(Note: Below is a short article on the symbolism and history of the Masonic apron, first published
in the Empire State Mason magazine in summer of 2007.)
The Masonic Apron
By
Angel Millar
There could be few Masonic emblems as humble in appearance and as rich in meaning and
significance as the apron, nor one that is so completely associated with the Freemason himself. It
spans his entire life in the Craft, and represents those essential qualities required of the
Freemason. Traditionally, the lambskin or white leather apron is presented to the newly made
Entered Apprentice at his initiation into Freemasonry, and is laid on the coffin of the Freemason
in Masonic funerals. In the latter case we find it expressed in Ahiman Rezon (1869) that the
Masonic apron
... is the emblem of innocence and the badge of a Mason. It is more ancient than the Golden
Fleece or Roman Eagle, more honorable than the Star and Garter, when worthily worn.
The
phrase,
"when
worthily
worn,"
reminds us that being a Freemason is not
a right to be demanded be all and sundry,
but rather the vocation for those who are
"worthy and well qualified," because
Freemasonry
places
ethical,
moral,
spiritual, and even intellectual demands
upon
the
Freemason,
such
as
is
demonstrated by the symbolism of the
apron. Indeed, this clothing of the Mason
is no less a uniform than that of the
soldier or priest. Thus, in The Masonic
Ladder (1872), John Sherer remarks upon
the apron, that
... the very clothing of the Freemason, like
the symbolical garments which covered the Priest under the typical law, is suggestive of the
highest graces and virtues of our profession [of Freemasonry].
Still today, the apron is held in higher esteem than the badges of the chivalric and royal Order of
the Garter or Golden Fleece, as the Freemason shall be aware, and it is interesting to note, then,
that the craftsman's apron has historically achieved such honor, even outside of the Masonic
Craft. Comparable to Freemasonry, in the medieval period blacksmiths also had various rites and
rituals, and gave a mystical interpretation to their craft and tools. The smith craft was also
frequently associated with monarchy, and in this connection the craftsman's apron became the
banner of the royal household of Persia.
In American Freemasonry, until relatively recently, the apron was associated with the Lamb of
Christ, and, along with other, more usual Masonic emblems, a lamb with a Christian cross or
banner is depicted on many early American Masonic aprons. According to Cross' Masonic Chart
(1894).
The lamb has in all ages been deemed an emblem of innocence; the lamb-skin is, therefore, to
remind him of that purity of life and conduct which is so essentially necessary to his gaining
admission into the Celestial Lodge above, where the Supreme Architect of the universe presides.
In speaking of the apron, John Sherer comments that:
In contemplating the Masonic emblem, the Lamb, the mind is suspended in solemn rapture
between earth and heaven. A pacific temperament steals over the soul, and while we admire the
tender and submissive nature of this gentle tenant of the field, we are taught what must be our
own character if we would attain to perfection of which Freemasonry teaches.
We also find the apron interpreted within Old Testament symbolism. The author of the Brisccoe
pamphlet (British, 1724), for example, chastises the author of The Constitutions of the FreeMasons (1723), James Anderson, for neglecting to mention that king Solomon and king Hiram
had both received leather aprons. The author of the Briscoe pamphlet says also that
... Adam and Eve, wearing aprons of Fig Leaves, to shew they understood Rule and Proportion,
was an Emblem that some of their Posterity wou'd take it an Honour to wear Leathern Aprons;
which according to the Geometrical Form and Figure thereof, might serve hereafter as a
Foundation of all Masonry, Sacred, Civil, and Military, Three Distinctions of Masonry, made use
of by our most Ingenious Learned Author of the Constitutions...
Anderson had not, in fact, spoken of, the apron, but rather Euclid's 47th proposition, as the
foundation of all Masonry, though this discrepancy may tell us something about the speculations
of the early Freemasons, in their development of Masonic symbolism.
During the early eighteenth century a symbolic 'Lodge' was drawn in chalk on the floor of the
room in which the Masonic Lodge met to confer one or other Degree. This drafted Lodge was
most commonly depicted as a double square (or vertical rectangle) with a triangular peak, similar
in shape to the Entered Apprentice's apron. Probably influenced by this draft, as Freemasonry
moved further and further into pictorial representation, Solomon's Temple was likewise depicted
as white, with a square body surmounted by a triangular roof, sometimes lacking any other detail,
and thus almost identical to the apron itself.
The Master Freemason will realize that the contemporary American apron is folded in three
different ways, so that it displays either five, three, or four sides, these numbers being the
numerical values of each of the three sides of a right angle triangle, otherwise known as the
'carpenter's' or 'Pythagoras Theorem', or, in its more Masonic form, the 47th Proposition of
Euclid, explained in the third Degree. This theorem was used by operative masons for marking
out the first corner of the foundations of buildings about to be constructed, we might note, and it
is highly likely that it was used by early Freemasons (many of whom were builders) when
drawing out the symbolic Lodge.
The development of Freemasonry's pictorial symbolism meant that the apron itself was
transformed from a plain white lambskin to a far more colorful and highly decorative object,
often being painted or embroidered with the symbols of the Craft. It is interesting to note,
however, that we most frequently find depicted at its center either the altar and representatives of
the three lesser lights or Solomon's Temple. In the higher Degrees and later ritualistic
developments of Freemasonry, the apron retained its special significance. Traditionally in the
Rose Croix Degree the apron has two sides, and the side facing the initiate is changed in the
ritual, and the same also occurs in the third Degree rituals under the jurisdiction of the Ancient
and Accepted Scottish Rite and the Rite of Memphis and Mizraim. Nevertheless, in
contemplating the simplicity of the plain lambskin or white leather apron of our own jurisdiction
we are led to a wealth of symbolism and a depth of meaning that is surely unparalleled.