- Title:
- Collection of material relating to freemasonry in continental Europe, including regalia, jewels, medals, badges and souvenirs.
- Object name(s):
- Museum collection level; Collection, Europe
- Brief description:
- The Library and Museum’s collection contains representative examples of jewels, medals and regalia from most European countries, including a large collection of French regalia and jewels and German jewels. There are also a number of presentation items that have been given as gifts by various grand lodges across Europe to the United Grand Lodge of England and its Rulers. The collection also holds items for grand lodges that are no longer in existence, such as pre-1939 grand lodges in Germany. Although not strictly European, this collection also includes a number of items from Egypt and Israel, who have close ties with European freemasonry.
- Collection:
- Museum of Freemasonry
- Associated concept:
- Europe--Freemasonry--Jewels
- Associated concept:
- Europe--Freemasonry--Regalia
- Comments:
- Freemasonry is practised across Europe and in some countries is older than freemasonry in Britain. Western European countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium all have established Grand Lodges, as well as former Eastern bloc states, such as Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania and Hungary. It is not uncommon for European countries to have more than one grand lodge
- Comments:
- for example, France has three grand lodges and Germany has five grand lodges working under the banner of United Grand Lodges of Germany. Female freemasonry and Prince Hall freemasonry also operate widely across Europe.
- Comments:
- Note: Prince Hall was a man of African descent in Boston, Massachusetts who, along with 14 other black men, was initiated into a travelling Irish lodge in 1775. In 1784, they received permission from the Moderns Grand Lodge in England to form African Lodge, No. 459 (erased in 1813). In 1797, Prince Hall warranted lodges in Philadelphia and Rhode Island, and from these three lodges the Prince Hall system of freemasonry originated.
- Comments:
- Not all Grand Lodges and other masonic bodies are recognised by the United Grand Lodge of England. For details of recognition qualification, refer to 'Aims and Relationships of the Craft' and 'Basic Principles for Grand Lodge Recognition' in United Grand Lodge of England: 'Constitutions' (multiple years). The Library and Museum collects material from both recognised and unrecognised masonic bodies.
- Comments:
- For a detailed guide of freemasonry abroad, see Kent Henderson and Tony Pope, Freemasonry Universal: A New Guide to the Masonic World, vol. 1 - The Americas, and vol. 2 - Africa, Europe, Asia and Oceania (Global Masonic Publications, 1998 and 2000).
- Comments:
- For masonic items from other countries, see collection level catalogue entries on the Commonwealth nations, the United States of America, Swedish Rite and other overseas.
- Comments:
- This catalogue entry is intended to provide an overview of the collection discussed. There are 40 collection catalogue entries in total, which give an introduction and a context to different areas of the collection, as well as providing examples of that collection. They are primarily intended as an interim measure before each item in the Library and Museum’s collection is catalogued individually, due to be completed by 2017. However, it is also hoped that they will provide the user with an entry into freemasonry and its material culture. Only 10 per cent of the Library and Museum’s collection is on display at any one time but the rest can be viewed upon request
- Comments:
- it is hoped that these catalogue entries with encourage our users to do so.
- Comments:
- Items from the collection are viewable upon request with 72 hours notice.
- Content - description:
- Various masonic
- Object name:
- Museum collection level; Collection, Europe
- Object number:
- COLL/Europe
- Object production date:
- c1780-2---
- Object production place:
- Europe
- Related object number:
- 27149826
- Related object note:
- Related object database number
- Related object number:
- 27145365
- Related object note:
- Related object database number
- Related object number:
- 27146133
- Related object note:
- Related object database number
- Related object number:
- 27150540
- Related object note:
- Related object database number
- Reproduction format:
- Digital image
Persistent shareable link for this record: https://museumdata.uk/objects/dc2f531e-51cd-3c4b-90cd-25199ccb6732
Use licence for this record: CC BY
Attribution for this record: https://museumdata.uk/objects/dc2f531e-51cd-3c4b-90cd-25199ccb6732, Museum of Freemasonry, CC BY
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