Historians often make a sharp distinction between the operative masonry of the Middle Ages, referring to the associations of builders that formed during that time, and the speculative Freemasonry of modern times, emphasizing that there is no direct bridge connecting the two. In addition, they have scoffed at Masonic claims concerning the close relationships between the Lodge and the Temple. Using medieval archives housed throughout Europe, historian Paul Naudon reveals that there was in fact a very intimate connection between the Masons and the Knights Templar. Church records of medieval Paris show that most, if not all of, the Masons of that time were residents of the Templar censive, which allowed them to enjoy great exemptions and liberties from both Church and state as a result of the protection afforded them by this powerful order.

Naudon shows that the origins of Freemasonry can be traced back to the collegia, colleges of artisans,  of ancient Rome. He traces the evolution of organizations such as the comacine masters, the Arab turuqs, and the brotherhoods of builders created under the aegis of the Benedictines and the Knights Templar; and the craft guilds that formed in England--all of which have contributed to the transmission of a sacred tradition from pre-Christian times to the modern era. This tradition is the source of today's Masonic ritual and symbolism, and it provides the missing link in the transformation of the masonry of the medieval cathedral builders to the spiritual principles of the Freemasonry that exists today.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction

Part 1: The Origins of Freemasonry from
           Ancient Times to the Middle Ages
1. The Ancient Corporations:
    Colleges of Builders in Rome
2. The Collegia and the Barbarian Invasions
3. Ecclesiastical and Monastic Associations
4. Secular Brotherhoods:
    The Germanic and Anglo-Saxon Guilds
5. The Crusades and the Templars
6. The Templars, the Francs Métiers, and Freemasonry
7. The Templars and the Parisian Builders

Part 2: From the Art of Building
           to the Art of Thinking
8. Mason Corporations in France
9. Builders Corporations in Italy, Germany, and Switzerland
10. The Corporative Masonry in Great Britain
11. Universal Freemasonry
12. Speculative Freemasonry
13. The Grand Lodges and Modern Freemasonry

Conclusion
Notes
Index

308 pages, 6 x 9, Paperback

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