Athelstan

Athelstan; Aethelstane; Adelstone. King of England, son of Edward the Elder and grandson of Alfred the Great, ascended the throne 925 A. D. and died 940. He was victorious in his wars with the Danes and the Scots and was the first English king to assert sovereignty over the whole of England but, though that claim proved to be too ambitious, he reigned with great credit. He is, without exception, presented by all of the Gothic Constitutions (q.v.) as Patron of Masonry and one of the principal figures in its history. A typical account of this legend as stated in the Grand Lodge MS. of 1583 runs as follows:

”After the decease of Saynte Albon thre came dyvers warres into England of dyvers nations, so that the good rule of Masonry was destr*yed vntil the tyme of Knighte Athelstone that was a woorthy King of England, & brought all this Land into rest and peace, and buylded many greate workes of abeys and Toweres and many other buyldings. And he loved well Massons and had a soone that height Edwin, and he loved Massons much more then his Father did, and he was a greate practyser of Geometry, and he drew him muche to talke and comen wh massons to learne of them the Craft, and afterwards for love that he had to Massons and to the Crafte he was made a Masson. And he got of the Kyng his father a Charter and a Comission to houlde evy yere Assembly once a yere where they would whin thee Realme of Ingland, to correct within them faults and trespasses that weare done whin the Craft.”

This legend, like most of the others in the same documents, cannot be confirmed from history. Athelstan had no son, and Edwin was not his brother, as stated in some of the MSS. Gould thought that this was a confused reference to Edwin, King of Northumberland, who reigned about 300 years earlier and had a reputation as a patron of the church.