367 Years Ago Today: The Battle of Marston Moor (ELO Musical Accompaniment)

     

Marston Moor battlefield today




      The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the First English Civil War of 1642–1646. The combined forces of the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven and the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the Marquess of Newcastle.

Marston Moor

          During the summer of 1644, the Covenanters and Parliamentarians had been besieging York, which was defended by the Marquess of Newcastle. Prince Rupert had gathered an army which marched through the northwest of England to relieve the city, gathering fresh recruits on the way. The convergence of these forces made the ensuing battle the largest of the Civil Wars.

Studio of Anthony van Dyck, Portrait of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Count Palatine, 1637, National Gallery, London

     The defeat at Marston Moor was a serious blow to the Royalist cause. Prince Rupert had been decisively beaten for the first time in the war and lost his reputation for invincibility. He was deeply affected by the defeat and suffered an additional blow through the death during the battle of his dog "Boye", a rare hunting poodle, who had been a constant companion by his side throughout his campaigns. Parliamentarian propaganda made much of this, treating Boye almost as a Devil's familiar.

Prince Rupert in battle accompanied by Boye (d. July 2, 1644) -- From the 1643 Parliamentary pamphlet entitled "The Cruel Practices of Prince Rupert".

         By contrast, Oliver Cromwell's reputation as a cavalry commander was firmly established by the engagement . It was acknowledged that the discipline he had instilled into his troops and his own leadership on the battlefield had been crucial to the victory. Cromwell would later declare that Marston Moor was "an absolute victory obtained by God's blessing".  From this moment, he was to exert increasing influence both in the House of Commons and in the Parliamentarian armies in the field.

Marston Moor battlefield observed from "Cromwell's Clump"

The Electric Light Orchestra (l-r:  Bev Bevan, Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne) 


Cue:  The Battle of Marston Moor -- From Electric Light Orchestra, No Answer (Composer: Roy Wood)

Magic 3: The Magical Origin of Freemasonry (E. Levi; A.E. Waite)

Eliphas Levi (Alphonse Louis Constant) in 1878 

        That great Kabalistical association known in Europe under the name of Masonry appeared suddenly in the world when revolt against the Church had just succeeded in dismembering Christian unity.  The historians of the Order are one and all in a difficulty when seeking to explain its origin.  

Eliphas Levi (Alphonse Louis Constant) in 1848  

        According to one, it derived from a certain guild of Masons who were incorporated for the construction of the cathedral of Strasburg.   Others refer its foundation to Cromwell, without pausing to consider whether the Rites of English Masonry in the days of the Protector were not more probably developed as a counterblast to this leader of Puritanical anarchy.  In fine, some are so ignorant that they attribute to the Jesuits the maintenance and direction, if not indeed the invention, of a society long preserved in secret and always wrapped in mystery (1). 

Strasbourg Cathedral, constructed 1015-1439; from 1647-1874, the world's tallest building.

Pulpit at Strasbourg Cathedral attracting a ray of green light, 2009

        Setting aside this last view, which refutes itself, we can reconcile the others by admitting that the Masonic Brethren borrowed their name and some emblems of their art from the builders of Strasburg cathedral, and that their first public manifestation took place in England, owing to radical institutions and in spite of Cromwell’s despotism.   It may be added that the Templars were their models, the Rosicrucians their immediate progenitors (2), and the Johannite sectarians their more remote ancestors. 

Arthur Edward Waite, co-creator of the Rider-Waite Tarot deck, author of its companion volume, the Key to the Tarot, and translator and annotator of Eliphas Levi's The History of Magic, in early adulthood (date and photographer unknown).

        Their doctrine is that of Zoroaster and of Hermes, their law is progressive initiation, their principle is equality – regulated by the hierarchy and universal fraternity.  They are successors of the school of Alexandria, as of all antique initiations, custodians of the secrets of the Apocalypse and the Zohar. Truth is the object of their worship and they represent truth as light;  they tolerate all forms of faith, profess one philosophy, seek truth only, teach reality, and their plan is to lead all human intelligence by gradual steps into the domain of reason.

Arthur Edward Waite in 1915.  Photographic portrait by E.O. Hoppe*.

NOTES BY ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE

(     (1) This remark, in which I concur unreservedly, may be noted by students of Masonic history as an offset against the pretentious nonsense which has been talked on the subject by French makers of fable and especially J.M. Ragon**, the dullest and most imbecile of all.

      

              (2) This opinion is showing signs of recrudescence at the present day, and it is well to say that there is no evidence to support it.   

       ACravan Notes:    

 *  For more examples of Emil Otto Hoppe (1878-1972) photographs, see here. 

** Waite is referring to Jean-Marie Ragon, author of Orthodoxe Maconnique (Suivie de la Maconnerie Oculte et de l'Initiation Hermetique).  Paris, E. Dentu, 1853. Should any reader wish to peruse this book, a copy is available here.

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      Excerpt from: Eliphas Levi (Alphonse Louis Constant), The History of Magic.  New York, Samuel Weiser, 1971.   Translated, with a Preface and Notes, by Arthur Edward Waite.