So Mote it Be

    The oldest known of Masonic expressions is "So Mote It Be," and is used
in and outside the Lodge as a general response to Masonic prayer.  It
derives from the famous Regius Poem, sometimes called the Halliwell
Manuscript, said by experts to have been written in about 1390 by a monk who
had access to Operative Masonic documents.  The document was discovered by a
citizen of London, non-Mason, Mr. J. O. Halliwell Phillips, im about 1839 in
the British Museum where it was catalogued under the title of "A Poem of
Moral Duties."

    The poem, written in Chaucerian English, is the oldest known Masonic
document in existence; the unknown monk who composed it showed a remarkable
clarity of understanding about fraternity of Freemasons at the times, who
were, of course, of the Operative workmen.  He lists the rules which
governed the Craft, the relationships between Masters and workmen, the
moral, civil, occupational and religious duties of the Craftsmen.  Nearly all
the articles set forth in this ancient document, nearly six hundred years
old, are as applicable today(in substance) as they were when written.
    The final words in the poem are:

                "Amen! and Amen! so mote it be!"
    "Moltan" meaning "May."  It is the ancient "Amen" of the Freemason.

By: W. M. Callaway, Jr., Member Educ. and History Comm., G.L. of Ga.
                        Published in MASONIC BULLETIN, BCR; June, 1972