Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry

A Work of Brilliant Scholarship, Engagingly Written

Reviewed by William Courson

In "Born in Blood," John J. Robinson, an avocational historian and medievalist, makes a patiently reasoned and thoroughly documented re-appraisal of the Peasant's Revolt of 1381 in England (known popularly as Wat Tyler's Rebellion) and emerges with a truly convincing demonstration of the sub rosa connections between the Templar order, the Wat Tyler uprising and the foundations of Freemasonry.

It had for long been thought that this popular revolt against a pathologically avaricious landlord class, a backward, decadent Church and corrupt, venal and self-involved royalty was but a lightning flash, operating under a disorganized, "ad hoc" leadership. Mr. Robinson has effectively disproved this. "Born in Blood" demonstrates convincingly that far from being a spontaneous swelling of discontent, the revolt was a well-planned and highly organized attempt on the part of remnants of the Templar order (brutally dissolved by the French King and his lieutenant, the Roman Pontiff, seven decades earlier) to avenge itself against their oppressors. The author's hypothesis sheds copious illumination on a host of previously anomalous events and processes and misunderstood connections.

Unlike the overwhelming majority of its members who believe that Freemasonry evolved from craft guilds of medieval stonemasons, the author persuasively links Freemasonry's origins, doctrine, governance and ritual to the once powerful and wealthy Knights Templar. In the face of persecution of almost unbelievable cruelty, the author claims that surviving Templars, having secured temporary refuge in England and a rather more secure home in Scotland, were forced to form an underground Great Society. The author combines scholarly research and a captivating, storytelling style to trace Freemasonry's birth in the bloody carnage following Papal censure and evolution into a globe-spanning fraternity dedicated to self-improvement and good works. His painstaking analysis of the derivations and meanings of words like "cowan," "cabletow," "due-guard" and "tyler," which occur in Masonic liturgy and nowhere else in the English language, is nothing short of brilliant as well as conclusive.

John Robinson makes a compelling argument. This book will be enjoyed by brother Freemasons, non-Masons and anti-Masons alike as well as conspiracy theorists and aficianados of what has come to be called 'alternative history.' I highly recommend it particularly for those interested in the Templar order, the medieval Catholic Church, British history and Freemasonry. This is an excellent book and a pure pleasure to read, and will surely provoke serious thought about the real origins of the Masonic Craft.

I would say that this book is one of the more important books written on the origins of Freemasonry in the last 50 years, and certainly the best to ever be written by a non-member. I enjoyed reading Robinson's speculations on the Templar/Masonic connection. His lack of solid evidence along with the "leaps of faith" one must make when reading the support for his claims are overshadowed by the fact that he was a non-member of the fraternity at the time and was the most objective voice to ever attempt a book on the society from the outside. The author also admits that some of his conclusions are unsupportable, which lends more credibility to his objectivity, and makes his backable arguments more sustainable. Mason's have been writing and speculating on the origins of the group for generations (Mackey reports 5 in his Encyclopedia from the latter part of the 19th century, including the Templar assertion), so it was refreshing to see it from the prospective of an amateur historian. Overall, I would say this book would be good for any Brother wanting to know more about our history. It would also be beneficial for the non-members who would like a more objective book concerning the brotherhood. I definitely would not use this book as a reference tool, but it would be an encouraging springboard to continue Robinson's research and perhaps future works could produce some more solid evidence.

This is a very well organized work. It's a "must read" for any student of Masonic History. For the non-Mason it provides a good insight into the early history of the fraternity. This book is well researched and and properly documented.

John Robinson's Born in Blood is perhaps the most plausible explanation of the link between the Knights Templar and the Freemasons.

His research begins with the Peasant Revolt of 1387 and the machinations that made this revolt happen. As far as histories go, this one reads like a well-written novel.

The second half of the book deals with the Peasant Revolt's connection to Freemasonry. It is speculative at places, but it is certainly believable.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the origins of Masonry or interested in the 1387 Peasant Revolt. This book goes hand-in-hand with another book entitled Freemasonry and the Birth of Modern Science by Robert Lomas. These 2 books combined set the record straight.

Despite the rather sensational title, the book is actually well done and fairly well-researched.
"Born in Blood" attempts to connect the Templars and the Freemasons via the Peasants' Rebellion in England. While Robinson ultimately fails to convince, he raises some interesting points, and I think is pretty convincing concerning Templar links to the Peasants' Rebellion--an intriguing historical hypothesis. Robinson makes several serious mistakes as regards the Freemasons, however, largely due to the fact that he was a newcomer to Masonic research. First, he projects the modern Masonic idea of religious toleration back into the Middle Ages, where it didn't exist, and imagines that the excommunicate Templars could find refuge in, and help shape and mold such an organization. In fact, religious toleration was introduced into Freemasonry by James Anderson and friends at the dawn of the Grand Lodge era in the early 1700s, and was highly controversial even then; a controversy which helped lead to the formation of the rival Antient Grand Lodge. If you read the few surviving Masonic documents from the late Middle Ages, Freemasonry was obviously very much tied in to Holy Mother (Catholic) Church, as were most parts of medieval society.
Second, as he was not a Mason at the time he wrote the book, he makes a serious error in a point of ritual that he uses to back up his claims. He relies heavily on an "exposure" of the degree ritual that is known not to be reliable. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what this error is (wink, wink).
However, it's definitely one of the best books about Freemasonry for the non-Mason, and a fun read besides. It's also much better done than all the Baigent and Leigh nonsense, which are also fun to read, if you don't mind people making things up and calling them "research".
The best book on the controversial origins of Freemasonry, for the Mason and non-Mason alike, is probably Stevenson's "The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland's Century", although it's a serious academic work and perhaps not quite as much fun. Another fine book about the involvement of Freemasons with our own country's founding is Bullock's "Revolutionary Brotherhood".
Is there a Templar-Masonic connection? Quite possibly, especially given the number of legends concerning it, but we'll probably never know for sure. Robinson's theories are interesting, but ultimately inconclusive.

Having read more than one book about the origins of Freemasonry, I approached this book with some trepidation. I expected another paranoid lecture on the evils of Freemasonry, or worse. Imagine my surprise! The author did a tremendous amount of research, and managed not to inject his own opinions into the story. The book is well written, and the story is very entertaining. It is informative and interesting, and wonderful to read.

Riveting, Scholarly and Historical
I cannot praise this book highly enough, reads like a popular novel, Don't think since "Of the Madness of Crowds" have I read such a fascinating account of the middle ages and the history of the Crusades. Friend handed me this book due to my interest in Medieval times. Said... Ick! Don't want to read bout an old boys club. Started reading it and was hooked by the first page. Have considered joining FM, now I shall.
If you are interested in medieval history or Freemasonry I recommend this book! My understaning and respect for FM has grown greatly

Maosn's, of which I am one, have an enigmatic past. In 1717 the United Grand Lodges of England (UGLE) suddenly appeared. Yet Masonic Lodges had existed for a long time. Why go so public that year?

John Robbinson set out to answer a simple question. How could the English Peasant's Revolt of 1318 been so well coordinated and executed in an era parish laws, illiteracy, and servitude? It took him, quite by chance from that revolt to Freemasonry. This book is well researched and well thought out. What he does, and what I find most fascinating, is to use the language of the Knights Templar- French, to support his thesis. Certain words recorded in the reports of the uprising are generally ignored because when thought of as English, had no meaning.

His conclusion is fascinating and in a much better class historical writing than Holy Blood Holy Grail. A good read. It could serve as outline for a great epic movie.

While I do not subscribe to the Templar - Masonic School of origins, I do believe that he is correct on the Templar-Peasant Revolt connection.

(I prefer the enlightment - civil society school of thought: see books by Margaret Jacobs Ph.D) .

This is an excellent book which presents a very well researched and very well written theory that Freemasonry originated in the suppression of the Knights Templar in 1308 rather than from the medieval stonemasons' guilds, as most official Masonic histories suggest.

The conclusions Robinson draws from the available evidence are logical and rational, unlike some of the more far fetched theories on Freemasonry which have been published recently.

In short, an excellent book that is well worth reading.

I read this book long before I became a Mason, and since having been raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason, I felt this book should again be a part of my masonic library. I really enjoyed the read the first time (several years ago) and am enjoying it again.

I admire Mr. Robinson's abilities in pouring over the historical accounts that surrounded the birth of modern Free-masonry [the old spelling]. I really appreciate his work, and it really does contain some valid points for me to consider. I will not go so far as to say that his interpretations of the ritual's words and acts are the final verdicts on the matter; I am just stating here that I appreciate his research and writting.

I gave the book 5 stars based on how it was presented, with supported facts, writting style, clarity of thought, etc. This book has quite a bit of information, and the author's conclusions are clearly stated as such, each having basis in his own research. Nothing too outlandish or far reaching here, just interesting conclusions drawn from the author's studies. This book continues to a great aid in my own Masonic research.

Again, thanks to a good friend to the Fraternity for writting this book.