Customer Reviews

The History of Freemasonry: Its Legendary Origins

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The History of Freemasonry is clouded with time, personal prejudice, suppression and many other factors. Yet, men like Mackey lay the paver-stones for the path of self-discovery amongst Masons. He gave many years of his life to this research and the book is well-worth every year he spent in dusty libraries, to produce this work. The beginnings of this book contain very archaic language, but the struggle is worth the time given to study. It seems that most books are a variation of this material, or refer to this material. Whether it is "the definitive history of Freemasonry," or not, is up to debate.... However, it is hard to appreciate NEW findings, without refering to books such as this one, to understand how much of the mass-market material is "accurate" or, at-least, Inspired-by well-documented research. I would expect to see this one on every Mason's bookshelf, but Anyone can appreciate the complex "History of Freemasonry."

This book was a truly enchanting read. I thought that Brother Mackey's dissection of what is legend and what is fact was remarkable. You can tell by reading this book that a tremendous amount of research went into his works. Bro. Mackey takes the various manuscripts and theories that were written since the conception of the Craft and ingeniously and deliberately uncovers there true meanings. A true work of art for the Masonic Student...

It is true that this book delves into every single known legend concerning the origin of Freemasonry and concludes that each and every one is unprovable. It is also true that the author's style of writing is victorian and dated. The binding is also eye catching and makes the book look bizarre.

But, this book does have a useful value to those interested in Freemasonry. While it does say that no evidence can be found to support any of the legends of the origins of "The Craft", it does manage to list all the known legends and recount them in detail. Consequently, the book is useful as a compilation of legends, which were created by individuals at different places and times to suit different purposes.

"The History of Freemasonry" is a misnomer. It should be entitiled, "Legends of the Origins of Freemasonry."

As a compilation of all known legends, it is a reasonable reference. But, it certainly has nothing to do with the true origins of Freemasonry now accepted by scholars.

This is a beautiful book, and wonderful- if you recognize it as what it is. It is a collection of myths about the origins of Freemasonry, not a factual history. It does what all of our myths of our origins do- illustrate the principles and ideas we believe in. Many of the legends presented within are, in fact, unverifiable- such as the one that posits that Masonic secrets were hidden within pillars that survived the biblical Great Flood.

In fact, it is this legendary quality that makes this book so useful. Rather than an interesting historical review, this book can serve as a reference guide, both to our beliefs and our ideals.

The book is quite thorough in citing the various theories regarding the origin and history of freemasonry, however, it leaves you hanging on what the author thinks is the correct one(if there is a correct one). For the newly raised master mason this book will orient you on the mythology regarding our craft. It will also impress upon you that the rituals are only symbolic and as such are only partially based on history. The sad thing is that books like this tend to give out too much of our secrets(check out Wilmhurst's book and see the word). The good thing is we brothers are enlightened as to the nature of our science. Besides only true masons can understand the allegory and symbolism.

Mackey's book does a good job of collecting Freemasonry's powerful myths in one place, and that makes it a worthwhile read. The language may strike some as archaic, but it's still quite readable.

For those who are looking for this remarkable movement's verifiable origins, I recommend David Stevenson's excellent study, "The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland's Century, 1590-1710". Stevenson teaches history at the University of St. Andrews, and has carefully examined the surviving records of the world's earliest known masonic lodges. In "Scotland's Century", he traces the beginnings of modern Freemasonry to the operative masonic lodges of Scotland in the early 1600s, about a century before the earliest known English lodges.

This is a wonderfully written book. May be difficult for some readers as some parts are in Old English. Keep in mind that Mackey is discussing 'legend' not known fact.

This book looks GREAT on the outside -- the covers and the binding are truly beautiful...Unfortunately, that's just about its strongest point. The title of this book should be: "What Freemasonry is NOT"; instead of presenting what Freemasonry is, how it started, and what it actually is, the author devotes 500+ pages and 30+ chapters to presenting 30+ theories of the origin of Freemasonry AND THEN goes on to explain how EACH of these theories, one by one, is flawed, wrong, or otherwise inaccurate. I started reading the book with a clear question in mind: "What is Freemasonry and where did it start?". When I finished the book, I was no better off than when I started. The book does a wonderful job of confusing, confounding, clouding, and misinforming, which is really a shame, because I had heard that Mackey was supposed to be quite an authority on Masonic History. Overall, a big waste, and written in archaic language, too.

Excellent for the new or Master Mason,for use at home or in the Lodge

The book is quite thorough in citing the various theories regarding the origin and history of freemasonry, however, it leaves you hanging on what the author thinks is the correct one(if there is a correct one). For the newly raised master mason this book will orient you on the mythology regarding our craft. It will also impress upon you that the rituals are only symbolic and as such are only partially based on history. The sad thing is that books like this tend to give out too much of our secrets(check out Wilmhurst's book and see the word). The good thing is we brothers are enlightened as to the nature of our science. Besides only true masons can understand the allegory and symbolism.