Blue Banner; Blue Blanket.

Lodge of Journeymen No. 8 of Edinburgh, Scotland was the result of a split in Lodge of Edinburgh in 1705, with secession of the journeymen, who set up the new lodge. It possesses a banner, really a blanket used as a banner, which is supposed to have a history of great age. The legend goes that the Scotch mechanics who accompained Allen, Lord Steward of Scotland, on one of the Cr*sades took with them a banner on which were displayed the following: ”In Thy good pleasure build Thou the walls of Jerusalem.” On their return, they deposited the banner at the altar of St. Eloi in the ch*rch of St. Giles. James III of Scotland, in 1482, donated to the craftsmen, their old banner, called The Blue Blanket, and the privilege of displaying it in Masonic processions was granted to the journeymen. This blanket or banner is said to be extant, though necessarily in a much dilapidated condition. See Annals L. of Journeymen Masons No. 8, by Seggie and Turnbull; Edinburgh, 1930; and An Historical Account of the Blue Blanket; etc. by Alexander Pennecuik, Edinburgh, 1722.