Freemasonry's traditions can be traced directly to the associations of operative Masons. They were men of outstanding character and high ideals, who built cathedrals, abbeys and castles of the Middle Ages.
With the decline of cathedral building in the 17th Century, many guilds of craftsmen, called "Operative" Masons, started to accept those who were not working members of the Masons' crafts into their membership and they were called "Speculative" or "Accepted" Masons. These Speculative Masons were learned and well-thinking men - men of integrity and goodwill. With their admission into membership in these groups which were called lodges, Freemasonry as we know it today had its beginning. The tools once used for building have been transformed into emblems of moral and spiritual laws.
In 1717, four such lodges, which had been meeting regularly in London, united to form the first Grand Lodge of England under the direction of a Grand Master. From that first Grand Lodge, Freemasonry has spread throughout the world. Today, there are some 150 Grand Lodges having a total membership of approximately five million Masons.