The Masonic Order of Athelstan

King Athelstan and the York legend

Athelstan (c. 894–939) was the son of Edward the Elder and grandson of Alfred the Great. He became king of the Anglo-Saxons in 924, took the Viking kingdom of York in 927 and so became the first ruler of the whole of England, and confirmed his power by defeating an alliance of Scots and Vikings at Brunanburh in 937. Historians remember him as a law-maker, a builder of churches and a collector of relics, and many regard him as the first true King of England.

He also holds a special place in Masonic tradition. The Old Charges, the manuscript constitutions of the medieval and early modern masons, tell how Athelstan loved the craft of masonry, granted the masons a charter, and allowed them to meet in an assembly at York, usually dated to 926. Many versions make his son or brother, Prince Edwin, the patron of the masons and the man who called that assembly. The oldest surviving version of the story is found in the Regius Poem of about 1390.

Masonic scholars have long treated the details with caution. Mackey’s Encyclopedia notes that the accounts contradict one another, that no tenth-century chronicle mentions the assembly, and that some historians doubt Prince Edwin existed at all; A. F. A. Woodford suggested the memory may have blended Athelstan with the seventh-century King Edwin of Northumbria, who helped build a stone church at York. On the other hand, Athelstan’s laws do concern themselves with building, with the walls, bridges and churches of London and with rebuilding Exeter in dressed stone, so the tradition that he took an interest in builders is not without foundation. The Order draws its inspiration from the legend while leaving the debate open to its members.

Origins of the Order

The Order began with a group of Masons who shared an interest in where Freemasonry came from. Their discussions narrowed to the Anglo-Saxon period and its chronicles, the meetings became more regular, and contact with other like-minded brethren encouraged them to turn their research into a new order with a ritual of its own. That ritual was assembled from the study of old historical documents and of early Craft and other Masonic rituals, and built around the life and symbolism of King Athelstan.

According to the Order’s published history, its first Court was consecrated at Newmarket in East Anglia on 22 October 2005. By the early 2020s, accounts in the Masonic press described ten Provinces in England and Wales and Courts in India, Australia, the United States and Spain, with a combined membership approaching 3,000.

The ceremony

The Order meets in a Court rather than a lodge, and a new member is not initiated but “instructed” into the Order. As the Order describes it publicly, the ceremony tells the story of a Master Mason summoned to York in 926 to receive the Ancient Charges from the king. Along the way it brings out a good deal of symbolism that can still be seen in some lodges today, and a good deal more that is no longer worked anywhere else, before following the development of the Craft through the centuries that came after.

The aim is not simply to confer another degree. The Order wants its ceremony to set members thinking about the early records of masonry in Britain and to prompt genuine further study, which is why it looks for candidates with a real interest in Masonic history.

Membership

Membership is strictly by invitation. A candidate must be a subscribing Master Mason and a member of a Royal Arch chapter, and he must keep up his membership of both for as long as he belongs to the Order. To preside over a Court as its Worshipful Master a member must also be a Past Master in the Craft. In England and Wales the Order expects every member to give his full support and loyalty to the United Grand Lodge of England.

Courts usually meet two or three times a year. As a guide from Australia, the New South Wales figures published for the Order gave a joining fee of around $150, which includes the regalia, and annual dues of around $50, varying from Court to Court.

Organisation

In keeping with its Anglo-Saxon theme, the Order in England and Wales draws its Provinces along the lines of the old kingdoms and gilds of Athelstan’s time rather than the modern counties. Several Provinces therefore take historic names, such as Magonsætan and South Rheged, and each is made large enough to support the ten Courts a Province is expected to sustain.

The Order of the Scarlet Mantle

Linked to the Order is the Order of the Scarlet Mantle, which is not open to application but conferred as a reward on members who have given notable service to the Order and their Court. Its theme is the tradition that Alfred the Great knighted the young Athelstan around the year 898, which the Order regards as the first recorded making of a knight in England. Holders may use the letters KSM (Knight of the Scarlet Mantle), with higher ranks of Knight Commander (KCSM) and Knight Grand Cross (GCSM).

For more information or if you would like to join, please visit the following URLs:
– https://www.athelstan.org.uk/
– https://athelstanusa.org/
– https://southrhegedmoa.org.uk/the-order/
– https://athelstan-magonsaetan.org/about