At the Origins of the Masonic Phenomenon: Freemasons in the English State of 15th — 17th Centuries

Abstract

The author considers the crisis events of medieval craft structures in England. The focus of his attention is the modernization of guilds and liveried companies of masons-builders. The analysis was carried out using special sources and scientific literature. This allowed us to draw a number of important conclusions. It is noted that the crisis processes observed in the economy of England of the 15—17th Centuries had a decisive influence on the evolution of the guild institution. These structures, in particular, construction guilds received the status of liveried companies. Subsequently, the craft Masonry of England was transformed into an enlightenment community. The study showed that his ideology provided for the allegorical use of building craft symbols. In particular, members of the Royal Society in London are named the project’s inspirers. Its main goal is the “construction” of a new society, religion and the formation of a new man. The author also emphasizes that the phenomenon of new Masonry should not be associated with the activities of a secret organization. In his opinion, the initial stage in the history of the Masonry in England should be associated with the influence of the Freemasonry of Scotland. However, at the beginning of the 18th Century, the intellectual elite of England managed to seize the initiative. The intellectual elite was the first to establish the work of the transnational structures of the new Masonic movement.