The Baylot Manuscript in Translation

This rare manuscript of French Masonic rituals, drafted between the early 1750s and the late 1760s, containing a final date of 1768, is made available in English for the first time. This codex of over 30 unique pieces, spread across more than 70 folios, has been the subject of study and speculation among Masonic scholars for decades. Although the collection was assembled by and/or for the mysterious theurgist Martinès de Pasqually (founder of the influential Ordre des Chevaliers Maçons Elus Coëns l'Univers, the teachings and traditions of which would be carried on by his principal students Jean-Baptiste Willermoz, who would incorporate them into the upper ranks of his Rectified Scottish Masonry, and Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, prolific author on mystical subjects under the nom de plume le Philosophe Inconnu), the present manuscript has little to do with his theurgic Masonry of Elect Priests, except for two catechisms near the end of the ms., and a tracing board of Coën design. It is, however, a compendium of early versions of Scottish or "écossais" grades that would become well known later as part of the Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite. There are also some little-known grades, and some entirely unheard of in any other manuscript collections. Given the catalogue number of FM⁴ 15 in France's Bibliotèque Nationale, this English-language translation of the French text will be a welcome addition to every serious student of the history of "High Grade" Freemasonry.