Op donderdagmiddag 3 april 2008 vindt in het Nationaal Archief te Den Haag een symposium plaats: 'Returned from Russia. Nazi Archival Plunder in Western Europe and Recent Restitution Issues'.
Sprekers zijn de auteurs van het gelijknamige boek, dat eerder op deze website werd aangekondigd (zie rubriek Archief). Het boek, waarin ook de lotgevallen van maçonnieke archieven in oorlogstijd worden genoemd, is op deze middag met korting aan te schaffen.
Het aantal plaatsen is beperkt; geinteresseerden kunnen zich tot 28 maart opgeven via: afsprakenbureau@nationaalarchief.nl.
woensdag 26 maart 2008
CESNUR 2008
Het jaarlijkse congres van het Centre for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR) vindt dit maal plaats in Londen in april. Binnen het zeer omvangrijke programma is een sessie gewijd aan het thema 'From Ancient Wisdom and Freemasonry to New Age'. Sprekers zijn onder meer Jean-Pierre Laurent (École Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Sorbonne University, Paris) over 'Freemasonry and Religion in Paris: How to Cast a Glance Upon Some Preconceived Ideas?' en Róbert Péter (University of Szeged) over 'Twenty Years of Scholarship on British Freemasonry'. Meer informatie is te vinden op de congres website.
Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen Leerstoel
Jaarlijks organiseert de Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen Leerstoel van de Vrije Universiteit Brussel een lezingenreeks over vrijmetselarij. Dit jaar werd deze op 18 maart j.l. geopend met een voordracht van prof.dr. Malcolm Davies: 'The Arts of Poetry and Music in La Lire Maçonne, 1763-1787'. Nog op het programma staan:
- 15 april: 'Francs-Maçonneries pré-révolutionnaires et identités politiques. Théâtre, livres, circulation des idées aux années ‘80 du XVIIIe siècle', Prof. Gerardo Tocchini (Universiteit Venetië);
- 22 april: 'Hedendaagse kunst als levensoriëntatie', Prof. Willem Elias (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) & Paul Van Gysegem;
- 29 april: 'Franc-maçonnerie et beaux-arts en Belgique au tournant des XVIIIe et XIXe siècles', Prof. Christophe Loir (Université Libre de Bruxelles).
Tijdstip: 19.00 uur. Locatie: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Auditorium C van de VUB-Aula, Campus Etterbeek (toegang 6 langs de Triomflaan, toegang 13 langs de Pleinlaan). Aanmelding (tot 5 dagen voor aanvang) is verplicht bij de Dienst Ceremonien: ceremonien@vub.ac.be.
- 15 april: 'Francs-Maçonneries pré-révolutionnaires et identités politiques. Théâtre, livres, circulation des idées aux années ‘80 du XVIIIe siècle', Prof. Gerardo Tocchini (Universiteit Venetië);
- 22 april: 'Hedendaagse kunst als levensoriëntatie', Prof. Willem Elias (Vrije Universiteit Brussel) & Paul Van Gysegem;
- 29 april: 'Franc-maçonnerie et beaux-arts en Belgique au tournant des XVIIIe et XIXe siècles', Prof. Christophe Loir (Université Libre de Bruxelles).
Tijdstip: 19.00 uur. Locatie: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Auditorium C van de VUB-Aula, Campus Etterbeek (toegang 6 langs de Triomflaan, toegang 13 langs de Pleinlaan). Aanmelding (tot 5 dagen voor aanvang) is verplicht bij de Dienst Ceremonien: ceremonien@vub.ac.be.
Geheime genootschappen
'Geheime genootschappen laten, zelfs als ze niet bestaan, talrijke sporen na: ze roepen immers grenzeloze nieuwsgierigheid op, die vroeg of laat haar neerslag vindt in archieven en bibliotheken. Ook het Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis bewaart vele documenten van en over interessante, belangrijke, curieuze en vermeende geheime genootschappen en clandestiene groeperingen van heinde en verre'. De website van het IISG te Amsterdam geeft een beknopte beschrijving van haar verschillende collectiedelen over geheime (politieke en andere) genootschappen, waaronder ook de vrijmetselarij.
Nieuwe dissertatie
Andrew Pink attendeerde ons op een nieuwe dissertatie op het vakgebied: David I. Harrison, The Masonic Enlightenment: Symbolism, Transition and Change in English Freemasonry during the Eighteenth Century, University of Liverpool 2008. De samenvatting luidt als volgt:
'This study investigates the transitional phases of English Freemasonry from the mid-seventeenth century into what can be described as a Masonic Enlightenment during the eighteenth century. This movement was part of a wider enterprising evolution led by the Newtonian experimental natural philosopher Dr. John Theophilus Desaguliers and James Anderson, both members of the London based Grand Lodge founded in 1717 and both staunch Hanoverians. The ritual, along with the accompanying Masonic symbolism, quickly became adopted into what would become known as ‘Modern’ Freemasonry, which spread its influence around England.
One of the aims of this thesis is to assess why it was embraced by some areas, yet rejected by others, such as York. Scholarship to date has avoided analysis of the Masonic ritual, with Freemasonry being seen as a secret society, and many of the original documentation relating to Masonic lodges being held in private collections. The United Grand Lodge of England has only recently opened its archive and library to the public, though this has only revealed how much documentary material has either been lost or destroyed. An example of this is the absence of personal correspondence relating to Desaguliers’ Masonic ritual changes, despite the evidence that changes where made by him. An objective of this dissertation is to examine why the development of ‘Modern’ Freemasonry was so successful, and why Desaguliers, and other members of the Royal Society were attracted to the Craft.
The study will also assess the fermentation of Freemasonry as it transmuted from the ‘operative’ society into a more ‘speculative’ one during the seventeenth century. Precious little academic work has been published on this aspect of the society, and this study will analyse the contributions of Christopher Wren and Isaac Newton on the development of the Craft, concentrating on their emphasis upon the search for the divine measurement of Solomon’s Temple. The later changes to the Masonic ritual reflected their work, displaying themes for the search of lost ancient knowledge set against the backdrop of the construction of Solomon’s Temple. In this Masonic quest the ethos of Freemasonry became shaped by fashionable and attractive concepts of the ‘New Science’ merging with the ‘Old Science’ of magic and alchemy. These concepts which became appealing in the light of the social and political atmosphere of the Whig Oligarchy of early eighteenth century England, will also be dis cussed, the study concluding with an examination of the overall contribution of the Masonic Enlightenment on English society.'
'This study investigates the transitional phases of English Freemasonry from the mid-seventeenth century into what can be described as a Masonic Enlightenment during the eighteenth century. This movement was part of a wider enterprising evolution led by the Newtonian experimental natural philosopher Dr. John Theophilus Desaguliers and James Anderson, both members of the London based Grand Lodge founded in 1717 and both staunch Hanoverians. The ritual, along with the accompanying Masonic symbolism, quickly became adopted into what would become known as ‘Modern’ Freemasonry, which spread its influence around England.
One of the aims of this thesis is to assess why it was embraced by some areas, yet rejected by others, such as York. Scholarship to date has avoided analysis of the Masonic ritual, with Freemasonry being seen as a secret society, and many of the original documentation relating to Masonic lodges being held in private collections. The United Grand Lodge of England has only recently opened its archive and library to the public, though this has only revealed how much documentary material has either been lost or destroyed. An example of this is the absence of personal correspondence relating to Desaguliers’ Masonic ritual changes, despite the evidence that changes where made by him. An objective of this dissertation is to examine why the development of ‘Modern’ Freemasonry was so successful, and why Desaguliers, and other members of the Royal Society were attracted to the Craft.
The study will also assess the fermentation of Freemasonry as it transmuted from the ‘operative’ society into a more ‘speculative’ one during the seventeenth century. Precious little academic work has been published on this aspect of the society, and this study will analyse the contributions of Christopher Wren and Isaac Newton on the development of the Craft, concentrating on their emphasis upon the search for the divine measurement of Solomon’s Temple. The later changes to the Masonic ritual reflected their work, displaying themes for the search of lost ancient knowledge set against the backdrop of the construction of Solomon’s Temple. In this Masonic quest the ethos of Freemasonry became shaped by fashionable and attractive concepts of the ‘New Science’ merging with the ‘Old Science’ of magic and alchemy. These concepts which became appealing in the light of the social and political atmosphere of the Whig Oligarchy of early eighteenth century England, will also be dis cussed, the study concluding with an examination of the overall contribution of the Masonic Enlightenment on English society.'
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