Category Archives: Royal Arch

Sojourner

An Early Irish Jewel carrying Emblems of Many Degrees and showing Sojourner with Sword and Trowl.

Sojourner, a subject of its own. Let’s quote Jones a bit more.

The word ‘sojourner’ also comes from the Latin, and incorporates the word diurnus, meaning ‘daily.’ Literally to ‘sojourn’ is to dwell in a place for a time, to live somewhere as a stranger and not as a member of the community.

At the time of the Royal Arch Union, Sojourners in many chapters were known as the junior, Senior, and Principal Sojourners respectively, and their duties were to guard the veils.

Hand with Sword, Hand with Trowel

When Sanabal Hierusalem distrest,
With sharp assaultes, in Nehemias tyme,
To warre, and worke, the Jews them selves addrest
And did repaire theire walls, with stone, and lime:
One hand the swode, against the foe did shake,
The other hand, the trowel, up did take.

The image and text are from Choices of Emblemes (1586) of Geffrey Whitney (1548?-1601?). Belton and Dachez make quite something of this “Sanabal theme”. In his famous oration, Chevalier Ramsay referred to knights who rebuilt King Solomon’s Temple with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other. That theme would later appear in early French ‘high degrees’, most notably the “Chevalier d’Orient”, or “Knight of the East” that is still part of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. The text also seems to be used in the Royal Arch.

Pilgrim

Dąbrowski has an image that can supposedly be found in the National Museum of Scotland. On that chart you clearly see a pilgrim. It is a Knight Templar element, it also features in some Royal Arch systems where it is part of the emblem of the Sojourner, see below. As a concept it exists in some 2nd “craft” degrees, but I know no images with an actual pilgrim in that context.

Continue reading