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Post by Seeker on Nov 17, 2004 18:32:27 GMT
Some Lodges wear white Gloves Some don't. what is they symbology of the Gloves...
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Post by Stash on Nov 17, 2004 18:44:19 GMT
"........ of the purest white, at ours, thereby intimating that every action of a Mason ought to be pure and spotless"
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staffs
Administrator
Staffs
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Post by staffs on Nov 17, 2004 19:00:33 GMT
In Lodges in England it is the general custom for white gloves to be worn. Why, and what is the origin of this custom? This is a tradition which has its roots like so many of our customs, in operative masonry. Operative stonemasons had to wear gloves as an item of protective clothing just as they wore aprons for the same purpose. Bro. A.C.P. Jackson in his Inaugural address to the Lodge (AQC 88 1975) commented that masons must have been enjoyed special privileges in this respect when there were certain prohibitions in the Middle Ages against the wearing of gloves and when there were also strict rules of etiquette about them. In considering the use of gloves in speculative Freemasonry we need to remember the age in which the formal customs of the Craft were developing. It was an age of formality; formality in speech, dress, manners; the age of courtly elegance; the age of the beaux and fops (but beneath this veneer, lest we romanticize it too much, we must remember it was also an age course, brutal and depraved). Gloves were an item of formal male attire and, indeed, they persisted as such into modern times in formal evening and court dress. So there were two influences for the adoption of gloves as part of masonic clothing; as symbolic (like the apron) of the operative tradition and as part of the formal dress of polite society. There are early references in masonic exposures and ritual documents to a newly made brother 'clothing the lodge', i.e., presenting each of the members with a pair of gloves and/or an apron. One of the earliest of these exposures which appeared as a letter in a London newspaper of 1723 under the title A Mason's Examination went even further by stating: 'When a Free Mason is enter'd, after having given to all present of the Fraternity a Pair of Men and women's Gloves and Leathern apron...' (and then going on to describe the ceremony). This tradition of a pair of gloves for the ladies also crops up in other places, especially in Masonry elsewhere in Europe, and a charming echo of this 18th century custom is still observed in Pilgrim Lodge No. 238 (EC), the London Lodge of German speaking masons founded in 1779 which still today works its own unique degree ritual in German. When a candidate is initiated, or a joining member admitted on election, the Master presents him with two pairs of white gloves, one a gentleman's the other a lady's informing him that one pair is for himself to wear in lodge and the other he is to present to 'your life's faithful consort as a token of our esteem and to renew to her your vow of inviolable fidelity. But why white gloves as an item of masonic dress today? White is an obvious symbol of purity and white gloves express the idea of one clean of heart and hands. One is reminded of the custom of a maiden assize (i.e. one at which no one was to be brought to trial) by which the sheriff of the county would present the assize judge with a pair of white gloves symbolizing the calendar was clear. Masonry, the candidate is told, is founded on the purest principles of piety and virtue and then later he is invested with a plain white apron, the 'badge of innocence', free from all blemish. He will later learn how fifteen trusty Fellowcrafts were order to attend the funeral of H.A. clothed in white aprons and gloves 'as emblems of innocence.' The very word 'candidate' in its original from the Latin expresses the idea of whiteness as a symbol of the purity and innocence of the aspirant; in ancient Rome the candidate for office wore a white toga, the toga candida. Similarly our word 'candid' from the same root carries a meaning of being clean and pure. The idea of a candidate as 'one clothed in white' is expressed in the custom observed in some lodges whereby the candidate for initiation is required to dress, as was the writer of this note, in a special loose-fitting white suit kept for the purpose. So we wear gloves as a reminder of our roots in operative masonry and echoing the formal dress of a bygone age, and those gloves are white to symbolize and remind us of the tents of our profession, 'founded on the purest principles of piety and virtue'. This File is furnished by: The VICTORIA MASONIC WWW BBS
THIS ARTICLE WAS PREPARED BY WOR. BROTHER T.O. HAUNCH
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sarge
Member
peace and harmony
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Post by sarge on Nov 17, 2004 21:51:20 GMT
at my iniation I was told the white gloves were worn in Lodge because in Freemasonry all men are equal and the gloves were worn so that on shaking hands the rough hands of a labourer could not be distinguished from the smooth hands of a professional man sarge
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staffs
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Staffs
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Post by staffs on Nov 18, 2004 6:29:25 GMT
ORIGINALLY POSTED BY MIDDLE PILLAR AND MOVED HERE BY REQUEST
This is an interesting 'peculiarity' which is sort of in keeping with 'The Gloves are off thread';
In my Mother Lodge we do not present a Brother with White Gloves until he is Raised.
I will print out the ritual which goes with 'our' peculiarity;
"To complete your Master Masons attire, I present you with a pair of gloves. In ancient times an operative brother, when at labour, wore leather gloves to protect his hands from the lime in the cement. You as a speculative mason, should always wear white gloves as emblems of purity, that your hands may be spotless when you uncover them to take a fresh obligation or renew an old one".
This is taken from 'The Director of Ceremonies, His Duties & Responsibilities.' by Algernon Rose (1932).
I always warn our new EA's and FC's to take a pair of white gloves when visiting because most Lodges (to my knowledge ours is the only one that has this peculiarity) want you to wear White Gloves no matter.
Again this is something that our Lodge has always done, and when I was an FC I remember visiting a Lodge and being given a right B...ock..g! (It wasn't my fault Guv honest!).
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Post by waynecowley on Nov 18, 2004 7:07:19 GMT
EAs and FCs in my lodge similarly do not wear gloves. We present a pair to a newly raised MM
Wayne
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Post by taylorsman on Nov 18, 2004 7:25:36 GMT
On the matter of Gloves, I have long felt that the way the ME's gloves are dealt with at Installations is a bit "ragged" in some Lodges.
Once he has assented to the Antient Charges read to him by the Secretary he is asked to advance to the Pedestal to take the Obligation as Master Elect. Now this is often accompanied by his fumbling to remove his gloves and stuffing them in his trouser pockets, not a dignified process and one which spoils the flow and distracts attention at a most inportnat part of the Ceremony.
In one Lodge I attend when the SW is replaced by a PM and taken to a seat next to the DC he removes his gloves then and they are placed at the WM's Pedestal for him to put on just after he is Installed during the Inner Workings. I feel this is a far more dignified way to deal with his gloves compared to his taking them off as he walks to the Pedestal then, as I have seen in some Lodges, having to put them on again only to slip them back off for his Obligation as an Installed Master during the Inner Workings. Since Candidates for the Three Degrees remove their gloves when being prepared and only wear them again when they have restored their personal comforts, it makes sense for the Master Elect to adopt the process suggested.
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Post by waynecowley on Nov 18, 2004 8:36:30 GMT
In my lodge teh ME removes his gloves as he walkjs to the pedestal and they are taken from him and put on th pedestal until he needs them later
Can't say when he actually gets them back though as I still have a year (and a week) to go before getting to that position
Wayne
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Post by Trinityman on Nov 18, 2004 20:09:37 GMT
Just to be the odd one out, in Trinity some wear gloves and some don't. Although this is frowned on by GL and technically illegal (masonically speaking) luckily our two GLO members (who happen to be the PGM and DepPGM) are sensible enough to know that some minor rules are not worth enforcing when the lodge practice is older than the rule itself.
It's a shame not all senior freemasons take such a pragmatic view on minor matters, but I think that is changing.
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Post by atarnaris on Nov 18, 2004 23:25:26 GMT
at my iniation I was told the white gloves were worn in Lodge because in Freemasonry all men are equal sarge Never mind the gloves then, what about those dark blue aprons?
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Post by offramp on Nov 18, 2004 23:49:18 GMT
I saw this hilarious comment at another site and I thought I would SHARE it with you:
Veeery Crickety.
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