136 THE ORIGINS OF FREEMASONRY FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO THE MIDDLE AGES
of his life on the rue des Jardins Saint Paul, which was in the jurisdic-
tion of the censive district of the Benedictines of Saint Maur, for whom
he was a canon. This mention of Rabelais and his home in the masons'
quarter, the quarter of the mortar makers, is really not tangential to the
topic at hand. Everything leads us to believe that he enjoyed the com-
pany of craftsmen quite often and that he was at the very least the chap-
lain for a confraternity of masons. Doesn't he admit as much in the
prologue to Book Three of Pantagruel, and again in the prologue to
Book Five, when he reveals his status of "accepted mason?": "I am
resolved to do as did Regnault de Montauban; to serve the masons and
put the pot on for the masons; then, since their journeyman I am not,
they will have me for their indefatigable audience for their heavenly
writings."^52 This confession takes on its full meaning when placed in
context with the one that appears earlier in the prologue to
"Gargantua": "To me it is all honor and glory to be dubbed and
esteemed as a good gaultier* and a fellow companion." The word
gaultier can be related to the gault, meaning "cock," that medieval- and
Renaissance-era masons took as a sobriquet.
The Sainte Catherine du Val des Ecoliers was located not far from
Saint Paul Church, on the current site of the rue d'Ormesson where the
masons confraternity celebrated Saint Louis on August 25.+
No masons' names were left in the epitaph records of Saint Jean en
Greve Church. The building nonetheless includes a chapel dedicated to
Saint Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters, and one dedicated to Saint
Nicholas, who was also honored by carpenters. Both of these existed
before 1325. In these, masons celebrated the feast day of Saint Blaise on
February 3.^53
To bring our stroll to an end, we cross the place de Greve and the
Notre Dame Bridge over the Seine. Now we are in the Cite. Here the
Templars long held ownership of a large domain between Notre Dame
and the palace. As we can recall, the rights of the Temple over this
domain were the result of the accord concluded in 1175 by the Order
and the prior of the Benedictines of Saint Eloi. Their territory mainly
- [Gaultier refers to "one who enjoys his drink" or+ , less delicately, "boozer." —Trans.]
J. B. Le Masson, Calendriers des Confreries de Paris, 47. This church was not in the
Templars' censive district but in that of the Couture Sainte Catherine, an Augustine priory.