Customer Reviews

Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry

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In Born In Blood, Robinson examines the origins of Freemasonry as he tackles long held ideas and proposes new ones.

Robinson began his work intending to write about the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 but then he began to wonder if some kind of organization, such as a secret society was behind this plot all along. This idea led him to research the downfall of the Knights Templar in part of the book and later the rise of Freemasonry in the other half.

Freemasonry's legendary origins are based on the guilds of stone masons of Europe, however "Born in Blood" tackles these long held ideas and makes counter arguments that Freemasonry may have instead grown out of the Knights Templar.

Robinson draws many highly researched parallels in history, ritual, and practice between the ancient Knights Templar and past and modern Freemasonry which go way beyond the area of mere coincidence. Such as how Masonic dress, oaths, and practices have direct links back to the Knights Templar. While at the same time pointing out obvious facts in history, such as both groups are the only two in the world that claim King Solomon's Temple as their birthplace.

In closing, Robinson deals with a few falsehoods created by Anti-Masonic people and groups such as Jim Shaw and his book "The Brotherhood". Robinson quickly debunks their claims and points out them as being erroneous and clearly false.

Born in Blood is well researched, interesting, and even entertaining. After publishing his work, Robinson went on to become a Freemason himself and was later honored for his historical contributions to Freemasonry.

I enjoyed reading "Born in Blood" tremendously. A lot of fascinating historical details recounted in a lively and entertaining style, mixed with just the right amount of wit and quality humor. Maybe at times the author is not very focused, but his gift for story-telling makes up for sometimes carrying the reader across several related topics before returning to the main track. While some of the conclusions and suggestions launched are not only interesting as ideas in themselves but also well-grounded and quite plausible, a few of the associations proposed between Masonic symbolism and its origins/explanations are highly speculative and therefore quite improbable, but always within the boundaries of common sense and dispassionate, genuine interest in the subject. Even though the author is not a Mason, I think he is sometimes (very) slightly biased in favor of Masonry, and maybe a little too harsh on some of the past errors (historically true, as they are) of the Catholic Church.
Excellent reading, by the time you finish it you will have learned not only a lot more about Freemasonry, but also quite a few fascinating facts of European medieval history.

Robinson does his homework and writes well. I read this book several years ago, and it sparked my long-term interest in reading about Freemasonry's verifiable origins. Recently, this led me to read 'The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland's Century, 1590-1710', by David Stevenson, which I now recommend more highly than 'Born in Blood'.

'Scotland's Century' is the only work on the origins of Freemasonry I have ever seen that ignores the movement's vast myth-making literature and focuses instead on the surviving records of the earliest known Masonic lodges. Stevenson--who teaches history at the University of St. Andrews--paints a solid, sober, believable portrait of Freemasonry's rather prosaic origins in the operative masonic lodges of early 17th-century Scotland.

Stevenson's book is a welcome and refreshing antidote to all the junk that has been written about Freemasonry in the past three centuries. It explodes Masonic authors' extravagant claims for an origin in ancient civilizations and possession of power supernatural secrets. It also undermines anti-Masonic authors' equally bizarre accusations of pacts with supernatural forces of evil. It replaces these fanciful images with the story of a remarkable human institution whose recent, humble, workaday origins are far more interesting than its myths.

'Born in Blood' is lots of fun to read, and I still recommend it highly. But the tale told in 'Scotland's Century' is probably a lot closer to what really happened.

Though somewhat tedious at times, this is one of the books to go to if you really want to know about the history of the Knights Templar and of Freemasonry.

The first part of the book deals with the history of The Templars, the warrior monks, who were one time protectors of the Church, and then became its biggest target.

The second part of the book deals with the ties of modern Freemasonry to those Knights, and discusses symbolism in the rituals and rites of modern Freemasonry.

Mr. Robinson goes in depth into the story of religious persecution, the Crusades, and their effect on bringing out the medieval secret society that would later publicly emerge as The Freemasons in 1717.

Some people may accuse this book of being somewhat anti-Catholic, but the tone really sets up the reasons why Freemasonry came to be, and why one of the fundamental tennants of it is religious tolerance and freedom of persecution.

This book is an excellent read. Mr. Robinson is a historian but writes like a first-rate novelist. The first half of the book is a definite page turner. And the second half, is great in that he gives you the progression of Freemasonry and some information dispelling the out and out attacks by anti-masons. He sets the record straight. THIS BOOK MADE ME WANT TO BE A FREEMASON! And I'm proud to be one.

I have read and re-read this work a couple of times. Robinson writes a fascinating account of the Knights Templar and what may have happened to them after the Order was suppressed. As has been noted in most of the previous reviews, the author writes a good story. My gripe with it, and I say this both as a Master Mason and also as one who majored in History and minored in Bio Sciences in college, where are the footnotes? The references, the research notes to back up his statements? Without this supporting evidence that can be checked by other researchers, the work borders on being largely just speculation. I realize that much of the history of Freemasonry was never written down, and thus opens it up to a lot of speculation about its possible origins. A more recent work, The Secret History of Freemasonry, may actually be closer to the truth of the matter in that the Templars were patrons and financial backers of much of the great cathedrals and fortifications built during the two hundred years of their existence. And thus they would have had extensive connections to the operative masons who built these structures, and some of the refugee knights might have sought refuge within the stone mason guilds. Paul Naudon, the author of this work, backs up his work with numerous references -- something that unfortunately Robinson, now deceased, failed to do. So enjoy Born in Blood, but take it with a grain of salt.

Bravo, Bravo, Bravo! Finally, a good book, with an opinion about Freemasonry that doesn't leave you scratching your head and wondering why you became a member of an organization that the rest of the world, specifically the religious world, deems unfit. John J. Robinson has given a very clear, accuracy not evaluated, concise description of a very inflammatory subject. In my humble opinion, he has done this with a seemingly unbiased presentation of historical evidence linking two very diverse organizations, The Knights Templar and Freemasonry, at the hip and establishing them as related to one another. Robinson openly admits in his work that he is not a Mason. His description of Freemasonry and its roots are descriptive enough to whet your appetite to research and read more about the fraternity. I appreciate the fact that he has not written a work damning every man associated with the craft and has actually endorsed their affiliation with the fraternity. Many times throughout this book, I found myself highlighting, taking notes, and audibly exclaiming a surprise regarding information I had just read. Case in point would be Robinson's description of how words can be bastardized by the churches and religious communities of the world to mean something that linguistics do not allow (pg 312-313). In a sense, much of the teaching of Freemasonry has been supported by Robinson in his defining clarification of how history has established Masonry as a perceived "secret society" when the fraternity has not done so by itself. My hat goes off to Robinson and I wish there were more authors like him.

I have been deeply immersed in the study of Masonry, since 1991, via books. I have enjoyed studying the History of the organization and I have many books by and about Freemasons, lining my shelves. I purchased a copy of this book before several High-Degree Freemasons recommended "Born in Blood" to me, along with books by Mackey, Manly P. Hall and all the Greats of the Fraternal Order, prior to by becoming a member of the Honorable Fraternity. Personally, if these High-Degree Masons had not recommended the book ("Born in Blood"), I would still count it as one of my favorite books of all time (I have read voraciously all of my life). I could not put this book down....nor could I put "Dungeon Fire And Sword" (Robinson) down....or, "A Pilgrim's Path." (Robinson). My copy of "Born in Blood" and the other John J. Robinson books are proudly on display, next to "The History of Freemasonry" (Mackey) & "A New Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry" (Waite) on my Masonic Research bookshelf. I highly recommend Robinson's books to anyone interested in The Craft, or in the history of the world. I find his writing absolutely fascinating and exciting...and I love the way he ends chapters!

Note: I loved this book & "A Pilgrim's Path" so much that I joined the FM and took my first degree in June. For those who do not know, this is a RE-WRITE of my original review, written last year. I had to fix a couple of things in my review, by deleting a few lines. Additionally, I have learned that John J. Robinson received the 33rd degree, in Freemasonry, because of his research and involvement with the organization. His research led him to the same conclusion, that it led me.... Where do I sign-up? "Born in Blood" earned Robinson the 33 and paved the way for the current wave of Masonic Education.

The first few chapters were a bit heavy reading. I found myself reviewing a lot of the information presented in order to keep up with the theme. A lot of information packed into the most complete book on the history of the masonic order and the corrilation between free masonry and the Knights Templars. Covers from the 11th Century up to and including the present. A must read for anyone questioning the validity of the Masonic order or considering entering into the realm of Masonry. As a Mason myself, this was a wonderfully enlightening and informative book. Thanks John Robinson for your in-depth research and unbiased writing ability.

Robinson's book is a thoroughly convincing detective story that should be of interest to all Master Masons. While the exact origins of the Freemason movement will never be known, Robinson provides seemingly credible evidence that modern Freemasonry is a society that was created by Templar knights on the lam; rather than some mystic order born of illiterate medieval stone masons.