How does the Mark Master Mason degree relate to the Fellow Craft degree?

The connection between the Second Degree (Fellow Craft) and the Mark Master degree lies in both moral teaching and historical operative tradition. While the Fellow Craft degree inculcates the necessary exercise of all the duties of life, the Mark degree teaches the importance of performing those duties with systematic regularity 1.

Historically, the practice of choosing a distinct Mark originated when an Apprentice completed his term and passed into the ranks of Fellowcrafts 2. Upon becoming a free man capable of earning wages, he selected a Mark by which his work could be identified, reaffirming his vows of honesty, truthfulness, fidelity, and mutual charity 2.

The structural relationship between the two degrees evolved over time. In Scottish practice during the eighteenth century, the tradition was divided into two distinct parts: the degree of Mark Man, which was conferred upon Fellow Crafts, and the degree of Mark Master, which was given to Master Masons 1. Before 1800, these were worked as side issues within lodges rather than under central regulation 1. The two degrees were eventually amalgamated, requiring candidates to be Master Masons to receive the Mark under modern governing bodies 1.