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Over two hundred academics and Masonic researchers
attended the first International Conference on the History
of Freemasonry held at Freemasons’ Hall, Edinburgh, over
the last weekend in May.
The conference patrons were the Grand Master Mason
of Scotland (Sir Archibald Orr Ewing, Bt), the Pro Grand
Master of England (Lord Northampton) and the Grand
Master of Ireland (George Dunlop), who jointly opened
the conference and attended many of the lectures.
Seventy-two speakers from around the world gave
presentations covering an enormous range of Masonic
topics from early Scottish Lodges to historical surveys of
Freemasonry in Europe, the Middle and Far East, North,
Central and South America. More specialist presentations
covered Freemasonry and the Enlightenment, fraternalism,
religious and ethical connections, symbolism, secularism,
architecture, leisure, music, journalism, publishing, women
and sociability.
There were five plenary lectures given by major academics.
Professor Jan Snoek from Germany opened the conference
with a stimulating lecture Researching Freemasonry; where
are we? Professor Margaret Jacobs from California, whose
writings on Freemasonry in the 1980s brought the subject
back to academic respectability, spoke on Benjamin Franklin
and Freemasonry.
Professor J. A. Ferrer Benimelli, President of the Centre for
Historical Studies of Spanish Freemasonry presented a survey
of relations between the Roman Catholic Church and
Freemasonry. Professor David Stevenson of St Andrew’s
University spoke on Working class Freemasonry in Scotland and
Professor James Stevens Curl ended the conference with a
lecture on Freemasonry and garden history: ideas, allusions,
fabriques and the Enlightenment.
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The finalists of the Scottish National
Youth Orchestra Young Musician
Competition with the Grand
Masters and Pro Grand Master
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Copyright 2002-2007
MQ Magazine
Web site created by Mark Griffin
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