June 23, 2025 • 33 mins
WB Wes Latchford joins our discussion on one of the most iconic and often misunderstood symbols of Freemasonry: the Tiler's Sword. Bro. Wes shares insight from his Lodge program that unlocks the rich history, symbolism, and practical significance of this important implement that guards our West Gate.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Commons. Opinions and views shared during this program are
of those individual Freemasons and do not reflect the official
position of a Grand Lodge, concordant Body, a pendant Body,
a Masonic authority, or Craftsman Online dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Welcome back to the Craftsman Online Podcast, the only Masonic
podcast endorsed by the Grand Lodge in New York. I'm
your host w Righte Worship Floprow with Michael Ars. Just
want to be a little honest with you about something.
We tend to record our shows earlier than when you
hear them here on the podcast. So, for example, this episode,
when you hear my voice, no, I'm not using this
(00:48):
new podcasting filter that makes it sound like I'm congested.
It's actually allergy season. When my guests and I were
reporting this, and him also living in the Great State
of Virginia. For other allergy sufferers out there, I'm sure
you know how this is going to feel. We're getting
into a pretty heavy topic this week. Hahaha, pun intended.
We'll be talking about the Tyler's Sword with the one
(01:10):
and only Worshipful Brother Wes Latchford. Welcome back.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
It is always good to be back, and yeah, I
don't necessarily have the running nose, but you see me
rubbing my eyes and again trying not to off up
a lung or sneeze as we go through.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
So as we're talking about what's waiting for us outdoors
with allergy season here on the East Coast. Sitting outside
of every Masonic door, see that nice tie in there,
you'll usually find one guy. He's a brother. He's holding
a drawn sword. He's given a specific duty for what
he's supposed to be doing with that sword, sitting outside
the door. And that is our brother, our friend, the Tyler.
(01:47):
When you were getting into the research for your program,
what were some of the early forms and uses of
this Tyler's sword, because I'm sure the sword was more
brand than what looks like now to be an over
as a letter opener that is flimsy and handed to
somebody before they're told to go sit outside the door
and guard the lodge. Yeah, So it's it's actually interesting
(02:08):
if if you have an interest in the martial arts,
and a martial arts we typically think of as as
you know, carate or judo or any of that, but
anything that is basically military or defense based is a
martial art. And swords have been one of those for millennia, right.
(02:32):
But it's it's interesting that you mentioned some of the
grandiose ideas that we might have for particularly what the
tylers sword good orders should be. But in all honesty,
if you go back all the way and we like
to try to take our craft back to King Solomon's Temple,
(02:54):
swords really weren't a thing in that time period because
most of the time you know bronze a weapons, which
is the period when King Solomon's Temple was built and
then it was rebuilt after sacking by Babylonians. Swords were
actually one very very very expensive to make because again,
(03:17):
metallurgy was a point in its infancy. So the average soldier,
for somebody looking to defend themselves was probably using a
wooden sword and some type of a spear that would
have a bronze tip on it. Right, there's this idea
of close order combat. I want to keep the guy
as far away from me as possible and still do damage.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Right. So that's what we really have. And even the
swords that were produced, they were mostly produced as ceremonial
things again, and most of them not much longer than
from your elbow. To the tip of your fingers, also
think maybe eighteen inches at best, and also not really
(03:58):
a cutting weapon, right, they were they were specifically meant
for stabbing anything else. And what you will actually find,
particularly in Middle Eastern cultures of the period, and you
see this particularly with the Egyptians, is what they have
that is closest to what we would think of the
sword is actually what we know is the seminar now, right,
(04:20):
So it's got a lot okay, so it's a shriner,
we got it. But it's that long edged blade, you know,
that gave you more surface area to try to hit somebody, right,
So that takes us back to the you know, really
the early part of what swords were and what we
think now really didn't start to come into play until
(04:45):
the time of the Nights and Knights templar and also
the invention of steel, right, because any metals up until
the invention of steel just too heavy to be able
to actually fight with. And so it was this adaptation
for stronger weapons with more elaborate forging techniques and also
(05:09):
swords that we're serving a different purpose other than stabbing, right,
And so the one that we like to think of
for armored knights and knights on horseback is that great
big four foot long long sword that you got to
use two hands. But the whole idea was that you
could hit them where they ate, right, So you've got
all this armor on, But if I've got this great
(05:31):
big sword that I can wield over my head, I
can get you in the seams of where the shoulder
piece connects and actually be able to injure you in
this modified tank that you were actually wearing. And then
from there then we got into rape years and sabers,
(05:51):
but again they were almostly horseback and a lot of
it was just still ceremonial. That's kind of just a
brief history of the evolution of the sword from you know,
the Bronze Age up to what we consider swords now.
And I think the other thing too, is it just
sorts are cool, right, And I could get up and
(06:11):
walk behind me because in this back corner here, I've
probably got like fifteen different types of swords that I
actually use when I give this presentation live, you know,
to show you the different evolutions of the sword. And
you know, it was a symbol of something wasn't really
a very functional weapon.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
And I appreciate your explanation on that, because I think
for a lot of us, when we think of a sword,
as you said, like the symbolism comes. I think of
the patch, the military patch with the flaming sword as
one of the divisions. You know, for our US forces,
the idea of strength and protection is always associated with
the sword. Sometimes justice. If you think about like courthouses,
they'll typically have you know, one of the statues is
(06:52):
holding a sword, and that's supposed to represent law and justice,
but also the practicality of it. As you said, initially,
you know, they were about the length of your arm.
They were kind of dull. It was really a painful
way to go honestly, probably also got a good dose
of infection with the then the actual cutting of the blade.
But throughout time, and I think of our military forces,
(07:14):
they became almost part of the uniform and part of
a ceremony. The blades got thinner and thinner and thinner
and lighter and lighter and lighter, and really soldiers would
just wear them as part of their dress uniforms. And
now we see them at least as freemasons, as a
part of the opening enclosings of our lodge there it is,
and there is somebody's job who gets to hold this
(07:36):
and it catches everyone's eye, from boys from the age
of ten that visit lodges all the way to grown
men where they're like, what's the story with the tyler's sword?
Why do we have one of these? And it's interesting
because as you were sharing the history of the sword,
I was like, yeah, there was probably a time in
freemasonry when men were coming to lodges with their own
swords because they were looked at as you know, your
(07:57):
personal protection you were carrying.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
To speak, that sword as a symbol of status became
a thing too, and particularly in continental or European lodges,
it was one way where it showed for those who
are in the lodge kind of that that leveling, right,
(08:21):
the idea that we're all there on the level. And
so those who were aristocrats and came with their swords,
you know, we don't have the swords in the lodge room,
at least in Virginia's jurisdiction, right. There are other jurisdictions
where it seems like everybody has a sword in the
lodge room aka Pennsylvania. Thank you for that experience, but again,
(08:42):
you know, the only one with the sword is the tiler,
and part of that symbolism is that he's heard there
not only to you know, protect against cowns and eavesdroppers,
but also to make sure that everybody's coming in on
the level and that it doesn't matter whether you know
you're the Marquis de Lafayette or whether you know you are.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Brother Joe Smith.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Yeah, so that that was a part of it too.
And again those swords very very ceremonial, right, They really
weren't something you were carrying to protect yourself with necessarily.
Also during that same time period, swords kind of became
it was the preferred duel thing, right, we like to
think of you know, we know all no Hamilton, right
(09:29):
and the idea that you know, we're going to go
at ten paces with flintlocks. But there was a particular
point in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries where dueling with swords,
you know, the sword duel was the thing. And it's
interesting though, how even in that aspect the sword changed
its structure because it wasn't necessarily a fight to the death,
(09:52):
that was fight for you whoever draws blood first. What
they found I was with these early rapiers. Again, there
was no protection for your hand. So all I could
do is just you know, swipe and get your hand
and I've won. And that's when you started to see
you know, the shrouds around the front, you know, a
a k A. You know, looking for the six fingered band,
(10:13):
you know, and Princess Bride and you know, elaborate and ornate,
but that was designed, you know, to protect your hand.
And you see that now, you know, in Olympic fencing.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
I gotta say bonus points to us for being the
first guest to make reference to Ingo Montoya and the
Princess Bride on the Craftsman Online podcast. I didn't think
that that would ever happen.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Well, and now that now you know, now that you
bring it up, I think there's going to be an
episode of Masonic symbolism six finger. It's got to be
in there somewhere. I'll watch it this weekend and come
up with a laundry list of things.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
He's got an interesting grip, so to speak. You can
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(11:06):
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(11:49):
Lee for doing that. Patreon dot com Craftsman Online Podcast,
thank you for your continued support. You got into it
(12:13):
and like I was thinking, I was like, wow, our
working tools and freemasonry. We took all of the speculative
or we took all of the operative actual Masonic tools
and then we gave them special you know, wisdom sprinkled
into them, some philosophy, and they became speculative tools. How
does the tyler sword fit in there? Like, I don't
know how it's really well explained in our ritual outside
(12:35):
of in the opening of the lodge where the tyler
is given the sword and the charge to protect the lodge.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Yeah, and that makes for an interesting discussion at any time,
mostly because of the fact that at least what I've
been able to discover is a good portion of this
idea of our tyler having a sword. It goes back
to the Book of Neemiah in the Bible, where you know,
(13:03):
there's discussion about again they're rebuilding the temple, so they're
building the second Temple, and a lot of our appendant bodies,
you know, Scottish rite and royal art. You go into
ideas of what was taking place. But one of the
things that Neamiah mentions is because of outside threats as
(13:23):
they were trying to rebuild the temple, they had the
station basically a protective force. While the Masons were reconstructing
the temple, but then there's also a particular part of
it where Neamiah says, you know, you have sword in
one hand and a trial in the other. You were
building and defending at the same time. Realistically, that probably
(13:47):
never happened again for a symbolic discussion of what it
took to build the Second Temple. But I think that's
part of the tide of masonry, right because we talk about,
particularly in US masonry, you know, we have the trial.
There are other you know, international jurisdictions where the trow
(14:08):
is not even a thing. There are other working tools
that are a part of it. So that idea of
protection while working, I think comes from Nehemiah.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
I was also thinking as we were getting ready for
this episode, in my travels around lodges and you know,
seeing that opening where the tyler goes outside the lodge
the door shuts and is guilty of it. As a master,
sometimes you forget that there's this brother outside that it's
up to your discretion if you want them to come
in and be a part of the meeting. And I
often think of them as that quote unquote forgotten brother
(14:41):
that's out there, that's just sitting there. And yes, his
role is symbolic in one way, where he's supposed to
be the protector of the door, but when you hear
the charge that he's given, he also kind of has
the powers of the lodge secretary for a little bit,
because it's his job to discertain whether the person who
to come in is qualified and prepared to come into
(15:03):
the lodge. So it's not I don't like when people
think of it as like a throwaway role. It is
a very important role to be the tyler of the lot.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
There's a couple of pieces that I pulled from earlier
exposures of masonry, and a lot of people just in
the side will get all chagrined. It's like, oh, exposures
and you know, and all the things they go, you know,
Jacob and Boaz and three distinct bots and all these
different pieces that have actually helped us capture the history
(15:37):
of freemasonry and our ritual much more so than you
know it being word of mouth. Lotch right, So there's
there's some great historical background with it. And one of
the things that's interesting within Preston's discussions about seventeen seventy two,
he talks about the speculative mason and the sword and
(16:00):
it being a power of authority and never it's not
a defensive or offensive tool, right, it is not meant
to be utilized in that So it's not wounds or
battle or causing death. It's more of a power and
authority of the tyler to guard that door, as you said,
(16:20):
and to make sure that you know, only those who
are where they qualified get to enter. And it's interesting
because you know, within Virginia's ritual, the person who actually
relays that information is actually the junior deacon, you know
when when you you know, and he relays the information
(16:41):
on what the tyler is supposed to be doing outside
that door, right, you know, most of the time, I
think I would love to write a book, you know,
it would It would be a kind of a comic
reference probably, But what does the tyler do? And behind
that door, you know, for anywhere from you know, maybe
twenty minutes to two and a half three hours depending
(17:02):
upon your lodge. You know, it's you got to kill time.
You got to kill time somehow, right.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
I could tell you in modern times and you know,
joked aside. I remember my mother lodge. We would sit
there and we could hear our tyler either snoring on
the other side of the door, or playing bubble bobble
on his cell phone. I mean, I'm not trying to
throw the guy under the bus or anything, but you
bring up a valid point, like if he's outside on
the other side of the door, Let's let's be real,
We're not getting floods of members or visitors coming to
(17:31):
our lodges anymore. So he is just kind of sitting
out there in a criokeedy old chair, just bore it
out of his mind. What can the tyler do on
that side of the door? Study ritual entertained visitors or
guests that are waiting outside that can't come in, Like
the list is kind of limited. Yeah, well, and again
I'll go back to you know, but Preston originally he
(17:53):
said in his first degree. And so there's again this
conversation between the worstville master and the junior ward and
it's you know, what is the first care of every
mason to see the lodge is properly tiled, brother, junior warden.
Where is the situation of the outer guard without the
entrance to the lodge and his duty being armed with
a drawn sword means to keep off intruders and ballons
(18:15):
and see that candidates come properly prepared. Right, So there's
a piece that again, different jurisdictions have either stewards or
the conductor or someone else checking the candidates, but by
at least a precedent in the seventeen seventies, because I
know that's part of what the tyler does too, because
(18:36):
he's out there already. And the other thing that's interesting,
and this is I think where just what the tyler's
physical role is. I think the actual symbolic role we
tend to sometimes forget. Most of business not discussed very much.
I mean, again, at least within our ritual, we only
(19:01):
hear of the tyler and the tyler sword twice within
all of what we do. The first one is, you know,
they talk about the book constitutions being guarded by the
Tyler's sword and also then the sword pointing to the
naked heart.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
Right. And this is also when I do this live,
where I get brothers to come up and they get
to hold really cool swords and rather than using a
thirty five millimeters slider power point, you know, we get
to see an actual physical replication of what that looks like.
But that again is all symbolic for us. Right, It's
(19:38):
it's not that you should somebody go to the secretary's
desk and try to grab, you know, the constitutions of
masonry and run out the door with it, eas to
defend it. But it's actually again Thomas Smith website about
eighteen hundred, that you know, it's actually admonishing us to
stick to the landmarks and guard our words, actions, and
(20:01):
to understand the constitutions of masonry, and then also to
think about the ceremonies and the vows that we've taken.
That again we get to in some of the dependent
body higher degrees, but it's that justice, it's that sense
of power that comes from the supreme Arctic universe, right,
(20:27):
not necessarily anything that takes place within the lodge. And again,
because it's only mentioned so briefly within what we do,
within our lectures and our ritual, that we sometimes lose
track of what that sword is supposed to be to us.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
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(21:50):
Brother Wes. When he's not doing his day job, which is,
you know, appearing on our podcast and talking all things
comics and yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
I'm still waiting for the paycheck.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
He also serves his jurisdiction as a District Education Officer
for the Virginia Beach area of the wonderful state of Virginia.
And I know you to be somebody that's into and
I wanted to kind of get into your idea when
it comes to symbology, and you kind of alluded to, Hey,
if I wrote a book and created a character and
did this, And so I'm starting to see like this
(22:22):
comic character of the Tyler. So my first question would be,
if you could pick somebody from the known you know,
DCU or MCU, what character would fit into the Tyler's role.
And then secondly, if you could add a symbolic element
to the Tyler's sword to enhance it, give it more power,
what would that element be and why would you choose it?
Speaker 3 (22:44):
Okay, So to answer the first question on who from
any of the comic streams I would put as Tyler,
particularly in a comical fashion, the first thing that pumped
into my mind was Rocket the Raccoon from Guardians of
the Galaxy, because he's you know, a weapons expert, right,
(23:08):
you know, he didn't mean to get to warn apart,
put back together, get over and over and over. But
the other thing is he's just such a sarcastic little
rodent that he probably deserves to sit outside the door
and just you know, be the crotchety old Tyler that
(23:29):
is actually going to ask you, you know, and have
you recite from memory the Tyler's oath right to show
that you are actually a Mason and that you're not
trying to sneak in because everybody wants to hear the
secretary read minutes and have Treasurer to tell us we
don't have any money, right, So yeah, so that's so
the first part of that. That would definitely that first
(23:51):
thing that pumped in my mind. There's probably other more
appropriate folks, but but yeah, that would be. That would
be hilarious, and I sit on the side and I
would pay money to see that. As far as what
I want to see as a symbolic element of the sword.
(24:13):
One of the things that I discovered in putting all
this together, both to inform other brothers but also inform myself,
the Tiler sword is almost a second thought right there.
I've been to I have visited lodges where there are
immaculate Piler swords and they are true pieces of art
(24:35):
and help represent the symbolism that's supposed to be associated
with that sword. But I think we've become lazy and
for better or worse, the national or international trade in
Masonic goods where everything standard and I can get on
Amazon right now and I can order a nice templar
(24:57):
sword or a sword or bagger or whatever with Masonic
symbols on it. And typically particularly if there's a commandery
within where you meet. You know, the Tyler sword is
one of the commander sorts. We don't think about that, right,
And so what I would love to see again is
(25:19):
a little more thought into what the Tyler is actually holding.
And for me, that would be actually going back to
potentially what the Tyler sword was originally meant to be
and also helped represent. And I got this from Albert
Mackie from volume two of his Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, but
(25:44):
talks about the fact that formerly, and indeed up to
comparatively recent period, and he's talking like the eighteen seventies,
the Tyler sword was actually wavy shape, and so it
was a blame aid that actually and it actually came
from the from the French and the balls. It was
(26:05):
actually called a flamberge, and it also didn't serve any
really good purpose on the battlefield, but what it symbolized
was the flaming sword that actually was guarding the tree
of life and guarda vid. Right. So there's this idea
that that Tyler's sword is not only a representative of
(26:30):
whether or not you get in the lodge, whether you're
a calend or an eavesdropper, but also that sword that
is supposed to be part of where we divest our
arts of devices and superfluities, and that Tyler's sword is
double edged and it cuts both ways, and so that's
(26:53):
you know, and a lot of times we play cafeteria
style with you know, our knowledge of you know, the
supreme architect, and we only want to apply the lessons
that fit us, right. And I think there are some
Masons who do that too well. You know, I like
this part of masonry and this symbolism, but this other
(27:13):
stuff that's too hard or that's going to take me
out of my comfort zone or you know, pick the excuse.
But I think with that flaming sort in that idea
that this thing has existed, you know, since the beginning
of time, that's going to cut both ways. And with
(27:33):
that all consuming fire, right, there's instances where, you know,
the the volume of Sacred Law and other fully books
around the world, you know, talk about these all consuming,
purifying fires, right, that are supposed to get rid of
the impurities that are within us, you know, as men
(27:54):
here on earth. And to me, that wavy sword would
just be one more minders. I'm going into this sacred
treat of friendship and virtue at which point then I
will go back to mix again with the world. That's
a very visual reminder coming in and out that this
is what we're being called to do.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
I like that. I wish we could amend our swords.
Plus we look like the ultimate villain too. I'm just
thinking of like Babes and Toile and I think he
had the what was the name the French.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
Sword the flombers.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Yeah, so this has been like the best start to
a Saturday morning in mid April for me, even though
they were dealing with the echis and running noses with
the allergies. I want to be respectful of your time, worshipful,
so I'm going to get you out of here. On
this question, we spent a lot of time talking about
the implement of the man holding that sword. The brother
(28:45):
has been charged to be the station, the tyler for
the lodge. You touched on a couple of things. The
tyler's oath. I've heard of it. I don't know what
word for word. I don't know many brothers that do.
He's also his job as supposed to check you in
to make sure that you're properly vouched for so a
dues card. How many of us would be able to
recognize how many of us have ever had to present
(29:07):
really a dues card if we're traveling maybe outside of
our jurisdiction, definitely probably not in it. They're also charged
to make sure that brothers are properly clothed, as you said,
or prepared. The tyler is kind of the dress code police,
like are you trying to walk in and jeans in
a T shirt? Or are you dressed to in your
best to respect masonry? So as we look to like
(29:29):
what the role was of the tyler, and thank you
for kind of outlining, you know, the symbolism and the
importance of it. What would you like to see it
evolve to in our modern times? How would you like
to see the role of the tyler grow in lodges today?
Speaker 3 (29:42):
Again, not that I'm an advocate of innovations in masonry,
you know, kind of you know, going back to the
Tyler sword defending the Book of Constitutions. But one of
the things that I think has been a good change
within our section here is we do now allow a
(30:05):
lot more flexibility for the worstful master to open the door,
so that except for those things where we need to
have the lodge closed right for the reading of petitions
and for balloting and other things. But everything else that
we do isn't super you know, double secret probation, you know,
(30:32):
things that have to be kept under lock and key,
and so having the ability to actually open the door
and have the tyler actually be able to sit and participate, right,
and he's still without the door with a drawn sword
in his hand, but he gets to hear the educational
lectures you know that hopefully are a part of your lodge,
(30:53):
and gets to hear conversation and discussions and particularly within
our lodge laughter, right, gets it gets to see a
fraternity trying its best to be what we vouch for
in a way the friendship and brother they love that's
supposed to exist. Too many times, I don't know if
(31:14):
I'm at a state of communication or a lodge funeral,
because there's not a whole lot of distinction, you know,
but between the way you know, the brothers are interacting.
But that's one thing, is to get the tyler involved
within the lodge, particularly with the meetings. A lot of
(31:35):
times they just you know, they will show up for
a stated they will show up for degree work. But
again they're kind of that forgotten soul without the door.
I think one of the other things that is interesting
is actually a part of what I think you're thinking about,
is the Grand Tyler for the Grand Lodge of Virginia
(31:57):
actually for this year has put out a Tyler's Challenge
unch where all of the tylers in all of our
lodges within Virginia are in a competition to see who
can raise the most money is the Tyler for the
Masonic Home of Virginia, and so the winner will actually
(32:19):
get a I've seen it in actually a really really
nice ceremonial sword as being the winner of this challenge,
which again gets us thinking more about the tyler right
and what the tyler's role really ought to be within
the Lodge.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Thanks again to my guest this week, Worship of a Brother,
Wes Latchford. If you've enjoyed this episode of the Crass
but Online podcast, well I've got an idea for you.
Make sure to follow us on Spotify or hit that
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(33:01):
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I'm right, worshipful Brother Michael Lars. Until next time, a
piece and harmony prevail
The Commons. Opinions and views shared during this program are
of those individual Freemasons and do not reflect the official
position of a Grand Lodge, concordant Body, a pendant Body,
a Masonic authority, or Craftsman Online dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Welcome back to the Craftsman Online Podcast, the only Masonic
podcast endorsed by the Grand Lodge in New York. I'm
your host w Righte Worship Floprow with Michael Ars. Just
want to be a little honest with you about something.
We tend to record our shows earlier than when you
hear them here on the podcast. So, for example, this episode,
when you hear my voice, no, I'm not using this
(00:48):
new podcasting filter that makes it sound like I'm congested.
It's actually allergy season. When my guests and I were
reporting this, and him also living in the Great State
of Virginia. For other allergy sufferers out there, I'm sure
you know how this is going to feel. We're getting
into a pretty heavy topic this week. Hahaha, pun intended.
We'll be talking about the Tyler's Sword with the one
(01:10):
and only Worshipful Brother Wes Latchford. Welcome back.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
It is always good to be back, and yeah, I
don't necessarily have the running nose, but you see me
rubbing my eyes and again trying not to off up
a lung or sneeze as we go through.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
So as we're talking about what's waiting for us outdoors
with allergy season here on the East Coast. Sitting outside
of every Masonic door, see that nice tie in there,
you'll usually find one guy. He's a brother. He's holding
a drawn sword. He's given a specific duty for what
he's supposed to be doing with that sword, sitting outside
the door. And that is our brother, our friend, the Tyler.
(01:47):
When you were getting into the research for your program,
what were some of the early forms and uses of
this Tyler's sword, because I'm sure the sword was more
brand than what looks like now to be an over
as a letter opener that is flimsy and handed to
somebody before they're told to go sit outside the door
and guard the lodge. Yeah, So it's it's actually interesting
(02:08):
if if you have an interest in the martial arts,
and a martial arts we typically think of as as
you know, carate or judo or any of that, but
anything that is basically military or defense based is a
martial art. And swords have been one of those for millennia, right.
(02:32):
But it's it's interesting that you mentioned some of the
grandiose ideas that we might have for particularly what the
tylers sword good orders should be. But in all honesty,
if you go back all the way and we like
to try to take our craft back to King Solomon's Temple,
(02:54):
swords really weren't a thing in that time period because
most of the time you know bronze a weapons, which
is the period when King Solomon's Temple was built and
then it was rebuilt after sacking by Babylonians. Swords were
actually one very very very expensive to make because again,
(03:17):
metallurgy was a point in its infancy. So the average soldier,
for somebody looking to defend themselves was probably using a
wooden sword and some type of a spear that would
have a bronze tip on it. Right, there's this idea
of close order combat. I want to keep the guy
as far away from me as possible and still do damage.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
Right. So that's what we really have. And even the
swords that were produced, they were mostly produced as ceremonial
things again, and most of them not much longer than
from your elbow. To the tip of your fingers, also
think maybe eighteen inches at best, and also not really
(03:58):
a cutting weapon, right, they were they were specifically meant
for stabbing anything else. And what you will actually find,
particularly in Middle Eastern cultures of the period, and you
see this particularly with the Egyptians, is what they have
that is closest to what we would think of the
sword is actually what we know is the seminar now, right,
(04:20):
So it's got a lot okay, so it's a shriner,
we got it. But it's that long edged blade, you know,
that gave you more surface area to try to hit somebody, right,
So that takes us back to the you know, really
the early part of what swords were and what we
think now really didn't start to come into play until
(04:45):
the time of the Nights and Knights templar and also
the invention of steel, right, because any metals up until
the invention of steel just too heavy to be able
to actually fight with. And so it was this adaptation
for stronger weapons with more elaborate forging techniques and also
(05:09):
swords that we're serving a different purpose other than stabbing, right,
And so the one that we like to think of
for armored knights and knights on horseback is that great
big four foot long long sword that you got to
use two hands. But the whole idea was that you
could hit them where they ate, right, So you've got
all this armor on, But if I've got this great
(05:31):
big sword that I can wield over my head, I
can get you in the seams of where the shoulder
piece connects and actually be able to injure you in
this modified tank that you were actually wearing. And then
from there then we got into rape years and sabers,
(05:51):
but again they were almostly horseback and a lot of
it was just still ceremonial. That's kind of just a
brief history of the evolution of the sword from you know,
the Bronze Age up to what we consider swords now.
And I think the other thing too, is it just
sorts are cool, right, And I could get up and
(06:11):
walk behind me because in this back corner here, I've
probably got like fifteen different types of swords that I
actually use when I give this presentation live, you know,
to show you the different evolutions of the sword. And
you know, it was a symbol of something wasn't really
a very functional weapon.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
And I appreciate your explanation on that, because I think
for a lot of us, when we think of a sword,
as you said, like the symbolism comes. I think of
the patch, the military patch with the flaming sword as
one of the divisions. You know, for our US forces,
the idea of strength and protection is always associated with
the sword. Sometimes justice. If you think about like courthouses,
they'll typically have you know, one of the statues is
(06:52):
holding a sword, and that's supposed to represent law and justice,
but also the practicality of it. As you said, initially,
you know, they were about the length of your arm.
They were kind of dull. It was really a painful
way to go honestly, probably also got a good dose
of infection with the then the actual cutting of the blade.
But throughout time, and I think of our military forces,
(07:14):
they became almost part of the uniform and part of
a ceremony. The blades got thinner and thinner and thinner
and lighter and lighter and lighter, and really soldiers would
just wear them as part of their dress uniforms. And
now we see them at least as freemasons, as a
part of the opening enclosings of our lodge there it is,
and there is somebody's job who gets to hold this
(07:36):
and it catches everyone's eye, from boys from the age
of ten that visit lodges all the way to grown
men where they're like, what's the story with the tyler's sword?
Why do we have one of these? And it's interesting
because as you were sharing the history of the sword,
I was like, yeah, there was probably a time in
freemasonry when men were coming to lodges with their own
swords because they were looked at as you know, your
(07:57):
personal protection you were carrying.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
To speak, that sword as a symbol of status became
a thing too, and particularly in continental or European lodges,
it was one way where it showed for those who
are in the lodge kind of that that leveling, right,
(08:21):
the idea that we're all there on the level. And
so those who were aristocrats and came with their swords,
you know, we don't have the swords in the lodge room,
at least in Virginia's jurisdiction, right. There are other jurisdictions
where it seems like everybody has a sword in the
lodge room aka Pennsylvania. Thank you for that experience, but again,
(08:42):
you know, the only one with the sword is the tiler,
and part of that symbolism is that he's heard there
not only to you know, protect against cowns and eavesdroppers,
but also to make sure that everybody's coming in on
the level and that it doesn't matter whether you know
you're the Marquis de Lafayette or whether you know you are.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Brother Joe Smith.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Yeah, so that that was a part of it too.
And again those swords very very ceremonial, right, They really
weren't something you were carrying to protect yourself with necessarily.
Also during that same time period, swords kind of became
it was the preferred duel thing, right, we like to
think of you know, we know all no Hamilton, right
(09:29):
and the idea that you know, we're going to go
at ten paces with flintlocks. But there was a particular
point in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries where dueling with swords,
you know, the sword duel was the thing. And it's
interesting though, how even in that aspect the sword changed
its structure because it wasn't necessarily a fight to the death,
(09:52):
that was fight for you whoever draws blood first. What
they found I was with these early rapiers. Again, there
was no protection for your hand. So all I could
do is just you know, swipe and get your hand
and I've won. And that's when you started to see
you know, the shrouds around the front, you know, a
a k A. You know, looking for the six fingered band,
(10:13):
you know, and Princess Bride and you know, elaborate and ornate,
but that was designed, you know, to protect your hand.
And you see that now, you know, in Olympic fencing.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
I gotta say bonus points to us for being the
first guest to make reference to Ingo Montoya and the
Princess Bride on the Craftsman Online podcast. I didn't think
that that would ever happen.
Speaker 3 (10:34):
Well, and now that now you know, now that you
bring it up, I think there's going to be an
episode of Masonic symbolism six finger. It's got to be
in there somewhere. I'll watch it this weekend and come
up with a laundry list of things.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
He's got an interesting grip, so to speak. You can
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(11:06):
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(11:27):
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(11:49):
Lee for doing that. Patreon dot com Craftsman Online Podcast,
thank you for your continued support. You got into it
(12:13):
and like I was thinking, I was like, wow, our
working tools and freemasonry. We took all of the speculative
or we took all of the operative actual Masonic tools
and then we gave them special you know, wisdom sprinkled
into them, some philosophy, and they became speculative tools. How
does the tyler sword fit in there? Like, I don't
know how it's really well explained in our ritual outside
(12:35):
of in the opening of the lodge where the tyler
is given the sword and the charge to protect the lodge.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Yeah, and that makes for an interesting discussion at any time,
mostly because of the fact that at least what I've
been able to discover is a good portion of this
idea of our tyler having a sword. It goes back
to the Book of Neemiah in the Bible, where you know,
(13:03):
there's discussion about again they're rebuilding the temple, so they're
building the second Temple, and a lot of our appendant bodies,
you know, Scottish rite and royal art. You go into
ideas of what was taking place. But one of the
things that Neamiah mentions is because of outside threats as
(13:23):
they were trying to rebuild the temple, they had the
station basically a protective force. While the Masons were reconstructing
the temple, but then there's also a particular part of
it where Neamiah says, you know, you have sword in
one hand and a trial in the other. You were
building and defending at the same time. Realistically, that probably
(13:47):
never happened again for a symbolic discussion of what it
took to build the Second Temple. But I think that's
part of the tide of masonry, right because we talk about,
particularly in US masonry, you know, we have the trial.
There are other you know, international jurisdictions where the trow
(14:08):
is not even a thing. There are other working tools
that are a part of it. So that idea of
protection while working, I think comes from Nehemiah.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
I was also thinking as we were getting ready for
this episode, in my travels around lodges and you know,
seeing that opening where the tyler goes outside the lodge
the door shuts and is guilty of it. As a master,
sometimes you forget that there's this brother outside that it's
up to your discretion if you want them to come
in and be a part of the meeting. And I
often think of them as that quote unquote forgotten brother
(14:41):
that's out there, that's just sitting there. And yes, his
role is symbolic in one way, where he's supposed to
be the protector of the door, but when you hear
the charge that he's given, he also kind of has
the powers of the lodge secretary for a little bit,
because it's his job to discertain whether the person who
to come in is qualified and prepared to come into
(15:03):
the lodge. So it's not I don't like when people
think of it as like a throwaway role. It is
a very important role to be the tyler of the lot.
Speaker 3 (15:13):
There's a couple of pieces that I pulled from earlier
exposures of masonry, and a lot of people just in
the side will get all chagrined. It's like, oh, exposures
and you know, and all the things they go, you know,
Jacob and Boaz and three distinct bots and all these
different pieces that have actually helped us capture the history
(15:37):
of freemasonry and our ritual much more so than you
know it being word of mouth. Lotch right, So there's
there's some great historical background with it. And one of
the things that's interesting within Preston's discussions about seventeen seventy two,
he talks about the speculative mason and the sword and
(16:00):
it being a power of authority and never it's not
a defensive or offensive tool, right, it is not meant
to be utilized in that So it's not wounds or
battle or causing death. It's more of a power and
authority of the tyler to guard that door, as you said,
(16:20):
and to make sure that you know, only those who
are where they qualified get to enter. And it's interesting
because you know, within Virginia's ritual, the person who actually
relays that information is actually the junior deacon, you know
when when you you know, and he relays the information
(16:41):
on what the tyler is supposed to be doing outside
that door, right, you know, most of the time, I
think I would love to write a book, you know,
it would It would be a kind of a comic
reference probably, But what does the tyler do? And behind
that door, you know, for anywhere from you know, maybe
twenty minutes to two and a half three hours depending
(17:02):
upon your lodge. You know, it's you got to kill time.
You got to kill time somehow, right.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
I could tell you in modern times and you know,
joked aside. I remember my mother lodge. We would sit
there and we could hear our tyler either snoring on
the other side of the door, or playing bubble bobble
on his cell phone. I mean, I'm not trying to
throw the guy under the bus or anything, but you
bring up a valid point, like if he's outside on
the other side of the door, Let's let's be real,
We're not getting floods of members or visitors coming to
(17:31):
our lodges anymore. So he is just kind of sitting
out there in a criokeedy old chair, just bore it
out of his mind. What can the tyler do on
that side of the door? Study ritual entertained visitors or
guests that are waiting outside that can't come in, Like
the list is kind of limited. Yeah, well, and again
I'll go back to you know, but Preston originally he
(17:53):
said in his first degree. And so there's again this
conversation between the worstville master and the junior ward and
it's you know, what is the first care of every
mason to see the lodge is properly tiled, brother, junior warden.
Where is the situation of the outer guard without the
entrance to the lodge and his duty being armed with
a drawn sword means to keep off intruders and ballons
(18:15):
and see that candidates come properly prepared. Right, So there's
a piece that again, different jurisdictions have either stewards or
the conductor or someone else checking the candidates, but by
at least a precedent in the seventeen seventies, because I
know that's part of what the tyler does too, because
(18:36):
he's out there already. And the other thing that's interesting,
and this is I think where just what the tyler's
physical role is. I think the actual symbolic role we
tend to sometimes forget. Most of business not discussed very much.
I mean, again, at least within our ritual, we only
(19:01):
hear of the tyler and the tyler sword twice within
all of what we do. The first one is, you know,
they talk about the book constitutions being guarded by the
Tyler's sword and also then the sword pointing to the
naked heart.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
Right. And this is also when I do this live,
where I get brothers to come up and they get
to hold really cool swords and rather than using a
thirty five millimeters slider power point, you know, we get
to see an actual physical replication of what that looks like.
But that again is all symbolic for us. Right, It's
(19:38):
it's not that you should somebody go to the secretary's
desk and try to grab, you know, the constitutions of
masonry and run out the door with it, eas to
defend it. But it's actually again Thomas Smith website about
eighteen hundred, that you know, it's actually admonishing us to
stick to the landmarks and guard our words, actions, and
(20:01):
to understand the constitutions of masonry, and then also to
think about the ceremonies and the vows that we've taken.
That again we get to in some of the dependent
body higher degrees, but it's that justice, it's that sense
of power that comes from the supreme Arctic universe, right,
(20:27):
not necessarily anything that takes place within the lodge. And again,
because it's only mentioned so briefly within what we do,
within our lectures and our ritual, that we sometimes lose
track of what that sword is supposed to be to us.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
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(21:15):
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(21:50):
Brother Wes. When he's not doing his day job, which is,
you know, appearing on our podcast and talking all things
comics and yeah.
Speaker 3 (21:57):
I'm still waiting for the paycheck.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
He also serves his jurisdiction as a District Education Officer
for the Virginia Beach area of the wonderful state of Virginia.
And I know you to be somebody that's into and
I wanted to kind of get into your idea when
it comes to symbology, and you kind of alluded to, Hey,
if I wrote a book and created a character and
did this, And so I'm starting to see like this
(22:22):
comic character of the Tyler. So my first question would be,
if you could pick somebody from the known you know,
DCU or MCU, what character would fit into the Tyler's role.
And then secondly, if you could add a symbolic element
to the Tyler's sword to enhance it, give it more power,
what would that element be and why would you choose it?
Speaker 3 (22:44):
Okay, So to answer the first question on who from
any of the comic streams I would put as Tyler,
particularly in a comical fashion, the first thing that pumped
into my mind was Rocket the Raccoon from Guardians of
the Galaxy, because he's you know, a weapons expert, right,
(23:08):
you know, he didn't mean to get to warn apart,
put back together, get over and over and over. But
the other thing is he's just such a sarcastic little
rodent that he probably deserves to sit outside the door
and just you know, be the crotchety old Tyler that
(23:29):
is actually going to ask you, you know, and have
you recite from memory the Tyler's oath right to show
that you are actually a Mason and that you're not
trying to sneak in because everybody wants to hear the
secretary read minutes and have Treasurer to tell us we
don't have any money, right, So yeah, so that's so
the first part of that. That would definitely that first
(23:51):
thing that pumped in my mind. There's probably other more
appropriate folks, but but yeah, that would be. That would
be hilarious, and I sit on the side and I
would pay money to see that. As far as what
I want to see as a symbolic element of the sword.
(24:13):
One of the things that I discovered in putting all
this together, both to inform other brothers but also inform myself,
the Tiler sword is almost a second thought right there.
I've been to I have visited lodges where there are
immaculate Piler swords and they are true pieces of art
(24:35):
and help represent the symbolism that's supposed to be associated
with that sword. But I think we've become lazy and
for better or worse, the national or international trade in
Masonic goods where everything standard and I can get on
Amazon right now and I can order a nice templar
(24:57):
sword or a sword or bagger or whatever with Masonic
symbols on it. And typically particularly if there's a commandery
within where you meet. You know, the Tyler sword is
one of the commander sorts. We don't think about that, right,
And so what I would love to see again is
(25:19):
a little more thought into what the Tyler is actually holding.
And for me, that would be actually going back to
potentially what the Tyler sword was originally meant to be
and also helped represent. And I got this from Albert
Mackie from volume two of his Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, but
(25:44):
talks about the fact that formerly, and indeed up to
comparatively recent period, and he's talking like the eighteen seventies,
the Tyler sword was actually wavy shape, and so it
was a blame aid that actually and it actually came
from the from the French and the balls. It was
(26:05):
actually called a flamberge, and it also didn't serve any
really good purpose on the battlefield, but what it symbolized
was the flaming sword that actually was guarding the tree
of life and guarda vid. Right. So there's this idea
that that Tyler's sword is not only a representative of
(26:30):
whether or not you get in the lodge, whether you're
a calend or an eavesdropper, but also that sword that
is supposed to be part of where we divest our
arts of devices and superfluities, and that Tyler's sword is
double edged and it cuts both ways, and so that's
(26:53):
you know, and a lot of times we play cafeteria
style with you know, our knowledge of you know, the
supreme architect, and we only want to apply the lessons
that fit us, right. And I think there are some
Masons who do that too well. You know, I like
this part of masonry and this symbolism, but this other
(27:13):
stuff that's too hard or that's going to take me
out of my comfort zone or you know, pick the excuse.
But I think with that flaming sort in that idea
that this thing has existed, you know, since the beginning
of time, that's going to cut both ways. And with
(27:33):
that all consuming fire, right, there's instances where, you know,
the the volume of Sacred Law and other fully books
around the world, you know, talk about these all consuming,
purifying fires, right, that are supposed to get rid of
the impurities that are within us, you know, as men
(27:54):
here on earth. And to me, that wavy sword would
just be one more minders. I'm going into this sacred
treat of friendship and virtue at which point then I
will go back to mix again with the world. That's
a very visual reminder coming in and out that this
is what we're being called to do.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
I like that. I wish we could amend our swords.
Plus we look like the ultimate villain too. I'm just
thinking of like Babes and Toile and I think he
had the what was the name the French.
Speaker 3 (28:23):
Sword the flombers.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Yeah, so this has been like the best start to
a Saturday morning in mid April for me, even though
they were dealing with the echis and running noses with
the allergies. I want to be respectful of your time, worshipful,
so I'm going to get you out of here. On
this question, we spent a lot of time talking about
the implement of the man holding that sword. The brother
(28:45):
has been charged to be the station, the tyler for
the lodge. You touched on a couple of things. The
tyler's oath. I've heard of it. I don't know what
word for word. I don't know many brothers that do.
He's also his job as supposed to check you in
to make sure that you're properly vouched for so a
dues card. How many of us would be able to
recognize how many of us have ever had to present
(29:07):
really a dues card if we're traveling maybe outside of
our jurisdiction, definitely probably not in it. They're also charged
to make sure that brothers are properly clothed, as you said,
or prepared. The tyler is kind of the dress code police,
like are you trying to walk in and jeans in
a T shirt? Or are you dressed to in your
best to respect masonry? So as we look to like
(29:29):
what the role was of the tyler, and thank you
for kind of outlining, you know, the symbolism and the
importance of it. What would you like to see it
evolve to in our modern times? How would you like
to see the role of the tyler grow in lodges today?
Speaker 3 (29:42):
Again, not that I'm an advocate of innovations in masonry,
you know, kind of you know, going back to the
Tyler sword defending the Book of Constitutions. But one of
the things that I think has been a good change
within our section here is we do now allow a
(30:05):
lot more flexibility for the worstful master to open the door,
so that except for those things where we need to
have the lodge closed right for the reading of petitions
and for balloting and other things. But everything else that
we do isn't super you know, double secret probation, you know,
(30:32):
things that have to be kept under lock and key,
and so having the ability to actually open the door
and have the tyler actually be able to sit and participate, right,
and he's still without the door with a drawn sword
in his hand, but he gets to hear the educational
lectures you know that hopefully are a part of your lodge,
(30:53):
and gets to hear conversation and discussions and particularly within
our lodge laughter, right, gets it gets to see a
fraternity trying its best to be what we vouch for
in a way the friendship and brother they love that's
supposed to exist. Too many times, I don't know if
(31:14):
I'm at a state of communication or a lodge funeral,
because there's not a whole lot of distinction, you know,
but between the way you know, the brothers are interacting.
But that's one thing, is to get the tyler involved
within the lodge, particularly with the meetings. A lot of
(31:35):
times they just you know, they will show up for
a stated they will show up for degree work. But
again they're kind of that forgotten soul without the door.
I think one of the other things that is interesting
is actually a part of what I think you're thinking about,
is the Grand Tyler for the Grand Lodge of Virginia
(31:57):
actually for this year has put out a Tyler's Challenge
unch where all of the tylers in all of our
lodges within Virginia are in a competition to see who
can raise the most money is the Tyler for the
Masonic Home of Virginia, and so the winner will actually
(32:19):
get a I've seen it in actually a really really
nice ceremonial sword as being the winner of this challenge,
which again gets us thinking more about the tyler right
and what the tyler's role really ought to be within
the Lodge.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Thanks again to my guest this week, Worship of a Brother,
Wes Latchford. If you've enjoyed this episode of the Crass
but Online podcast, well I've got an idea for you.
Make sure to follow us on Spotify or hit that
subscribe button on Apple Podcasts. That's how you can get
the latest episode every week, or you can hop on
over to Patreon and whether you want to give a
one time donation or just try us out with the
free seven day offer, you can get the whole catalog
(33:01):
of our past episodes and some of the extra bonus
episodes with select guests at Patreon. Just look for Craftsmen
online or open up the show notes for the special link.
I'm right, worshipful Brother Michael Lars. Until next time, a
piece and harmony prevail
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