Customer Reviews

Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry

5 star:		(47)
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In Masonic circles, legend and myth often overshadow actual, verifiable truth. As a published Masonic researcher, I find few books which rate this highly in scholarship value. Robinson began this project as a non-Mason, and died as one of its prime apologists and as a brother Mason. There's nothing more wondrous than to embark on a fairly predictable journey and end up at a totally different destination! Unlike the Hiram Key (sensational, yet questionable in basis of fact ), Robinson provides excitement without actually trying to do so. If you like this book, please read Robinson's " A Pilgrim's Path " - it's an answer to the religious right- who try to scare people with anything they consider to be "non-Christian" ( or competing for their donation dollars!) Solid stuff for inquiring minds...

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.

Robinson does his homework and writes well. I read this book several years ago, and it sparked my long-term interest in reading about Freemasonry's verifiable origins. Recently, this led me to read 'The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland's Century, 1590-1710', by David Stevenson, which I now recommend more highly than 'Born in Blood'.

'Scotland's Century' is the only work on the origins of Freemasonry I have ever seen that ignores the movement's vast myth-making literature and focuses instead on the surviving records of the earliest known Masonic lodges. Stevenson--who teaches history at the University of St. Andrews--paints a solid, sober, believable portrait of Freemasonry's rather prosaic origins in the operative masonic lodges of early 17th-century Scotland.

Stevenson's book is a welcome and refreshing antidote to all the junk that has been written about Freemasonry in the past three centuries. It explodes Masonic authors' extravagant claims for an origin in ancient civilizations and possession of powerful supernatural secrets. It also undermines anti-Masonic authors' equally bizarre accusations of pacts with supernatural forces of evil. It replaces these fanciful images with the story of a remarkable human institution whose recent, humble, workaday origins are far more interesting than its myths.

'Born in Blood' is lots of fun to read, and I still recommend it highly. But the tale told in 'Scotland's Century' is probably a lot closer to what really happened.

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 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 anyone interested in Freemasonry, the Knights Templar or medieval history in general should find well worth reading.

I enjoyed reading "Born in Blood" tremendously. A lot of fascinating historical details recounted in a lively and entertaining style, mixed with just the right amount of wit and quality humor. Maybe at times the author is not very focused, but his gift for story-telling makes up for sometimes carrying the reader across several related topics before returning to the main track. While some of the conclusions and suggestions launched are not only interesting as ideas in themselves but also well-grounded and quite plausible, a few of the associations proposed between Masonic symbolism and its origins/explanations are highly speculative and therefore quite improbable, but always within the boundaries of common sense and dispassionate, genuine interest in the subject. Even though the author is not a Mason, I think he is sometimes (very) slightly biased in favor of Masonry, and maybe a little too harsh on some of the past errors (historically true, as they are) of the Catholic Church.
Excellent reading, by the time you finish it you will have learned not only a lot more about Freemasonry, but also quite a few fascinating facts of European medieval history.

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.

Through the years, many writers have attempted to tie Freemasonry together with the Knights Templar. While most were fanciful and based on wishful thinking, this book makes a solid case for the idea. Mr. Robinson developed this book while researching another subject entirely. Amazingly enough, Baigent and Leigh came to the same conclusions as Mr. Robinson researching in a different country and with different sources. However, as I am a Scot-ophile (is that really a word?!?), I preferred Robinson's book. This is a "must read" for any serious study of Freemasonry.

As an educated person and a member of the Fraternity, I can whole heartedly say that this is the truest, most fully researched and logical explanation that I have read regarding the Brotherhood. How Mr. Robinson (now Brother Robinson) was able to compile such information is amazing.
To the reluctant buyer I would say that, the author himself was not a member of the fraternity before he wrote this work, but was so impressed with his findings, that he now is a Freemason. Additionally, any serious student or member of Freemasonry will understand that the common "beliefs" discussed in other books are really a red herring and are correctly explained and disspelled by Robinson.
Furthermore, it is understood by the general membership that Robinson, then as an outsider, hit the nail squarely on the head when he wrote Born in Blood.
As a member, I can honestly say, "If you want the truth, the whole truth, read Born in Blood.

As an educated person and a member of the Fraternity, I can whole heartedly say that this is the truest, most fully researched and logical explanation that I have read regarding the Brotherhood. How Mr. Robinson (now Brother Robinson) was able to compile such information is amazing.
To the reluctant buyer I would say that, the author himself was not a member of the fraternity before he wrote this work, but was so impressed with his findings, that he now is a Freemason. Additionally, any serious student or member of Freemasonry will understand that the common "beliefs" discussed in other books are really a red herring and are correctly explained and disspelled by Robinson.
Furthermore, it is understood by the general membership that Robinson, then as an outsider, hit the nail squarely on the head.
As a member, I can honestly say, "If you want the truth, the whole truth, read the book.

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