The lodge room is silent. On the altar, two aprons lie side by side: one of white lambskin, unmarked, the other of black velvet edged in silver. Any brother knows the first. The second raises questions. The white lambskin apron is the universal badge of the Mason, a symbol of innocence and light. The black apron, worn only in the chivalric orders of the York Rite, signifies mourning, humility, and the knight’s readiness to face death. The difference is not rank but jurisdiction: one belongs to every Freemason, the other to a select few who have taken the Templar vows.
How the apron entered Masonic practice
The Masonic apron descends directly from the leather aprons worn by operative stonemasons in medieval guilds. A 14th-century carving on the choir stalls of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor (c. 1478) shows a mason in a long, calf-length apron, tucked at the waist. When speculative masonry arose in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the apron was retained as a symbol of labor and purity.
The first written regulation of the apron appears in the Constitutions of the Free-Masons (1723), compiled by James Anderson. It states that “every new made Brother is to present a Pair of white Leather Gloves to the Master and Wardens, and also a white Leather Apron.” The emphasis on white was deliberate: the apron must be “white unsullied” and made of lambskin, a material that cannot be dyed. White lambskin thus became the standard for all entered apprentices, fellow crafts, and master masons in the Blue Lodge.
The black apron entered the tradition later. It emerged in the second half of the 18th century, when the Masonic chivalric orders — the Knights Templar and the Knights of Malta — were grafted onto the York Rite system. The first documented use of a black apron in a Templar context comes from the Grand Conclave of the Knights Templar of England, established in 1791. By the time the United Grand Lodge of England was formed in 1813, the black apron was a settled feature of Templar regalia, often paired with a black hat and a sword.
The reason for the color shift is recorded in the Templar Statutes of 1820: black was adopted “in token of mourning for the death of the last Grand Master of the Templars, Jacques de Molay, who was burned at the stake in Paris on March 18, 1314.” The black apron is therefore a garment of grief, worn by brothers who see themselves as the spiritual heirs of the executed order.
What each color signifies
The white apron carries a dense web of symbols. In the first degree, the entered apprentice is told that the white lambskin “is an emblem of innocence and the badge of a Mason.” The whiteness represents the state of the soul before it is stained by the world. It also points to the rough ashlar, the unhewn stone that must be squared by labor and discipline. Because lambskin cannot be bleached — it must be white from the animal, it is taken as a symbol of integrity that cannot be faked.
The black apron reverses the polarity. Where white is life and light, black is death and darkness. In the Knight Templar degree, the candidate is reminded that “black is the color of the earth to which we all return.” The apron is often trimmed with silver, a metal that evokes the moon, purity, and the armor of a knight. Some Templar aprons bear a skull and crossbones, the Memento Mori, a reminder that the knight must be ready to die for his faith.
But the black apron is not simply a symbol of mortality. It also represents humility before the divine. In the Requiem or Mourning Lodge, a black apron may be worn by the master of ceremonies to honor a deceased brother. The Templar apron, in particular, is a sign that the wearer has accepted the chivalric vow to defend the weak and to face death without fear. Albert Pike, in Morals and Dogma (1871), writes that the black apron “is the livery of the Templar, who has sworn to be faithful unto death, and who wears the black as the symbol of his own mortality and his readiness to meet it.”
The contrast between the two aprons is therefore a contrast between potential and fulfillment. The white apron belongs to every Mason as a promise of what he may become. The black apron belongs to those who have taken a specific vow that moves beyond the symbolic into the martial.
When each apron is worn
In the Blue Lodge, the three degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason, the white lambskin apron is the only permitted apron. The design varies by jurisdiction: some lodges use a plain white apron with a flap, others add a blue border for the Fellow Craft degree or a purple border for the Master Mason. But the center remains white, and the material is always lambskin.
The black apron is worn only in the York Rite (specifically the Commandery of Knights Templar) and in some chapters of the Scottish Rite (the 30th degree, Knight Kadosh, uses a black apron with a red cross). In the Templar Commandery, the black apron is worn by all Knights at regular meetings. The Past Commander may wear a black apron with silver trim and a jewel. The Grand Commander of a state or national body wears a black apron with gold embroidery, often with a slipper or a star.
Outside the United States, the use of the black apron is more restricted. In the Grand Lodge of England, black aprons are not worn in the Blue Lodge, except in the context of a Mourning Lodge. A Mourning Lodge is a special meeting held to honor a deceased brother: the master and officers wear black aprons, the lodge is draped in black, and the gavel is muffled. The practice is documented in the Book of Constitutions (UGLE, 1815 edition), which states that “the Master shall wear a black apron on the occasion of a Brother’s funeral.”
How the black apron differs from other colored aprons
A common point of confusion is the difference between the black apron and aprons with black edging. In some Blue Lodges, the Steward wears a white apron with a black rosette, and the Tyler (the outer guard) may wear a white apron with a black border. Neither is a black apron. The black edging marks an office, not a degree. The full black apron, however, is a garment of the chivalric orders and carries a different meaning.
The Scottish Rite uses a black apron in the 30th degree (Knight Kadosh), but the symbolism is distinct: the black there represents the “darkness of ignorance” that the knight must dispel, not the mourning of the Templar. The 30th degree apron is black with a red cross and a silver lining, and it is worn only during the conferral of that degree.
The white apron with black lining is a peculiar variant. In some lodges in the American South, a white apron with a black reverse side is used by the Master of a lodge during a funeral. The apron is worn white side out for the opening, then turned to the black side for the closing. The practice is not common but is recorded in Mackey’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (1873) as a local custom.
What people get wrong about the black apron
The most persistent misconception is that the black apron signifies a higher rank than the white apron. It does not. A brother who wears a black apron in the Commandery is still a Master Mason in the Blue Lodge, and he wears the white apron there. The black apron is a marker of a different system, not a superior one.
Another misconception is that the black apron is a sign of mourning for a deceased Mason only. While it is used in Mourning Lodges, the primary use of the black apron in the Templar Commandery is not mourning but a permanent reminder of the Templar’s historical fate. The black is worn at every meeting, not just funerals.
A third error: some outsiders assume the black apron is associated with “black magic” or the occult. The black apron has no occult meaning. It is a Christian symbol within the Templar tradition, representing the humility of the knight before God and the reality of death. The color black in Masonry is always linked to the earth, the grave, and the spiritual discipline of facing one’s mortality.
FAQ
Is a black Masonic apron more important than a white one?
No. The white lambskin apron is the universal badge of every Mason. The black apron is worn only in the chivalric orders and carries a different, not higher, symbolism.
Can a Master Mason wear a black apron in the Blue Lodge?
Only in a Mourning Lodge, and only if he holds the office of Master or is a designated officer. In regular Blue Lodge meetings, the black apron is not worn.
Why do some Masonic aprons have black edging?
Black edging often marks a lodge office, such as the Steward or the Tyler. It is not the same as a full black apron, which is reserved for the Knight Templar degree.
What does the black apron symbolize in the Knight Templar degree?
It symbolizes mourning for the death of Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the medieval Templars, and the knight’s own readiness to face death.
The white apron and the black apron are not rivals. They are two chapters in the same book: the first speaks of the hope of innocence, the second of the courage to face the end. Both are made of the same stuff, the hide of an animal, the work of human hands, and both remind the brother that he carries his labor on his body. If you want to trace the deeper patterns of Masonic symbolism, begin with the apron itself, and follow the thread from the lodge to the knight’s tomb.
Continue reading: Masonic symbols and their meanings, The York Rite degrees explained, or browse the full esoteric glossary.