The Origin Of The Collar Q. Where did the Masters' (and Officers') Collars originate, and why?
A. By a resolution of Grand Lodge on 24 June 1727, the Master and Wardens of all private lodges were ordered to wear . . . 'the jewels of Masonry hanging to a white ribbon'. This may be taken as the first regulation relating to what afterwards became the Master's, Wardens' and Officers' Collars. On 17 March 1731, white leather aprons lined with white silk were also specified for the Worshipful Master and Wardens.
At this time, (1731) the 'ribbons' of the Grand Officers were blue, and those of the Grand Stewards were red, and their aprons were lined to match.
The word ribbon seems to have been interpreted rather loosely—perhaps because no particular width was specified, and early illustrations of Brethren wearing Masonic clothing seem to confirm that the ribbon was always quite narrow, sometimes no wider than a silken cord. Generally it seems that the ribbons (apart from the distinctions of colour, mentioned above) were strictly utilitarian, i.e., they were not at first intended as decoration in themselves, but simply as a means of hanging the respective jewels.
The first hint of the Collars as properly 'tailored' articles of clothing appears in Le Secret des Francs Maçons, 1742, by the Abbé G. L. C. Perau, in which he describes the clothing of the Officers, as follows:
'On initiation days, the Worshipful [Master], the two Wardens, the Secretary & the Treasurer of the Order, wear a blue Ribbon round their necks, cut in the shape of a triangle. At the base of the Master's Ribbon there hang a Square and Compasses . . . The Wardens and other Officers wear only the Compasses.' [Translated by Harry Carr] [Source: Quatour Coronati Lodge #2076. June 2010 United Grand Lodge of England]
Fraternally,
Norm Leeper, PM, HA
Secretary, SCRL
