Macbenac. This is said to be the
Substitute Word in French Masonry and is also said to have been the word used
by the Ancient Grand Lodge of England. As usual, considerable speculation has
been indulged to show that this word came from one or another Hebrew root and,
in this instance, one authority traced it to the Gaelic meaning blessed son,
and that, of course, revived the story of the Stuart influence in Freemasonry,
it being said that Macbenac referred to the Young Pretender. In the old
rituals that were exposed, printed, and circulated in the early 18th century,
there were a number of apparently meaningless words and phrases which may have
had or may not have had some significance. Doubtless, Hebrew roots could be
found for all of them but, in all probability, they were simply sounds to
confuse the uninitiated. Macbenac may have been such, although it does
not appear in any of the exposures referred to. It is claimed by some that Macbenac
was the name used for the novice in Beneficent Knights of the Holy City, which
was the Rectified Strict Observance.
