working masons existed in very ancient times. Without going back as far
as ancient Egypt or Greece, which would be beyond the scope of the
present work, the course of these associations may be traced throughout
the history of Western Europe from the beginning of the Christian era.
According to certain masonic writers, the Druids originally came from
Egypt and brought with them traditions relating to the art of building.
The _Culdees_, who later on established schools and colleges in this
country for the teaching of arts, sciences, and handicrafts, are said
to have derived from the Druids.

But a more probable source of inspiration in the art of building are the
Romans, who established the famous collegia of architects referred to in
the list of alternative theories given in the _Masonic Cyclopaedia_.
Advocates of the Roman Collegia origin of Freemasonry might be right as
far as operative masonry is concerned, for it is to the period following
on the Roman occupation of Britain that our masonic guilds can with the
greatest degree of certainty be traced. Owing to the importance the art
of building now acquired it is said that many distinguished men, such as
St. Alban, King Alfred, King Edwin, and King Athelstan, were numbered
amongst its patrons,[269] so that in time the guilds came to occupy the
position of privileged bodies and were known as "free corporations";
further that York was the first masonic centre in England, largely under
the control of the Culdees, who at the same period exercised much
influence over the Masonic Collegia in Scotland, at Kilwinning, Melrose,
and Aberdeen.[270]

But it must be remembered that all this is speculation. No documentary
evidence has ever been produced to prove the existence of masonic guilds
before the famous York charter of A.D. 936, and even the date of this
document is doubtful. Only with the period of Gothic architecture do we
reach firm ground. That guilds of working masons known in France as
"Compagnonnages" and in Germany as "Steinmetzen" did then form close
corporations and possibly possess secrets connected with their
profession is more than probable. That, in consequence of their skill in
building the magnificent cathedrals of this period, they now came to
occupy a privileged position seems fairly certain.

The Abbe Grandidier, writing from Strasbourg in 1778, traces the whole
system of Freemasonry from these German guilds: "This much-vaunted
Society of Freemasons is