We are pleased to welcome five new local secretaries: Dr Christophe Schinckus, an academic at the University of Leicester; Mark Bridge in Gibraltar; Dr Boris DeWall in Vienna; Leo Lusicic in Slovenia; and Steinarr Kr. Ómarsson in Iceland. Welcome all.
Just a quick post-Christmas update to let QCCC members know that Aubrey Newman had a successful hip replacement operation in December and was discharged from hospital in time to spend Christmas at home. We are delighted to be able to report that he is in good spirits and making a steady recovery. Although Aubrey is not expected to have regained sufficient mobility to attend our February meeting, he is now able to work on QC matters at home once again. With best wishes to him and to everyone for a Happy New Year.
We have now finished re-scanning most of the first run of QC Antigraphas to a searchable 400dpi resolution. The Antigraphas – a series of books published mainly in the late nineteenth century – offer a goldmine of data for masonic researchers and historians. The contents include transcripts and reprints of some of the earliest ‘Old Charges’, as well as a range of eighteenth century masonic publications. They have been out of print for decades. We will also consider producing a set of hard copy reprints if there is sufficient interest from CC members.
The second World Conference on Fraternalism, Freemasonry and History 2017: Research in Ritual, Secrecy and Civil Society, will be taking place in Paris this coming May. The event will include a Quatuor Coronati Panel Session – ‘Was the Duke of Sussex good for Freemasonry?’ – and below is the advance publicity for the session:
The Duke of Sussex (1773-1843) stood astride English freemasonry from 1813 until his death in 1843, and he was a Mason with strong views. His influence was not limited to England but spread across the English-speaking world, and indeed wider still. The effects are still being felt today; and he is a man who excites strong feelings. Come and join in the debate. Yasha Beresiner and John Belton will lead the teams for and against the proposition, and two seconders will be added nearer the date, as will a chairman (with a gavel) to keep good order in the hall. If you have an opinion on the Duke of Sussex then we positively invite you to come and join in. We shall take a show of hands before and after to see if opinions have been changed!
The current details for the conference as a whole are accessible here: preliminary schedule.
Ric Berman was interviewed (under duress) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in September 2016. The interview has been uploaded to YouTube by the Grand Lodge of North Carolina and may be of interest to those researching the history of English, Irish and American freemasonry, all of which are discussed during the talk. Alternatively, below are photos of the field show before the UNC football game a few days before the meeting of Grand Lodge – Go Tar Heels! – and details from a painting of the Masonic stone laying ceremony at the foundation of UNC. You can see the interview by clicking here: https://youtu.be/O8mlEmyWAC8.
The third and final official delivery of the 2016 Prestonian Lecture was given at Bristol Installed Masters’ Lodge on 31 October. Virtually the whole of the provincial grand team was present, led by the PGM, and Lodge Room No. 1 at Freemasons’ Hall in Park Street, Bristol’s principal Masonic Centre, was packed with attendees from across the province and adjoining provinces. It was a splendid occasion and much enjoyed by those present. The lecture was followed by an excellent dinner that bisected pre- and post prandial drinks at the in-house bar, much in keeping with eighteenth-century traditions!
A five-volume book containing key texts relating to British Freemasonry has just been published by Routledge. Compiled from masonic collections, private archives and libraries worldwide, it includes over 550 texts and is accompanied by headnotes and footnotes written by a range of academic scholars, including members of QC. Correspondence Circle members can obtain a 20% discount on this (admittedly expensive) book before the end of December 2016 by clicking and applying the relevant code.
Norways’ Niels Treschow Lodge of Research hosted a two-day symposium at the magnificent Grand Lodge of Norway in central Oslo last weekend (22-23 October). Around two hundred attended from across Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland. They received a tremendously entertaining range of lectures from local and international speakers. Quatuor Coronati was represented by Andreas Onnerfors and Ric Berman, and US freemasonry by Oscar Alleyne (New York) and Josef Wages (Texas). The international visitors were invited to a Swedish Rite ceremony on the Friday before the conference began. It was an experience to be treasured. A second ceremony in period costume was recreated the following evening. Congratulations are due to the conference organisers.
