Veritas Prævalebit

copperplate from
Dassigny's A Serious and Impartial Inquiry
into the Cause of the Present Decay of Freemasonry in Ireland
1744

This short work by Dassigny is most famous for containing the first descriptive reference to the Royal Arch ceremony:

[I]t is an organis'd body of men who have passed the chair, and given undeniable proofs of their skill in Architecture, it cannot be treated with too much reverence, and more especially since the character of the present members of that particular Lodge are untainted, and their behaviour judicious and unexceptionable; so that there cannot be the least hinge to hang a doubt on, but that they are most excellent Masons.

One earlier reference exists, but lacks all detail. In the January 10–14, 1743 issue of Faulkner's Dublin Journal, it was reported that "the Royal Arch [was] carried by two excellent Masons" during the St. John the Baptist parade of Youghall Lodge № 21.

Royal Arch Masonry has been practiced in the United States (then New England) since at least 1753—according to Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia it was considered part of the lodge working then, and not a side degree.

Notes by Shawn Eyer, P∴M∴