Anno Lucis

A. P. Spencer, PDDGM

Every wonder why our minutes show two dates: the current date (Anno Domini or “In the Year of our Lord”) and another, listed as “A.L.” some 4,000 years greater? So many Brothers overlook this piece of Masonic trivia. As always there may be more than one option lost in the hazy fog of history and tradition:

  • Ernest Beha, via the Grand Lodge of Iowa(1), cites A.L. as standing for Anno Lucis, Latin for “In the Year of Light”. Stemming from Genesis 1:3 (“And God said let there be light: and there was light”(2)), the early beginning of the world was generally believed to be 4,000 years before the birth of the Lord.
  • Bro. Mendoza3 provides a comprehensive history of the term. His history shows usage as early as 926 AD of “Anno Latomorum” or “In the Year of Stone Cutters”, or “In the Year of Masons”.
  • The revered Dr. Albert Mackey(4) also cites Anno Lucis, as a philosophical myth tying the idea of masonic enlightenment to the creation of physical light at the creation of the universe (again a Genesis 1:3 link).
  • The Constitution of Masonry, as adopted by the Grand Lodge of Virginia 1791 (5) does not mention the term “A.L.”.

So how to summarize the real meaning. Bro. Mendoza ends his 3,500-word discourse by concluding (rationally) that although the A.L. may have truely been used for “Anno Latomorum”, or “In the year of Masons”; it has been adopted by freemasonry from England in the more speculative version of “In the Year of Light” (Anno Lucis).

Sources:

  1. Grand Lodge of Iowa (2007). “What Year is it? A.D., A.L., A.M., or A.O.” Available at http://www.gl-iowa.org/EdMaterials/Masonic%20History/Anno%20Lucis.pdf accessed 10 Oct 2010.
  2. Bible. Genesis 1:3. King James Version.
  3. Mendoza, Harry (1980). “Anno Lucis et al.” Available at http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/aqc/anno_lucis/anno_lucis.html compliments of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. accessed 10 Oct 2010.
  4. Mackey, Albert G. (1882). The Symbolism of Freemasonry: Illustrating and Explaining Its Science, Philosophy, Its Legends, Myths, and Symbols. via Project Gutenberg e-book 2004 edition. www.gutenberg.net
  5. Grand Lodge of Virginia (2005). “Constitution of Masonry” in the Presentation Volume.