Books by Leif Endre Grutle
A booklet published when the Oslo branch of Tempel Ridder Ordenen (Templars of Honor and Temperan... more A booklet published when the Oslo branch of Tempel Ridder Ordenen (Templars of Honor and Temperance) Riddertemplet St. Hallvard in Oslo, Norway celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2002.
Frimureriske artikler og essay fra årene 2012 til 2022, 2023
Published April 2023.
Papers by Leif Endre Grutle
Verbum Andreas nr. 32 (6-2021), 2021
Bergenserne Berendt Scollay og Peter Lexou Heiberg ble opptatt til frimurere i St. Petersburg i 1... more Bergenserne Berendt Scollay og Peter Lexou Heiberg ble opptatt til frimurere i St. Petersburg i 1770-årene, og skal også ha mottatt høyere grader samme sted. Artikkelen belyser russisk frimureri på denne tiden, i et forsøk på å identifisere hvilke høygrader de to tok med seg tilbake til Bergen.
Acta Masonica Scandinavica 22, 2019
Freemasonry on the Frontier, 2020
Within a few years at the beginning of the twentieth century, Scandinavian immigrants in New York... more Within a few years at the beginning of the twentieth century, Scandinavian immigrants in New York had formed four nationally orientated lodges. The first of these was Frederik Lodge No. 857, instituted in 1906, primarily by Danes. In 1909 the Norwegians followed suit when Norsemen Lodge No. 878 was formed, and in 1910 the Swedes inaugurated their Bredablick Lodge No. 880. Frederik and Bredablick worked in Manhattan, while Norsemen was situated in Brooklyn. In 1925 another Scandinavian lodge, Balder No. 1053, was established in the same borough. This is the story of these Lodges.
Verba Masonica 36, 2021
A paper discussing how the ring and the red cross worn by the Masonic knights of the Rite of the ... more A paper discussing how the ring and the red cross worn by the Masonic knights of the Rite of the Strict Observance, influenced the later ceremonial regalia of the Swedish Rite.
Frimurerbladet, 2020
I dagligtale brukes ofte ordet «provins» som benevnelse for en provincialloges tildelte geografis... more I dagligtale brukes ofte ordet «provins» som benevnelse for en provincialloges tildelte geografiske område. Denne terminologien ser nå også ut til å være på vei inn i Ordenens lover og vedtekter. Dette kan oppleves som en naturlig og ønsket utvikling, men da provinsbegrepet innen frimureriet både har vært knyttet til ganske ulike tradisjoner, og har vært uttrykk for svært forskjellige organisasjonsmåter, kan det være interessant å se nærmere på fenomenet.
Verbum Andreas nr. 25, 2020
Om forsøket på å innføre høygradsfrimureri til Norge 1784
Heredom 26, 2019
The origin of Knight of the East, of the Sword or of the Eagle, today the fifteenth degree of the... more The origin of Knight of the East, of the Sword or of the Eagle, today the fifteenth degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (AASR), was the French degree Chevalier de l’Orient. This early "haute grade" came to occupy a prominent position among contemporary Masonic degrees and rituals. The origin and early development of this degree is only partially known, but available sources allow us to piece together some information to establish a likely course of events for the emergence of this degree.
The ritual for Chevalier de l’Orient is preserved in several eighteenth-century manuscripts, and the structure and contents of the initiation are recognizable in all of them, yet an uncertain dating of the various sources presents a challenge in determining the evolution of the ritual elements.
Recently, a manuscript containing several early Masonic high degree rituals was discovered in the unlikely location of a library in Norway. This document, commonly referred to as the Hammer MS Trondheim 1752, is accurately dated in the hand of its first owner, and as it includes what appear to be an early version of Chevalier de l’Orient, the present article demonstrate how this manuscript version contributes to our knowledge of the early stages of this degree.
My paper on Chevalier Ramsay translated into Portuguese.
The Plumbline - The Quarterly Bulletin of the Scottish Rite Research Society, 2017
Every student of early European Freemasonry, particularly if interested in the development of the... more Every student of early European Freemasonry, particularly if interested in the development of the higher degrees and chivalric Masonry, will sooner or later encounter the name Andrew Michael Ramsay. This enigmatic figure is still gaining attention, and his presumed influence was, for instance, one of the main themes for workshop and papers at the Second World Conference on Fraternalism, Freemasonry, and History in Paris, May 2017. Ramsay may deserve the position historians have reserved for him as a key person in the development of Masonic rituals. I am however of the opinion that the bits and pieces available about Ramsay, and what is known about his work, as well as the era in which he lived, can be arranged to form an alternative picture, which may show his influence to be largely exaggerated.
Acta Masonica Scandinavica 19, 2016
The Royal Arch Chapter Dovre in Christiania
At a Convention of the Excellent Grand and Royal Chap... more The Royal Arch Chapter Dovre in Christiania
At a Convention of the Excellent Grand and Royal Chapter in London October 28 1783, four Norwegian Freemasons were exalted to the »most sublime degree of Royal Arch«. Shortly aftertheir return to Norway, three of the aforementioned newly made Royal Arch Companionsapplied for constitution to form their own Chapter in their hometown Christiania. The steelmanufacturer Conrad Clauson appears to have had a leading role in this enterprise, assisted by his brothers-in-law Peter Vogt Nilson and Haagen Nilson. Constitution was granted from theGrand Chapter, and December 6 1784 the Royal Arch Chapter »Dovre« No. 40 was established in Christiania. The same night thirteen other brothers from the Lodge St. Olaus t.d.h.Leopard were exalted and made members in the newly formed Chapter.
The present article tells the story of Dovre by presenting known facts on how the RoyalArch degree came into being, and gives the background for how the Norwegians became involved with the degree in the first place. It is then shown that based on available sources thereis reason to conclude that due to the sudden and untimely death of Clauson in May 1785, the Dovre Chapter probably ceased to operate shortly thereafter – despite the earlier and contra-dictory claims from the researcher Kristian Thorbjørnsen that the Chapter survived for many years.It is further demonstrated that the most important legacy from Dovre is the three manuscript versions of the ritual used in the Chapter in Christiania.
They are still preserved in thearchives of the Danish Order of Freemasons in Copenhagen. The short life of the Dovre Chapter, and the proven links between the founders and the Grand Chapter, strongly suggest thatthe ritual presented in the three manuscripts, is a Norwegian translation of the workings usedin Grand Chapter ca. 1783. In addition, it can be argued based on internal evidence in themanuscripts that the translation is quite truthful to the original English ritual. The text in the three manuscripts is practically identical, and is perhaps the oldest preservedritual of the English Royal Arch. The text is very detailed, with complete lines for the officers,»stage directions«, and even explanations in footnotes. The furniture and other equipment ofthe Chapter is both described and shown by drawn illustrations, and in addition the manu-scripts contain lists of officers.
The article also show that a complete version of the 1782 edition of the pamphlet »Abstract of Laws for the Society of Royal Arch Masons« – both the introduc-tory essay and the fifteen paragraphs of regulations – for unknown reasons is incorporated as anintegrated part of the ritual text.
St. Andreaslogen Stella Maris 25 år
St. Andreasgradenes opprinnelse og utvikling Det kan med rette hevdes at Det svenske systems anne... more St. Andreasgradenes opprinnelse og utvikling Det kan med rette hevdes at Det svenske systems annet skifte er enestående. Ritualene for St. Andreasgradene er på mange måter unike innen den frimureriske verden, og det samme gjelder deres innplassering i et helhetlig system. Ordensledelsen understreker jevnlig at godt kjennskap til St. Andreaslogens arbeid er viktig for forståelsen av frimureriet som helhet, og gjennom mer enn to århundrer har frimurere i Skandinavia lagt ned mye tid og energi i å trenge inn i denne logeavdelingens budskap og symbolske innhold. 1 I lys av dette er det derfor både underlig og overraskende at det er mye vi ikke vet sikkert om disse gradenes tilblivelse og utvikling. St. Andreasfrimureriets start tidfestes vanligvis til 30. november 1756, da Carl Fredrik Eckleff og seks andre brødre stiftet S:t Andrae eller Scottiska Logen i Stockholm. Vi vet imidlertid lite om hvor de syv stifterne hadde fått sine ritualer og kunnskaper fra, og det er fremdeles mye som er uklart med hensyn til hvordan våre St. Andreasgrader fant sin form i løpet av den etterfølgende tidsperioden. 2 Denne artikkelen vil forsøke å synliggjøre noen viktige utviklingslinjer, slik at bakgrunnen for St. Andreaslogenes ritualer kan fremstå som noe klarere, og samtidig presentere en del opplysninger som ikke er så godt kjent.
Acta Masonica Scandinavica 17, 2014
Myths and facts concerning the higher degrees of Freemasonry.
The appearance and development of ... more Myths and facts concerning the higher degrees of Freemasonry.
The appearance and development of the higher degrees in Europe during the first half of the 18th century is one of the most obscure issues in Masonic history. Primary sources are sparse and scattered, and the information we can gather from them is sometimes contradictory with what we learn from other sources.
In addition Masonic scholars themselves have confused the subject by lack of critical reading of the available material. The article quotes the following harsh statement from Alain Bernheim: “[…] historians can be very keen on writing papers and books with little more material than what they borrow from the printed works of their predecessors, which they then dilute with comments of their own. Thanks to the use of this homoeopathic technique, legends turn into trustworthy facts through the magic effect of repetition.” (Bernheim, Alain: ”Notes on Early Freemasonry in Bordeaux (1732-1769)”, in: Ars Quatuor Coronatorum vol. 101. London 1988; 130).
The article is trying to address these issues by some critical inquiry into how sources have been used – and misused – by preceding writers on Masonic subjects, but more important is the information supplied about primary sources that appears to be little known in Scandinavia. The work starts with a description of the first known higher degrees in England, show some of the known developments in France and Germany, and ends with a look at the development of templarism within Masonry, especially in connection with the Strict Observance. As the reasoning proceed the article points out how events and existing information can be interpreted different, give birth to alternative hypotheses, and also offer other conclusions than the ones that have been accepted as gospel truth for decades.
It is for instance shown that it is highly unlikely that the later prominent Swedish Freemason Carl Fredrik Scheffer could have received any Eccossais, or Scottish, degree in Paris as early as in 1737, even if this is an oft-quoted “fact” among Scandinavian Masonic scholars. Likewise it is argued that the influence of Chevalier Andrew Michael Ramsay on the general development of higher degrees, and especially the templar degrees, probably is exaggerated. The article also presents how relatively sparse the information is on Baron von Hund and his Masonic rite before 1764 that can be proved with reference to primary sources – opposing the wealth of legends that surround the Strict Observance and his originator.
Acta Masonica Scandinavica 15, 2012
Jens Arbien - The first Norwegian freemason.
It is now generally accepted that the event that ... more Jens Arbien - The first Norwegian freemason.
It is now generally accepted that the event that mark the beginnings of organized Freemasonry on German soil happened 6th of Desember 1737. This day one Charles Sarry, who styled himself Deputé Grand Maitre de Prusse et Brandenbourgh, established the Lodge in Hamburg now known as Absalon zu den drei Nesseln.
The first Minute book of this Lodge is still in excistence and give us the opportuniy to read what was recorded at the first meetings. From the minutes we learn that the Lodge operated according to English workings of its time, but that Sarry and the five local Masons that became the first members of this new institution, decided in the by-laws of the Lodge that all work and business was to be done in French. This should however not lead us to conclude that the rituals and traditions of he Lodge was of French origin, as it is more probable that the choice of language was due to the fact that French was the common language spoken among persons belonging to the higher classes.
None of the founders of the lodge of Hamburg were French, but in the minutes all their original names and titles are exchanged with the corresponding spelled in This language. This presents us with some challenges, and not until the beginnings of the 19th century was the founding member called Jean Arbin identified as Jens Arbien, a man born in Christiania in the kingdom of Denmark-Norway, today the capital of Norway named Oslo. Not much has however been known about the lives and times of the man that probably was the first Freemason from Norway, and the article presents the results from my searchings to uncover some more information about Jens Arbien.
The father of Jens Arbien, Peter, was born into a Swedish family of public servants, and was himself from an early age given proper education to prepare him for govemental service. The summer 1697 he had however the misfortune to be involved in a duel that ended with him killing his opponent, and the young man (he was 23 at the time) had to flee to Norway to avoid prosecution. He then lived the rest of his life (died 1733) in Christiania, at the time a small town with about 3000 citizens. Due to his skills and education the exciled Peter Arbien did however manage to make a good life for himself and his family among the prospering merchants in Christiania. He married in 1707, and when his first son was born a year later (Jens, the subject of this article), Peter could choose godparents for his firstborn from the upper classes in the area.
Jens Arbien was born 6th of September 1708, and grew up in the house his father owned in one of Christianias better neighborhoods. He had three younger brothers, who all made remarkably careers in their respective professions: Erich Nicolaus (1710-1745) was despite his short live a renowned scholar, and bacame after several years of studies in Europe headmaster at the cathedral school in Christiana only 27 years old. Hans (1713-1766) became an artist and painter, and was for many years attached to the royal court in Copenhagen as portrait painter and cartographer, and he did also teach drawing and calligraphy. Magnus Gustavus (1716-1760) is perhaps the most famous of the three, and is remembered as one of the most gifted engravers of all time in Denmark-Norway. Like his brother Hans he became connected to the royal court, an was for many years employed by the king in Copenhagen as medallist.
Jens Arbien himself chose however to settle down in Hamburg, a free city in the Holy Roman empire, and a trade metropol with almost 80 000 inhabitants. Here the young Norwegian acquired an inn, became bürger and started to trade in wines, probably early in the 1730ies when he just had passed 20.
When the beforementioned Charles Sarry and four local Freemasons decided to establish a Lodge in Hamburg, they chose The English Tavern - the public house of Jens Arbien - as their meeting place, and Jens himself was initiated and passed (and possibly raised) on the founding meeting 6th of Desember 1737. Contrary to what one might expect was Jens Arbien not initiated as a serving brother. The Lodge had several persons in this member category, but Jens was already at the first meeting made a full member of the Lodge, a fact that indicate that he was regarded as beeing on par with the other members that consisted of two merchants, a nobleman and a city official (surgeon).
The Lodge, that had no name, no warrant, no written rituals and simple equipment, thrived well the first months of its excistence, and initiated or affiliated several brothers during the first meetings. This prosperous period came however to a halt when the city government in march 1738 outlawed this new "un-godly" movement. The members tried to continue the workings in secret, but it is suspected that the Lodge had gone dark forever had not a very special incident occurred: The challenge to initiate the Prussian crown prince Fredrik into Freemasonry in August 1738. Due to hostility towards Freemasonry from the Prussian king, the initiation of the prince had to be kept a secret until his own ascension to the throne in 1740, but this event inspired the brethren in Hamburg to continue their work, and the Lodge survived.
After some years the brethren in Hamburg named their Lodge Absalon and in October 1740 the Lodge received a warrant from the Grand Lodge in London. At the same time the presiding WM, Matthias Albert Luttmann, was appointed Provincial Grand Master for Hamburg and Lower Saxony. The first ten years the brethren of Absalon met at the tavern of Jens Arbien, and when Luttman established a Provincial Grand Lodge in 1741 Arbiens place served as meeting place for this body to, and among his four grand officers Luttmann appointed Arbien to Großswertträger.
The next stage in the Masonic career of Jens Arbien begin with the founding of a Lodge working an Ecossais (Scottish) degree in Berlin in 1742. This Lodge got the name Union and when one of its members visited Hamburg in March 1744 Jens Arbien and two other veterans from Absalon was promoted to the degree of Scottish Master. Later the same year the three established their own Scottish Lodge, and Arbien became Aufseher (warden) in this new Lodge.
It is not recorded that Jens Arbien ever held office in Absalon, but the minutes are incomplete for some of the years before the Lodge got its warrant, and as he later served as officer in "higher" bodies, it is possible that he did the same in Absalon during some of the unrecorded periods. He also introduced two of his brothers, first Magnus Gustavus and later Hans, to the Craft, and in 1741 they both were initiated in his Lodge in Hamburg. The two should later both play an important role when Fremasonry was introduced to Copenhagen some years later.
For unknown reasons Jens Arbien left Hamburg in March 1747. It is suggested that he went to his brothers in Copenhagen, but after 1748 it has not been possible to find any trace of him, and there is reason to believe that he died some time around this year.
Logenytt 3-2013, 2013
Denne vesle artikkelen freistar å presentere oppklarande informasjon knytt til spørsmålet om i kv... more Denne vesle artikkelen freistar å presentere oppklarande informasjon knytt til spørsmålet om i kva grad frimurarar var involvert i hendingane som førde til stiftinga av dei amerikanske sambandsstatane.
Short papers by Leif Endre Grutle
Verba Masonica 41 (Frimurerbladet 2-2023), 2023
Obituary for Alain Bernheim
Frimurerbladet Agder , 2021
Uploads
Books by Leif Endre Grutle
Papers by Leif Endre Grutle
The ritual for Chevalier de l’Orient is preserved in several eighteenth-century manuscripts, and the structure and contents of the initiation are recognizable in all of them, yet an uncertain dating of the various sources presents a challenge in determining the evolution of the ritual elements.
Recently, a manuscript containing several early Masonic high degree rituals was discovered in the unlikely location of a library in Norway. This document, commonly referred to as the Hammer MS Trondheim 1752, is accurately dated in the hand of its first owner, and as it includes what appear to be an early version of Chevalier de l’Orient, the present article demonstrate how this manuscript version contributes to our knowledge of the early stages of this degree.
At a Convention of the Excellent Grand and Royal Chapter in London October 28 1783, four Norwegian Freemasons were exalted to the »most sublime degree of Royal Arch«. Shortly aftertheir return to Norway, three of the aforementioned newly made Royal Arch Companionsapplied for constitution to form their own Chapter in their hometown Christiania. The steelmanufacturer Conrad Clauson appears to have had a leading role in this enterprise, assisted by his brothers-in-law Peter Vogt Nilson and Haagen Nilson. Constitution was granted from theGrand Chapter, and December 6 1784 the Royal Arch Chapter »Dovre« No. 40 was established in Christiania. The same night thirteen other brothers from the Lodge St. Olaus t.d.h.Leopard were exalted and made members in the newly formed Chapter.
The present article tells the story of Dovre by presenting known facts on how the RoyalArch degree came into being, and gives the background for how the Norwegians became involved with the degree in the first place. It is then shown that based on available sources thereis reason to conclude that due to the sudden and untimely death of Clauson in May 1785, the Dovre Chapter probably ceased to operate shortly thereafter – despite the earlier and contra-dictory claims from the researcher Kristian Thorbjørnsen that the Chapter survived for many years.It is further demonstrated that the most important legacy from Dovre is the three manuscript versions of the ritual used in the Chapter in Christiania.
They are still preserved in thearchives of the Danish Order of Freemasons in Copenhagen. The short life of the Dovre Chapter, and the proven links between the founders and the Grand Chapter, strongly suggest thatthe ritual presented in the three manuscripts, is a Norwegian translation of the workings usedin Grand Chapter ca. 1783. In addition, it can be argued based on internal evidence in themanuscripts that the translation is quite truthful to the original English ritual. The text in the three manuscripts is practically identical, and is perhaps the oldest preservedritual of the English Royal Arch. The text is very detailed, with complete lines for the officers,»stage directions«, and even explanations in footnotes. The furniture and other equipment ofthe Chapter is both described and shown by drawn illustrations, and in addition the manu-scripts contain lists of officers.
The article also show that a complete version of the 1782 edition of the pamphlet »Abstract of Laws for the Society of Royal Arch Masons« – both the introduc-tory essay and the fifteen paragraphs of regulations – for unknown reasons is incorporated as anintegrated part of the ritual text.
The appearance and development of the higher degrees in Europe during the first half of the 18th century is one of the most obscure issues in Masonic history. Primary sources are sparse and scattered, and the information we can gather from them is sometimes contradictory with what we learn from other sources.
In addition Masonic scholars themselves have confused the subject by lack of critical reading of the available material. The article quotes the following harsh statement from Alain Bernheim: “[…] historians can be very keen on writing papers and books with little more material than what they borrow from the printed works of their predecessors, which they then dilute with comments of their own. Thanks to the use of this homoeopathic technique, legends turn into trustworthy facts through the magic effect of repetition.” (Bernheim, Alain: ”Notes on Early Freemasonry in Bordeaux (1732-1769)”, in: Ars Quatuor Coronatorum vol. 101. London 1988; 130).
The article is trying to address these issues by some critical inquiry into how sources have been used – and misused – by preceding writers on Masonic subjects, but more important is the information supplied about primary sources that appears to be little known in Scandinavia. The work starts with a description of the first known higher degrees in England, show some of the known developments in France and Germany, and ends with a look at the development of templarism within Masonry, especially in connection with the Strict Observance. As the reasoning proceed the article points out how events and existing information can be interpreted different, give birth to alternative hypotheses, and also offer other conclusions than the ones that have been accepted as gospel truth for decades.
It is for instance shown that it is highly unlikely that the later prominent Swedish Freemason Carl Fredrik Scheffer could have received any Eccossais, or Scottish, degree in Paris as early as in 1737, even if this is an oft-quoted “fact” among Scandinavian Masonic scholars. Likewise it is argued that the influence of Chevalier Andrew Michael Ramsay on the general development of higher degrees, and especially the templar degrees, probably is exaggerated. The article also presents how relatively sparse the information is on Baron von Hund and his Masonic rite before 1764 that can be proved with reference to primary sources – opposing the wealth of legends that surround the Strict Observance and his originator.
It is now generally accepted that the event that mark the beginnings of organized Freemasonry on German soil happened 6th of Desember 1737. This day one Charles Sarry, who styled himself Deputé Grand Maitre de Prusse et Brandenbourgh, established the Lodge in Hamburg now known as Absalon zu den drei Nesseln.
The first Minute book of this Lodge is still in excistence and give us the opportuniy to read what was recorded at the first meetings. From the minutes we learn that the Lodge operated according to English workings of its time, but that Sarry and the five local Masons that became the first members of this new institution, decided in the by-laws of the Lodge that all work and business was to be done in French. This should however not lead us to conclude that the rituals and traditions of he Lodge was of French origin, as it is more probable that the choice of language was due to the fact that French was the common language spoken among persons belonging to the higher classes.
None of the founders of the lodge of Hamburg were French, but in the minutes all their original names and titles are exchanged with the corresponding spelled in This language. This presents us with some challenges, and not until the beginnings of the 19th century was the founding member called Jean Arbin identified as Jens Arbien, a man born in Christiania in the kingdom of Denmark-Norway, today the capital of Norway named Oslo. Not much has however been known about the lives and times of the man that probably was the first Freemason from Norway, and the article presents the results from my searchings to uncover some more information about Jens Arbien.
The father of Jens Arbien, Peter, was born into a Swedish family of public servants, and was himself from an early age given proper education to prepare him for govemental service. The summer 1697 he had however the misfortune to be involved in a duel that ended with him killing his opponent, and the young man (he was 23 at the time) had to flee to Norway to avoid prosecution. He then lived the rest of his life (died 1733) in Christiania, at the time a small town with about 3000 citizens. Due to his skills and education the exciled Peter Arbien did however manage to make a good life for himself and his family among the prospering merchants in Christiania. He married in 1707, and when his first son was born a year later (Jens, the subject of this article), Peter could choose godparents for his firstborn from the upper classes in the area.
Jens Arbien was born 6th of September 1708, and grew up in the house his father owned in one of Christianias better neighborhoods. He had three younger brothers, who all made remarkably careers in their respective professions: Erich Nicolaus (1710-1745) was despite his short live a renowned scholar, and bacame after several years of studies in Europe headmaster at the cathedral school in Christiana only 27 years old. Hans (1713-1766) became an artist and painter, and was for many years attached to the royal court in Copenhagen as portrait painter and cartographer, and he did also teach drawing and calligraphy. Magnus Gustavus (1716-1760) is perhaps the most famous of the three, and is remembered as one of the most gifted engravers of all time in Denmark-Norway. Like his brother Hans he became connected to the royal court, an was for many years employed by the king in Copenhagen as medallist.
Jens Arbien himself chose however to settle down in Hamburg, a free city in the Holy Roman empire, and a trade metropol with almost 80 000 inhabitants. Here the young Norwegian acquired an inn, became bürger and started to trade in wines, probably early in the 1730ies when he just had passed 20.
When the beforementioned Charles Sarry and four local Freemasons decided to establish a Lodge in Hamburg, they chose The English Tavern - the public house of Jens Arbien - as their meeting place, and Jens himself was initiated and passed (and possibly raised) on the founding meeting 6th of Desember 1737. Contrary to what one might expect was Jens Arbien not initiated as a serving brother. The Lodge had several persons in this member category, but Jens was already at the first meeting made a full member of the Lodge, a fact that indicate that he was regarded as beeing on par with the other members that consisted of two merchants, a nobleman and a city official (surgeon).
The Lodge, that had no name, no warrant, no written rituals and simple equipment, thrived well the first months of its excistence, and initiated or affiliated several brothers during the first meetings. This prosperous period came however to a halt when the city government in march 1738 outlawed this new "un-godly" movement. The members tried to continue the workings in secret, but it is suspected that the Lodge had gone dark forever had not a very special incident occurred: The challenge to initiate the Prussian crown prince Fredrik into Freemasonry in August 1738. Due to hostility towards Freemasonry from the Prussian king, the initiation of the prince had to be kept a secret until his own ascension to the throne in 1740, but this event inspired the brethren in Hamburg to continue their work, and the Lodge survived.
After some years the brethren in Hamburg named their Lodge Absalon and in October 1740 the Lodge received a warrant from the Grand Lodge in London. At the same time the presiding WM, Matthias Albert Luttmann, was appointed Provincial Grand Master for Hamburg and Lower Saxony. The first ten years the brethren of Absalon met at the tavern of Jens Arbien, and when Luttman established a Provincial Grand Lodge in 1741 Arbiens place served as meeting place for this body to, and among his four grand officers Luttmann appointed Arbien to Großswertträger.
The next stage in the Masonic career of Jens Arbien begin with the founding of a Lodge working an Ecossais (Scottish) degree in Berlin in 1742. This Lodge got the name Union and when one of its members visited Hamburg in March 1744 Jens Arbien and two other veterans from Absalon was promoted to the degree of Scottish Master. Later the same year the three established their own Scottish Lodge, and Arbien became Aufseher (warden) in this new Lodge.
It is not recorded that Jens Arbien ever held office in Absalon, but the minutes are incomplete for some of the years before the Lodge got its warrant, and as he later served as officer in "higher" bodies, it is possible that he did the same in Absalon during some of the unrecorded periods. He also introduced two of his brothers, first Magnus Gustavus and later Hans, to the Craft, and in 1741 they both were initiated in his Lodge in Hamburg. The two should later both play an important role when Fremasonry was introduced to Copenhagen some years later.
For unknown reasons Jens Arbien left Hamburg in March 1747. It is suggested that he went to his brothers in Copenhagen, but after 1748 it has not been possible to find any trace of him, and there is reason to believe that he died some time around this year.
Short papers by Leif Endre Grutle
The ritual for Chevalier de l’Orient is preserved in several eighteenth-century manuscripts, and the structure and contents of the initiation are recognizable in all of them, yet an uncertain dating of the various sources presents a challenge in determining the evolution of the ritual elements.
Recently, a manuscript containing several early Masonic high degree rituals was discovered in the unlikely location of a library in Norway. This document, commonly referred to as the Hammer MS Trondheim 1752, is accurately dated in the hand of its first owner, and as it includes what appear to be an early version of Chevalier de l’Orient, the present article demonstrate how this manuscript version contributes to our knowledge of the early stages of this degree.
At a Convention of the Excellent Grand and Royal Chapter in London October 28 1783, four Norwegian Freemasons were exalted to the »most sublime degree of Royal Arch«. Shortly aftertheir return to Norway, three of the aforementioned newly made Royal Arch Companionsapplied for constitution to form their own Chapter in their hometown Christiania. The steelmanufacturer Conrad Clauson appears to have had a leading role in this enterprise, assisted by his brothers-in-law Peter Vogt Nilson and Haagen Nilson. Constitution was granted from theGrand Chapter, and December 6 1784 the Royal Arch Chapter »Dovre« No. 40 was established in Christiania. The same night thirteen other brothers from the Lodge St. Olaus t.d.h.Leopard were exalted and made members in the newly formed Chapter.
The present article tells the story of Dovre by presenting known facts on how the RoyalArch degree came into being, and gives the background for how the Norwegians became involved with the degree in the first place. It is then shown that based on available sources thereis reason to conclude that due to the sudden and untimely death of Clauson in May 1785, the Dovre Chapter probably ceased to operate shortly thereafter – despite the earlier and contra-dictory claims from the researcher Kristian Thorbjørnsen that the Chapter survived for many years.It is further demonstrated that the most important legacy from Dovre is the three manuscript versions of the ritual used in the Chapter in Christiania.
They are still preserved in thearchives of the Danish Order of Freemasons in Copenhagen. The short life of the Dovre Chapter, and the proven links between the founders and the Grand Chapter, strongly suggest thatthe ritual presented in the three manuscripts, is a Norwegian translation of the workings usedin Grand Chapter ca. 1783. In addition, it can be argued based on internal evidence in themanuscripts that the translation is quite truthful to the original English ritual. The text in the three manuscripts is practically identical, and is perhaps the oldest preservedritual of the English Royal Arch. The text is very detailed, with complete lines for the officers,»stage directions«, and even explanations in footnotes. The furniture and other equipment ofthe Chapter is both described and shown by drawn illustrations, and in addition the manu-scripts contain lists of officers.
The article also show that a complete version of the 1782 edition of the pamphlet »Abstract of Laws for the Society of Royal Arch Masons« – both the introduc-tory essay and the fifteen paragraphs of regulations – for unknown reasons is incorporated as anintegrated part of the ritual text.
The appearance and development of the higher degrees in Europe during the first half of the 18th century is one of the most obscure issues in Masonic history. Primary sources are sparse and scattered, and the information we can gather from them is sometimes contradictory with what we learn from other sources.
In addition Masonic scholars themselves have confused the subject by lack of critical reading of the available material. The article quotes the following harsh statement from Alain Bernheim: “[…] historians can be very keen on writing papers and books with little more material than what they borrow from the printed works of their predecessors, which they then dilute with comments of their own. Thanks to the use of this homoeopathic technique, legends turn into trustworthy facts through the magic effect of repetition.” (Bernheim, Alain: ”Notes on Early Freemasonry in Bordeaux (1732-1769)”, in: Ars Quatuor Coronatorum vol. 101. London 1988; 130).
The article is trying to address these issues by some critical inquiry into how sources have been used – and misused – by preceding writers on Masonic subjects, but more important is the information supplied about primary sources that appears to be little known in Scandinavia. The work starts with a description of the first known higher degrees in England, show some of the known developments in France and Germany, and ends with a look at the development of templarism within Masonry, especially in connection with the Strict Observance. As the reasoning proceed the article points out how events and existing information can be interpreted different, give birth to alternative hypotheses, and also offer other conclusions than the ones that have been accepted as gospel truth for decades.
It is for instance shown that it is highly unlikely that the later prominent Swedish Freemason Carl Fredrik Scheffer could have received any Eccossais, or Scottish, degree in Paris as early as in 1737, even if this is an oft-quoted “fact” among Scandinavian Masonic scholars. Likewise it is argued that the influence of Chevalier Andrew Michael Ramsay on the general development of higher degrees, and especially the templar degrees, probably is exaggerated. The article also presents how relatively sparse the information is on Baron von Hund and his Masonic rite before 1764 that can be proved with reference to primary sources – opposing the wealth of legends that surround the Strict Observance and his originator.
It is now generally accepted that the event that mark the beginnings of organized Freemasonry on German soil happened 6th of Desember 1737. This day one Charles Sarry, who styled himself Deputé Grand Maitre de Prusse et Brandenbourgh, established the Lodge in Hamburg now known as Absalon zu den drei Nesseln.
The first Minute book of this Lodge is still in excistence and give us the opportuniy to read what was recorded at the first meetings. From the minutes we learn that the Lodge operated according to English workings of its time, but that Sarry and the five local Masons that became the first members of this new institution, decided in the by-laws of the Lodge that all work and business was to be done in French. This should however not lead us to conclude that the rituals and traditions of he Lodge was of French origin, as it is more probable that the choice of language was due to the fact that French was the common language spoken among persons belonging to the higher classes.
None of the founders of the lodge of Hamburg were French, but in the minutes all their original names and titles are exchanged with the corresponding spelled in This language. This presents us with some challenges, and not until the beginnings of the 19th century was the founding member called Jean Arbin identified as Jens Arbien, a man born in Christiania in the kingdom of Denmark-Norway, today the capital of Norway named Oslo. Not much has however been known about the lives and times of the man that probably was the first Freemason from Norway, and the article presents the results from my searchings to uncover some more information about Jens Arbien.
The father of Jens Arbien, Peter, was born into a Swedish family of public servants, and was himself from an early age given proper education to prepare him for govemental service. The summer 1697 he had however the misfortune to be involved in a duel that ended with him killing his opponent, and the young man (he was 23 at the time) had to flee to Norway to avoid prosecution. He then lived the rest of his life (died 1733) in Christiania, at the time a small town with about 3000 citizens. Due to his skills and education the exciled Peter Arbien did however manage to make a good life for himself and his family among the prospering merchants in Christiania. He married in 1707, and when his first son was born a year later (Jens, the subject of this article), Peter could choose godparents for his firstborn from the upper classes in the area.
Jens Arbien was born 6th of September 1708, and grew up in the house his father owned in one of Christianias better neighborhoods. He had three younger brothers, who all made remarkably careers in their respective professions: Erich Nicolaus (1710-1745) was despite his short live a renowned scholar, and bacame after several years of studies in Europe headmaster at the cathedral school in Christiana only 27 years old. Hans (1713-1766) became an artist and painter, and was for many years attached to the royal court in Copenhagen as portrait painter and cartographer, and he did also teach drawing and calligraphy. Magnus Gustavus (1716-1760) is perhaps the most famous of the three, and is remembered as one of the most gifted engravers of all time in Denmark-Norway. Like his brother Hans he became connected to the royal court, an was for many years employed by the king in Copenhagen as medallist.
Jens Arbien himself chose however to settle down in Hamburg, a free city in the Holy Roman empire, and a trade metropol with almost 80 000 inhabitants. Here the young Norwegian acquired an inn, became bürger and started to trade in wines, probably early in the 1730ies when he just had passed 20.
When the beforementioned Charles Sarry and four local Freemasons decided to establish a Lodge in Hamburg, they chose The English Tavern - the public house of Jens Arbien - as their meeting place, and Jens himself was initiated and passed (and possibly raised) on the founding meeting 6th of Desember 1737. Contrary to what one might expect was Jens Arbien not initiated as a serving brother. The Lodge had several persons in this member category, but Jens was already at the first meeting made a full member of the Lodge, a fact that indicate that he was regarded as beeing on par with the other members that consisted of two merchants, a nobleman and a city official (surgeon).
The Lodge, that had no name, no warrant, no written rituals and simple equipment, thrived well the first months of its excistence, and initiated or affiliated several brothers during the first meetings. This prosperous period came however to a halt when the city government in march 1738 outlawed this new "un-godly" movement. The members tried to continue the workings in secret, but it is suspected that the Lodge had gone dark forever had not a very special incident occurred: The challenge to initiate the Prussian crown prince Fredrik into Freemasonry in August 1738. Due to hostility towards Freemasonry from the Prussian king, the initiation of the prince had to be kept a secret until his own ascension to the throne in 1740, but this event inspired the brethren in Hamburg to continue their work, and the Lodge survived.
After some years the brethren in Hamburg named their Lodge Absalon and in October 1740 the Lodge received a warrant from the Grand Lodge in London. At the same time the presiding WM, Matthias Albert Luttmann, was appointed Provincial Grand Master for Hamburg and Lower Saxony. The first ten years the brethren of Absalon met at the tavern of Jens Arbien, and when Luttman established a Provincial Grand Lodge in 1741 Arbiens place served as meeting place for this body to, and among his four grand officers Luttmann appointed Arbien to Großswertträger.
The next stage in the Masonic career of Jens Arbien begin with the founding of a Lodge working an Ecossais (Scottish) degree in Berlin in 1742. This Lodge got the name Union and when one of its members visited Hamburg in March 1744 Jens Arbien and two other veterans from Absalon was promoted to the degree of Scottish Master. Later the same year the three established their own Scottish Lodge, and Arbien became Aufseher (warden) in this new Lodge.
It is not recorded that Jens Arbien ever held office in Absalon, but the minutes are incomplete for some of the years before the Lodge got its warrant, and as he later served as officer in "higher" bodies, it is possible that he did the same in Absalon during some of the unrecorded periods. He also introduced two of his brothers, first Magnus Gustavus and later Hans, to the Craft, and in 1741 they both were initiated in his Lodge in Hamburg. The two should later both play an important role when Fremasonry was introduced to Copenhagen some years later.
For unknown reasons Jens Arbien left Hamburg in March 1747. It is suggested that he went to his brothers in Copenhagen, but after 1748 it has not been possible to find any trace of him, and there is reason to believe that he died some time around this year.
Bibliotheca Klossiana. Den opprinnelige samlingen ble skapt av én broder alene, og fortellingen om denne mannen og biblioteket hans er både fascinerende og imponerende.
dermed var ein viktig føresetnad for frimureriet slik vi kjenner det introdusert. Det er imidlertid framleis mykje som er uklart rundt hendingane på sankthansdagen for 300 år sidan, og denne artikkelen vil freiste å sjå nærare på dette.
at informasjon om frimureriets fortid ble gjort kjent for brødrene. Han gjorde også et viktig arbeid med å oppspore, bevare, transkribere og oversette viktige primærkilder. På tross dette er han lite kjent som person, og artikkelen søker å bøte noe på dette.
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