament, commissioned the Temple of Jerusalem and deposited the Ark of the Covenant within it. It should also be noted that another branch of the Compagnonnage operated in Provence and built many of the Templar churches in the South of France. They were known as the ‘Compagnonnage Tuscana’ (suggesting a link with Tuscany in Italy) who traced their mysteries back to Egypt and Biblical Israel (as do the Freemasons and Rosicrucians) via their Roman and Greek roots. According to Wallace-Murphy and Hopkins, they were part of a collegia of constructors known as ‘Les Tignarii’, supposedly founded by Numa Pompilius
Wallace-Murphy and Hopkins admit that the exact relationship between the Children of Solomon and the Knights Templar is not clear. They query whether the craftsmen were an integral part of the Templar Order, affiliated to it, or just associated with it by usage. The Templars certainly gave a rule to this branch of the Compagnonnage with the agreement of St. Bernard of Clairvaux in March 1145, which laid down rules for living, working and honourable conduct for all the craft initiates involved in the construction of churches (MJF: You may recall that it was St Bernard of Clairvaux who had written the Templars’ rule or constitution). The rule was prefaced as follows:
“
We the Knights of Christ and of the Temple follow the destiny that prepares us to die for Christ. We have the wish to give this rule of living, of work and of honour to the constructors of churches so that Christianity can spread through the earth not so that our name should be remembered. Oh Lord, but that Your Name should live.”*
*From
La règle de St Devoir de Dieu et de la Croissade
Form this it would seem highly probable that this Order or Fraternity of Craftmasons was affiliated in some way to the Templars. The Children of Solomon were certainly under the protection of the Templars. They were granted great privileges, including freedom from all taxes and protection against legal action by the constructors of other buildings. It may be indicative of the Children of Solomon’s status as regards the Knight Templars’ patronage of their Order that when the Templars were suppressed, the Children of Solomon lost the privileges and immunities granted to Masons. One possible explanation for this loss of privileges may be that proffered by the author John Robinson who in his book Born in Blood described how the fleeing Knights Templar were assisted to safe havens by the lodges of the Craftmasons. The Children of Solomon’s loss of privileges may therefore be seen as retribution for the assistance they gave to the Templars in their time of need.
Whatever the case may be, there can be no doubt about the involvement of both the Knights Templar and the Children of Solomon in the great era of cathedral building today called the ‘Rise of the Gothic’. It may also explain why the Norman King Henry II of England (who spent much of his time in Normandy) chose to appoint Andrȇ de Montbard, the Grand Master of the Knights Templar, to act as Superintendent of the English Masons. How directly involved with this monumental cathedral building program the Templars were is a subject of much debate but as the architectural historian Fred Gettings said of the Templars in his book The Secret Zodiac: “The Knights Templar … were almost openly involved in financing and lending moral support to the building of cathedrals throughout Europe.”