Centre for Robert Burns Studies

The University of Glasgow's Centre for Robert Burns Studies (CRBS) has appointed a PhD scholar for a groundbreaking research project examining Robert Burns’s connections with Freemasonry.

The celebrated Scottish poet was not only a prolific writer but also a dedicated Freemason throughout his adult life, serving as Senior Warden of Lodge St Andrew, Dumfries, until his death in 1796, with earlier powerful masonic connections also in Edinburgh and Ayrshire.

His Masonic affiliations even influenced his work, including one of his most famous poems, ‘A Man’s a Man for a’ That’, which was notably performed at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

This pioneering PhD research, funded by The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland, marks the first in-depth academic study of its kind, with unprecedented access to the Grand Lodge’s archives. The doctorate will be supervised within the Centre for Robert Burns, the world-leading research unit at the University of Glasgow.

Patrick Jamieson, the new Burns and Freemasonry scholar, said: “It is an honour to have been awarded the Scottish Masonic Scholarship by the University of Glasgow, and to have been given the chance to undertake such necessary research. I am grateful to the Grand Lodge of Scotland for providing unprecedented access to masonic records across the country, most of which date back to Enlightenment Scotland.

“Already, study of these records has provided information about a number of Burns’s patrons which begins to corroborate previous theories about the role a masonic network might have played in facilitating his ascension to the status of ‘Caledonia’s Bard’. I look forward to delving deeper into the archives over the coming years and discovering new insights into this fascinating and understudied part of Burns's life and career.”

The project will be supervised by Dr Pauline Mackay, Director of the Centre for Robert Burns Studies, and Professor Gerard Carruthers Francis Hutcheson Chair of Scottish Literature, both leading experts in Burns studies.

Dr Mackay said: “The influence of Freemasonry on Burns's literature was profound and can be seen in some of his most well-known works, among them ‘A Man’s a Man for a’ That’. For over two-hundred years, freemasonry has played an important part in securing and promoting Burns's legacy, through the global commemoration of Burns in public memorials and at Burns Suppers.”

Professor Gerard Carruthers said: “Robert Burns’s career was often boosted by his Masonic networks. There is nothing sinister about this: Burns to begin with did not have a lot of power. Indeed, he did not even have a vote and Masonry provided the poet with access to an intelligent, highly cultured grouping that was objectively interested in him. This new scholarship will give us time for a deep and controlled dive into what Freemasonry brought to Burns.”

Evidence of Burns’s Masonic life is preserved at the Grand Lodge of Scotland in Edinburgh, where his original Masonic apron is displayed in the museum.

The Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland, founded in 1736 and headquartered in Edinburgh, with a global presence, has provided full funding for this three-year scholarship, demonstrating their commitment to advancing understanding of Scotland’s cultural heritage.

William Ramsay McGhee, The Grand Master Mason, said: “We announced details of the sponsorship of The Scottish Masonic Scholarship at our recent Festival of Saint Andrew celebration and referred to what is, for The Grand Lodge of Scotland, an exciting and history-making collaboration to support this fascinating and groundbreaking research.  A presentation at the event by the new Burns and Freemasonry scholar was extremely informative and very well received.”

The research will be conducted within the prestigious Centre for Robert Burns Studies, recipient of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2023, the highest national Honour awarded in UK further and higher education. The project aims to explore how Freemasonry’s principles of liberty, fraternity, and equality influenced Burns’s writing and his contribution to Scottish cultural nationalism.

Burns’s Masonic journey began on July 4, 1781, when he was initiated as an Entered Apprentice in Lodge St David, Tarbolton at the age of 23. His rapid rise within the organisation saw him elected as Depute Master of Lodge St James at just 25, demonstrating the high regard in which he was held by his fellow Masons.

The celebrated poet’s Masonic life flourished alongside his literary career. It also provided Burns with crucial support and patronage. When his first Kilmarnock edition was published in 1786, 350 members of St John’s Lodge, Kilmarnock subscribed to copies, providing crucial early support for his work. His prominence in Masonic circles grew when the then Grand Master of Scotland, Francis Chateris, famously toasted him as ‘Caledonia’s bard’ at an Edinburgh gathering in 1787.

The three-year PhD will culminate in both scholarly outcomes and public engagement activities, including exhibition curation and public presentations on Burns and Masonry.

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The Centre for Robert Burns Studies

The Centre for Robert Burns Studies (CRBS) is the world’s leading centre for the study of Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns (1759-96), his contexts and associated literatures.

Establishing itself as a cross-disciplinary area of research excellence which has attracted major financial and intellectual investment, CRBS has brought together the largest concentration of Burns experts in the world and their work has impact on a global scale. In February 2024, CRBS was awarded a Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher Education for the work of the world’s leading centre for the study of Scotland’s national poet. The Queen's Anniversary Prizes celebrate excellence, innovation and public benefit in work carried out by UK colleges and universities. The Prizes are the highest national Honour awarded in UK further and higher education and are granted every two years.

The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland

The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland is the governing body of Scottish Freemasonry, founded in 1736, and headquartered in Edinburgh. It is led by a Grand Master Mason. The structure of the Grand Lodge of Scotland includes 32 Provincial Grand Lodges in Scotland, 26 District Grand Lodges overseas, 4 Superintendents overseeing Lodges in smaller territories and individual Lodges that are under the direct supervision of the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

It is not clear exactly when Freemasonry began but it is widely accepted to have originated from the stonemason trade guilds of the Middle Ages, referred to as ‘incorporated Trades’ or ‘Crafts’. The term ‘incorporated’ comes from the fact that these various craft organisations held Royal charters, or ‘Seals of Cause’ which allowed them to work exclusively within the Royal Burghs in the Middle Ages. The language and symbols used in Freemasonic rituals today come from these older craft bodies.

First published: 6 December 2024