I’ve just discovered some amazing connections to Sir Anthony Standen. I’m 39 pages into The Craft – How the Freemasons Made the Modern World, by John Dickie. It’s a fascinating book. I’ve just learnt that the father of freemasonry is William Schaw, who was made Master of Works by King James VI of Scotland. I’ve dived into Wikipedia to learn a bit more about Schaw, and found that he accompanied King James in 1589 when he went to Denmark to collect his new queen, Anne of Denmark.
Readers of The Spy who Sank the Armada will be aware of the connection. Queen Anne was involved in Sir Anthony’s imprisonment in the Tower of London. I remember from my father’s life as a Freemason, that great feats of memory are required. Schaw set out statues to codify the craft of masonry. The Second Schaw Statues were signed on the 28th of December 1599 at Holyrood House. Sir Anthony had accompanied Lord Darnley to Holyrood when Darnley married Mary Queen of Scots. In the second statutes it requires that all craft fellows and apprentices “tak tryall of the art of memorie.” It goes on to say that the use of the phrase “art of memorie” probably stems from William Fowler, a poet who had accompanied Schaw on the journey to Denmark. Fowler had instructed King James and Queen Anne in memory techniques he had learnt from the Italian philosopher Giordano Bruno. Bruno is a key figure in the second Sir Anthony Standen adventure, Fire and Earth.
I certainly didn’t expect to find connections to Sir Anthony Standen in a book about freemasonry, let alone by page 39. Isn’t life full of surprises. I wonder when, and where, the next connection will pop up. With four hundred pages left to go in The Craft, I’m rather hoping I’ll find some more, or at least find some ideas for book five. Fingers crossed, bring on the next connections!