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by
Brother Chandler
09/18/06 ©
On September 1, 1752, the very first "recorded" meeting of the Masonic Lodge at Fredericksburg was held and she has been making history ever since. Looking to acknowledge the link to that very first meeting and to each brother who ever been a member of this historic Lodge, the members began a project to establish that heritage. In 2002, on the 250th Anniversary of Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4, the creation of the Neck Jewel was approved and was permitted to be worn by all members who held the degree of Master Mason. It was further approved that in the bylaws of the Fredericksburg Lodge that all members who attain the degree of Master Mason or Master Masons who become affiliate member of this Lodge, shall be invested with the Neck Jewel of this Lodge and shall be allowed to wear it as a member in good standing.
As to its origins and design, there have been many times I heard people asking about the Bijou of our lodge and what does it represents. In their love of this jewel, and with very little background given to its creation, our members have answered with many different opinions to its origins and unfortunately very little of it was accurate. Yea, even I had a part in accidentally disseminating incorrect information to the meaning behind it as well. I became concern because the inaccuracies began to be questioned and so with my little knowledge of heraldry, I decided to do some research and try to learn the facts behind its meanings. The following is what I have found.
Initially, people were stating that the cross on the jewel was representative of the Cross of St. George, probably because of the cross emblem on a white (argent) field, but that would not be correct because on the Bijou the cross is not red (gules) as below:
Cross of St. George
Some people state that it is the colors of the emblem that matter and not the design such as the type of cross displayed, but that is not the case either because the red (gules) saltire cross is not tied to St. George but rather to St. Patrick, which is as follows:
Cross of
Knowing that it could not be the Cross of St. George because of the blue (azure) cross, I felt because of the deep Scottish heritage here at Colonial Fredericksburg, I inaccurately believed that it may well have had its origins from either the Scottish Kings (because the blue (azure) and white (argent) colors), or possibly it was inverted from a saltire to the regular cross and reversed in its colors so that it became a hybrid between the Cross of St. George and St. Andrew, this too was a flawed theory. The true version of the Scottish Cross of St. Andrew is as seen below:
Cross of St. Andrew
If the colors were reversed, it would look like the banner of Fredericksburg which is described as such: "The two feathers are taken from the Badge of the Prince of Wales to memorialize Prince Frederick, the eldest son of King George II of England, for whom the City of Fredericksburg was named. The feathers are gold (ore) for the glory with which Fredericksburg has honored its proud heritage. The small red (gules) shield with the golden (ore) Crown of Charlemagne is taken from the arms of the Royal House of Hanover in commemoration of the naming of the early streets of the City for members of that royal family. The background of the shield is white (argent), symbolizing the idealism and sacrifice of our Revolutionary War, in recognition of the many patriots which the City of Fredericksburg furnished to that cause. The blue (azure) saltire cross is from the Battle Flag of the Confederate Army, as a memorial to Fredericksburg's epic role in the War Between the States." See below:
Flag of Fredericksburg
After all this research on heraldry, I decided to seek the designer of the Bijou, Worshipful J. Travis Walker. In conversing with him, he stated that he did not take heraldry into account as he knew little of its meaning. He did state that he designed it based on the Fredericksburg flag but decided to switch the saltire cross to a regular cross in order to make the form of the Bijou work with his intended design. In altering it as such, I knew that he had accidentally formed the structure of the Bijou into the heraldic symbol of the little known Cross of St. Michael which is as such:
Cross of St. Michael
The Cross of St. Michael is known to few but is of significance in its purpose. Apparently, in late medieval period, St. Michael the Archangel was prevalent as one of two patrons of chivalry and in more modern times he is the patron and protector of soldiers, mariners, police officers, the sick and those who must face physical ordeals. I felt that this "accident" was appropriate as Freemasonry holds its members to chivalric standards of helping those in distress and many Masons have had experience in the above mentioned trades. By adding the Cross of St. Michael to the Lodge seal, you have what is our 250th Anniversary Masonic neck jewel or "Bijou" which is as follows:
Because of the origins of the Bijou, the designer may not have had heraldry as a priority, but as a manner of social expectations we should at least understand what we are explaining, especially if we are accidentally using a heraldic symbolism and telling people what we believe it is then we should know the truth and be accurate. But regardless of its purpose, it is still a beautiful piece of work.
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