ABSTRACT
The oldest Masonic documents – collectively known as the 'Manuscript Old Charges' – provide the first link between Freemasonry and Egypt. Some 130 versions of this manuscript have survived. The history traced the development of building in stone from Adam through biblical and later periods up to its reintroduction into England by St Alban and the holding of a great assembly at York during the reign of Athelstan. Central to the revival of interest in Egypt was the publication of Jean Terrasson's Séthos, histoire ou vie tirée des monuments, anecdotes de l'ancienne Égypte. In this lengthy tome, Terrasson describes the life of Sethos, an Egyptian prince who undergoes various trials to prepare him for initiation into the mysteries of Isis. The influence of Egypt on Freemasonry was brought to its lowest depth by the activities of Giuseppe Balsamo the self-styled Count Alessandro Cagliostro.
