To Heal or Hail, Confusion Worshipful!

At one point in my life, I recall promising to hele something.  The first thing which ran through my head when I heard that I would always “hail” secrets, was, “huh”?  Hail the secrets?  What does that mean? 

For the most part, I can deduce what it means from the context of the paragraph in which it is found, but does that suffice?  Not for me, I see through my travels as a Master, that most people have an inkling of it’s meaning but do not have a command of it.  Furthermore, I have found extensive Masonic papers written about this one word, so I thought that I would throw my two cents in to the kettle. 

The Oxford English Dictionary indicates that the verb “hele” comes from the base Old English word “helan”.  Both the Oxford and the Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary indicate that the word and its root mean to conceal, hide or cover.  This is what I had deduced from the context. 

In its earliest transitive form, it meant, “to cover with”, “to conceal”.  This was noted from the period between 825 and 1200 AD.  Masonically, it is found in the second oldest Masonic manuscript, the Cooke MS of about 1450AD.  “…he can hele the councell of his fellows in logge and in Chambre…”.  According to research done by Brother Yoshio Washizu of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, in his paper, Notes on “hele”, the word is subsequently found numerous times in Masonic texts which allude to the same meaning.  However, the spelling of “hele” varies from dialect and location.  It is often seen as “hele”. “heal” and “hail” depending on who wrote the text and where.   

How it is pronounced is just as varied under the same circumstances, depending on period and location.  According to masonicdictionary.com, modern English dictionaries indicate that the correct pronunciation is HEEL, though this may be contradictory to common pronunciations used in the west of England and in the Cornish Country where it is pronounced as HALE.  Confusion Worshipful!

The primary thing to keep in mind is that the English language has gone through significant changes over the past few centuries.  Hele, being such an archaic word, it is possible that the pronunciation has changed over the centuries.  Quite often Old English words were spelled phonetically, which is noted in the writing styles of the 15^th – 17^th centuries. 

The Oxford English Dictionary, being an authority in pronunciation of English words, has hele being pronounced as “Hi:l”  or HEAL.  Though in early Masonic text, the spelling of the word attributes to the pronunciations of HEEL and HAIL, which according to the Wright English Dialect Dictionary was not uncommon, depending on when and where the texts were written.  Certain locations in England were known to pronounce the word as such. 

Confusion continued with the pronunciation of the word throughout the United Grand Lodge of England during the early 19^th century with most Masonic Scholars and Ritualists preferring to use the HAIL pronunciation, but without formal written edict from any source.  Because of this, up to the late 19^th century, a Mason would still see and hear both. 

At this point, up to the early 20^th century, it seems that both pronunciations were sanctioned based on a number of variables such as the scholar you talk to, the Lodges, the locations and the context in which is it used.  For Example, in many modern Masonic rituals, rhymes were often employed to assist in the mnemonics. 

In the works of Bro. Washizu,

It seems that originally the three words, "hele," "conceal" and "reveal," used in our ritual were likewise meant to rhyme. "A practical purpose was intended-that of making a special mark on the hearer’s mind, and fixing the three words in his memory," says Bro. Bernard E. Jones.

If the original intent is to be maintained, therefore, they should be pronounced to rhyme, whether with "heel" or "hail." "But," he continues, "if they are to be intelligible, then the old pronunciation ['hail'] is quite out of the question. 'Hale, consale and never revale' would either be meaningless, or would invite a smile at a point in the ceremony where least desired."

Bro. E. H. Cartwright is of the opinion that it should be pronounced "heel" and that if a Master likes to affect the archaic form of the word, "he should at least be consistent and say, 'hale, consale and never revale,' thus preserving the jingle that with little doubt had its attraction for our predecessors of two hundred years ago." 

Bro. Harry Carr is also inclined to support the pronunciation "heel" given in the Oxford English Dictionary. He says, "We use an archaic word, out of sentiment perhaps, but I see no reason for maintaining the archaic (or doubtful) pronunciation, when all the rest of our ritual is in modern usage."

To sum up, the word "hele" may be sounded "heel" or "hail." But if we are to have the three words, "hele," "conceal" and "reveal," rhyme in our present-day working, it should be pronounced "heel."

So there you have it, the confusion continues with that tiny little four letter word.  HEEL (HEAL) or HALE (HAIL), both seem to be correct depending on the variables in the context and environment.  The one thing that we can but sure of, is that in our ritual texts, it is spelled HELE and the meaning is still of the utmost important to us in the Craft.