PHILLIP G. ELAM

King Athelstan:  Masonry's First Royal Patron

Through both legend and actual events, Freemasonry has always been able to boast of royal patronage. That is, at various periods, kings, princes, dukes, and other members of royalty have been avid supporters of the Craft and, in many cases, actually joined the Fraternity.  Operative masons were not the exclusive benefactors of support from the crown. A king would, for example, provide a "royal charter" to a particular craft or guild enabling them to hold annual assemblages, to enact by-laws for self-governance, jurisdictional rights, and certain other privileges not available to the average citizen. In Great Britain, for example, the reigning monarch bears the title, "Protector of English Freemasons". In previous centuries, the office was also known as "Grand Patron of the Order in England" and "Patron of the United Grand Lodge".

The first recorded mention of a royal patron for "maconus of the crafte" occurs in the Regius Manuscript in 926 AD. The manuscript is dated 1390, but it is thought to be a copy of a manuscript written some three to four hundred years earlier.  If that it true, it would significantly increase the probability of the document's accuracy and authenticity.

The Regis Manuscript mentions King Athelstan and the significant role he played in establishing a formal organization for operative stonemasons.  The story contained in the Regius Manuscript has come to be known as "The York Legend".  Although the document is much too long to include here, there are several phrases of importance to present-day Freemasons. A few include (translated into Modern English):

"This craft came into England, as I tell you, in the time of good king Athelstan's reign; he made them both hall, and also bower and lofty temples of great honor. He sent about into all the land, after all the masons of the craft, to come straight to him. There they sought by their wisdom how they might govern the craft; there they found out fifteen articles, and there they made fifteen points."

The Roberts Manuscript, printed in 1722, and claiming to be five hundred years old, states:

"He began to build many Abbeys,  Monasteries, and other religious houses, as also castles and divers Fortresses for defence of his realm.  He loved Masons more than his father; he greatly study'd Geometry, and sent into many lands for men expert in the science.  He gave them a very large charter to hold a yearly assembly, and power to correct offenders in the said science; and the king himself caused a General Assembly of all Masons in his realm at York, and there made many Masons, and gave them a deep charge for observation of all such articles as belonged unto Masonry, and delivered them the said Charter to keep."  (sic)

However, most of us know very little about this deserving ancient Masonic Patron.

British historians consider Athelstan (895-939 AD) to be the first true Saxon King of all England.  The grandson of Alfred the Great, Athelstan reigned between 925 and 939.  In his early years, he had been taught to read, write and, like all Anglo-Saxon nobles, was trained to become a soldier from a young age. Before Alfred the Great died in 899, Athelstan, then a lad of five, was presented to Alfred who "affectionately embraced him and gave him a Saxon sword, a jeweled scabbard, a belt and cloak".  Later in life, Athelstan was to put this same sword to good use in his victorious military campaigns.

As he grew into manhood, Athelstan became a tall, thin man with long golden hair and conveyed the image of a handsome, powerful knight.  It may be these attributes of Athelstan, which live on in folk memory of Sir Lancelot.  He was also said to be an avid reader, and that his character was beyond repute.

Athelstan grew to become a distinguished and courageous soldier who pushed the boundaries of the kingdom further than anyone had ever done before.  In 927, he took York from the Danes, essentially driving out the Viking raiders for the last time. He also forced the submission of Scotland and the other northern provinces. In the south of England, all five Welsh kings agreed to pay him a huge annual tribute in order to avoid war.

The most critical point during Athelstan's reign came in 937 when a huge coalition of England's enemies, drawn from all over Britain and Ireland, invaded. Athelstan, with his back to the wall, gathered his army together and struck forward to meet the invaders.  It was a huge savage battle said to rage over a thirty mile front in what was essentially hand-to-hand combat.  The English won a decisive victory and completely smashed the opposing army.  The vanquished were forced yearly to submit to Athelstan and to pay a huge levy of gold, silver, cattle, falcons and hunting dogs.

Under Athelstan, enforcement of expanded legal codes strengthened royal control over his large kingdom. He also instituted programs to eliminate inflation via currency control and to establish new measurement guidelines for silver and gold. Harsh punishments were decreed for anyone in violation of his new laws. In order to encourage the growth of towns and cities, he devised new construction projects in urban areas throughout the country, implemented advantageous tax rates for those living in cities, and established price controls for food and other required items. 

He also built new defense fortifications and strengthened many of those built by the Romans.  While it is not known if he traveled abroad, Athelstan built alliances with other countries by arranging the marriages of four of his half-sisters and a couple of aunts to various rulers in Europe and Scandinavia.  He was also a great collector of religious art and relics, which he gave away to many of his followers and various churches throughout his new kingdom in order to gain their political support.

There are several legends surrounding Athelstan, and each is somewhat different in their various details.  For example, scandalmongers of that time insisted that Athelstan was of illegitimate birth.  Another rumor states that Athelstan's father, Edward, had actually chosen someone else to succeed him to the throne on his death, but Edward's candidate "accidentally died" while en route to claim the throne.

There also remains a great deal of confusion as to exactly whom Athelstan empowered to lead the Craft in its annual assemblages.  In the Lansdowne Manuscript (1560), for example, Athelstan is said to have had a son by the name of Edwin to whom the royal charter was given, which is highly unlikely as Athelstan never married (unless, of course, his son was of illegitimate birth like he was rumored to be). 

Anderson's Constitutions of 1728 explicitly states that Prince Edwin was Athelstan's brother.  Non-masonic sources state that Athelstan had a half-brother by the name of Edwin that was "sub-king" of Kent, although other sources indicate the Edwin was already dead when Athelstan assumed the throne. And, of course, the Roberts Manuscript (above) seems to imply that, although a royal charter was given, it was Athelstan himself that assumed leadership of the Craft after having been "made a mason" at York. British Royal Records, perhaps the most reliable, state that Athelstan was succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund. However, the name "Edmund" is not mentioned anywhere in the old Masonic manuscripts.

Athelstan died in 939 at the height of his power. Later annalists remembered Athelstan's reign as a golden age, and certainly there would be nothing like it again for many centuries to come. He was buried in Malmesbury Abbey. It is most fitting that he should be buried there, as he had been an ardent supporter and the primary endower of the Abbey. His tomb bears the following inscription:

"Struck his enemies with fear, by terror of his name alone. A royal son prolonged a noble line, when a splendid gem lit up our darkness. Great Athelstan, glory of the country, way of rectitude, noble integrity, unswervable from the truth."

It may be that the facts surrounding King Athelstan and the name of the recipient of the royal charter will never be discovered - such is the nature of legends. In the overall scheme of things, it is probably of little importance anyway. Several other manuscripts exclude any mention of Athelstan. What is of importance is that manuscripts such as these serve, in part, to establish the antiquity of Freemasonry. Many also establish that at different times and places in history, the "crown" has supported and protected the Craft.

There is one more historical footnote worth mentioning. Despite all the effort that has for centuries been expended in the search for King Arthur, he has continued to evade the pages of authentic history. Not only has there been a distinct lack of evidence to reveal who he really was; as yet no one has been able to prove beyond doubt that he even existed at all. However, many eminent scholars believe that King Arthur and Athelstan were one in the same.

Author's Note: In examining various manuscripts and other historical documents, it was found that Athelsta n had several different spellings. A few of these include: Athelstane, Athelstone, Athelston, Aldiston, Adelstan, Adelston, and Ethelstan)

Bibliographic References:

• Regius Manuscript (a.k.a. Halliwell Manuscript), 1390
• Cooke Manuscript, 1450
• Lansdowne Manuscript,1600
• Harleian Manuscript No. 1942, 1670
• Antiquity Manuscript, 1686
• Leland Manuscript, 1696
• Roberts Manuscript, 1722 (circa 1300)
• Anderson's Constitutions; Dr. James Anderson, 1728
• The British Royal Archives, 2003
• An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry; Albert G. Mackey, 1873
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