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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning by Ian Cowburn
“Was helften facheln licht oder brillen, so die leute nicht sehen wollen!”(1) For several years I have been intrigued by the various “historical” elements making up what may be called the “Ormus Legenda”, given wide circulation in esoteric circles by the creation of the Primitive Misraim Rite, although previously drawn upon, notably by Swedenborg, for his Scottish Rite of 1722 and the several following 18th century “Scottish Rites” (see separate table on pages 63-65). Briefly, the essential elements are: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
Ormus, a “seraphic” priest (earlier stated as “Serapic”), is “converted” to Christianism in Alexandria by St. Mark in 43, or 96, CE. His spiritual descendants, to the number of seven, who go by the name of “the Brethren of Light”, transfer to Calabria in the 11th century. Thence there is a descent via a Calabrian hermit called “Ursus” to the abbey of Orval in the Ardennes. Then the whole group transfer to the abbey of Kilwinning in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1140, or 1155, under Norman aegis (Rotrou II of Perche, “founder of the Order”, cousin of the Montgomeries). The “archives” of the group are again transferred to the Crypt of the Three Kings at the ancient Swedish capital of Uppsala in the reign of King Inge.
In this brief sequence, the number of “cross-references” to other Legenda or assem-
blages of “founding myth” is astounding, as well as connecting up historically – attested events that are also linked by history and genealogy. Here are just a few :
• It is said that there existed in Egypt a secret order called the Brethren of the Orient. This Order was allegedly also known – in French – as the ‘Ordre de Kadosh’. It is stated that the count of Toulouse had heard of its existence. In 804 A.D. the count ordered the Frenchman Arnaud to travel to Thebes, Egypt, where Arnaud was initiated into this secret order. When he returned to Toulouse, with his three degrees of the Order of Kadosh, they formed the foundation of ‘L’Ordre d’Ormus’. Authors as well as Masons like Thory, J.E. Marconis, Baron de Westerode, Baron Tschoudy, Mackenzie as well as A.E.Waite, refer to these Kadosh Fathers. The wisdom of these ‘fathers of the desert’ allegedly was an amalgamation of the old wisdom of the Magi, the priests of ancient Egypt, and Christianity. It is stated that a certain Ormus reformed these teachings and doctrines. Ormus, “a Serapic Priest of Alexandria and Egyptian Sage”, is said to have been converted by St. Mark in the year 43, or 96 CE, after which he “reformed the doctrines of the Egyptians, in accordance with the principles of Christianity”. According to other Masonic traditions, Ormus started an order in Alexandria having the "rose-cross" as symbol.
• The body of St Mark, stolen from Alexandria by two Venetian merchants in 827: Buono of Malamocco and Rustico of Torcello, in order to avoid discovery by customs officials, smuggle the relic back to Venice in a barrel of salt pork and cabbages. (1) Of what use would torches, light or glasses be if the people do not wish to see!
In this brief sequence, the number of “crossreferences” to other Legenda or assemblages of “founding myth” is astounding, as well as connecting up historically – attested events that are also linked by history and genealogy.
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued) • The Calabrian monastery of Santa Eulalia, later the “home base” of Joachim de Flore, was founded by a member of the same tightly-knit family group of Norman knights as was Kilwinning. Tommaso Campanella, a Calabrian monk, followed the doctrine of Joachim de Flore (1130 – 1202) who was a disciple of Ursus, a hermit in the Hermetic sanctuary of the Cistercian abbey of Sambucino. Some writers claim that a group known as the "Illuminated Ones" was founded by Joachim and taught a primitive, unitarian doctrine of "poverty and equality", later taken up by the Moravian Brethren.
• Ursus later moved to the Abbey of Orval in the Ardenne, which is one of the geographical nodal points of the Rennes- le-Château/Gisors scam, closely associated with Godefroy de Bouillon, the original Swan Knight. “Ursus” is one of the code words for the R-l-C Merovingian roleplay.
• Calabria was also a major centre for the stregha culture and the later Carbonari, whose leaders also joined Misraim. The Cathars were persecuted in Italy 1150-1224 and were compelled to perform their Rites in woods and forests, like the stregha and the Carbonari, and it is not improbable that the latter are derived from one of their branches. How and from whence did the assemblers of the Primitive Misraim Rite collect this, at first sight, unlikely and incoherent string of events? Who first started fitting them together?
• Kilwinning, besides being founded by the same family as Santa Eulalia, was, as is widely known, the “Mother Lodge” of Scottish Masonry and was situated in the territories of the Montgomeries, the Setons and the Stewarts, all names familiar to Rosicrucian history and legend. James Stewart, a century after the foundation, is notably associated with the creation of the Order of the Thistle, along with Gilbert de Clare and others. These same families seem to steal through the thickets of British woodland elf lore, too ; with Isabella of Mar, Robert the Bruce’s Queen, being the patron of the Carbonari!
• And finally, the transfer of the archives to Uppsala brings us full circle (“Orobouros”) by following the trail of the Varangs via Old Novgorod and Kiew to Byzance, with the Varangian Guard. It is curious and stimulating to see that the avatar of the “Tail of the Dragon” constellation (“Astarot”) follows this same trail from Uppsala to the Normans of Sicily and Calabria where it snakes its way into the Ghibelline tradition of the German Empire, to rejoin the Ardenne line (Orval, supra) in the person of Sigmund of Luxemburg! (2) How and from whence did the assemblers of the Primitive Misraim Rite collect this, at first sight, unlikely and incoherent string of events? Who first started fitting them together? One answer would seem to lie with Emanuel Swedenborg, whose Scottish Rite dates from 1722 and was transmitted to Cagliostro in Curland early in his long career; another trail seems to lead to the various “Rose Croix d’Orient” legenda and the Byzantine/Venetian connection…. And a third to the “Royal Arch” workings of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Emanuel Swedenborg 29.1.1688-29.3.1772
(2) Hermetic Virtues Vol. II, issue 5, Summer 2008
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued) Mother Kilwinning About the end of the seventh century, St. Finnan, or Winning, founded a Celtic monastery (cill) by the Garnock River in the Lordship of Cunninghame in Ayrshire, Scotland and the settlement of Kilwinning took its name from him. The Abbey of Kilwinning was built some centuries later, the chief benefactor being the Norman Hugh de Morville, High Constable of Scotland in 1157 and a liege man of the King of Scots, David I. The Morvilles came to England in 1066 and settled in the great Huntingdon Earldom that passed to David of Scotland, along with many other Norman knights who accompanied him on his assumption of the Scottish throne. The Norman family of de Morville was closely connected to other Norman families in England, Wales, Scotland and Southern Italy at this time (and in Ireland twenty years later), like the Grandmesnils, one of whose members was head of the above-mentioned Abbey of Santa Eufemia in Calabria. One source dates the foundation of Kilwinning to 1157, ascribing it to Sir Richard before he succeeded his father as Constable in 1162. (This source was said, in the Rev. W. Lee Kerr’s book “Kilwinning Abbey�, to have been copied from a register in London by Hugh Coulter and found amongst papers at Eglintoun Castle, which have since disappeared). However, the date commonly assigned to the building of the Abbey is 1140. A party of Calabrian masons is supposed to have come there under the direction of Rotrou II of Perche, cousin of the Montgomery family of Belesme, for the purpose of building the Monastery of Kilwinning and to have founded there the first regularly constituted Lodge in Scotland. This legend is curiously mirrored in the reports of the Seven Knights of Ormus moving from Calabria in Italy to Kilwinning at the same time. They are later purported to have transferred the Archives of the Rose Cross of the East to the Crypt of the Three Kings in Uppsala in Sweden in 1155. The Lodge of Kilwinning is reputed to have been held in the Chapterhouse, a chamber measuring 15 x 8 m and situated on the Eastern side of the cloisters. On the broken walls and mouldering arches of the Abbey numerous and varied masons' marks may be seen, some very beautiful in design. The monks of Kilwinning were members of a branch of the Benedictines, known as Tironensians, that is to say that they had adopted the ideals of the Abbey of Tiron near Chartres in France. It is more than likely that they came to Kilwinning from the Monastery at Kelso, as the Morvilles held land there also. From Kilwinning Lodge proceeded the Lodge of Scone (crowning place of the Kings of Scots) and Perth in about the year 1195, as is confirmed by a charter now in the archives of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Little else is known of the early history of Mother Kilwinning, as all the records have been lost. Whether these records were involved in the destruction which overtook the building at the period of the Reformation (1560) has never been clearly ascertained. Tradition affirms that they were carried away by the Tironensian monks to France on the downfall of Catholicism in Scotland.
One source dates the foundation of Kilwinning to 1157, ascribing it to Sir Richard before he succeeded his father as Constable in 1162. However, the date commonly assigned to the building of the Abbey is 1140.
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued) With the destruction of the buildings certainly perished some Abbey records, including the Pensile Tables which contained the genealogies of buried persons, registers of miracles, histories, etc. Fraser, in his memorials of the Eglintoun family says: “it has generally been supposed that the Cartulary of Kilwinning was preserved in the Crater Room at Eglintoun Castle, but after a diligent search in that repository, it has not been found." A disastrous fire occurred at Eglintoun Castle in 1544 and this may account for the loss.
Eglintoun Castle
James, Lord Steward of Scotland, in 1286 held a Lodge at Kilwinning and initiated the Earls of Gloucester and Ulster into the Order. Tytler, in his History of Scotland, shows that these two Earls were present in that year at a meeting of the adherents of Robert Bruce at Turnberry Castle, which is about 30 miles west of Kilwinning Abbey, and were concerting plans for the vindication of his claims to the Scottish throne. The Earl of Gloucester’s ancestor Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, was employed by King Stephen in 1135 to build four Abbeys, two Nunneries, and the Church of St. Stephen at Westminster. After the establishment of the Kilwinning Lodge and that of York (1285 ...: the antiquity of the Grand Lodge of York over other English Lodges has always been acknowledged by the whole Fraternity), the principles of operative Freemasonry rapidly spread through both Kingdoms and several Lodges were erected in different parts of the island.
After the establishment of the Kilwinning Lodge and that of York (1285, by Archbishop Giffard ; the members included the same Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester and his son-in-law Ralf de Monthermer, Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster and David of Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl: the antiquity of the Grand Lodge of York over other English Lodges has always been acknowledged by the whole Fraternity), the principles of operative Freemasonry rapidly spread throughout both Kingdoms and several Lodges were erected in different parts of the island. The Scottish Freemasons always owned their King as Grand Master; he, when not a Mason himself, appointed one of the Brethren to preside as his deputy at meetings and to regulate all matters concerning the Craft. James I (1406-37) James I, 1406-37 was Royal Grand Master until he settled a yearly revenue of four pounds Scots, to be paid by every Master-Mason in Scotland, to a Grand Master chosen by the Brethren and approved of by the Crown. James II (1437-60) favoured the Lodges with his presence and granted the office of Grand Master to William de St. Clair, the Builder of Roslin Chapel, Earl of Orkney and Caithness, and Baron of Roslin, and to his successors. The hereditary Grand Masters ruled their Lodges without interruption until 1736, when William Sinclair, the last heir in the direct male line, resigned the hereditary office into the hands of the Scottish Lodges. The Barons of Roslin assembled their Grand Lodges at Kilwinning and the Masonic Courts were held there. James II, 1437-60
On one occasion at least King James IV visited Kilwinning Lodge. In the accounts of the Lord High Treasurer of Scotland published by the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury (Edinburgh) 1877, p.172, there is the following entry: "On Fryda, xiii Novembria (1491) in Kilwynnyng to the King before the supper and efter, xx vnicornis."
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued) (The unicorn was a gold coin, valued about a pound sterling. A very considerable sum in those days.) It is probable that this was an entertainment given at the expense of the King when holding High Festival there. It is recorded that Henry Sinclair, a son of the House of Roslin, became Abbot or Perpetual Commendator of Kilwinning in 1541, which office he exchanged with Gavin Hamilton for the Deanery of Glasgow in 1550. In the "Eglintoun Papers" it is also recorded that "Henrie Sinclair, Dean of Glasgow," was a witness to the marriage between Hugh, third Earl of Eglintoun and Lady Jane Hamilton, daughter of James, Duke of Chatelhérault, on 13th February, 1554. By 1544 Kilwinning Abbey had 17 monks, but no abbot in the sense set out by St. Benedict. The death of James V two years earlier led to the succession to the throne of Mary, Queen of Scots, aged one week. Protestantism at this time in Scotland was also becoming widespread and a following was building up. In 1543 the first outstanding Protestant preacher, George Wishart, arrived in Scotland. By 1545 he had organised a conspiracy against the government of the Regent Arran and Cardinal Beaton, their pro-French policy and the Catholic church. Wishart was hanged and his body burned in March 1546, this was followed by the murder of Cardinal Beaton by Wishart’s supporters in May 1546. Extremists, including John Knox, joined the murderers in St Andrews Castle and were captured by a French fleet and sent to the French galleys. A Hamilton, John, became Archbishop of St Andrews, he was also the president of the council appointed to prepare and publish the Catholic theological reply to the spread of Protestantism. He became a monk at a very early age and was placed in Kilwinning Abbey before moving, aged 15, to Paisley Abbey.
Kilwinning Abbey
During the 1559 Protestant Reformation it is reported that in September of that year an attack was made on Kilwinning Abbey by Cuthbert de Cunninghame, Earl of Glencairne and his troops, following which pictures, statues, books, vestments and all other “images, idols and popish stuff’ were burned on a huge fire on the Abbey Green. In 1561, by order of the Protestant Lords of Secret Council, the Abbey was ‘cast down’ by the earls of Glencairne, Argyll and the Protestants of the West. This led to the altars, choir stalls, vestments, the ornamental structure of the tombs (and some actual graves) and the windows, especially the stained glass windows depicting the Christ, the Virgin and all the images of Saints, being destroyed. Doors, screens and wooden furniture were broken up to provide another bonfire on the Abbey Green.
During the month of May in 1560, the first Book of Discipline recommended that the Scottish Parliament should ‘utterly suppress abbeys, monasteries, friaries, nunneries, chapels, chantries, cathedral kirks, canonries and colleges other than presently are parish kirks or schools (except only the palace, mansions and dwelling places adjacent thereto with orchards and yards of the same). In August 1560 the Reformation Act was passed by an illegal parliament of lay abbots, lesser barons and lairds with an eye to social advancement. According to the Act, papal authority was no longer to be recognised in Scotland, the celebration and attendance at Mass was forbidden under pain of imprisonment, torture and even death. A Protestant Confession of Faith was approved but the reformed church received no financial endowments, as the barons were not interested in destroying and replacing churches, their main interest was in the lands of the church, although they retained their administrative title such as Abbot and Prior. To safeguard their own interests, the lay abbots continued to enfeof the monastic lands.
During the 1559 Protestant Reformation it is reported that in September of that year an attack was made on Kilwinning Abbey ... following which pictures, statues, books, vestments and all other “images, idols and popish stuff’ were burned on a huge fire on the Abbey Green.
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued) Religious houses all over Scotland had been physically under attack for a long time before 1560. Kilwinning Abbey had been plundered by the earls of Glencairn and Angus as early as 1513 and invaded again in the 1540s by some of Wishart’s followers. A letter under the Great Seal dated 20th January 1552 refers to recent raids, day and night, on the lands and the goods of Kilwinning Abbey, even on the church. In 1561 by order of the Lords of Secret Council, Kilwinning Abbey was ‘cast down’ by the earls of Glencairn, Argyll and the Protestants of the West. This led to the monastery being attacked, its altars, pictures, statues, choir stalls, vestments, books, the ornamental structure of the tombs (and some actual graves) and the windows, especially the stained glass windows depicting Christ, the Virgin Mary and all the images of Saints were all destroyed. Doors, screens and wooden furniture were broken up to provide a bonfire on the Abbey Green. Altar vessels and domestic furnishings were looted. Bed clothes, habits, food supplies, meal, malt, flesh, fish, coats, pewter, tins and many other items were stolen. Much of Kilwinning Abbey did, however, survive the attack of 1561. When seen by Timothy Pont at the beginning of the 17th century, he described the structure of the monastery as solid and great, all of free stone cut, the church fair and stately, with a fair steeple of seven score feet high (42.67 m). It is probable that two parts remained intact, the dwelling places, which the barons in 1560 were anxious to preserve and the area of the church used as a parish church until 1774. In 1561 by order of the Lords of Secret Council, Kilwinning Abbey was ‘cast down’. Much of Kilwinning Abbey did, however, survive the attack.
A number of the monks of Kilwinning Abbey may have fled by 1560 to France, the Low Countries, or the Scottish Benedictine Abbey of St James at Ratisbon (today known as “Regensburg”), in Germany to avoid these turbulent times and any community life as recognised by St. Benedict would have disappeared before 1560.
Kilwinning Abbey
Changes came about in Kilwinning with the death of Gavin Hamilton in the Civil War of 1571. Hamilton was killed fighting for Mary, Queen of Scots, near the Watergate in Edinburgh. The estates of the abbey then passed to Alexander Cunningham, son of the Earl of Glencairne. Lands previously feued to the Hamiltons were granted to the Cunninghames. This affected the tenants, as the displaced landlord resisted the newcomer and both attempted to collect rents. The final acts in the Abbey’s long history did not take place until after the assassination of Alexander Cunninghame on 1st August 1586. He was shot at Montgreenan after being involved in the long feud between the Montgomeries and the Cunninghames and charged with being accessory to the murder of Hugh, fourth earl of Eglinton. Thereafter, William Melville was appointed Commendator on the 5th August 1591. The estates of the Abbey were declared the property of King James IV around the period April 1592 but were later declared no longer ‘church lands’ and regranted to William Melville on 17th May 1592. The two great families of influence in North Ayrshire, the Montgomeries and the Cunninghames, had their share of the spoils of the monastery. In 1603, Hugh, fifth earl of Eglinton, bought from William Melville ‘all disposable rights of the Abbey’.
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued) The Traditional Rite of the Order of Heredom of Kilwinning There are two degrees in the traditional rite of the Order, beyond the Craft : I. Knight of Kilwinning (later “of the Black Eagle”) II. Rose Cross of Heredom (later “Knight of the East”)
Heredom of Kilwinning
Swedenborg later inserted the degree of the Chapter of the Red Cross of Enoch after the Craft degrees, obviously representing the Royal Arch; he also added the governing 7th degree of the Council of the Eastern Monarch, Sons of the Valley, later Kadosh. Seven degrees for the Seven Brothers of Ormus….
From the Ritual for the Degree Knight of Kilwinning:
Tirshatha: What is the highest and most sublime Degree of Masonry? SGG: The Royal Order of Heredom of Kilwinning is so named. Tirshatha: Where was that Order first established? SGG: On the holy top of Mount Moriah in the Kingdom of Judea. Tirshatha: Where was it afterwards re-established? SGG: At Kilwinning, where the King of Scotland first sat as Grand Master. The traditional history of the Order represents the First Degree as dating from the time of King David I of Scotland, in 1157, and the Second Degree as instituted by King Robert the Bruce on the battlefield of Bannockburn, 24th June 1314, to commemorate the valour of a band of Scots Knights Templars who had rendered him signal aid in that great victory. According to the French annalist of Freemasonry, M. Thory, Robert Bruce founded the Order of the Rosy Cross of Heredom of Kilwinning after this battle, reserving to himself and successors on the David I throne of Scotland the office and title of Grand 1124-1153 Master. Charles Edward, the Young Pretender and the last of the Stuarts, believed that he possessed this hereditary right and distinction and granted Charters to Lodges on the Continent. There is also evidence that the whole system of Templary, advanced by Ramsay and other partisans of the exiled House of Stuart, was based on the conviction that the “Chevalier de St. George” was the hereditary head of the "Royal Order" of Bruce. This "Royal Order" Robert I “the Bruce” is now conferred by the different Continental Obediences, under the 1274-1329 title of "Rose-Croix Chevalier Heredom de Kilwinning". The Lodge of Constancy at Arras preserves an original charter of the Order granted to their Chapter in 1747 by Charles Edward Stuart and signed by himself, as the representative of the Scottish Kings.
Robert Bruce founded the Order of the Rosy Cross of Heredom of Kilwinning after this battle, reserving to himself and successors on the throne of Scotland the office and title of Grand Master.
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued) In 1736, as we have seen, William St. Clair of Roslin, hereditary Grand Master of Scotland, assembled thirty-two Lodges in and about Edinburgh and resigned into their hands all right, claim or title whatever, which he or his successors had, to provide as Grand Master over the Masons of Scotland. The Grand Lodge was thus reconstituted and erected on 30th November 1736. The Grand Lodge then put St. Mary's Chapel of Holyrood as No. 1 and Mother Kilwinning as No. 2. This verdict greatly annoyed the representatives of Mother Kilwinning, who withdrew from Grand Lodge. From 1744 to 1807, Mother Kilwinning remained outside the Grand Lodge of Scotland and continued to grant charters and hold meetings independently. However, successful efforts were made to effect a reconWilliam St. Clair (3) ciliation in 1807. Thory, who was "Atharsata," or Most Wise, of the French Branch (of Heredom) in 1807 makes the Mason of Heredom be the Knight of the Tower (trowel in the one hand and sword in the other); and the Rosy Cross to correspond with the degrees of Scotch Master, Knight of the East and Prince Rose Croix; the fourth and last step converted into the Templar Kadosh.
Mother Kilwinning possesses no charter even today, since she, herself, issued charters prior to the formation of Grand Lodge. Indeed, although possessing few early records she may claim precedence over other Lodges.
Mother Kilwinning possesses no charter even today, since she, herself, issued charters prior to the formation of Grand Lodge. Indeed, although possessing few early records (for reasons already explained) she may claim precedence over other Lodges for four reasons: (i)
The fact that she had issued charters for the erection of other Lodges from time immemorial. (In the Schaw Statutes of 1598, Kilwinning is referred to as an ancient Lodge.) (ii) The existence of documents relating to chartering of the Lodges of Scone and Perth founded in 1193, and preserved in the archives of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. (iii) A Kilwinning Minute of 1659 says that the Six Quarter Masters of Cunninghame, Carrick, and Barrowthrow continued to meet once a year at Ayr to "tak order with the transgressors of the Acts of Court." These would seem to be duly Passed Masters and would correspond with what we hear of as "Heredom" in Durham.
The Auld Lodge
(3)
The Present-day Kilwinning Lodge
Portrait Š The Grand Lodge of Scotland, reproduced by kind permission.
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued)
(iv) The fact that the Canongate Lodge of Edinburgh was constituted by Mother Kilwinning in 1677, and would not at that period have come so far as Kilwinning to ask for privileges to hold meetings in Edinburgh if there had existed in the Metropolis any body of whom they could have derived such authority; it was no later than the year 1736 that that very Lodge applied for, and obtained from Kilwinning, a renewal of their Charter.
Some Kilwinning Personalities Little is known about the man who gave his name to the town of Kilwinning. St. Winning (also known as Finnan) was a Christian missionary from Ireland who came to Scotland at the end of the 7th century. He travelled through the west of Scotland, converting the locals to Christianity and establishing churches for worship, notably in Glenfinnan. Nothing survives of his small church at Kilwinning, but it was almost certainly on the same site as the later Tironensian monastery, built in the late 12th century and dedicated to St Winning and the Virgin Mary. St Winning died around 715, probably on 21st January, since that date became his feast day, and is thought to have been buried in the churchyard at Kilwinning. In addition to the town, a number of other local places bear his name, including Caerwinning Hill and St Winning’s Well. There remains a piece of a Celtic Cross said to have been erected by Winning in honour of St. Brigit outside the church which he built on the present site of Kilwinning Abbey. The fragment of the cross is preserved in the North Ayrshire Museum, Saltcoats, but unfortunately, no trace of the original church or settlement survives. Robert de Montgomery, of the leading Norman family of the Welsh Border Palatinate of Shropshire, whose father was supposedly the Architect of the castle at Gisors (a further part of the Rennes-le-Château/Priory of Sion roleplay) and whose mother was Mabille, the Locust of Belesme, a known sorceress, went to Scotland with Walter FitzAlan, also of the Welsh border country (Chirk, Clun and the Welsh commotes of Cynllaith and Nanheudwy), who became High Steward of Scotland and progenitor of the great Clan Stewart. Robert was granted lands by King David I of Scotland in Renfrewshire and the manor of Eaglesham became the Clan seat of the Montgomeries for many centuries. From 1165 to 1177 the name of Montgomery is mentioned in many grants and Charters and the Clan territories expanded considerably. Sir John Montgomery, 7th Chief of the Clan, acquired the baronies of Eglintoun and Androssan when he married the heiress, daughter of Hugh Eglintoun of Kilwinning. Their grandson, Alexander, was created Lord Montgomery in 1449 and was Governor of Kintyre and Knapdale. Hugh, 3rd Lord Montgomery, was created Earl of Eglinton in 1507.
Little is known about the man who gave his name to the town of Kilwinning. St. Winning was a Christian missionary from Ireland who at the end of the 7th C. travelled through the west of Scotland, converting the locals to Christianity and establishing churches for worship. Nothing survives of his small church at Kilwinning.
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued) Two names within the de Morville family are associated with the founding of the Abbey. They are Sir Hugh and Sir Richard. Uncertainty arises here, as there are two Sir Richards within the de Morville family, one, Sir Hugh’s brother, the other his son, and, as their relationships are often unstated, confusion arises as to which Sir Richard should be accredited. It is more likely to be Sir Richard son of Hugh who founded the Abbey, as his uncle Sir Richard was implicated in the murder of Thomas Beckett the Archbishop of Canterbury and he flew to Rome to seek forgiveness from the Pope. It is believed that he then travelled to the Holy Land where he died at a later date. Sir Richard fitzHugh died in 1189 and was buried in Kilwinning Abbey. The de Eglintons of Eglintoun, Montgomeries of Eaglesham and Setons of Seton make up the families of the Earl of Eglinton and Winton. They have a long and often violent history and for over a century were involved in a feud with the Cunninghames of Glencairne. Hew is the earliest recorded member of the family to settle in Scotland. He lived in the time of Malcolm Ceann Mhor at the end of the eleventh century. The name Eglinton probably originated from Aidhghlian, who lived during the reign of Malcolm IV, 1153 - 65. It is more likely to be Sir Richard, son of Hugh de Melville, who founded the Abbey, as his uncle Sir Richard was implicated in the murder of Thomas Beckett, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
A charter dated 1205 identified Bryce de Eglintoun and the name of Radolphus or Raulf de Eglintoun appears in the Ragman Roll of 1296. Malcolm IV
Sir Hew de Eglintoun is the first member of the family that we know much about. He was very involved in politics and in 1361 he was one of the commissioners for a treaty with England. David II granted him various charters of land. Sir Hew held the offices of Justiciary of Lothian, Chamberlain of Irvine and Bailie of Cunninghame. The latter office was granted by Robert the Steward in 1367 on a hereditary basis. He was married twice, first to Agnes More, only child of Godfrey of Ardrossan and they had one daughter, Elizabeth. When Godfrey died in 1357, Sir Hew succeeded to the Lordship of Ardrossan. His second wife, Egidia Stewart, was half sister to Robert II. As there were no other children, Elizabeth’s husband Sir John de Montgomerie of Eaglesham inherited the Lordships of Eglintoun and Ardrossan. In 1388 the Cunninghames challenged the Montgomeries over the Bailieship of Cunninghame. The Cunninghames claimed they had been awarded the office as thanes of Cunninghame under the de Morvilles. The Montgomeries tried to compromise when in 1425, Sir John granted Sir Richard Cunninghame “Bailzery of Conyngham with al the profytis pertinande til it for the term of his life”. Unfortunately when Sir Richard died in 1446 his heir was reluctant to give up the office and the dispute burst into violent conflict.
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued) The first Lord Montgomerie was Alexander. He was presented with a silvergilt cup by King Henry VI of England in recognition of his part in concluding a nine year truce with England. In 1443-44 he was again involved in talks with the English and managed to prolong the truce. The following year he was created a Lord of Parliament by James II. Alexander, Master of Montgomerie, predeceased his father and it was the first Lord’s grandson who succeeded him as Alexander, second Lord Montgomerie. Alexander married Catherine, daughter of Lord Kennedy and it was their eldest son Hugh who was to become the 1st Earl of Eglinton. Like his predecessors, Lord Hugh Montgomerie was very interested in national politics. He was a member of the Privy Council and in 1506 was created Earl of Eglinton by James V. The first Earl’s family had to take refuge at Ardrossan Castle in 1528 when the Cunninghames attacked Eglinton Castle, burning it to the ground, destroying all the family papers and portraits in the process. When James V went to France in 1536, the Earl of Eglinton was appointed joint governor of Scotland along with the Earl of Huntley. This was the last and most important office he held. After his death in 1545 his grandson succeeded him, as his eldest son was killed in a skirmish on Edinburgh’s High Street (the famous Brawl called “Cleanse the Causeway”). John, Master of Eglinton, was another casualty of the feud. Unfortunately Hugh, 2nd Earl of Eglinton, died suddenly in 1546 and his son, also named Hugh, became the 3rd Earl. The 5th Earl of Eglinton, Hugh, married his cousin Margaret Montgomerie. As there were no children, the Earl obtained a Crown Charter naming Sir Alexander Seton of Foalstruther as his heir. Hugh was a favourite of James VI and was gifted the Abbey of Kilwinning with all its lands and titles. When Hugh died, the king repossessed the Abbey and gave it to Lord Balfour of Burleigh, who sold it back to the 6th Earl. Alexander Seton, 6th Earl of Eglinton, was the second surviving son of Lady Margaret Montgomerie, Countess of Winton and the eldest daughter of the third Earl of Eglinton. Nicknamed ‘Greysteel’ because of the active life he led as a Covenanter, he was a prisoner of war for ten years at Hull. His wife had to hide at Little Cumbrae Castle while Cromwellian troops were garrisoned at Eglinton. One of the 6th Earl’s grandchildren was the renowned alchemist and Rosicrucian Alexander Seton, the Cosmopolitan, tortured in Dresden to reveal his secrets and delivered by Sendivogius, another Rosicrucian linked to the Moravian Brethren and who married Seton’s wife after Seton’s death in 1604. Seton’s daughter married David Lindsay, Lord Balcarres, another neighbour of Kilwinning and alchemist. Lord David’s sister married Robert Weir of Craighead, claimed as ancestor by the impostor Nicholas “de Vere”. David’s daughter Sophia Amelia married Robert Murray, initiated in 1641 at Newcastle, as Elias Ashmole tells us, and whose elder brother William was Grand Master of Scotland 1660-1670. William’s second son, David Murray of Nairne, was St. Andrew Herald and his three children expand considerably this curious dynasty we are following. The eldest, Catherine, married William Murray, Earl of Dunmore, one of whose daughters, Augusta, married Augustus of Hanover, Earl of Sussex, whose long Masonic and esoteric career cannot be detailed here. The second daughter, Maria the Poetess, married the well-known Scottish Rite theorist Andrew Lord Ramsey, who was waked and buried by Charles Radclyffe, Earl of Derwentwater, the famous initiator of Francis-Joseph of Lorraine and certainly the right hand man of the Young Pretender in the expansion of the Scottish Rite in Europe. Another mourner was Alexander Seton-Montgomerie, 8th Earl.
Like his predecessors, Lord Hugh Montgomerie was very interested in national politics. He was a member of the Privy Council and in 1506 was created Earl of Eglinton by James V.
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued) David of Nairne’s son William, Earl of Nairne, married Catherine Murray of Dunmore in 1715 and his son John was forfeit in 1746 and died in 1776. He married Caroline Oliphant of Gask, the leading poetess and songstress of Scotland and their daughter Margaret was restored to Nairn in 1797, being married to Lord Elphinstone. Their daughter Margaret of Elphinstone and Nairn married firstly Lord Keith and on his death without heirs she married Auguste de Flahaut, an illegitimate son of Napoleon I, who died in 1870. Their daughter Emily married Henry Marquis of Lansdowne, Grand Master of England.
The Winding Stair As I try to do in most of my articles, here is a practical application of the ritual lore contained in the Kilwinning and the Brethren of the Orient nexus. The double-helix spiral is the main form of power base in ritual – W.B. Yeats worked on this spiral power base (the "Gyres"): http://www.yeatsvision.com/Geometry.html
Robert Wang in his GD deck changed the Four Talismans of Ireland into the elemental weapons, as did Mathers, Waite, Crowley and Case.
The spiral key can also come from another direction. In the Cathedral-building Compagnon tradition, in the centre of the nave there is always a Labyrinth mosaic. One of the usual interpretations is that it symbolises the path to the underground crypt where was the Black Virgin statue, often a pre-Christian statuette in wood, sometimes bearing no relation to any accepted idea of a "Mary" statue. These crypts are mostly also on ancient Wells ("Lady Wells"). In the authentic Scottish Rites, like that of Swedenborg of 1722, or the Royal Arch of Scotland of the 1750s, this Labyrinth is called the Winding Stair. It is used in the Second Degree (out of Three, plus the Arch) equivalent to the Companion Journeyman Degree. The notion that to pathwork correctly you need both a Landscape and an Avatar (see my recent article in Hermetic Virtues No. 1) fits this Winding Stair context and is perfect for the double helix spiral to be "set" correctly. Robert Wang in his GD deck changed the Four Talismans of Ireland into the elemental weapons, as did Mathers, Waite, Crowley and Case. This is a GD way of setting out the transition into the "second phase" or Middle Court. The Four Talismans have such rich roots in the Landscape and Avatar context that you're drawn to these deeper levels almost willy-nilly once you start "switching them on". Your position would be somewhere circling around Adeptus Minor at that point, i.e. looking for the door out of the hall to the cosmos, after descending the Winding Stair (yes, descending, not ascending; the cosmos comes later, at the Well). In this conception of the GD universe, the weapons are crutches that are eventually left behind as you progress. What you are left with or what next you use must be allpowerful. With the Grail Hallows and Four Talismans you do not manipulate them on an altar but simply possess them as your power base or to merge with your power base. The power base in this instance is the Crystal Castle. The phrase "merge with your power base" neatly rounds up what the working of the Crystal Castle "suggests as itself" from the springboards of actual history and collected Cymric and Gaelic legend. The astral temple is reached by the Way through the Woods, because the Forest Perillous is always the place to start and there you get the White Hart which symbolises the universe, or the Aeon and the Chase is the dance. A lot of this Forest and White Hart part of
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued) the working is epiphanied in a book called "Riddley Walker" by Russell Hoban: "hart of the wud" = "hart of the wood" = "heart of the wood" = "heart of the would". The Wood is the Outer Court in the full scheme of things; at first what becomes the Crystal Castle is just a forest shrine, or wayside chapel, though carrying Templar-style overtones, but the Crystal element develops to a bridge over water first - Arianrhod's Floating Island. So you get the edge of the Wood and the Lake and the Crystal Castle over the Lake, to pass from the Outer Court to the Middle Court. One can be content to use the Chapel with the First Talisman, the Sword, in a stone of course, but not the Stone. Some idea of the internal landscape of the Chapel is immediately "visible" but the Scottish Rite information fleshes out this landscape fully. The entry (from the East) to the Middle Court is of course by the two Pillars, with the extra twist of the Lions of St Mark from the Ormus legend, with the paw on the Key and the Latin catch that goes with it. Arch of Venus-Urania over the entry. Middle Court can have an entirely traditional furnishing, Table of Shewbread to the North, Menorah to the South, Altar of the 72 Jewels to the West ; but it needs the Labyrinth or Winding Stair in the middle of the "nave". In each corner, i.e. NE, SE, SW, NW, are elemental St Andrew's crosses, to make up Elias Artist ; a hint of the Inner Court Avatar. The Winding Stair then goes downward and forward, like as if to say "into the mountain". Sion, Moriah, Carmel, Mount Bego, Schambala, call it what you want. It can even be Eryri, or Snowdon, where Myrrdin wrestles with the red and white dragons. This fits the view of the Adeptus Minor "trial by fire" because you're faced with the Veil of the Cherubim at the bottom of the Stair, and from Riddley Walker's use of alchemy, this curtain is of (Blue) Smoke, (Red) Fire, and (Black/Purple) Chard Coal. One cannot go through here immediately. One must meet the Green Man, Idris, El Khidr and find out they are Elias Artist and Enoch. And one needs to "skry", what the layout is in here, the Inner Court, and what the working is. It is like being in the Vault. InnerCourt: Enoch's Stone over the Well of Black Isis (like in the cathedral crypts mentioned above); Axis Mundi from the Forest of Ogives (wood of the outer become stone of the inner) as the Brazen Serpent (Tau Staff of Cagliostro) rises with the Word being Listened to (sic itur astra); World Egg = Tubal Cain (forge the gold plate of Schemhamphoresch, that's why you need the Chard Coal); "raise" the Stone, i.e. "become" it. The Dome of the Vault rises to its Capstone and that dissolves so that the cosmos is there = Pleiades (Seven Sisters). Well to Star, the kurgan of the Ice Queen of the Altai, stars reflected in the Well, Axis Mundi, the double helix spiral comes in here.
One can be content to use the Chapel with the First Talisman, the Sword, in a stone of course, but not the Stone. Some idea of the internal landscape of the Chapel is immediately "visible" but the Scottish Rite information fleshes out this landscape fully.
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued WORKING LAYOUT The Three Courts of the Seven Sisters List of sources and some guiding principles: Overall geography/landscape: Arthurian (Cymric-Breton/Angevin/Champenois) Calabria Stregheria/Carbonaria Burgond/Thuring chard coal/metal work Riddley Walker Altai Tengri Ras Tafar-I Three Courts layout: Outer: Royal Arch of Enoch Middle: Primitive Misraim of Cagliostro Inner: Heredom of Kilwinning (Order of the Thistle/Swedenborg 1722) Outer Court Working: Forest Mythos (White Hart – Hart of the Wud) Wouivre Lake Crystal Castle The way of working can be full lodge/grove ritual, or pathwork/skry. The objective is, of course, to accomplish the Great Work.
(Portal : Lion Pillars of St Mark) Middle Court Working: Compagnons du Devoir (Winding Stair/Labyrinth) 72 of Heredom (Breast Plate) First Movement of the Seven of Ormus (Calabria/Venice) (Portal : Veil of Three Colours): Black – chard coal, Red – fire, Blue – smoke, Arduenna/Orval) Inner Court Working: Veil of Cherubim – Seven of Ormus (second movement)/Knight of Kilwinning Vault and Stone of Enoch Well of Black Isis (Chartres crypt) Capstone of the Vault Seven Sisters (Pleiades) Ice Princess of Issyk-Kul (Ys/Isult) World Tree – Axis Mundi (well-sky) (The working of Odinn, the Hanged Man, is the magicking of the Stone via the becoming of the Axis Tree, what is above is like unto what is below). Each element has found its place by trylnerrer, as Riddley says. Some bits only slotted in quite recently and more will undoubtedly arise. The whole thing needs a kind of compendium or vademecum which one day will be done. Essentially three great traditions are woven together, the Forest (see Bob Gilbert’s recent lecture on the Forest and the R+C), the Crystal Castle, and the Vault. The way of working can be full lodge/grove ritual, or pathwork/skry. The objective is, of course, to accomplish the Great Work.
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued TABLE OF CONCORDANCES FOR THE 18th CENTURY ROSICRUCIAN ORDERS, 1722 – 1818. S.I. = Supérieurs Inconnus 1722 HEREDOM OF KILWINNING
Craft
Fiery Furnace
4°
Red Cross of Enoch (Chapter)
5°
Knight of Kilwinning of the Black Eagle Rose Cross of Heredom Knight of the East
6°
7°
8° 9°
Council of the Eastern Monarch, Sons of the Valley = S.I. Kadosch Fathers
CHAPTER OF CLERMONT 1729 (1762 RITE OF PERFECTION) 1728
Secret Master, Knight of Royal Arch, Elect of Sacred Vault (4° -14°) Knight of the East, Prince of Jerusalem (15° - 16°) Heredom of the Pelican (Knights of the East & West) 7 Churches of Asia Sov. Prince R+C (17°-18°) Emperors of the East & West (Princes of the Royal Secret) Prussian Knight of Bronze Serpent Scotch of St. Andrew (Knight Kadosch of Black Eagle = S.I.)
1747 FAITHFUL SCOTCH OF TOULOUSE – LA VIEILLE BRU
Secret Master Templar Templar Elect
Philadelphe
Kadosch Chapter of Menatzchim = S.I.
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued
1754 STRICTE OBSERVANCE (1772 REFORMED SCOTTISH RITE)
1760 ILLUMINATI OF AVIGNON (1785 von Ecker, KNIGHTS OF TRUE LIGHT)
1773 PHILALETHES (1818 MEMPHIS)
Craft 4°
Elect Scotch of Sacred Vault of James VI (Scots Master) Scotch of St. Andrew (Esquire)
Swedenborgian Illuminatus
Scots Master (Knight of the Royal Arch)
Blue Brother
6°
Templar of the Rose Cross (Novice)
Red Brother of the New Jerusalem
7°
Knight of the Saint Empire (Professed)
(von Ecker)
8°
(Grand Professed Knight of Kadosch = S.I.)
(von Ecker)
Knight of the East (Knight of Sacred Vault) Rose Cross (Knight Prince Heredom) Knight of the Temple (Knight of Bronze Serpent) Philosophe (Knight Kadosch of St. Andrew = S.I.)
5°
9°
1780 ASIAN BROTHERS
1782 MISRAIM
Craft
1795 TEMPLE/HEREDOM Palaprat/Dunkerley Elect
4°
Brother of Light
Secret Master of Sacred Vault of James VI
Adept of the East
5°
Knight of Asia
Sublime Scotch of St. Andrew of Heredom
Adept of St. John (Templar)
6°
True Royal Priest of Rose Cross
7°
Melchizedek
8°
Sanhedrin = S.I.
9°
Prussian Knight of Black Eagle, Sov. Pr. Heredom of Kilwinning Knight of Kadosch (with 4 metalcrafts) CBSC Sov. Prince Arcana Arcanorum (Rose Cross of the East) S.I.
Rose Cross (Knight of East & West) Kadosch
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The Origins of Heredom of Kilwinning (continued 1796 SWEDISH RITE (ZINNENDORF)
1798 FESSLER system collection
Craft
(Scotch Fellow Craft)
4°
Scots Master
Royal Arch of Holy of Holies
5°
Scots Master St. Andrew (Elect of St. John)
Justification : Clermont
6°
Knight of the East (New Jerusalem Chapter of Elect) Knight of the West (Templar Master of Keys)
Celebration : RC, SOT, FrLucis
7° 8°
Brother of St. John (Rose Cross)
9°
Chapter of St. Andrew = S.I.
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Copyright © 2008 Ian Cowburn