Brotherhood of the Trowel

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Brotherhood of the Trowel

A whimsical Masonic society founded in Florence, Italy, in 1512, composed of eminent architects, sculptors, and painters. Its emblems were the trowel, the gavel, and the square, and its patron was St. Andrew. The society may have been an offshoot of an older fraternity of Traveling Masons.

The rites are believed to have been a travesty of genuine Masonry, culminating in a banquet. The society existed until 1737.