Illuminati Membership: Difference between revisions

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# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FDeckname_im_Illuminatenorden%20%3FDeckname_im_IlluminatenordenLabel%20%3FIlluminaten_Ordensname_von%20%3FIlluminaten_Ordensname_vonLabel%20WHERE%20%7B%0A%20%20SERVICE%20wikibase%3Alabel%20%7B%20bd%3AserviceParam%20wikibase%3Alanguage%20%22%5BAUTO_LANGUAGE%5D%2Cen%22.%20%7D%0A%20%20%3FDeckname_im_Illuminatenorden%20wdt%3AP2%20wd%3AQ14170.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FDeckname_im_Illuminatenorden%20wdt%3AP139%20%3FIlluminaten_Ordensname_von.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3FDeckname_im_IlluminatenordenLabel All Illuminati code names (including names of places and regions) with their real name correlates]
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FDeckname_im_Illuminatenorden%20%3FDeckname_im_IlluminatenordenLabel%20%3FIlluminaten_Ordensname_von%20%3FIlluminaten_Ordensname_vonLabel%20WHERE%20%7B%0A%20%20SERVICE%20wikibase%3Alabel%20%7B%20bd%3AserviceParam%20wikibase%3Alanguage%20%22%5BAUTO_LANGUAGE%5D%2Cen%22.%20%7D%0A%20%20%3FDeckname_im_Illuminatenorden%20wdt%3AP2%20wd%3AQ14170.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FDeckname_im_Illuminatenorden%20wdt%3AP139%20%3FIlluminaten_Ordensname_von.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3FDeckname_im_IlluminatenordenLabel All Illuminati code names (including names of places and regions) with their real name correlates]


Lists of Illuminati members are not exactly rare. Several lists began to circulate in the mid 1780s with the discoveries, with allegations, insinuations and hostile exposures. It should be worth the effort to gather their information and to see where they coincide and where they differ, since they too offer interesting network information - views from outside of people who might belong together in a system that remains beyond grasp.
Lists of Illuminati members are not exactly rare. Several lists began to circulate after 1786 with the discoveries, some intriguingly accurate, some riddled with allegations. It will be worth the effort to gather their information and to see where they coincide and where they differ, since they too offer interesting network information - views on who might belong together in a system that remains beyond grasp.


The more interesting are internal lists which the Order created in order to let the higher ranks understand the network that was under constructions. Most of these are comprised today in volume 10 of the "Swedish Box". All of them have local focuses: local superiors handed them in with juxtapositions of the code names and real names and often with background information like birth dates and occupations of their local members. The problem with these lists is, that they are lacking definitive dates. We get snap-shots, not the final picture.
The more interesting lists have remained internal and most of these are comprised today in volume 10 of the "Swedish Box". All of them have local focuses: Local superiors exchanged juxtapositions of the code names, real names and quick background information to allow contacts into other regional branches. The problem with these lists is, that they are all lacking definitive dates. The all present snap-shots without aiming at a final picture.


All members had to be proposes and Illuminati usually began proposing new members of their respective networks within months of their membership as this would, supposedly bring them into a new position within the Order and among their best friends. The Order would try to gain background information before the proposals were processed. A test essay was usually the next step, to be handed in and to be assessed by internal reviewers.
The lists are one thing, actual membership is another and comparably gradual thing. New members had to be proposed by accepted members, and Illuminati were usually keen to make such proposals within less than a year. Those proposed would be honoured as friends whio deserved this trust and they could work as a base within the growing organisation. Members like Knigge generated power within the Order which would be far weaker without their massive recruitment — Knigge claimed he alone had added some 500 members to the Order.  


[[Item:Q133|Johann Joachim Christoph Bode]], the man whose archive created the bulk of materials extant, the provincial of the last active province and the subordinate of Ernest II. of Gotha, the highest member in the hierarchy after 1785... Bode handled the signing of the "Revers" as the entry point. The Revers was the declaration of loyalty which the Order demanded. A standard version was used in Bode's province but it allowed variations.  
To be proposed was on the other hand not the automatic ticket into the Order. The superiors and provincials tried to gain background information before they processed new proposals. They would then ask for a test essay and in the next step for character information which the "Insinuant" had to provide in a table under given headings.


The Revers is otherwise a dubious sign. The Illuminati [[Item:Q969|Friedrich Christian Rudorf]] recruited in Buttstädt, the last local group we know of, signed their Reverse letters in 1785 and 1786 and felt confused. Were they members? When and where would they undergo the initiation? But then they were writing monthly reports... they began receiving answers in July/August 1786 - somehow they were members of the Order that provided them with topics to write about, and eventually they were wondering whether they still were members of the organisation which unilaterally ended this very correspondence.
[[Item:Q133|Johann Joachim Christoph Bode]], the man whose archive creates today the bulk of materials extant, provincial of the last active province and subordinate of Ernest II. of Gotha, the highest member in the hierarchy after 1785, handled the signing of the "Revers" as the definitive entry point. The Revers was an oath of loyalty signed with the real name or, in other cases, already with the Illuminati code name.


The local protocols of fully functional Minerval Churches like Gotha's depict membership under the hierarchical view of the grade system. Each monthly report would list the members present and absent on the ladder from Minerval through the Freemasonic ranks to Regent.  
Members, however, would not necessarily perceive the signing of the Reverse as their entry point. The Illuminati [[Item:Q969|Friedrich Christian Rudorf]] recruited in Buttstädt, the last local group we know of, signed their Reverse letters in the summer of 1785 and began sending in their monthly Quibus Licet without hearing from the Order in return until July/August 1786 and they felt confused: Were they actually members? They were waiting for an initiation, a ceremony to be performed in a Minerval Church; Buttstädt never received one and they stayed members in correspondence for the remaining two years of the Order.


We are trying to use the FactGrid database with the aim to give the nuanced picture. Who was proposed? Who was actually invited to sign a Revers? Who got listed in a certain rank at what time? Who held positions, whether local or in the geographical space which the Order was trying to embrace? Who was eventually listed by the Bavarian state institutions and by individuals trying to get a picture of the affair? Any of these questions gives an interesting picture; here, however, the database is work in progress. The two questions that can be asked with relative conclusive data are presently the Questions 1 and 3 of the list above: Who was proposed and who signed a Revers. We are not yet in a position where we can give links straight to all the documents behind these statements. We are also not yet able to offer the more interesting lists which will include biographical information in additional columns. All this needs a massive data input and people who harvest data from the roughly 9,000 documents extant. The searches above give, however a rough picture of the Order. We will probably get information of about 1350 people who were proposed and about 1250 men who must have signed a Revers between 1776 and 1787.
Fully functional Minerval Churches like Gotha's had monthly meetings, in Gotha's case right into the summer of 1787. The monthly report list the local members on a ladder from lowest, Minerval rank to Regent. Membership was here organised within the grade system - and again not quite: The to members, like Ernest II. and Bode had jumped into the highest rank without any ceremonies just as readers of the grade texts as far as they were available.


We would need data experts in order to show how the Order grew. On were the people who proposed more members than others? When and where did the Order infiltrate whole lodges on its geographical expansion. Here we need people who can ask the SPARQL questions that give the more interesting answers. --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] ([[User talk:Olaf Simons|talk]]) 09:36, 13 March 2019 (CET)
The FactGrid database is under these premises the tool to give the nuanced picture. You can filter: Who was proposed? Who was actually invited to sign a Revers? Who got listed in a certain rank at what moment in the brief history of the Order? Who held positions? — And you can ask for the external list information and all the insinuations.
 
Any of these questions will give an interesting picture; here, however, the database is work in progress. The two questions that can be asked with relative conclusive data are number 1 and 3 in the list above: Who was proposed and, more importantly, who signed a Revers? We are not yet in a position to give all the references with the precision the database allows; and we are so far not able to offer the interesting lists which present names with brief biographical information, entry dates and entry points. All this needs people who make the connections and who scan the roughly 9,000 in order to get the background information. The searches above give, however a rough picture of the Order. We know of some 1350 people who were proposed and of some 1250 who appear to have signed a Revers.
 
We would need data experts in order to visualise how the Order grew on the map. We need network analysts to show who proposed more members than others with a greater impact on his personal career. When and where did the Order infiltrate whole lodges? Here we need people who can ask SPARQL questions that give the more interesting answers in tables and in more complex visulisations of statistics, networks and developments. --[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] ([[User talk:Olaf Simons|talk]]) 09:36, 13 March 2019 (CET)

Revision as of 21:37, 13 March 2019

  1. proposed as member to the Order of the Illuminati
  2. handed in test essay for an Illuminati membership
  3. signed a Revers for the Order of the Illuminati
  4. All Illuminati code names (including names of places and regions) with their real name correlates

Lists of Illuminati members are not exactly rare. Several lists began to circulate after 1786 with the discoveries, some intriguingly accurate, some riddled with allegations. It will be worth the effort to gather their information and to see where they coincide and where they differ, since they too offer interesting network information - views on who might belong together in a system that remains beyond grasp.

The more interesting lists have remained internal and most of these are comprised today in volume 10 of the "Swedish Box". All of them have local focuses: Local superiors exchanged juxtapositions of the code names, real names and quick background information to allow contacts into other regional branches. The problem with these lists is, that they are all lacking definitive dates. The all present snap-shots without aiming at a final picture.

The lists are one thing, actual membership is another and comparably gradual thing. New members had to be proposed by accepted members, and Illuminati were usually keen to make such proposals within less than a year. Those proposed would be honoured as friends whio deserved this trust and they could work as a base within the growing organisation. Members like Knigge generated power within the Order which would be far weaker without their massive recruitment — Knigge claimed he alone had added some 500 members to the Order.

To be proposed was on the other hand not the automatic ticket into the Order. The superiors and provincials tried to gain background information before they processed new proposals. They would then ask for a test essay and in the next step for character information which the "Insinuant" had to provide in a table under given headings.

Johann Joachim Christoph Bode, the man whose archive creates today the bulk of materials extant, provincial of the last active province and subordinate of Ernest II. of Gotha, the highest member in the hierarchy after 1785, handled the signing of the "Revers" as the definitive entry point. The Revers was an oath of loyalty signed with the real name or, in other cases, already with the Illuminati code name.

Members, however, would not necessarily perceive the signing of the Reverse as their entry point. The Illuminati Friedrich Christian Rudorf recruited in Buttstädt, the last local group we know of, signed their Reverse letters in the summer of 1785 and began sending in their monthly Quibus Licet without hearing from the Order in return until July/August 1786 and they felt confused: Were they actually members? They were waiting for an initiation, a ceremony to be performed in a Minerval Church; Buttstädt never received one and they stayed members in correspondence for the remaining two years of the Order.

Fully functional Minerval Churches like Gotha's had monthly meetings, in Gotha's case right into the summer of 1787. The monthly report list the local members on a ladder from lowest, Minerval rank to Regent. Membership was here organised within the grade system - and again not quite: The to members, like Ernest II. and Bode had jumped into the highest rank without any ceremonies just as readers of the grade texts as far as they were available.

The FactGrid database is under these premises the tool to give the nuanced picture. You can filter: Who was proposed? Who was actually invited to sign a Revers? Who got listed in a certain rank at what moment in the brief history of the Order? Who held positions? — And you can ask for the external list information and all the insinuations.

Any of these questions will give an interesting picture; here, however, the database is work in progress. The two questions that can be asked with relative conclusive data are number 1 and 3 in the list above: Who was proposed and, more importantly, who signed a Revers? We are not yet in a position to give all the references with the precision the database allows; and we are so far not able to offer the interesting lists which present names with brief biographical information, entry dates and entry points. All this needs people who make the connections and who scan the roughly 9,000 in order to get the background information. The searches above give, however a rough picture of the Order. We know of some 1350 people who were proposed and of some 1250 who appear to have signed a Revers.

We would need data experts in order to visualise how the Order grew on the map. We need network analysts to show who proposed more members than others with a greater impact on his personal career. When and where did the Order infiltrate whole lodges? Here we need people who can ask SPARQL questions that give the more interesting answers in tables and in more complex visulisations of statistics, networks and developments. --Olaf Simons (talk) 09:36, 13 March 2019 (CET)