History and philosophy of freemasonry

A short essay on the importance of lectures, education and research on masonic topics in early Freemasonry (post 1717). Published under "The need for Masonic education, and the use of lectures" in my book "Short Masonic Lectures" available on Amazon,

The following paper examines the little known story of the Columbian Illuminati and has been edited from my recent publication Rediscovered Rituals of English Freemasonry. The book is an in-depth examination of the Masonic work of the early nineteenth century English radical Richard Carlile, a work known as The Manual of Freemasonry. This book became popular with English Freemasons, and is not just an exposé of the Craft rituals, but also of the further or higher degrees. His exposé was first published in his journal The Republican in 1825, but later emerged in book form, combining his thoughts on Freemasonry with the presented rituals. There were many influences on this work, including Thomas Paine, who had also had a work published on Freemasonry, William Finch, who had published a variety of Masonic exposés, Freemason Godfrey Higgins, and Elihu Palmer.

BAŞLARKEN
Mesleğimizin dili ve terminolojisi önemli bir şey değil, önemli tek
şeydir!
Masonluğun bir Tefekkür ve Tefsir Sanatı olduğu tanımı, bu çalışmanın
ve bir önceki cümlenin özünü anlatır. Bugünün yaşamında pek de
kullanılmayan bu iki kavram, mesleğimizi ve bizlere düşeni çok güzel
ifade eder.
Mesleğimizin dilini öğrenmek, terminolojisine hakim olmak zorundayız.
Aksi takdirde Mason olmak isteyen ancak Masonluğu anlamaktan
aciz kimseler oluveririz. Kadim zamanların bilgi ve bilgeliğini taşıyan
bu sözcüklerin anlattığı felsefeye uzak düşmemiz işten bile değildir.
Masonluğun bir düşünme sistemi olarak kendi terminolojisi vardır,
bunu kavramları güncelleyerek aşamayız. Tam tersine çıkmaz sokaklara
girdiğimizle kalırız.
Sözgelimi Hakikat kavramı. Günümüz Türkçesine taşımaya
kalktığımızda karşımıza çıkan Gerçek sözcüğü, sıradan bir insanın sıradan
bir gününde yapacağı sıradan konuşmalar için yeterlidir. Ancak ezoterik
düşünceler ile meşgul bir inisiye için yeterli değildir. Hatta yanıltıcıdır. Bir
başka kavram da Muhterem’dir. Sözlüğe bakıp Sayın ya da Saygıdeğer’in
aynı anlama geldiği söylenebilir ama aynı değildir. Sayın lafı usulen
kullanılan bir hitap şekliyken, Muhterem’de bilgisini takdir ve kalpten gelen
bir saygı vardır. Nur, günlük yaşamda Işık’tır. Ziya da günümüzde Işık’tır.
Bu durumda Nur-u Ziya, Işığın Işığı mı oluyor? Tabii ki! Ziya, gözümüzü
ve günümüzü aydınlatan Güneş gibi bir Işık anlamına geliyor. Doğrudan
bakılmayacak kadar güçlü aydınlığı remzediyor, göz kamaştırıyor. Nur
ise Güneş’ten gelen ışığı yansıtan Ay gibi, içimizi ve karanlık gecemizi
aydınlatıyor. Doğrudan ve dolaylı olarak alınan Işık, anlamı pekiştirilerek
Nur-u Ziya halini alıyor. Şimdi siz sözleyin, otomobil farından bahseder
gibi tek başına Işık bu güçlü anlamı ifade edebiliyor mu?
Konumuz, günümüz Türkçesi ile geçmişe ait olan ile de sınırlı değildir.
Mesleğimiz sadece Doğu değil, Batı kaynaklarından da beslenmekte,
ilham almaktadır. Bunlar arasında Latince başta olmak üzere günümüz
devletlerinin kullandığı İngilizce, Almanca ve Fransızca gibi diller
ile unutulup kaybolmaya yüz tutmuş ortaçağ Avrupa’sına ait diller de
bulunmaktadır.
Bu açıdan bakıldığında Rit, Order, Obediyans, Juridiksiyon gibi kimi
kavramlara da Türkçe karşılıklar bulunabilir ancak anlamları da yitip gider.
Farklı yönlere giden değişikler de söz konusudur. Günümüzde hepimizin
kullandığı Kardeş buna tipik bir örnektir. Kardeş, uniseks başka bir ifade
ile cinsiyetsiz bir kavramdır. Kız Kardeş için Hemşire, erkek Kardeş için
de Birader kavramlarının kullanılması gerekir(di). Ancak Birader hiç
kullanılmama sınırına gelip dayanmış, yerini de genel tanımlama ifadesi
olan Kardeş kavramına bırakmıştır. Diğer kavram ise dişil karakterini
koruyarak günümüzde de kullanılmaya devam etmektedir. Bu açıdan ele
alındığında Kardeş kavramı, değişimin tartışmaya açık belki de olumsuz
yöndeki bir örneği olarak dilimizde yerini alacaktır.
Bugün sıklıkla kullanılan Evrenin Ulu Mimarı kavramı ise dildeki
değişimin olumlu yöndeki tipik bir örneği olarak dikkat çeker. Önceki
Ritüel’lere göz gezdirildiğinde bu halinden önce Kainatın Ulu Yaradanı
olduğu görülecektir. Yaşça 1950’ler öncesinde de mesleğimizi icra
etmiş Kardeş’lerimiz o dönemde de Sani-i Azam-ı Kainat kavramının
kullanıldığını hatırlayacaktır.
Dilde değişimler ve dönüşümler olmuştur, olmaktadır, olacaktır da.
Anlamların korunması, manalarının yitip gitmemesi kaydıyla...
Bu çalışmanın amacı, mesleğimizin sırlarına vakıf olmak isteyen
Kardeş’ler için bir tür ‘avadanlık’ olmaktır. Konferans verecek ya da
konuşma yapacak Kardeş’lerin bildiklerini kontrol için katkı sağlaması
arzu edilen bu çalışma kuşkusuz zaman içinde gözden geçirilecek,
yenilenecek ve geliştirilecektir.
Kaçınılmaz eksikler de giderilecektir.
Bu çalışmayı bütünleyecek ve hemen her maddeyi tamamlayacak
bilgileri içeren EK OKUMA kısımlarında listelenen birbirinden değerli
yazılı ve/veya basılı eserleri içerecek ikinci cilt için de çalışmalar
sürmektedir. Pek yakın zamanda bu ikinci cilt de tamamlanacaktır.
Kardeş’lerin kendi hamtaşlarını yontması gibi, Masonluk var oldukça,
bu ve buna benzer dil odaklı çalışmalar da sürüp gidecektir.
Bir Mason’un bilmesi gereken (1-3) Semboller | Simgeler | Kavramlar
başlıklı çalışma, en başında hedeflendiği gibi, sadece Çırak-Kalfa-Üstat
derecelerinde çalışan, Sembolik Masonluk ile sınırlı tutuldu. Evrenin Ulu
Mimarı izin verirse Felsefi Masonluk kavramlarını da kapsayacak hali de
siz değerli Kardeşlerim ile zaman içinde buluşacaktır.

The Moderns and the Antients had finally come together in union in 1813, the rift between the two Grand Lodges being healed. One of the main problems had been the Royal Arch ritual, seen by the Antients as a fourth degree but practiced by the Moderns as the completion of the third degree. When both sides finally came together, it was settled that the Royal Arch was the completion of the third degree, though was to be practiced in separate ‘Chapters,’ the Chapter room set out differently than the craft Lodge room. Despite this, the Royal Arch was still referred to as a fourth degree by some stubborn lodges until around 1850, and the rebel Grand Lodge of Wigan still practised the Royal Arch as a separate degree. In fact during the Liverpool Masonic Rebellion, the Royal Arch became a point of debate. In my book, The Genesis of Freemasonry, I put forward how Dr. John Theophilus Desaguliers had reconstructed the Masonic ritual in the 1720s, creating the three degree structure set within Solomon’s Temple, describing its initial construction by chief architect Hiram Abiff, disclosing his murder and the attempt at raising him from the dead to regain his lost knowledge. The Royal Arch ritual continues this theme with the rebuilding of Solomon’s Temple under Zerubbabel and the search for lost knowledge within the temple ruins, the ritual revealing a number of lost artefacts set within the keystones of three arches in the temple. These artefacts were lost in the destruction of the original temple, but with their discovery, the temple could be reconstructed, the divine measurements of God being found to recreate the most sacred holy place on Earth. This paper will discuss certain theories and ideas behind the creation of the Royal Arch and will examine how the ceremony was viewed within the context of the Masonic story.

The Warrington Dissenting Academy, situated in the north-west of England, existed from 1757-1786, and as an independent centre of learning, it became a paradigm of dissent against the backdrop of the British Enlightenment, a time of fermenting radical views and a reaction to exclusion. Importantly, it also exemplifies self-help amongst the Non-Conformist community and indeed, the local community of Warrington, a community that also included the local lodge; the Lodge of Lights. Two members of the lodge were Academy tutors, a founder of the lodge had also assisted in founding the local circulating library, and a number of other Freemasons were linked to the Academy and its community. This paper will discuss how certain Freemasons promoted education within a culture of self-help, and helped to leave a legacy of civic philanthropy that promoted education and charity on a wider social scale.

The importance of masonic education is a subject that has been overlooked by many lodges. In the interest of forming a lodge of research and education in the Delaware jurisdiction, and hopefully help other lodges do the same. I see it fitting to explain Masonic education’s Raison d'etre, its purpose and importance. The Modern mason will quickly learn that the craft, in our current era, goes under the name of speculative masonry. It is important to understand why this is the case, that way we will fully appreciate the importance of masonic education.

Freemasonry conveys its lessons through the use of ritual and allegory.  Central to its identity is the connection, whether historical or symbolic, to the stonemason's guilds.  But what if the central story wasn't centered around King Solomon's Temple, but around another central figure - Noah and the building of the ark.  This paper seeks to perform an introductory exploration of the presence of Noah as a figure in Masonic legend, his appearances in ritual, and the possible reasons for the emergence and eventual predominance of the Hiramic Legend.

Róbert Péter (general editor), Cécile Révauger (volume editor). Jan A. M. Snoek (volume editor), British Freemasonry, 1717-1813, 5 vols. (New York: Routledge, 2016), 2606 pages, 5967 editorial notes.

volume 1: Institutions (C. Révauger)
volume 2: Rituals I – English, Irish and Scottish Craft Rituals (J. A.  M. Snoek)
volume 3: Rituals II – Harodim Material and Higher Degrees (J. A. M. Snoek)
volume 4: Debates (R. Péter)
volume 5: Representations (R. Péter)

More information about the edition is available at:
https://www.routledge.com/British-Freemasonry-1717-1813/Peter- Revauger-Snoek/p/book/9781848933774

The attached copyright material was provided by the Routledge division of Taylor and Francis on 20 October, 2016.

The purpose of this 5-volume edition is to collate diverse rare print and manuscript materials that provide a broad spectrum of insights into the history and culture of Freemasonry in the British Isles between 1717 and 1813. This collection is the result of extensive archival research and transcription and highlights the most significant themes associated with British and Irish Freemasonry during the period in question. The volumes draw on a wide range of documents, including an engraved list of lodges, rituals (some originally written in cipher), rules and
regulations, by-laws, funeral services, lectures, charges, sermons, orations, certificates, theatrical prologues and epilogues, pamphlets, newspaper and magazine articles and letters. A special emphasis is placed on documents that enhance our present understanding of the role that British and Irish Freemasons played in the formation of eighteenth-century society and associational culture. Analysis of these documents will hopefully foster scholarly debate and offer new perspectives on wider historical, cultural, social and religious themes.

Many of the texts included in these volumes remain very difficult to consult outside masonic archives. Such institutions store many rare eighteenth-century items, which are not recorded in the English Short Title Catalogue and are thus excluded from digital collections. For example, the Library and Museum of Freemasonry in London has not previously given permission to fully reproduce rituals of the so-called higher degrees. Hence, the rituals ncluded in this edition are published here for the first time in their entirety and with annotations. Furthermore, this edition reproduces texts that seem to have been knowingly overlooked by masonic historians in their publications.

This volume of intriguing essays by eminent and emerging Masonic scholars explores the history and culture of Freemasonry during that period of expansion. What did Masons of the early Grand Lodge era actually do in their lodges? How did these brethren think of themselves and their Craft? What were their motivations and ideals? What was their experience of Freemasonry? By posing such questions, our contributors have been able to study not just an institutional beginning, but the cultural realities of Masonic life in the first decades of the Grand Lodge’s history.

Featuring contributions by Ric Berman, David Harrison, Jedediah French, Nathan A. St. Pierre, Dana Scofield, Christopher B. Murphy, and Shawn Eyer, this collection critically re-examines key aspects of early Masonic life and thought, revealing the philosophical and social underpinnings of an organization that remains an intriguing cultural phenomenon. Edited by Christopher B. Murphy. Shawn Eyer, Executive Editor.

Plumbstone Books, 2017

$34.97 US Trade paperback, ISBN-13 978-1-60302-061-9
$47.97 US Clothbound, ISBN-13 978-1-60302-062-6

Il saggio ricostruisce le vicende della gran maestranza di Armando Corona alla guida del Grande Oriente d'Italia nel periodo che va dal 1982 al 1990. Si tratta di una fase molto importante nella storia della massoneria italiana, durante la quale essa dovette affrontare la difficile situazione seguita allo scandalo della loggia P2 e cercare di riacquistare credibilità sul piano interno e internazionale.

This paper will discuss the lost rites of Freemasonry, in particular the rites created in continental Europe during the eighteenth century by such charismatic and enigmatic Freemasons as Martinez Pasqually, Count Alessandro di Cagliostro, Pyotr Melissino and Baron Von Hund.  The eighteenth century saw a number of Masonic rites developing in France, Germany and Russia, and though some of these rites ceased to exist by the close of the century, the paper will discuss how they inspired the occult revival of the nineteenth century, the essence of the lost rites influencing Martinism, Memphis-Misraïm and the Swedenborgian Rite. This paper, edited from a chapter of my book The Lost Rites and Rituals of Freemasonry, published by Lewis Masonic in 2017, has been presented so far to around fifty lodges in England, Wales, Greece and the US, and saw publication in The Plumbline, Vol.25, No.2, (Summer 2018) and in the Transactions of the Leicester Lodge of Research No.2429, 2018-2019.

Доклад на III Конгрессе исследователей религии, Владимир, 8.10.2016.

Современное российское масонство существует в социально–культурном пространстве страны вот уже более 25 лет, и за это время, естественно, прошло несколько этапов первичного становления. Эти этапы характеризуются как определенными достижениями, так и многочисленными упущениями и ошибками в организационной и идеологической сферах. Результатом последних являются негативные показатели роста численности масонских организаций в стране за весь период существования. В докладе содержится попытка классификации проблем современного российского масонства и путей их устранения.

Las ideas religiosas y políticas de los masones avecindados en la Nueva España durante la segunda mitad del siglo XVIII distaban mucho de la ortodoxia. La Inquisición, en su papel de institución dedicada a proteger y preservar el orden establecido, no tardó en actuar contra ellos. ¿Qué ideas defendían estos masones? ¿Eran propias de la masonería, de la época, o de ambas? ¿Cómo interpretó la Inquisición, como agente de resistencia al cambio, dichas ideas? ¿Eran realmente masones los acusados?

Documentos sobre historia de la masonería en Tenerife. Siglo XIX. Especialmente del Valle de La Orotava. Incluye biografías y textos inéditos.// Documents on the history of Freemasonry in Tenerife. XIX century. Especially the Orotava Valley. It includes biographies and unpublished texts. ISBN: 978-84-8382-679-9

The Romantic poet Lord Byron was known for his epic verse such as 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage' and 'Don Juan', but he was equally famous for his scandalous lifestyle and his revolutionary activities in Italy and Greece. Byron became a member of the Carbonari while in Italy and referred to Freemasonry in 'Don Juan', the poet perhaps being familiar with his great-uncle's Masonic activities and that of his friends John William Polidori and Col. Thomas Wildman. This paper will examine Byron's links to Freemasonry and the Carbonari and discuss how the poet may have been influenced by the themes and the ethos of these secret societies.

La masonería tuvo una considerable presencia en la vida política, social y cultural venezolana del siglo XIX. Una de las manifestaciones más notables de esta presencia fue la celebración de llamativas ceremonias de carácter público conocidas en el argot masónico como tenidas blancas. Entre dichas ceremonias destacan muy especialmente las tenidas fúnebres con las que la institución honraba a sus difuntos. El presente artículo presenta un análisis del papel que jugaba la música en la puesta escena de las tenidas fúnebres a través de la abundante documentación existente. Dicha documentación reposa en los diferentes fondos que contienen información masónica en nuestro país y está integrada por catecismos y rituales de la época con los protocolos para la realización de dichas ceremonias, los cuales suelen incluir indicaciones musicales; una copiosa hemerografía en donde se describen las tenidas y la participación musical dentro de ellas; y partituras escritas por músicos venezolanos cuyo destino era la ceremonia funeraria en cuestión.

On the other hand, Jan Assman cannot possibly deceive every one! His interpretation of the pictorial presentation of the evil worshipped by Hyksos as god cannot be left so incomplete. Certainly, the Hyksos worshipped Seth (Zety) and Apophis (Apope), but the depiction of Seth under the combined form of man and hippopotamus has nothing to do with artistic inventions due to a fictional need of "personalizing" Seth. Furthermore, Seth was not a properly speaking "desert god", as Assman implies; Seth was cast in the desert which represented for the Ancient Egyptians the concept of vacuum, the "non existence". But Seth was originally conceived as Satan, and according to the religious – spiritual concepts and fundamentals of the Ancient Egyptian Art, Satan was represented as a hippopotamus (and at times as a crocodile), when the apocalyptic level of mythical semiotics was involved. A perfect example in this case is the Messiah – Satan conflict narrative at Edfu (inner part of the Western Outer Wall) that antedates and clearly supersedes the Christian Book of the Revelation.

The fact that the Hyksos pseudo-pharaoh Apope dispatched a delegation to Thebes to demand the immediate termination of the traditional Egyptian game of harpooning hippopotamuses (which in the Ancient Egyptian culture was a theatrical act, aptly pre-modeling the ultimate victory of Messiah – Horus over Satan – Seth) illuminates his Satanic identity, while shedding also light on the real identity of any modern scholar presenting a pro-Hyksos version of Egyptian History.

All this is necessary to take into consideration, when the History of Ancient Kush / Ethiopia is concerned. Ideological – religious – spiritual identification clarifies much the situation and helps draw the correct conclusions. In fact, the same ideological – spiritual – religious clash that characterized Egypt for millennia can be attested in Ancient Kush / Ethiopia, and this greatly helps in properly assessing historical developments as the outcome of clash between two priesthoods.

As societies are not monolithic phenomena, one should not imagine that the kingdom of Kerma that sided with the Hyksos rulers was entirely under control of a priesthood dedicated to Satan – Seth. Ancient Egypt and Kush / Ethiopia were highly nuanced societies whereby the rival priesthoods coexisted for millennia, perpetuating their fight by means of myth interpretational variants, educational literature, socioeconomic involvement, and grip over the political – military power.
First published in AfroArticles, Buzzle and American Chronicle on 12th March 2010

Róbert Péter (ed), British Freemasonry, 1717-1813. Vol. 4. Debates (New York: Routledge, 2016)

volume 1: Institutions (C. Révauger)
volume 2: Rituals I – English, Irish and Scottish Craft Rituals (J. A.  M. Snoek)
volume 3: Rituals II – Harodim Material and Higher Degrees (J. A. M. Snoek)
volume 4: Debates (R. Péter)
volume 5: Representations (R. Péter)

For a limited access to vol. 4 see
https://books.google.hu/books?id=xLdCDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT84&dq=British+Freemasonry,+1717-1813+Debates+Church&hl=hu&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjY9Ye8moDQAhVJORoKHT0FCfoQ6AEIGjAA#v=onepage&q=British%20Freemasonry%2C%201717-1813%20Debates%20Church&f=false

More information about the edition is available at:
https://www.routledge.com/British-Freemasonry-1717-1813/Peter- Revauger-Snoek/p/book/9781848933774

The attached copyright material was provided by the Routledge division of Taylor and Francis on 20 October, 2016.

UPDATE: This paper has been edited and published in two journals: 1) Theosophical History Vol. XIX Issue 1, January 2017, pp. 5-37 and 2) Heredom - Vol. 24

Below is the original abstract for the paper when I first uploaded it to Academia.edu:

This is an unpublished paper written in 2014 that was apparently lost by the journal to which it was submitted. Although the research for this paper served as the foundation for a section in Chapter 2 of my book A History of Conversion to Islam in the United States, Vol. 1: White American Muslims before 1975 (Brill, 2015), the present essay contains a few pieces of information not included in the book. Also, this essay contains references to another unpublished essay I wrote (‘Kenneth R.H. MacKenzie’s “Papers on Masonry” and the Spread of Islamic-Identity Organizations in the U.S. and England in the Late Nineteenth Century’), which was supposed to be released in an edited volume that has been put on hold indefinitely. Much of the research for that essay was used in Chapter 4 of A History. Finally, it should be mentioned that I have not edited the present essay since the time I originally submitted it, so it may contain some writing and research flaws.

No âmbito do debate Maçónico, quando se conjugam Simbolismo e Rito Francês emergem frequentemente alguns lugares comuns, que não são mais do que o reflexo de ideias que se foram cristalizando ao longo do tempo, tendo vindo a alimentar várias vulgatas e preconceitos, sobre o caráter mais ou menos simbólico deste Rito. Entre Irmãos praticantes de Ritos com expressão litúrgica mais extensa (tais como o REAA ou o RAPMM) predomina a opinião de que o Rito Francês é simbolicamente mais pobre, fundando-se a mesma sobretudo no aspeto mais " despojado " dos seus Rituais de Loja Azul. Pelo contrário, muitos Irmãos obreiros de Lojas Francesas defendem que o mesmo se trata de uma forma mais ligeira e pragmática de fazer Maçonaria, na qual se perde menos tempo com aspetos simbólicos e rituais extensos, que já não são importantes para o aqui e agora. O que há de verdade nestas suposições e, em que medida na prática atual, se deve contextualizar o papel do Símbolo no Rito Francês ? Para se tentar encontrar respostas para estas questões, teremos de as enquadrar num ambito mais vasto, que passa naturalmente por uma reflexão relativa à função do Simbolismo na Maçonaria, em geral. Tal como o pensamento maçónico, que se tem vindo a alterar em função dos sucessivos contextos sociologico-politico-culturais que lhe são contemporâneos, também as opiniões dos Maçons no que concerne ao papel do Símbolo têm vindo a variar, e a diversificar-se ao longo do tempo. Durante os primeiros 150 anos de Maçonaria Especulativa sobressaiu sempre a ideia de que os Simbolos Maçónicos eram uma chave de acesso a um conhecimento de Ordem Superior, inacessivel aos profanos. Esta suposição, epistologicamente, baseia-se no pressuposto de que o ser humano possui dois meios para procurar a Verdade – a Razão e a Intuição, e de que existiriam dois patamares de conhecimentos, sendo um deles acessivel à inteligência racional do homem comum e, o outro apenas alcançável pela Intuição, guiada pelo método simbólico. Nesta linha de ideias, que teve uma grande revigoração na primeira metade do século XX com as perspetivas Wirthiana e Guenoniana, muito embora as diferentes posições sejam coincidentes no pressuposto de base de que o Simbolismo Maçónico é o meio de acesso priveligiado a verdades transcendentes, não são todavia nada consensuais no que concerne à natureza destas verdades.

Róbert Péter (general editor), Cécile Révauger (volume editor). Jan A. M. Snoek (volume editor), British Freemasonry, 1717-1813, 5 vols. (New York: Routledge, 2016), 2606 pages, 5967 editorial notes.

volume 1: Institutions (C. Révauger)
volume 2: Rituals I – English, Irish and Scottish Craft Rituals (J. A.  M. Snoek)
volume 3: Rituals II – Harodim Material and Higher Degrees (J. A. M. Snoek)
volume 4: Debates (R. Péter)
volume 5: Representations (R. Péter)

More information about the edition is available at:
https://www.routledge.com/British-Freemasonry-1717-1813/Peter- Revauger-Snoek/p/book/9781848933774

The attached copyright material was provided by the Routledge division of Taylor and Francis on 20 October, 2016.

Bram Stoker, famous for his Gothic novel Dracula, was also a Freemason, and this paper will argue how the themes of secrecy and mystery, key elements of the Byronic Hero, a characterisation of which Dracula has been associated with, may not only have been inspired from Stoker’s brush with Freemasonry, but also from the fellow Freemasons that were part of his life, such as Sir Henry Irving, Oscar Wilde and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The Byronic Hero was a characterisation that can be found in nineteenth century literature with characters such as Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, and the character of Eugene Onegin by Russian Freemason and writer Alexander Pushkin. These characters have elements of mystery and secrecy, and indeed, as we shall see, there is evidence of some Masonic influences with these works. Byron, whose own life, along with the fictional characters within his poetry, significantly inspired the Byronic Hero characterisation, was also a member of the Carbonari and there is evidence that he was aware of Freemasonry, his Great Uncle being Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of England. Indeed, the Romantic essence of these literary Byronic Heroes will be explored, along with the darker traits that characters such as Dracula portrayed.

The chapter investigates aspects of the ways music and musicians were involved in Corfu’s masonic lodges during the 19th century. After observing the absence of any professional musicians in the earliest active lodge during that period (“Beneficenza e Filogenia Riunite”), it underlines the presence of military musicians in the “columns of harmony” of the “Saint Napoleon” lodge (under Grand Orient of France, active between 1808 and 1814). The participation of Joseph Klosé, father of the Corfu born innovator of the clarinet Hyacinthe Eléonore Klosé, is particularly mentioned. Regarding the “Most Serene Grand Orient of Greece” (active between 1816 and 1857 as the development of “Beneficenza e Filogenia Riunite”) the membership, among others, of the violonist and conductor Marco Battagel and of the philosopher and politician Petros Vrailas Armenis is particularly observed. The latter is also the writer of a detailed essay on music in Greek (1856). The activities of the “Grand Orient of Greece” offer us also some information regarding the participation of (not initiated) bandsmen of the newly established Corfu Philharmonic Society during the Saint John feast. The “Pythagoras” n. 654 lodge (under UGLE, established in 1838) had also musicians among its members, the vast majority of them being military bandmasters of the British Army. Particular mention is given to Dionyssios Rodotheatos, who, apart from being an opera and symphonic music composer, was one of the few Greeks to be initiated (1874) in the aforementioned lodge (also serving as its organist). Among the military bandmasters and freemasons, the presence of Gaetano De Angelis and Niccoló Olivieri is particularly interesting, since they continued their studies in Corfu by the side of Nikolaos Mantzaros and offered their musical experience both in the opera theatre and to the emerging civic bands’ activity in Corfu and Cefalonia. Finally, the music and the musicians presence is also traced in the “Phoenix” lodge during the period under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient of France (1843-1929). Some musicians that were members of this, still active, lodge include the composers Spiros Xindas, Spiros Samaras, Alexandros Grek, Gerasimos Rombotis and Spiros Doukakis, several bandmasters (both Greek and Italian) of the local civic bands, the military bandmaster and composer Andreas Seiler, and certain opera singers and musicians of Corfu’s theatre. The lodge’s minutes books offer also some glimpses into the actual musical practice during its meetings, i.e. the potential engagement of dilettant members to sing during certain ceremonies, the instrumental role of people such as Xindas in the activity’s coordination, the use of a portable organ during ceremonies and initiations and the participation of bandsmen of the Corfu Philharmonic Society in the lodge’s early solstice feasts. Finally, particular observations are dedicated to the opera The Parliamentary Candidate (1867), the first full-scale opera in Greek, since it can be described as “an opera of freemasons”, since not only its composer (Spiros Xindas) and its librettist (Ioannis Rinopoulos) were freemasons, but also most of its organizers and certain of its singers. Masonic ideas may also be traced in parts of its libretto.