1. Origins and genesis
The origin of the term “freemason” (German Freimaurer, French franc-maçon; also simply “mason”, German Maurer, French maçon) is not established with certainty. It may derive from the term for the skilled laborer, the “free mason,” who worked the harder “free stone” for ornament, as opposed to the “roughstone mason.” Equally, however, a “free…