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This work's objective is to debate the origins, development and concept of Freemasonry from the sociability relationship established among its members. At first it is intended to outline the origins of Freemasonry, the myths and truths surrounding the institution and some aspectas of the academic research on the subject. Secoundly, we present the transition between the period of "operative" to "speculative" Freemasonry to, finally, establish the relationship between bourgeois sociability and Freemasonry, in order to demonstrate that the institution has fixed social relations based on articulated social position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the problematic authorship of The Constitutions of the Free-Masons (1723). Traditionally associated with James Anderson, using stylometry, we examine whether and, if so, where John T. Desaguliers, the prime mover of early English institutionalized Freemasonry, contributed to this publication. Our corpus includes writings by Anderson, Desaguliers, and two contemporary Freemasons used as distractors. The transcribed works contain texts from different genres and of varying lengths. In our methodology, we employ a wide range of robust, multivariate, unsupervised, and cross-validated supervised tests, verified through significance testing, which can hopefully contribute to the establishment of standards for historical authorship attribution. Our results suggest, in line with historical evidence, that the legendary history of the Constitutions was most likely primarily authored by Anderson. However, several of the Charges including the first one ' Concerning God and religion', one of the most disputed texts in the history of Freemasonry, are closer to the style of Desaguliers. The General Regulations concerning the organization of the lodges, hitherto attributed to George Payne, played a fundamental role in spreading Freemasonry worldwide. Our analyses show that the stylistic affinity of fifteen of the thirty-nine regulations has a pronounced closeness to Anderson's style, five align more closely with Desaguliers' style. The authorship of the rest remains inconclusive partly due to the insufficient length of texts by Payne. These novel findings are also supported by a close reading of the Constitutions and other contemporary primary sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay presents basic information about the genesis, program and structure of Freemasonry in Poland and Europe. The profiles of Stanisław Kostka and Ignacy Potocki as the most outstanding activists of Polish Freemasonry associated with the Lublin region in the times of Stanisław August and at the beginning of the post-partition era were presented. The main part of the text is the description of the formation and operation of Lublin Masonic Lodges in the first half of the 19th century: Regained Freedom, the Temple of Equality and True Unity. After the secret organizations had been dissolved by the authorities of the Kingdom of Poland, the Masonic movement in Poland was restored after the revolution of 1905-1907. The Free Ploughers Lodge (1912-1916) was established in Lublin at that time, bringing together the intelligentsia associated with the independence movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé À la fin du xx e siècle et au début du xxi e siècle ont été publiés de nombreux ouvrages et organisées à Paris plusieurs importantes expositions sur l'histoire de la franc-maçonnerie en France où était abordée, plus ou moins directement, la question des liens complexes qu'ont entretenus la maçonnerie, la médecine et la musique et en particulier, à la fin du siècle des Lumières, à travers le « magnétisme animal » de Franz-Anton Mesmer, liens très étroits qui se sont maintenus en France après la Révolution de 1789. Mais si de nombreux historiens de la médecine, de la musique ou de la maçonnerie ont traité de ces questions, la plupart d'entre eux se contentent de n'aborder qu'un seul de leurs aspects, étudiant par exemple les œuvres d'un médecin ou celles d'un musicien sans signaler qu'il était franc-maçon ou bien, à l'inverse, traitant du rôle que ce personnage a tenu dans la franc-maçonnerie, sans parler de sa pratique de la médecine ou de la musique. Pour les plus célèbres d'entre eux qui ont eu droit à des biographies personnelles, celles-ci développent plus ou moins leurs activités dans ces différents champs, par exemple celles de Mesmer dans le domaine de la médecine et bien évidemment celles de Mozart, avec lequel ce médecin, lui-même franc-maçon, a eu des relations particulièrement proches, dans celui de la musique ; mais d'autres médecins ou musiciens francs-maçons moins connus sont purement et simplement oubliés. Nous allons étudier successivement ces rapports dans deux mémoires successifs : le premier sera consacré à la période qui s'étend en France du règne de Louis XV jusqu'à la Révolution française et le second à celle qui va de la Révolution de 1789 jusqu'à la fin de la Troisième République. Nous tenterons de ne pas oublier à notre tour d'autres de ces personnages qui ont tenu des rôles plus modestes dans l'histoire de la médecine ou celle de la musique pendant ces deux périodes. Abstract At the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century, numerous books were published and organized in Paris several important exhibitions on the history of Freemasonry in France where the question of complex links was tackled, more or less directly. Masonry, medicine and music, and in particular, at the end of the Enlightenment, through the "animal magnetism" of Franz-Anton Mesmer, very close links which remained in France after the Revolution of 1789. But while many historians of medicine, music and masonry have dealt with these questions, most of them are content to address only one of their aspects, for example, studying the works of a doctor or those of a musician without indicating that he was a freemason or, conversely, dealing with the role that this character held in Freemasonry, not to mention his practice of medicine or music. For the most famous among them who have had the right to personal biographies, they develop more or less their activities in these different fields, for example those of Mesmer in the field of medicine and of course those of Mozart, with which this doctor, himself a freemason, had particularly close relations, in that of music; but other doctors or musicians less well-known Lessons are simply forgotten. We will study successively these reports in two successive memories: the first will be devoted to the period that extends in France from the reign of Louis XV and the second from the Revolution of 1789 until the end of the Third Republic. We will try not to forget more of these characters who have held more modest roles in the history of medicine or music during these two periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his will, Prospero Moisè Loria (1814-92) requested an autopsy and cremation and left his large inheritance to the municipality of Milan to establish a secular philanthropic institution, the Società umanitaria, “to enable all the disenfranchised poor, without distinction.” Loria and other Italian Jews were at the heart of secularist activity in Italy’s culture wars, as demonstrated by their engagement with secular philanthropy, battles for cremation, and Freemason activity. By exploring Loria as the most generous nineteenth-century Italian Jewish philanthropist, along with his affiliation with the Alliance israélite universelle as a secular Jewish institution in the Mediterranean, this essay shows how forms of secularism and Jewishness could coexist for Italian Jews and how secularism in Italy could include a commitment to a Jewish collective, and thus seeks to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the composite mixture of secular Italians and to a discussion of Jewish secularism in an international context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at ways in which Raffles' membership of Dutch masonic lodges proved beneficial to his personal initiatives and professional career both in Java (1811-16) and subsequently as founder of Singapore (1819). Contradictory statements abound about the date of his admission to the Masonic Order. The dominant view is that he was initiated in the Lodge Virtutis et Artis Amici in 1813, a view based on a certificate dated to the masonic year 5813, which says that 'T. Stamford Raffles' had received the first two masonic degrees of Entered Apprentice and Fellow of the Craft in that lodge. Scrutiny of the certificate on the basis of a new photographic image, however, shows that the document itself and plans for the foundation of the lodge predate the British interregnum. At the same time, current interpretations of the masonic dating cannot be reconciled with Raffles' elevation to the degree of Master Mason in the 7odge De Vriendschap in Surabaya on 5 July 1813. Establishing the correct date of Raffles' initiation in September-October 1811 is therefore essential both for the reconstruction of his masonic career in Java, and an understanding of the special supranational character of the British interregnum itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the Guadalupe Victoria administration, the "Impartíais" criticized key governance issues established in the 1824 first federal republic, especially when related to the Masonic Lodges. They voiced the concerns of many key sectors that opposed the Masonic Lodges. This article analyzes Impartíais' ideas and practices in the Águila Mejicana publication. Likewise, it examines the debates between the Impartíais and the Masonic Lodges periodicals in Mexico City. This article explains how the Impartíais contrived to eliminate the Masonic Lodges. Furthermore, it explores the new foundations the Impartíais established to bring together the so-called "hombres de bien." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the period from 1914 to 1915, prior to Italy’s entry into the First World War, Freemasonry was a powerful force in Italian public life with a strong presence in every part of the nation and in the most vital organs of the State (parliament, public administration, the armed forces). Between them, the Grand Orient and the Grand Lodge of Italy counted 25,000 members and more than 500 lodges. Freemasons played a critical role in the campaign to mobilize Italian public opinion and political parties in support of Italy’s intervention in the war as an ally of France and Great Britain. To do so, they abandoned the movement’s traditional cosmopolitan and pacifist stances and adopted instead the objectives of the nationalists, a shift that would be consolidated during the war. Nonetheless, from 1917 onwards Italian Freemasons joined their counterparts in other European countries to press for the creation of a League of Nations to promote a new post-war universal order premised on the peaceful coexistence of independent and democratic nations. In examining the initiatives taken by Italian Freemasons in this period, this article focuses on the principles that inspired them, the language they adopted and the forms of communication and mobilization they used. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 2013, as part of 'A Chinatown Celebration,' a month-long festival celebrating Canada's oldest Chinatown, the Royal BC Museum (RBCM) mounted a temporary exhibition Tradition in Felicities: Celebrating 155 Years of Victoria's Chinatown (TiF) (Figure 1). The exhibit also celebrated the Chinese Freemasons' 150th anniversary in Canada. TiF featured a unique centerpiece: a handcrafted lantern created in the 1930s by Victoria's Chinese Freemasons, one of the oldest Chinese organizations in Canada (Figure 2). It is the oldest-known such lantern in North America and Southeast Asia. 'Objects,' as scholars of material culture point out, 'help [people] to know, understand, and situate [them]selves within the world, both externally and internally'(Clouse 2008: 6). The connections of objects to lived experiences render them historically and culturally meaningful. In tracing the history of the lantern, we consulted both members of the Chinese Freemasons, including elder Jon Joe who helped to identify the names listed on the lantern, and Chinatown's former residents and descendants, in accordance with the RBCM's practice of multicultural community outreach and participation. This lantern engages diverse audiences and inspires a cross-cultural aesthetic appreciation through its Chinese, trans-Pacific, international and Canadian connections. Handcrafted in Victoria by a master from Hong Kong, the lantern is based on the classic Chinese tradition of the running horse lantern, which is more than 2000 years old. The top panels present the Chinese Freemasons' international icon; in the middle are intricate moving details in Chinese calligraphy couplets and paintings in the traditional running horse lantern design; and, on the base, a list of local sponsors and contributors. A diagram within the exhibition explained the different elements of the lantern in detail. The top and bottom panels convey the artifact's connection to local and regional history. The Chinese Freemasons' westernized icon reveals its transformation from a secret society in Qing China to an international society of Chinese Freemasons after entering the Americas, indicative of the transnational context of the migrant culture in Chinatowns. The bottom panels epitomize the composition of Victoria's Chinatown: long-term businesses, settled resident families who developed roots in Canada, and a few sojourners who eventually returned to their birthplaces in China. For a provincial museum such as the Royal BC Museum (RBCM), where I am a curator, one of our mandates is education -- to share knowledge about British Columbia with the world. At the same time, increasingly complex cross-cultural and transnational perspectives reflect concerns for broadening the framework of knowledge sharing and museum education in a multicultural context. The new framework allows us to examine cultures informed by both the concept of globalization, as the homogenizing effect of integrated market capitalism often associated with multinational corporations, and the 'hybridities and fluidities' of the transnational aspect of this world system from multidirectional contacts between nations, cultures and individuals. The TiF project can be used as a case study of museum education from transnational perspectives, to address Klaus Müller's question: 'can museums propose or even help shape a different model of a global society than the one being advanced by multinational corporations?' (2003) Through sharing, and raising the awareness of, local, diverse, 'hybrid' and previously hidden stories of a formerly underrepresented group, the Chinese population of Victoria can, through a small exhibit, counter the homogenizing effect of globalization and educate people about social justice through intercultural understandings of other groups' experiences. This group was not presented as a homogenous one. Their stories captured diversities in class and gender and were contextualized to resonate locally, nationally and transnationally. The first section of this essay provides an overview of the integrated process of both multicultural community outreach and engagement, and museum knowledge production and education that advanced the understanding of historical injustice from the perspective of the insiders. The second section examines how this process reunited this previously marginalized group and engaged new transnational audiences. The process inspired educational moments that are unique to museum settings through forging local synergies and revealed in the diverse visitors' feedback. As the Adult Learning Team Lead at RBCM acknowledges, while it is not easy to measure educational outcome in informal settings such as museums, first tier outcomes, in this case the comment book, can be analyzed to get a better sense of whether our long-term goals might be reached. Following the guidelines set out by Inspired Learning for All, the RBCM looks for evidence of exhibits affecting visitor attitudes and values, such as opinions or attitudes towards other people and the RBCM in relation to an experience, and increased capacity for tolerance. These key indicators are measured in this section to understand TiF's educational impact. The third section proposes a continuing cross-cultural educational program as a legacy of the exhibition in the form of a trilingual (English, French, and Chinese) video which, through information and communications technology (ICT), will be available online and in educational institutions, inspiring interest and sharing knowledge not only within the RBCM's walls but also with a wide range of audiences. This ICT project moves museum education beyond institutional walls and tests educational possibilities of museum knowledge. It is a new museum multicultural education initiative, the outcome of which is yet to be measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the Antients Grand Lodge, an organization for Irish Freemasons in London, England. Particular focus is given to the growth and development of Irish Freemasonry in the late 18th century. According to the author, the organization's social inclusivity and its mutual financial assistance programs were important factors in its success. The Lodge's grand secretary Laurence Dermott is also discussed.

The philanthropic activities of Edouard Jonniaux are indicative of the ways freemasons in Brussels mobilized the musical potential of their lodges to compete with Catholic charities. Jonniaux considered it a masonic obligation for the musicians of the capital's lodges to perform for the latter's philanthropic endeavours. As charity concerts were frequently being performed in churches, the Brussels masons decided to open up their lodge rooms for similar concerts and when this venue proved to be too small, they happily used the capital's royal theatre, i.e. the national opera house where they had privileged connections. Especially during the 1860s, Brussels freemasonry was actively recruiting musicians, not the amateurs, but the professional ones. In order to integrate those talented musicians into the lodges, Jonniaux personally watched over their rights and supported free membership for musicians. All this resulted in many concerts that often served as a propaganda tool for the liberal and anticlerical cause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historia y Comunicación Social is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Throughout the eighteenth century, the expansion of the Empire brought the British into closer contact with the Eastern world. The conquest of land went hand in hand with the conquest of knowledge. The East, including India, was systematically explored and revealed to Britain in the form of oriental tales, exploration accounts and scientific investigations. This phenomenon came to be known as 'orientalism'. For freemasonry, the East had always been the symbolical direction from which light and truth were to rise. The British foothold in India and more so the constitution of the first Indian lodges, starting in 1730, came as an opportunity to explore the potential filiation of freemasonry with the early Indian civilizations. The East was thus more present than ever in the masonic collective imaginary. Where did freemasonry's interest in Eastern cultures stem from? To what extent can it be said that freemasonry contributed to opening up the East? This article aims to explore the participation of British freemasonry to the orientalist movement of the late eighteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of the American obsession with fraternalism has been the subject of several historical treatises all seeking to understand what drew men and women into the lodge. The 1920s however, are a period that is often overlooked and neglected. Fraternalism continued to be a powerful national influence during this decade, and across the country orders received a surge of new recruits in the years following the First World War. Although their lodges had plenty of applicants, many fraternal leaders were concerned about the state of their institution in this post-war era. This article aims to analyse the evolution in the fraternal market that took place in the 1920s by examining the rapidly modernizing society of the Jazz Age and discussing the changing priorities of America's men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article discusses the role of social interaction and of social clubs and venues in the intellectual development of the Enlightenment, sociability to use the author's term, and 21st century research on the topic. Among other topics addressed are then-contemporary ideas and attitudes at odds with or not necessarily part of the Enlightenment in the usual sense, how the prevalence of these ideas changes the historiography, and the role of politics.

This essay explores and contextualizes the rising anti-Catholic sentiment during the 1910s found within American fraternal societies, particularly Freemasonry, in addition to its condemnation by the Catholic Church. The study is illustrated by the public controversy involving the so-called Masonic Whitewash Committee of 1914-15, which included prominent grand officers of the California Grand Lodge (some of whom were later involved in the 1921 California Ku Klux Klan controversy) that investigated an alleged oath of the Knights of Columbus entered into the 1913 United States Congressional Record. The oath was determined by this unofficial committee to be fallacious (as had countless others, including Congress), and its conclusion set off a nationwide controversy within the fraternal and public press as a defense for what was believed to be Catholic infiltration of institutions at all levels of American society. The California Grand Lodge joined in the condemnation, claiming the committee's use of Masonic titles gave the false impression that it was officially sanctioned by the governing body. To make matters worse for the committee, their report was also admitted into the 1915 Congressional Record by Congressman William Kettner, the then Grand Marshal for the Grand Lodge. Allegations of favoring Catholic political candidates, along with the 'whitewashing' of the committee's actions via fraternal politicking and character assassination were played out in the era's infamous anti-Catholic newspapers. The essay seeks to demonstrate that this little-known conflict is in fact one of many footnotes that characterized anti-Catholic nativism and hyper-patriotism during the 1910s, as well as highlighting the Catholic defense of their own contribution to the American way of life. This paper also illustrates the distinct and important role fraternal organizations and their members played as arbiters and, sometimes, challengers of social trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on several degrees of masonry and Freemasonry in the 17th century or the century of Enlightenment which describes the complex links between religion and Freemasonry. Masonic degrees that were mentioned include the entered apprentice, the fellow craft, and the Knight Rose-Croix. Also mentioned are various masonic rituals in the 17th century such as the Rose-Croix rituals.

The article discusses the history of Tuscany, Italy in the period from World War I to the beginning of the Fascist regime in the mid 1920s, with a focus on the relationship between Freemasonry and Fascism. Topics discussed include initial Freemason support for Fascism, later divisions between the groups, and the influence of socialism and trade unions.

The article discusses the history of societies of Free Thought in Europe and particularly in Italy in the late 19th and early 20th century, and the history of the 1904 Conference of Free Thought in Rome, Italy. Topics discussed include Italian participation in societies of Free Thought and congresses of the International Federation of Free Thought, national organizing of Free Thought societies in Italy, and the leadership role of Italian free thinker and Freemason Arcangelo Ghisleri in establishing the conference in Rome.

Historians have written insistently about Horea and about his affiliation to secret societies, whether not masonic, then at least of masonic extraction. Referring only to documents known so far, the present study aims at bringing a few new considerations regarding Horea's position and attitude towards freemasonry. Even though Horea's affiliation to freemasonry is not certain, there still is one certain fact: during the historical period of the movement he led, Horea acted within a frame drawn by persons affiliated to freemasonry - hence the inevitable influence upon him and upon other personalities who will eventually adhere (or not) to freemasonry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the activities of German Sentimentalist and Enlightenment philosopher Franz Michael Leuchsenring in the 1780s. It describes Leuchsenring's travels through Germany and his involvement with various secret societies, including Freemasons, Illuminati, and Rosicrucians. It examines Leuchsenring's contributions of articles on the subject to the periodical "Berlinische Monatsschrift," as well as his belief in conspiracy theories. It also surveys Leuchsenring's debates and conflicts with Swiss philosopher and theologian Johann Caspar Lavater.

This article is dedicated to the musical life of Lisbon in the nineteenth century, with particular emphasis on the initiatives of the Irmandade de Santa Cecília, the brotherhood that, since the beginning of the eighteenth century, brought together musicians from the Portuguese capital and that, thanks to a royal privilege, had a monopoly on the musical activity in the city. `W'ithin the political climate determined by the eventual introduction of liberalism in Portugal, the Irmandade was forced to adopt new niethods to protect their corporate interests in the attempt to create a system of social protection through the establishment of Montepio Filarmónico (1834). Following the Associação Música 24 deJunho (1842), the Irmandade de Santa Cecilia attempted to appropriate associatioriism (in particular Freemasonry) to increase the bargaining power of the musicians contracted to the orchestras of municipal theatres. Whereas on the one hand the initiatives of this association, in relation to theatre managers, resembles those of a trade union, on the other, its general policy tended to establish a strict self-referential system removed from the laws of the market, able to generate privileges for its members and discrimination against musicians outside the association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the social and political aspects of the fraternal organization of Freemasonry, as it spread from Europe to New Spain during the late 18th to early 19th centuries. The author focuses on the public image of Freemasons during this time through the analysis of political languages represented in various texts of that time period, though it is concluded that there was not a public debate over this topic in New Spain as there was in Europe. These considerations are analyzed within the context of the region's struggle for independence from Spain, with respect to the religious aspects of this struggle and the ideology of the Freemasons.

The article presents an examination into the history of African American Freemasons during the 19th century before and after the U.S. Civil War. Details are given describing the significance of the nation-wide fraternity to the abolition movement as well as to the political growth of the African American population. Assertions are made suggesting that Freemasonry provided African Americans and abolitionists a venue to engage the political culture of the U.S. despite institutional barriers outside the order. The extension of Freemason ideology towards African American liberty is also discussed, despite the failed efforts to integrate black and white lodges.

Abstract: Geographies reinforce gender and facilitate gender performativity. In this study of nineteenth-century Masonry, we demonstrate the influence of Masonic Temples in the promotion and performance of ‘Masonic masculinity.’ Masonry, through its design and construction of interior space, its embedded material symbolism and especially the geography of Masonic ritual itself, inculcated morality in prospective and raised Master Masons. Masonic Temple architecture and décor typify Victorian moral environmentalism vis-à-vis the parlor, the Masonic Lodge a domesticated male space where significant numbers of bourgeois men (and women) acted out a particular and peculiar masculine moral geography. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the history of the Unification of Italy in the period between 1840 and 1870, with reference to unpublished letters written in the 1860s by 19th century Italian baron Bettino Ricasoli on the topic of freemasonry. Topics discussed include the history and ideology of freemasonry in Italy, and in Turin, with a focus on the period of the unification, the political history of the eastern part of Italy, and the relationship between freemasonry and the unification. Excerpts from letters are included.

Mormonism's growth from its 1830 inception to its 2005 near twelve million world membership, has not only initiated a debate over whether, perhaps, it is likely to become the next world-religion after Islam, 1 but has, in recent decades, also witnessed the publication of numerous books that help foster an interest in what is already becoming a distinctive field of study. Though none of the four books reviewed here constitutes an introductory overview, 2 each introduces a set of major issues within contemporary Mormon studies and engages, respectively, with faith-related attitudes to historical material, the Book of Mormon, the changing status of black males in the church, and Freemasonry's impact on Mormonism's origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the connections between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" and Freemasonry. The author focuses on the author and producer of the opera Emanuel Schikaneder and the extent to which the opera was intended to be an expression and defense of the ideas of the Freemasons. The author also discusses the relationship between Mozart and Schikaneder.

This paper uses historical studies as a means to explore the relation of organizations to subjectivity. The first part of the paper illustrates this relation through exploring the work of Elias, Kieser and Brewer. It focuses on the interrelation between 18th-century freemasonry, the emergence of complex financial credit networks and figurational shifts in power relation. The second part of the paper uses the prior analysis in order to engage with recent debate concerning history, organizations and subjectivity. First, the issue of whether we can ascribe continuity, closure and unity to subjectivity is examined. Second, the `default' assumption of historical continuity is debated, drawing on studies by Baert, Jacques, Haittunen and Morgan. In contrasting between `traditional' history and the alternative assumptions contained in post-structural and Foucauldian work, the paper argues for openness rather than rebuttal of particularpositions. It suggests that subjectivity, such as that of employees, should be thought of as mobile, yet selectively continuous. It also argues that it is unnecessary to choose between historical positions, such as that which prioritizes historical discontinuity over continuity (or vice versa). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Largely neglected by historians who assume that its heyday passed in Europe with the demise of the Old Regime, Freemasonry in fact became a mass phenomenon among German (and French as well as American) middle-class men in the nineteenth century. Masonic secrecy made possible a form of sociability which allowed men to experience intimate relations with each other. Within the lodge, men could experience the emotional drama of the rituals while, both in public and in the family, men increasingly sought to comply with the ideal of a man ruled by reason. Masonic rituals entailed the implicit message that the most important presupposition for civility, moral improvement and a ‘brotherhood of all men’ was male friendship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]