The Regius Manuscript (c. 1390)
Anonymous · 1390
Read The Regius Manuscript (c. 1390) by Anonymous (1390) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/regius-manuscript-c1390.txt.
Description
The Regius Manuscript, written around 1390, is the oldest known Masonic document. Its Middle English poem renders the Old Charges of operative masonry, the legendary history and rules of the working stonemasons. Every later Masonic tradition descends, in part, from texts of this family.
The poem tells how the craft began, naming Euclid and the masons of ancient lands. It then sets rules for masters, fellows, and apprentices at work and at table. Morals and manners matter as much as geometry in its charges. Scholars call it the root text of the speculative tradition. To read it is to stand at the head of the lodge's own river of memory.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Anonymous |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 1390 |
| COLLECTION | BOOKS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 28 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | Public Domain |
| RIGHTS | PUBLIC DOMAIN |
| SOURCE | Mastermason.com (VLER transcription); v.167 restored from Internet Archive scan |
Source: https://archive.org/details/The_Regius_Manuscript_-_A_Poem_Of_Moral_Duties_1390