Robert Macoy and the "Missing Link" of Masonic Knighthood

Compiled by Steve McCall, owner of Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply



The Curator’s Discovery (Steve gave himself a new title)

In our archives (it’s my office and another room with boxes full of books) at Macoy Publishing, we recently revisited the 1873 edition of The Knights Templars. C.G. Addison wrote his original work The Knights Templars in England in the early part of the 19th century. It was at the time, considered the source on the Crusaders. In the middle of the 19th century,  Robert Macoy (33°) realized it was missing the most crucial element for our fraternity: the direct connection to Freemasonry. Macoy didn't just republish a history; he "enlarged" it to bridge the gap between the medieval Crusades and the modern American Commandery.

 

Look at the title page of the book. Geesh.  Ok we get Robert.  You worked hard and read a lot of books from a lot of authors.  (Kinda braggadocios)   


3 Distinguishing Claims from the Macoy Preface

 

1. The "Transfer of Spirit" Theory

Unlike non masonic historians who see the end of the Templars in 1312 as a finality, Macoy argues for a continuous lineage.

"Our closing portion [reviews] the History of the Military Orders from the extinction of Knight Templary as a Papal Order... to the transfer of its forms and spirit to the Masonic Fraternity."[1]

Why it matters today: This clarifies that we don't necessarily claim the Crusaders started Freemasonry, but that the Masonic order became the designated "custodian" of their chivalric values. These values to the profane world are tainted with image of Christians slaying others in the name of Christ.  But in this book, both Addison and Macoy highlight why The Holy Land was important to people of the high middle ages.  This is not to make an excuse for any war. It is give you an understanding why Christian Soldiers would go to the Holy Land and why Knights Templar masonic order would so resonate with Freemasons in the 19th century.

 

2. The Three Orders as One Brotherhood

Macoy makes the bold claim—citing earlier scholars Preston and Laurie—that the medieval Knights were actually Freemasons themselves.

"The compiler has also inserted numerous Masonic allusions... following the theory... that the Monks of the three great Military Orders, viz: Templars, Hospitalers, and the Teutonic Knights, were Freemasons."

Why it matters today: For the individual student or seeker, this suggests a shared intellectual and spiritual DNA between all the branches of chivalry, rather than viewing them as separate, competing groups.

As most masons are taught or hear at the opening and closing of most lodges, “peace and harmony being strength and support of all institutions, more especially, this of ours.” Macoy again sees “the forms and spirit” of chivalry was shared amongst all the knights regardless of their differences.

 

3. The "American System" of Chivalry

Macoy believed that the "American System" was the most glorious evolution of these ancient ideals. In 1873, he counted over 30,000 swords stored in 500 American armories, all emblazoned with the Templar’s Cross. It is important to understand there was a type of “Holy Land Mania” going on America in the 19th century.  Writers attribute this to a desire to connect with biblical history, fueled by evangelical Protestantism, increased travel capabilities, and a search for “authentic” roots of their faith.

 

Why it matters today: It reminds us that being a Knight Templar in the United States is a commitment to a specific 19th-century standard of chivalry and Christian values that Macoy helped codify.  Macoy quotes Montaigne[2], “The age of chivalry indeed is gone. We have piled away its helmets and its spears : but its blazonry is invested with a more poetic charm. Still we love the past. We love the heroic in man's history, we hate to divest it even of its fictions. The independent spirit of chivalry, bent on the accomplishment of lofty ends, without calculation of chances, or fear of failure,

so generous in action, so munificent in courtesy, so frank in friendship,

and so gallant in danger, must ever have rare attractions to the enthusiastic

and the aspiring.”[3]



Watch the video as we show the 1873 book.


[1] Addison and Macoy, The Knights Templar (Masonic Publishing, 1873), 10-12

[2] Michel de Montaigne was a French philosopher. 

[3] Addison and Macoy, 11


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