Knight Of The Scarlet Mantle

King Athelstan and the scarlet cloak

Athelstan (c. 894–939) was the son of Edward the Elder and the grandson of Alfred the Great. He was crowned in September 925 at Kingston upon Thames, and in 927 he took the Viking kingdom of York. That same year, at Eamont near Penrith, the rulers of the north acknowledged him as their overlord. That made him the first Anglo-Saxon king to rule the whole of England, and modern historians generally describe him as England’s first king. He beat a combined Scottish, Norse and Strathclyde army at Brunanburh in 937, died at Gloucester on 27 October 939, and was buried, at his own wish, at Malmesbury Abbey.

The story behind the Scarlet Mantle comes from the twelfth-century historian William of Malmesbury. He wrote that Alfred honoured the boy Athelstan in a ceremony, presenting him with a scarlet cloak, a belt set with gems and a sword in a gilded scabbard. Some modern historians read the gesture as Alfred marking out his grandson as a possible heir. Others see it in the light of tensions within the royal family in the 890s. Historians treat William’s evidence with care, because much of what he says cannot be checked against other sources. The Masonic Order of Athelstan dates the event to around 898 and regards it as the first recorded knighting in England. In the Order’s own words, the young prince received a “Sword with a golden hilt and a scarlet mantle bedecked with jewels”.

The Masonic Order of Athelstan

Athelstan’s link with Freemasonry is much older than the Order that now bears his name. Many versions of the Old Charges, the manuscript constitutions of the medieval masons, claim that the craft flourished under Athelstan and that a great assembly of masons was held at York in 926 under the patronage of a Prince Edwin. Mackey’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry calls this the York Legend (or Athelstan Legend) and traces it back to the Regius Manuscript of about 1390. Mackey also notes that scholars have never accepted the assembly as proven history, although Athelstan’s laws do show a genuine royal interest in building and in the trades of London, York and Exeter.

The modern Order was founded in England in 2005. It grew out of a group of Masons whose shared research into the origins of the Craft had led them to the Saxon chronicles, and its first Court was consecrated at Newmarket on 22 October 2005. The Order’s ceremony tells the story of a Master Mason summoned to York in 926 to receive the Ancient Charges. It then follows the development of the Craft through the centuries, ending with a historical oration that runs from the Order’s account of Sir Thomas Gresham as a Grand Master in 1567 to the union that created the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813. Candidates are “instructed” into the Order rather than initiated, and its local units are called Courts. The Sussex Masons report more than 130 Courts across England, Wales and overseas.

Beyond its main ceremony, the Order works further ceremonies for members who progress within it. Among them are “The Inner Workings of an Eminent Prior”, which draws on Royal Arch tradition, and “The Inner Workings of a Worshipful Master or Grand Master of Speculative Masons”, which is built around the legend of Athelstan’s betrayal by Edwin. Athelstan did have a half-brother, Edwin, who drowned at sea in 933, but how far he really opposed the king is still debated. The last of these ceremonies is the Knights Paladin of the Scarlet Mantle.

The Knights Paladin and the number 33

The Order explains the make-up of its Knights Paladin with an openly symbolic sum. There are groups of 9, 10 and 12 knights, plus a Deputy Grand Master and a Grand Master, giving 33 in all. According to the Order:

• 9 recalls the nine knights who founded the Knights Templar in the Holy Land;
• 10 recalls the legendary paladins who guarded Charlemagne;
• 12 recalls both the twelve apostles of Christ and the twelve Knights of the Round Table, since Athelstan is sometimes suggested as one of the historical models for King Arthur;
• 33, the total, matches the traditional number of years of Christ’s life on earth.

The sum blends Christian, chivalric and Arthurian tradition with the story of an Anglo-Saxon king, which sets the tone for an order of knighthood that looks back to the earliest days of English chivalry.

Membership and ranks

Membership of the Masonic Order of Athelstan is by invitation only. Every candidate must be an active, subscribing member of both a Craft Lodge and a Royal Arch Chapter, and must stay one. Those who go on to chair a Court must be Past Masters in the Craft. The Scarlet Mantle sits one step further on. It is reserved for knights of the Order whose service to their Court and to the Order has been judged meritorious, so it cannot be applied for. It is conferred as a recognition.

Members of the Scarlet Mantle use one of three sets of post-nominal letters, depending on their rank:

• KSM – Knight of the Scarlet Mantle;
• KCSM – Knight Commander of the Scarlet Mantle;
• GCSM – Grand Cross of the Scarlet Mantle.

These are Masonic honours, and members use the letters only within the Masonic Order of Athelstan, not in public life.

The Order today

For an order founded only in 2005, Athelstan has spread quickly. The Freemasons of New South Wales and the ACT describe it as one of the fastest-growing orders in Freemasonry, with ten provinces in England and Wales and Courts in India, Australia, the United States and Spain, and a combined membership approaching 3,000 (these figures change over time). In England and Wales its provinces are deliberately drawn to echo the old Anglo-Saxon kingdoms rather than modern county boundaries. The Order says its purpose is to encourage members to study and research the history of the Craft, and the Scarlet Mantle is its way of thanking the knights who do the most to keep that work going.

For more information or if you would like to join, please visit the following URLs:
– https://www.athelstan.org.uk/ (the Masonic Order of Athelstan)
– https://sussexmasons.org.uk/?p=9866 (Sussex Masons: the Masonic Order of Athelstan)

Membership is by invitation, so the best first step is to speak to a member of the Order or to the Secretary of your own Lodge or Royal Arch Chapter.