The history of the Free Masonry is divided into two parts: before the formation of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717 and after this event. The period prior to the establishment of the Grand Lodge is not well-known and not that extensively examined by the scientists. The origin of the Free Masonry after the beginning of the eighteenth century is more explained and fact-based in comparison with the first period that is described in legends.
Studies on the origins of the Free Masonry started to get new spin in the modern history when scientists looked at the Masonry from the perspective of its influence on the development and evolution of Europe and North America back in the eighteenth century.