Category Archives: Royal Arch

Hatch

This image can in some varieties sometimes be seen on aprons of the 14th degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, the second half of the Royal Arch degree.

General apron image

Delta

The equilateral triangle, sometimes named “delta” after the Greek capital D is a somewhat widely used symbol within Freemasonry. MacKenzie (Royal Masonic Cyclopedia, 1877) says of it:

The Delta is the Emblem of the Chapter in Royal Arch Masonry; Overseer’s mark of approval in Mark Master’s Degree; Emblem of the Trinity.

general image

Sun and Compasses

Royal Arch jewel.

co-Masonic HRA ritual book since at least 1926, but can be found in other places as well.

Emblem of the “Most Excellent Master” degree in Duncan’s book about the York Rite. Obviously a construction to lift rocks. The “Mark Capstone” can be held by a “lewis“, so this image combines several symbols.

Sojourner

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

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Catenarian Arch

The Catenarian Arch. The dotted line indicates the curve of a catenarian arch described by the swinging chain.

The Freemasons Book of the Royal Arch by Bernard E. Jones (1957)

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.

Choices of Emblemes (1586) of Geffrey Whitney (1548?-1601?)