Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society
A “ Mother Scottish Lodge ”? The Scottish Union lodge did not only set up another type of Masonry in Berlin , it also worked to expand it . A reading of the reports from a meeting held October 28 , 1743 , reveals that : “ The Most Dignified Brother Fomery notified the lodge that he has opened a Scottish Lodge in Leipzig and that , with the participation of the Most Dignified Brother Perret , they named the Most Dignified Brother , Baron d ’ Often , Semsch and Gérard de Dresden as Scottish Masters .” 78 Frankfurt followed Leipzig : “ On the 6 th of March , 1745 , the Most Sublime Scottish Lodge of the Berlin Union granted a warrant to the Most Dignified Scottish Master Brother of the city of Frankfurt-am-Main for the establishment of a Just and Perfect Scottish lodge in this city , under the name of The Sincerity , and declaring by unanimous consent of the brethren mentioned above that the Most Dignified Brethren Stuyrtz be our deputy master of this daughter lodge .” 79 The lodge was set up on September 4 , 1745 , and , that same day , admitted eight Scottish Masters . This same Brother Strurtz formed Scottish Master centers in Iéna and Erffurth in September and October 1745 . This is where a Brother who would play an important role in the history of the upper degrees in Germany became a Scottish Master : “ de Knigge , Gentleman Courlandais , admitted in Iéna on October 8 , 1745 .” 80 On November 25 , 1745 , the Union granted a warrant for the creation of a Scottish Lodge in Halle to be called The Concorde , under the direction of Brother Galafrès . On January 11 , 1749 , the lodge gave a warrant to Brother Neégard “ for the creation of a Scottish lodge named Four Shining Stars , in the city of Copenhagen . 81 On January 30 , 1740 , “ the Worshipfull Scottish Union lodge in Berlin , granted to the Most Dignified Brother Seulen , a Transylvanian gentleman , a warrant granting permission to establish a Just and Perfect Scottish Lodge in Transylvania to be called The Four Moons .” 82 On January 23 , 1751 , “ The Worshipfull Lodge , on the requisition of His Serene Highness , Brother Louis-Ernest , Duke of Saxe- Gotha , granted him a patent for the establishment of a Scottish Lodge in the city of Altenburg , his residence , under the name of Four Cubic Stones .” 83
Given its activism , the Scottish Union lodge appears to have been one of the first Mother Scottish Lodges . It is unique — but is it really so surprising ?— to see here that “ authentic ” and “ positive ’ history supports the Masonic tradition according to which Berlin and the entourage of Frederick II formed one of the oldest centers actively disseminating the “ Scottish Rite .”
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