CHILDREN PLAYING WITH THEIR TOYS. SMALL DKD. PATHETIK BLOOD SUKRS REALLY. TEETH SUNK IN2BTHE JEWISH TIT. TRANSPARANCY
@mike
the FLOPPY DIKD mason n "Provost" in his yard.
Primarily as the Degree of Provost and Judge โ a side/chivalric-style degree rather than a lodge officer.
Quick rundown:
Origins: It came from the old Rite of Perfection (18th century, pre-dating the Scottish Rite's 33 degrees), where it sat as the 9th degree. When the Scottish Rite was reorganised in 1801, it was folded into the expanded system but eventually dropped out of mainstream practice in England and Wales.
Where it survives today: In Britain it lives on in the Allied Masonic Degrees (AMD), where Provost and Judge is one of the constituent degrees โ a natural next step if you've done Mark Master Masonry and Royal Arch. In the US it's worked in AMD councils and by some Scottish Rite bodies.
The allegory: The ritual centres on five craftsman-masters bringing the severed head of a traitorous assassin to King Solomon โ it's essentially a lesson in justice, due deliberation, and punishment proportioned to guilt. The Provost is a judge: the moral is that authority exercised rashly corrupts, and judgment must be tempered.
Symbolism: A gold hat and sash in some workings; the emphasis is on the burden of judgment rather than rank.
Worth noting it's a niche degree โ most Freemasons never touch it. If you're interested in the British context, the AMD under the Grand Council for England and Wales is the route.
Want me to dig into how its judicial allegory relates to earlier Old Testament-themed degrees, or the parallel evolution in the Scottish Rite?