Black History by Ryan McDowell

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The loyal orders have a rich and varied history and none more so than the Royal Black Institution. While all of the loyal orders might consider themselves to be old the Black is the only component of the loyal order family that might consider itself to be ancient. The general academic assessment of what constitutes modern history is something that has happened within the last 500 years. According to some versions of history the Black can trace its history back a thousand years to the Knights of the Crusades. This gives the Black Order a mysteriousness and a specialness that none of the other loyal orders can match. Unlike the other loyal orders there has never been a definitive history of the Black Institution produced but many believe that the Black can trace its origins to the time of the crusades when Christian Knights waged a series of military campaigns to recapture the Promised Land for the Christian peoples.

In his book Orangeism The Making of a Tradition Kevin Haddick -Flynn quotes a late Sir Knt by the name of Aiken McCelland who believed that the Black came to Ireland via Scotland. This version of history claims that the Black owes its origins to the Imperial Grand Black Lodge of the Knights of Malta and Parent Lodge of the Universe. According to McClelland this later became known as the Imperial Grand Encampment of the Universe and the Grand Black Lodge of Scotland of the Most Ancient, Illustrious and Knightly Order of Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem. McClelland adds that this is not to be confused with the Sovereign and Military Order of St Johns of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta generally referred to as the Knights of Malta.

Black lodges as we would recognise them today seemed to emerge in 1797 shortly after the Orange Order had formed. A Grand Black Orange Lodge was formed in 1802. In its early days the Black seems to have been poorly organised and not quite respectable. This maybe partly due to divisions that existed within the Orange Order over how many degrees there should be and over how elaborate the character of such degrees should be. The Black Order was frowned upon by elements within the Orange Order who wished to preserve a two-degree system. Stewart Blacker who was the Orange Order's Grand Secretary gave evidence to a Royal Commission on Orange Lodges in 1835 stating that “ The Grand (Orange) Lodge was always desirous of keeping its two Orders of Orange and Purple perfectly unshackled and unconnected with any other Order whatsoever. They had reason to believe that those Black lodges, over which they did not have the slightest control nor the slightest connection, had indeed induced some of their members to join that body.” This attitude manifested a division within Orangeism that existed between the traditionalists and the modernizers. The traditionalists were mainly drawn from the lower orders in society or what might be described as the working classes today. These people valued elaborate initiations and advancements. The modernizers who tended to belong to the higher classes in society and who were more prevalent at a leadership level wished to take a minimalist approach to ritual and ceremony. These people wished less travel and tomfoolery instead wanting a greater respectability for the Order. Ruth Dudley Edwards cites evidence of this in her book The Faithful Tribe. “ In 1811 for instance as a result of tidings from County Armagh, Grand Lodge denounced the continuing 'silly, shameful and even idolatrous practices of mystically initiating into Black, Red and perhaps Green Orders'. A subsequent resolution confirmed that Orange and Purple degrees only would be recognized: 'all other colours of Black, Scarlet, Blue, Royal Arch Purple, or any other colour are illegal and injurious to the true Orange System, and if any Orangeman shall presume, after public notice of this resolution to meet in any such Black or other similar Lodges, upon due proof thereof he shall be expelled.' “ The subject of higher orders was a huge issue for Orangeism in the 1800's and the fact that the Grand Orange Lodge failed to stop the emergence of the Royal Black Institution despite such a determined effort to subdue such orders is a testament to how firmly entrenched the rituals and traditions that were later incorporated into the Royal Black Institution were among rank and file Orangemen.

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