Freemason - from whence did this word come ?

Well like many of these terms of course it could have been a combination of the two Phrases, most certainly when being introduced during the Middle ages it would not be uncommon to announce you were a FREE man, not bonded to anyone.

The bonded system was a kind of part time slavery and as the Guilds became stronger, they would have been justly proud to announce " I am no longer Bonded, I am a 'FREE man', a 'FREE Tailor', a 'Free Carpenter' or 'Free Vintner'. Or indeed a Freemason.

The other clue of course is in Free and accepted, why Free and Accepted why not just Accepted.

And so the riddle goes on.

But the more I dig into the Guilds History the more I believe that Freemasonry seeds were sewn from them.

here is a passage from a set of papers by
Matthew Davies
As a result, the Tailors' court took the momentous decision to increase the enrolment fee from 3s 4d to 20s for freemen, while liverymen were to pay 10s to enrol each of their apprentices. This six-fold increase for freemen appears to have been highly unpopular, and their anger was doubtless increased by the concession granted to liverymen. Little is recorded of the ensuing protests and debates, but by November 1487 the freemen had got their way and a new ordinance was passed which restored the fee back to its former level.

We see the reference to freemen and the difference their seems to be between freemen and liverymen. if you read some of the rest of the paper you will see what I have been looking at.
http://www.history.ac.uk/bookshop/samples/guilds.html

We see here from the Schaw Statutes :
(9) No master shall take on any 'prentice except by binding him to serve him as such

for at least seven years, and it shall not be lawful to make such 'prentice a brother or

fellow of the craft until he shall have served other seven years after the completion of

his 'prenticeship, without a special license granted by the wardens, deacons, and

masters, assembled for that purpose, after sufficient trial shall have been made by

them of the worthiness, qualifications and skill of the person desiring to be made a

fellowcraft. A fine of forty pounds shall be collected as a pecuniary penalty from the

person who is made a fellow of the craft in violation of this order, besides the

penalties to be levied against his person by order of the lodge of the place where he resides.

This having a clear indication to an apprentive being bonded to a Master. We then can speculate that when the apprentice ceases to be bonded he then becomes a FREE man. a Freemason and no longer a bonded Mason.

So just like much of the English language I would suggest it is in fact an amalgamation of the two concepts.

Its interesting to note that with my interest in Guilds, the Guilds had a history of putting on 'Moral Plays', this raised funds for the Charity work they did, much of which was establishing Alms House.

Indeed Elias Ashmole was a participant in the establishment of a number of Alms schemes.

But before we dismiss the idea lets have a look at the Freeman term as used in Freeman of the City or to give the Freedom of the City to an individual. We step outside of Freemasonry and look at that origin.

Freedomship of Cities and Boroughs

From time to time, towns and cities, be they boroughs or not, are or have been, involved in a ceremony where a prominent local citizen or military unit has been granted the Freedom of the Borough. Have you ever wondered about the origins of this honour, this freedomship? Where did it all start? Before going any further it is important to be quite clear that there are two different definitions.
First there is the title 'Freeman'. A freeman was a man who had served his apprenticeship and was free to conduct his trade in his own town. A detailed history of this is given below. This title has long since disappeared and it has been replaced by the title 'Honorary Freeman' which is bestowed upon certain individuals who meet the criteria of the borough concerned. The third definition is
that of 'Freedom'. This applies to military units that have been given the freedom of entry to the borough.

http://www.preston.gov.uk/Category.asp?cat=271

Freemen

The origins of freemen in England, are to be found in the guilds of the medieval merchants and craftsmen whose influence helped to found and stabilise urban communities. Townspeople have enjoyed certain privileges for centuries. In 1071 William I confirmed the 'laws' of old London, which were claimed from the time of the Roman occupation. Thus, the present dignity of Freeman of a City or Borough is thought to be a development of a distinction originating in the early Roman Empire, when to be a 'Free' citizen of Rome conferred many privileges and rights.

Then we see here there was indeed Free Tailors.

The most valuable and complete evidence of economic conditions within the city in the 17th century lies in the series of indentures, (fn. 1) etc., concerning various TRADES AND INDUSTRIES. The earliest of these is the incorporation of the Cappers in 1564; there are others for the Blacksmiths and Cutlers, 1609; the Gild of the Mercers, 1622; the Joiners' Gild, 1600; the Barbers' and Surgeons' and Glasiers' Gilds, 1608; the Clothiers' Gild, 1616; the Sadlers' Gild, 1633; the Blacksmiths' and Cutlers' Gild, 1662; the Glovers' Gild and White Tawers' Gild, 1687; the Sadlers', Rope Makers', Stationers' and Bookbinders' Gilds, 1686; the Goldsmiths', Cutlers' and Blacksmiths' Gilds, 1686; the Free Tailors' Gild, 1685; the Barbers' and Glasiers' Gild, 1685; and the Gild of Mercers, 1698.

From: 'The City of Chichester: Trades, industries, markets and fairs', A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 3 (1935), pp. 97-8. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report....pid=41662. Date accessed: 15 June 2007.

So the answer could be that many of the names , being awkward in use just did not survive.

New York City Carpenters and Joiners

Indentured servants contracted their labor to employers usually for a period of 3-5 years. The indentured servant would labor for free in exchange for a trip to North America and a promise that once the contract was expired, s/he would be given freedom and land. Many of them were indeed given their freedom and land at the end of their contract. Only then did they become some of the first "free" workers and craft workers in America. Others, however, were never given their promised freedom.

Although the slave and the indentured servant were different in many important ways, their everyday lives were similar. Indentured servants are commonly referred to as "white slaves" because they too were considered "un-free labor". It was not uncommon, in fact, to see slave carpenters and indentured servant carpenters working side by side on construction projects.

Not only did these two groups of workers labor side by side, but they revolted side by side as well. A slave named Charles escaped from his master in 1740 and the Pennsylvania Gazette reported that two white servants, an "Englishman" and a "Scotch man" escaped with him. During the famous Bacon's Rebellion of 1676, slaves and indentured servants joined together to fight the government of Virginia. It is important to note that although there were great differences, including race, between these two groups of workers, nothing divided them when fighting the exploitation they shared in common.

Free Carpenters

Although the vast majority of carpentry in colonial America was performed by un-free labor, there were some free carpenters in the north that became wage earners. Their numbers steadily increased, as former skilled servants became free workers. Although free carpenters did have legal rights and were not bonded to an employer, most did not live enviable lives. The work was backbreaking and brutal in extreme seasons and the compensation was minimal. The fact is that any free carpenter was in competition with the un-free carpenter. That competition always kept wages and working conditions very low. Still, however, these skilled workers were the early wage earners in North America.
http://www.nycdistrictcouncil.com/go.php...ge/history

So the explanation could be it was easy to say Freemason, but difficult to say Freecarpenter. Then with the demise of the Guilds power and influence, those factors just died off. But Freemasonry , which had been transformed into a social and intelectual Guild of like minded men survived becuse it did not try to control anything other than their own thinking
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Bill McElligott. Lodgeroomuk.com

Very true and interesting!