The symbolism of gloves in Freemasonry

All the elements of Masonic clothing have a symbolic dimension in Freemasonry, and are not only for aesthetic reasons. One of the first things we say to new initiates in Freemasonry is "Everything here is symbolic". This is naturally true of the Masonic apron, the sash and collar, but also the gloves, which may be a more discreet accessory but are just as important in the symbolism used in Freemasonry. Now, what is the symbolic significance of wearing gloves in Freemasonry ?

Origin of gloves in Freemasonry 

In a previous article, we discussed the origin of the symbolic gloves worn in Freemasonry. But let's review the main points. It is indisputable that gloves have an operative origin : even today, many trades, including construction, require the wearing of protective gloves. The primary purpose of gloves is obviously to protect the wearer's hands. Protection against knocks and wounds first and foremost, but also against the heat of the materials, toxic substances or infections. It would take too long to list here all the professions for which, like freemasonry, gloves must be worn, for reasons that are anything but symbolic.

However, it is not certain that gloves had the same symbolic significance for ancient builders as they do today in Freemasonry. While medieval illustrations and miniatures depict the tools used by builders and master builders in great detail, the same cannot be said of gloves, which often do not even appear. Does this mean that gloves, which were widely used in other constituted bodies (trades, chivalry, Church, court, etc.), were not considered a distinctive sign of the Masons ? Or, on the contrary, did they have such a profound symbolic meaning for them that it was preferred not to show them too much ? We'll probably never know for sure.

The ritual use of symbolic gloves in Freemasonry was first identified in England towards the end of the seventeenth century. The first mention of it appears in "The Natural History of Staffordshire", published in 1686 by Robert Plot, a naturalist, curator of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and friend of Elias Ashmole, an eminent Freemason whom some authors portray, no doubt incorrectly, as the creator of speculative Freemasonry. According to Plot's description, before his reception, the future Freemason gave each Brother present a pair of gloves, as well as another pair for his wife, and paid for a collation, which was taken before the ceremony. This practice is confirmed by the catechism "A Mason's Examination" of 1723, with the difference that in addition to the two pairs of gloves, the new Apprentice also offers each member of the Lodge a leather apron. This provision also appears in Anderson's Constitutions of 1723, Chapter 7, but women's gloves are not mentioned. Another catechism, "The Mystery of Free-Masonry" (1730) also tells us that a Freemason's clothing consists of an apron and gloves. But for the moment, no mention is made of the colour of the gloves. We can assume that they were white, but this is not specified until Samuel Pritchard's "Masonry Dissected" (1730). It is in the degree of Master Mason that this famous disclosure states that the 15 Masters sent to find Hiram's corpse were given white gloves and aprons by Solomon.

The symbolism of gloves in English Freemasonry 

We do not know what symbolic meaning the gloves may have had in ancient English speculative Freemasonry, but it seems clear that for the Grand Lodge of London of 1717 (more likely 1721), the whiteness of the gloves became a sign of innocence in relation to the legend of Hiram's murder.

English rituals have remained consistent with this use, in a way that may well be surprising to many continental Freemasons. In English Freemasonry, white gloves are mandatory for Grand Lodge, but not for private Lodges. And in principle, gloves are reserved for Master Masons. Entered Apprentices and Fellowcrafts may wear white gloves if the Lodge so decides, but this is not compulsory. The official English rituals are clear on this point : at his reception, the new Entered Apprentice receives only a white Apron, the colour of which of course signifies innocence and candour, but there is no mention of the giving of gloves.

In English Freemasonry, the wearing of white gloves seems to have only one symbolic meaning : they signify the innocence of the Masters who went in search of Hiram and mean that all the Masters (and eventually all Freemasons) are innocent of this murder.

The symbolism of gloves in French Freemasonry 

Gloves played a very different role in continental Freemasonry, particularly in France. From the earliest known French-language Masonic manuscripts (the Manuscript of Bern and the “Luquet" Manuscript, both dating from the 1740s), French rituals are unanimous : at the end of the reception ceremony, the new Entered Apprentice receives not only an apron, but also white gloves for himself and another pair for the woman he esteems most. The whiteness of his own gloves is explained to him, and he is told "never to dip [his] hands in the muddy waters of vice". The pair of women's gloves was justified as a tribute to women, who were not allowed to join the Freemasons, but were honoured by them nonetheless.

This is very different from English practice. The whiteness of the gloves remains, of course, a sign of innocence and purity, but it becomes a mere moral injunction of a general nature, with no link to the legend of Hiram. As for the women's gloves, this is a strange reminiscence of the old English custom of the new Entered Apprentice giving gloves to the members of the Lodge and their wives. This may well be a sign of French gallantry, but it has no Masonic symbolic dimension.

Freemasonry began to spread in France in the 1725s and this new understanding of Masonic gloves is attested to as early as the 1740s. Why such a change in so short a time ? It is likely that gloves were promoted by French Freemasons in the same way that they adopted the wearing of hats and swords in the Lodge : these were outward signs of nobility, and French Freemasons intended, by wearing them all, to affirm the Equality that was supposed to reign among them. But gloves were also an accessory of the catholic clergy and were solemnly presented to the bishop at his consecration. It's not surprising that this accessory was taken up by French Freemasonry, a large part of which in the 18th century was driven by the most mystical tendencies.

It is undoubtedly because of this mystical atmosphere that gloves have acquired a kind of aura in French Freemasonry, and more generally in European Freemasonry, that could be described as magical. From being symbolic objects, gloves often became ritual objects, in the most magical and operative sense of the term. For example, Jules Boucher wrote ("La symbolique maçonnique", Dervy, 1948, p. 313): "We know for certain that real magnetism emanates from the tips of the fingers and white-gloved hands can only let through a transformed and beneficial magnetism". We can appreciate the "we know for sure", and we will be kind enough to avoid asking the author how gloves, usually made of cotton, can "filter" magnetism !

Such fantasies have led many Freemasons to ask themselves, with the utmost seriousness, some important practical questions arising from these pseudo-scientific beliefs : should gloves be worn during the Chain of Union or not ? Is it permissible to remove gloves to turn the pages of a document ? When exactly should gloves be removed during the closing ritual ? The author of the present article will be forgiven for smiling at these fussy preoccupations, which try to turn the rituals of Freemasonry into magical operations, preferring instead the symbolic and Masonic simplicity with which English Freemasonry justifies the use of masonic gloves.