  rucianism > the change from "operative" to "speculative" masonry occurred between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 18th century. two of the earliest speculative masons for whom a record of initiation exists were sir robert moray and elias ashmole. > sir robert moray (alternative spellings: murrey, murray) frs (1608 or 1609  4 july 1673) was a scottish soldier, statesman, diplomat, judge, spy, and natural philosopher. he was well known to charles i and charles ii, and to the french cardinals richelieu and mazarin. he attended the meeting of the 1660 committee of 12 on 28 november 1660 that led to the formation of the royal society, and was influential in gaining its royal charter and formulating its statutes and regulations.[1] he was also one of the founders of modern freemasonry in great britain.  > moray became a favourite of cardinal richelieu, who used him as a spy.
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