The Architects of Eighteenth Century - English Freemasonry 1720–1740 - a PhD thesis by Richard Andrew Berman (2010).pdf

(4833 KB) Pobierz
The Architects of Eighteenth Century
English Freemasonry, 1720 – 1740
Submitted by Richard Andrew Berman to the University of Exeter
as a Thesis for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Research in History
15 December 2010.
This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright
material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper
acknowledgement.
I certify that all material in this thesis that is not my own work has been identified
and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award
of a degree by this or any other university.
R A Berman
1 | P a g e
Abstract
Following the appointment of its first aristocratic Grand Masters in the 1720s and
in the wake of its connctionstothscintificEnlightnmnt‘Frndccptd’
Masonry rapidly bcmprtofBritin’sntionlprofil and the largest and
arguably thmostinfluntilofBritin’sxtnsivclubsndsocitis. The new
organisation did not evolve naturally from the mediaeval guilds and religious
orders that pre-dated it, but was reconfigured radically by a largely self-appointed
inner core. Freemasonry became a vehicle for the expression and transmission of
the political and religious views of those at its centre, and for the scientific
Enlightenment concepts that they championed. Th‘Crft’ also offered a channel
through which many sought to realise personal aspirations: social, intellectual and
financial.
Through an examination of relevant primary and secondary documentary
evidence, this thesis seeks to contribute to a broader understanding of
contemporary English political and social culture, and to explore the manner in
which Freemasonry became a mechanism that promoted the interests of the
Hanoverian establishment and connected and bound a number of élite
metropolitan and provincial figures. A range of networks centred on the
aristocracy, parliament, the magistracy and the learned and professional societies
are studied, and key individuals instrumental in spreading and consolidating the
Masonic message identified. The thesis also explores the role of Freemasonry in
the development of the scientific Enlightenment.
The evidence suggests that Freemasonry should be recognised not only as the
most prominent of the many eighteenth century fraternal organisations, but also
as a significant cultural vector and a compelling component of the social,
economic, scientific and political transformation then in progress.
2 | P a g e
Acknowledgment
I would like to express my thanks to Professors Jeremy Black, Nicholas Goodrich-
Clarke, Martin Thomas and Andrew Prescott, and to Dr Andrew Pink, for
reviewing early drafts of this thesis and for their helpful comments. I would also
like to express my gratitude to Professors Henry French and Bill Gibson for their
time and effort in reviewing and examining. Finally, may I also thank the staff of
the Library at the United Grand Lodge of England, Great Queen Street, London, in
particular, Diane Clements, Director, Martin Cherry, Librarian, and Susan Snell,
Archivist, for their kind assistance.
3 | P a g e
Contents
4 | P a g e
5 | P a g e

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin