The History of Freemasonry: its Legendary Origins, by Albert G Mackey, ISBN 0 517 14982- 6, published 1996 (6th Edition), 451 pages. Cost £5 from a discount book shop in Waterloo.
The author (1807 – 1881) was a high ranking American mason, an excellent masonic historian and a prolific masonic writer. Unfortunately, Mackey passed away before completing this particular work, however, what he had written is a fine example of how to properly approach masonic history. This book (in my own experience) is the second most misquoted (by anti-masons) book after Morals and Dogma, with passages removed totally from their context and then quoted ad nauseum.
I hadn’t looked into this book for over 4 years and it was a joy to revisit Mackey’s matter of fact dissection of the myths and legends that have been woven into masonic history over the preceding 160 years. I would have loved to reproduce his first chapter here in full but alas it would take up too much space. In it he lays down the proper attitude to researching History and makes it clear that there can be no separate rule for the masonic version. This would be enough to put a shiver up the spine of many modern day masonic history writers.
The central theme of this book is the general Legend of the Craft as found in the Halliwell poem and several many other ancient manuscripts. It deals with:
Lamech’s Sons and the Pillars, Hermes, The Tower of Babel, Nimrod, Euclid, The Legend of the Temple, Charles Martel and Namus Grecus, St Alban, York, The Dionysiac Articifers, The Ancient Mysteries, Druidism, The Crusades, Scottish Templars, The House of Stuart, The Jesuits, Oliver Cromwell, The Royal Society, The Rosicrucians The Pythagoreans and many more.
Many readers will be shocked to see the correct context of bits of this book which have been quoted in more modern texts. Like Pike in M&D, Mackey begins by recounting the legend then unlike Pike he goes on to explain why the links just cannot be authenticated in any realistic fashion other than as allegorical ones. As with M&D it leaves the book open to gross mis-quoting. It should be added that this is not the fault of the Author as how was he to know that 100 years later it would be read by non-masons with agendas.
It also looks into the theories presented by many masonic writers of the time and previously and gives them the same historical “acid test”.
Overall Rating: 10/10
Conclusion: Excellent read and thoroughly enjoyable but be prepared to re-read it as the language of the late Nineteenth Century can easily throw you. Unlike many modern day writers Mackey takes the time to compare different versions of texts that were available and shows them to you in the book. To the point, lots of interesting philosophies and opinions. The book is a sensible and in-depth look into the earliest legends of Freemasonry and applies the ideas of proper historical research to them. The book is a fantastic read and would be helpful to any Freemason wishing to get a grounding in the legendary beginnings of the Craft.
Available to read on-line here: http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/mackeyfr.html
