This book examines the creation of the Antients Grand Lodge and traces the influence of Ireland and the London Irish, and most especially that of Laurence Dermott, the Antients' Grand Secretary, in the development of freemasonry in the second half of the eighteenth century. The book demonstrates the relative accessibility of the Antients and contrasts this with the exclusivity of the 'Moderns' -- the original Grand Lodge of England. The Antients instigated what became a six decades long rivalry with the Moderns and pioneered fundamental changes to the social composition of freemasonry, extending formal sociability to the lower middling and working classes and creating one of the first modern friendly societies. Schism does not stand solely as an academic work but introduces the subject to a wider Masonic and non-Masonic audience and, most particularly, supplements dated historical works. The book contributes to the history of London and the London Irish in the long eighteenth century and examines the social and trade networks of the urban lower middling and working class, subjects that remains substantially unexplored. It also offers a prism through which Britain's calamitous relationship with Ireland can be examined.

About the Author
Richard 'Ric' Berman holds an MA in Economics from the University of Cambridge and a PhD in History from the University of Exeter. He is a past Senior Visiting Researcher at the MEHRC at the University of Oxford, and a past Research Fellow at Oxford Brookes University. A sister book, Schism, was published in 2013; a second companion volume Loyalists & Malcontents is currently being completed.

Reviews
"Understanding the past and the conditions that existed during the formation of Freemasonry provides a lens by which to view the Craft and understand its relationship with the world today. Schism: The Battle that Forged Freemasonry provides such a lens and is an excellent addition to Bermans The Foundations of Modern Freemasonry." - John R. Bo Cline, The Journal of The Masonic Society, 2014



Book Information
ISBN 9781845196073
Author Ric Berman
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint Liverpool University Press
Publisher Liverpool University Press