History
Lambda Chi Alpha, Jack Mason, and King René Why did our spiritual founder build our legendary mythology around this 15th century French king?
By Michael J. Raymond (Miami OH)
Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from printed edition of the Spring 2005 Cross & Crescent. I have had a longtime interest in the historic and mythical origins of or Fraternity. Recently, I took a look at the latest edition of The Paedagogus, our manual of fraternal education, to see what it had to say about René d’Anjou, the legendary founder of our Fraternity. The Paedagogus mentions that he was a 15th century king in southern France who rode into his many battles with a shield inscribed with the phrase, “Los en croissant.” This phrase, or slogan, is translated into English to read either “Praise to Increase” or “Hail to Progress.” Essentially, this edition of The Paedagogus dismisses the inspirational influence of Good King René on our Fraternity with three short sentences. This brief glance at our fraternal education manual stimulated my curiosity about the character, personality, and significance of René d’Anjou. Just why did John E. Mason, the spiritual founder of Lambda Chi Alpha, choose René d’Anjou as the one knight of old who embodied the core values of our organization? Why did brother Mason build our legendary mythology around this 15th century French king? I decided to take a look at some earlier editions of The Paedagogus to see if more information about King René was made available to our new associate members. Though the 1995 edition of The Paedagogus devoted seven paragraphs to Jack Mason’s brilliant historical research and Ritual work, it does not once mention his inspiration! The 1990 edition of our Fraternity education manual, while devoting a well-researched and written chapter on our fraternal heritage, likewise makes no mention of King René. Finally, I retrieved my own Paedagogus from 1962 to see if he was given a more prominent place in our lore. Lo and behold, mention of King René was made in this second edition of our educational manual…in exactly the same words as the 2003 edition of The Paedagogus! So, after forty-one years of introducing young men to our Fraternity it has said very little about this great historic figure and his influence on Jack Mason. After this brief review, I turned my attention to the two official histories of Lambda Chi
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Alpha Fraternity that have been produced by our organization. The latest edition, The History of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, written by Charles S. Peyser, Ph.D. with Ernest Vargo II, was published in 1992. This limited edition book is hard to find and not widely known by the general membership of our Fraternity. This is a shame in that it is a well-written and comprehensive book that every historically minded Lambda Chi should have in his collection. Almost five pages of this book, in a chapter titled “Lambda Chi Alpha: A Historical Perspective,” is devoted to René d’Anjou and the various “Orders of the Crescent” that have existed over time. For members interested in a brief portrait of the so-called “story book” king, this chapter of the 1992 book is a fine introduction to this historic figure. Our very first history book, titled Lambda Chi Alpha, 1909-1929, was edited by Linn C. Lightner, a most distinguished and long serving member of our organization. My copy of this rare publication is especially significant because it was originally the personal copy of our founder, Warren A. Cole! It is an amazing book filled with detailed and candid information and unique drawings and illustrations associated with the earliest history of Lambda Chi Alpha. It is made even more important by the numerous notes, checkmarks, and comments made by brother Cole. This section of this book about the development of our Ritual by Cole and Mason is fabulous. It even mentions a trip that Bruce McIntosh and Jack Mason took to France in 1925 to the traditional meeting place of the Knight of the Double Crescent in Aigues Mortes and places associated with King René such as Taracon. The book also documents that in 1927, Mason made a second trip to France to visit René’s birthplace in Angers. The fact that Mason made at least two trips to France to visit places that are significant to the story of René d’Anjou speaks to the importance of this man as the spiritual founder of Lambda Chi Alpha. No story of Lambda Chi Alpha and Jack Mason can be complete unless the story of King René is also told. All three are forever a part of the full story of our Fraternity’s history. This edition of our history is about as close to a first-person account
Cross & Crescent November 2010