William Schaw (c.1550–1602) was a Scottish mason, and was an important figure in the development of freemasonry in Scotland. Motto (Latin) No one provokes me with impunity Cha togar mfhearg gun dioladh (Scottish Gaelic)1 Wha daur meddle wi me?(Scots)1 Anthem (Multiple unofficial anthems) Scotlands location in Europe Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official languages English, Gaelic, Scots Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II... Look up mason in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Masonic Square and Compasses. ...

Biography

William Schaw was the son of John Schaw of Broich, and grandson of Sir James Schaw of Sauchie. The family had links to the Royal Court, principally through being keepers of the King's wine cellar. However, the family was involved in a scandal in 1560, when John Schaw was accused of murdering the servant of another laird. William was denounced as a rebel when he and his family failed to appear at court, but matters were later cleared up after a certain quantity of goods were made available.^[1]

William first appears on his own account in the records on 21 December 1583, when James VI appointed him principal Master of Works in Scotland for life, with responsibility for all royal castles and palaces. This took place following the Ruthven Raid, and the replacement of the incumbent, Robert Drummond of Carnock, with Schaw, a Roman Catholic, may have been a reaction to it.^{[citation needed]} In January 1584 he travelled on a diplomatic trip to France with Alexander Seton, a fellow Catholic with an interest in architecture. He returned later that year, and in 1585 was one of three courtiers who entertained Danish ambassadors visiting the court. Then he became involved in building work for the Seton family. In 1588 Schaw was amongst a group of Catholics ordered to appear before the Edinburgh Presbytery, and English agents reported him as being a suspected Jesuit and holding anti-English views during the 1590s.^[2] By this time he had acquired the barony of Sauchie. December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1583 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... James Stuart (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scots as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James I. He ruled in Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567, when he was only one year old. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline (1555-1622) was a Scottish lawyer, Judge and politician. ... Architecture (from Latin, architectura and ultimately from Greek, a master builder, from αρχι- chiefs, leader , builder, carpenter)[1] is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ... Presbyterian governance of a church is typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the Queen England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Unified  -  by Athelstan 967 AD  Area  -  Total 130,395 km²  50,346 sq mi  Population  -  2007 estimate 50... The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ...

He was amongst the courtiers who accompanied James VI to Denmark to fetch his new queen Anne of Denmark. He returned in Early 1590,ahead of the rest of the party inorder to prepare for their subsequent return. He busied himself repairing Holyrood Palace and Dunfermline Palace which had been assigned to the queen. He was also responsible for the elaborate ceremony greeting her arrival at Leith, and he subsequently became master of ceremonies to the court. Anna of Denmark (October 14, 1574 – March 4, 1619) was queen consort of King James I of England and VI of Scotland. ... A 19th century view of Holyrood Palace from Calton Hill. ... Dunfermline Palace is a former Scottish royal palace in Dunfermline, Fife. ... Formerly a municipal burgh,[1] Leith is a town at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is the port of Edinburgh, Scotland. ...

By 1593 he was appointed as chamberlain to the lordship of Dunfermline, i.e. the household of Queen Anne, were he worked closely with Alexander Seton and William Fowler. Chamberlain can have several meanings: A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign. ... ‹ The template below has been proposed for deletion. ... There is another William Fowler who was a Scottish poet and uncle of William Drummond of Hawthornden William Alfred Willy Fowler (August 9, 1911 – March 14, 1995) was an American astrophysicist. ...

James VI commissioned Schaw to build a new Chapel Royal at Stirling Castle in 1594. The Italianate building was used for the christening of James' son.^[3] The Chapel Royal did not originally refer to a building but an establishment in the Royal Household. ... Stirling Castle (southwest aspect) For ships named after the castle, see Stirling Castle (disambiguation) Stirling Castle is a castle in Stirling, one of the largest and most important, both historically and architecturally, in Scotland and indeed Western Europe. ...

His niece married Robert Mowbray, and following his death remarried Sir James Colville of Easter Wemyss in 1601, occasioning a family feud between Francis Mowbray, Robert's brother, and Schaw and Colville.^[4] Mowbray, an erstwhile English agent, killed Schaw with a rapier in a quarrel, but was subsequently arrested for plotting against the king, and died following an escape attempt from Edinburgh Castle.^[5] Wemyss Bay (pronounced weems) is a village on the west Coast of the Firth of Clyde in the district of Inverclyde, Scotland. ... A rapier is a relatively slender, sharply pointed sword, used mainly for thrusting attacks, in use in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. ... The castle dominates the Edinburgh skyline as seen here from Princes Street Gardens Edinburgh Castle is an ancient fortress which, from its position atop Castle Rock, dominates the sky-line of the city of Edinburgh, and is Scotlands most famous (and most visited) landmark. ...

He was succeeded as King's Master of Works by David Cunninghame of Robertland.^[6]

Masonic Statutes

First Schaw Statutes

On 28 December 1598 Schaw, in his capacity of Master of Works and General Warden of the master masons, issued "The Statutis and ordinananceis to be obseruit by all the maister maoissounis within this realme". The preamble states that the statutes were issued with the consent of a craft convention, simply specified as all the master masons gathered that day. Schaw's first statutes root themselves in the Old Charges, with additional material to describe a hierarchy of wardens, deacons and masters. This structure would ensure that masons did not take on work which they were not competent to complete, and ensured that they would lodge warden by the master masons, through whom the general warden could keep in touch with each particular lodge. Master masons were only permitted to take on three apprentices during their lifetime (without special dispensation), and they would be bound to their masters for seven years. A further seven years would have to elapse before they could be taken into the craft, and a book-keeping arrangement was set up to keep track of this. Six master masons and two entered apprentices had to be present for a master or fellow of the craft to be admitted. Various other rules were laid out for the running of the lodge, supervision of work, and fines for non-attendance at lodge meetings. December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 3 days remaining. ... Events January 7 - Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I. April 13 - Edict of Nantes - Henry IV of France grants French Huguenots equal rights with Catholics. ...

The statutes were agreed by all the master masons present, and arrangements were made to send a copy to every lodge in Scotland. These statutes indicate a significant advance in the organisation of the craft, with shires constituting an intermediate level of organisation. These "territorial" lodges ran parallel to another set of civic organisations, incorporations, often linking masons with other workers in the building trades, such as wrights. While in some places (Stirling and Dundee), the lodges and incorporations became indistinguishable, in other places the incorporation linked the trade to the burgh, and became a mechanism whereby the merchants exercised some control over the wages of the building trades. In places like Edinburgh, where the proliferation of wooden buildings meant a predominace of wrights, the territorial lodge offered a form of craft self-governance distinct from the incorporation. Also, the masons and wrights used differing ceremonial motifs, at the respective events. The role of deacon provided a link between these incorporations and the lodges. A shire is an administrative area of Great Britain and Australia. ... The word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder, e. ... Broad Street at the heart of Stirlings Old Town area (called Top of the Town by locals) Stirling Castle (Southwest aspect) The main courtyard inside Stirling Castle. ... For other uses, see Dundee (disambiguation). ... A sign in Linlithgow, Scotland. ...

Copies of these statutes were written into the minutes of Aitchison's Haven (Newbattle) and Edinburgh Lodges.

Second Schaw Statutes

The Second Schaw Statutes were signed on 28 December at Holyroodhouse and consisted of fourteen separate stautes. Some of these were addressed specifically to Lodge Mother Kilwinning, others to the lodges of Scotland in general. Kilwinning Lodge was given regional authority for west Scotland, its previous practices were confirmed, various adminstrative functions were specified and the officials of the lodge were enjoined to ensure that all craft fellows and apprentices "tah tryall of the art of memorie". More generally, rules were laid down for proper record keeping of the lodges, with specific fees being laid down. A 19th century view of Holyrood Palace from Calton Hill. ... Lodge Mother Kilwinning is a Masonic Lodge in Kilwinning, Scotland under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, it is number 0 on the Roll following a series of changes in its status with respect to the Grand Lodge. ... The method of loci or Ars memoriae (art of memory) is a technique for remembering that has been practiced since Classical times. ...

The statutes state that Kilwinning was the head and second lodge in Scotland. This seems to relate to the fact that Kilwinning claimed predence as the first lodge in Scotland, but that in Schaw's scheme of things, the Edinburgh Lodge would be most important followed by Kilwinning and then Stirling. David Stevenson argues that the Second Schaw statutes dealt with the response from within the craft to his first statutes, whereby various traditions were mobilised against his innovations, particularly from Kilwinning.^[7]

The reference to the art of memory may be taken as a direct reference to renaissance esotericism. William Fowler, who had been a colleague of Schaw both in his trip to Denmark and at Dunfermline, had instructed Queen Anne of Denmark in the technique. Indeed he had met Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno at the house of Michel de Castelnau in London in the 1580's. The art of memory constituted an important element of Bruno's magical system. Anna of Denmark (October 14, 1574 – March 4, 1619) was queen consort of King James I of England and VI of Scotland. ... Giordano Bruno. ... Michel de Castelnau, Sieur de la Mauvissière (c. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Look up magic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

First Sinclair Statutes

These statutes were drawn up in 1600 or 1601 and involved the lodges of Dunfermline, St Andrews, Edinburgh, Aitchison's Haven and Haddington, and were signed by Schaw himself in his capacity of Master of Works (but not General Warden). They are known as the First Sinclair Statutes as they confirm the role of the lairds of Roslin as patrons and protectors of the craft. Once again it would suggest that Schaw's proposed reorganisation of the craft had encountered some problems. Indeed, it presaged an ongoing struggle between the Master of Works and the Sinclairs, which Schaw's successors in the post continued, following his death in 1602. For other uses, see St Andrews (disambiguation). ... Haddington is a burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. ...

References

• Chalmers, Robert (1874). Domestic Annals of Scotland: Reign of James VI. 1591 - 1603 Part H. Electric Scotland. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
• Glendinning, Miles, and McKechnie, Aonghus, Scottish Architecture, Thames & Hudson, 2004
• Reid-Baxter, Jamie "Politics, Passion and Poetry in the Court of James VI: John Burel and his surviving works", in Mapstone, S, Houwen, L.A.J.R., and MacDonald, A.A. (eds.) A Palace in the Wind: Essays on Vernacular Culture and Humanism in Late-Medieval and Renaissance, Peeters, 2000
• Stevenson, David The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland's century 1590 - 1710, Cambridge University Press, 1988