Schaw Part 4—Possible Explanation Burghs Some background into the organisation of burgh would be beneficial. Each burgh was generally divided into two – burgesses and non-burgesses. Within the burgess group were merchants and craftsmen; the former having guilds and the latter incorporations. It is unknown if the incorporation or the lodge came first. The obvious choice would be temporary sheds were used as lodges then incorporations were formed in towns with lodges in the style of Schaw materialised in parallel to the incorporations.
During the 16th Century the Church, as the ruling authority, had become greedy and in most places managed to direct the funds into their purses leaving local vicars with little in terms of revenue. Therefore, many were pluralists undertaking several occupations at once ranging from charging extra to bury the dead to acting as merchants. This resulted in the fabric of many churches falling into disrepair due to a lack of funds, rather than their destruction being blamed on the Reformation alone. Indeed, this also assisted the Reformation as they were viewed with less suspicion that the existing church leaders who were lining Why did they come about? The first organised their pockets. group for protection was through blood ties with Scotland developing clans which continue to this This first succeeded in the burghs where preachday albeit in a rather more subdued fashion. ers were assisted by members of the crafts who They initially provided protection of people and had travelled abroad and had witnessed firstland, and were generally local unless some chief hand the ‘true doctrine’ and the verbal attacks fancied a larger slice of cake. In England, the against the church in Rome. “The traditions of guild grew out of clans which existed in expand- secrecy and co-operation among members of the ing towns and looked after its members. The fam- crafts guilds . . . and of co-operation between the ily links were still present such as a master look- burgesses of different towns acting in their coming after his apprentice was often father and son mon interest, made towns the ideal environment or a link through marriage. This feeling of family to sustain a secret and cellular church organisaattachment has never really left and exists today tion.” From 1560 for the next 12/13 decades, the in lodges. Guilds did not admit bondmen – its reformed church changed and developed as an members had to be ‘freemen.’ organic process very similar to masonry changing and adapting to external conditions. During medieval times, the King, the Church and knights or gentry were the ruling classes, but the Another example of the parallel line is that of the King saw the guilds as becoming a fourth element London Guildhall in 1370; the Company of Freeof power and often used them for his own pur- masons and the Company of Masons were sepaposes. Again, the link with the King and crafts is rate entities with the former having two represtill present. The King and the Church realised sentatives and the latter four indicating the guild they need masons to work far from their place of or town masons were a larger organisation. residence and allowed them mobility to travel in order to build church or cathedrals. Any ties or Only burgesses were members of the burgh and restrictions on them from the guild were uplifted entitled to the privileges associated with a burgh. and these ‘cathedral’ masons could be called free All other inhabitants “were mere indwellers, with craftsmen or even free-masons. [There are alter- no more right to elect magistrates, to trade or benative theories as to the origin of the term free- long to a craft than a country bumpkin.” Howevmason, but this fits nicely with the current con- er, a man could become a burgess through varitext. It is easy to see why two parallel organisa- ous methods. tions could develop: The most common method was to pay the incorporation a sizeable sum of money – this was cheaper of your father was a member already, and it also reduced the number of years of apprenticeship. Another way to gain favour was to marry the daughter of a burgess. There was always a difference between the merchants and the trades. Merchants considered themselves far superior to a craftsman and were the dominant group both socially and politically. A good examCross Keys May 2021
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