Illuminati Membership: Difference between revisions

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# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3Fvorgeschlagen_f_r_die_Mitgliedschaft_im_Illuminatenorden%20%3Fvorgeschlagen_f_r_die_Mitgliedschaft_im_IlluminatenordenLabel%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%3Fvorgeschlagen_f_r_die_Mitgliedschaft_im_Illuminatenorden%20wdt%3AP91%20wd%3AQ38779.%0A%7D proposed as member to the Order of the Illuminati]
<p align="right>back: [[The Gotha Illuminati Research Base]]</p>
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3Fvorgeschlagen_f_r_die_Mitgliedschaft_im_Illuminatenorden%20%3Fvorgeschlagen_f_r_die_Mitgliedschaft_im_IlluminatenordenLabel%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%3Fvorgeschlagen_f_r_die_Mitgliedschaft_im_Illuminatenorden%20wdt%3AP91%20wd%3AQ40457.%0A%7D handed in test essay for an Illuminati membership]
__TOC__
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3Fvorgeschlagen_f_r_die_Mitgliedschaft_im_Illuminatenorden%20%3Fvorgeschlagen_f_r_die_Mitgliedschaft_im_IlluminatenordenLabel%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%3Fvorgeschlagen_f_r_die_Mitgliedschaft_im_Illuminatenorden%20wdt%3AP91%20wd%3AQ38780.%0A%7D signed a Revers for the Order of the Illuminati]


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.


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.
== Membership ==
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3Fproposed%20%3FproposedLabel%20%3FproposedDescription%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%3Fproposed%20wdt%3AP454%20wd%3AQ10677.%0A%7D proposed as member to the Order of the Illuminati]
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3Fmember%20%3FnameLabel%20%3FmemberLabel%20%3FmemberDescription%20%3FIlluminaten_Ordensname_von%20%3FIlluminaten_Ordensname_vonLabel%20%3FReligionLabel%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%3Fmember%20wdt%3AP91%20wd%3AQ10677.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3Fmember%20wdt%3AP247%20%3Fname.%20%7D%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3Fmember%20wdt%3AP140%20%3FIlluminaten_Ordensname_von.%20%7D%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3Fmember%20wdt%3AP172%20%3FReligion.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%28%3FnameLabel%29 signed a Revers for the Order of the Illuminati] / [https://database.factgrid.de/query/index.html#%23defaultView%3ATimeline%0ASELECT%20%3Fperson%20%3FpersonLabel%20%3FDatum%20%3Fgnd_id%20WHERE%20%7B%20%0A%20%20SERVICE%20wikibase%3Alabel%20%7B%20bd%3AserviceParam%20wikibase%3Alanguage%20%22%5BAUTO_LANGUAGE%5D%2Cen%22.%20%7D%20%0A%20%20%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP91%20wd%3AQ10677%20.%20%0A%20%20%3Fperson%20p%3AP91%20%3Fstatement%20.%20%0A%20%20%3Fstatement%20ps%3AP91%20wd%3AQ10677%20.%20%0A%20%20%3Fstatement%20pq%3AP49%20%3FDatum%20.%20%20%20%20%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP76%20%3Fgnd_id%20.%7D%0A%7D%20%0AORDER%20BY%20%3FDatum%0A timeline]


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.
== Degrees ==


[[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.  
=== Minerval Class ===
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FNameLabel%20%3FPers%20%3FPersLabel%20%3FPersDescription%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%3FPers%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99736.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FPers%20wdt%3AP247%20%3FName.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3FNameLabel Novice] / [https://database.factgrid.de/query/index.html#%23defaultView%3ATimeline%0ASELECT%20%3Fperson%20%3FpersonLabel%20%3FDatum%20%3Fgnd_id%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%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99736%3B%0A%20%20%20%20p%3AP447%20%3Fstatement.%0A%20%20%3Fstatement%20ps%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99736%3B%0A%20%20%20%20pq%3AP106%20%3FDatum.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP76%20%3Fgnd_id.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%28%3FDatum%29 timeline]
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FNameLabel%20%3FPers%20%3FPersLabel%20%3FPersDescription%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%3FPers%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99737.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FPers%20wdt%3AP247%20%3FName.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3FNameLabel Minerval] / [https://database.factgrid.de/query/index.html#%23defaultView%3ATimeline%0ASELECT%20%3Fperson%20%3FpersonLabel%20%3FDatum%20%3Fgnd_id%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%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99737%3B%0A%20%20%20%20p%3AP447%20%3Fstatement.%0A%20%20%3Fstatement%20ps%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99737%3B%0A%20%20%20%20pq%3AP106%20%3FDatum.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP76%20%3Fgnd_id.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%28%3FDatum%29 timeline]
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FNameLabel%20%3FPers%20%3FPersLabel%20%3FPersDescription%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%3FPers%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99738.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FPers%20wdt%3AP247%20%3FName.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3FNameLabel Illuminatus Minor or Minervalis Illuminatus] / [https://database.factgrid.de/query/index.html#%23defaultView%3ATimeline%0ASELECT%20%3Fperson%20%3FpersonLabel%20%3FDatum%20%3Fgnd_id%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%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99738%3B%0A%20%20%20%20p%3AP447%20%3Fstatement.%0A%20%20%3Fstatement%20ps%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99738%3B%0A%20%20%20%20pq%3AP106%20%3FDatum.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP76%20%3Fgnd_id.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%28%3FDatum%29 timeline]


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.
=== Masonic Class ===


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.  
A. Symbolic Freemasonry


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.
:These are the regular Masonic grades, they demanded membership in a local Lodge which was on this personal level infiltrated by Illuminati members - often, however, up to the point that the respective "Meister vom Stuhl" was already also the "Superior" of the local Illuminati "Minerval Church" which sent this member into the lodge. Some Illuminati received fast Masonic promotions so that they could quickly gain the higher Illuminati degrees which they needed in top level positions.


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)
# Apprentice
# Fellow
# Master
B. Scottish Freemasonry
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FNameLabel%20%3FPers%20%3FPersLabel%20%3FPersDescription%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%3FPers%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99742.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FPers%20wdt%3AP247%20%3FName.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3FNameLabel Illuminatus Major or Scottish Novice] / [https://database.factgrid.de/query/index.html#%23defaultView%3ATimeline%0ASELECT%20%3Fperson%20%3FpersonLabel%20%3FDatum%20%3Fgnd_id%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%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99742%3B%0A%20%20%20%20p%3AP447%20%3Fstatement.%0A%20%20%3Fstatement%20ps%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99742%3B%0A%20%20%20%20pq%3AP106%20%3FDatum.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP76%20%3Fgnd_id.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%28%3FDatum%29 timeline]
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FNameLabel%20%3FPers%20%3FPersLabel%20%3FPersDescription%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%3FPers%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99743.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FPers%20wdt%3AP247%20%3FName.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3FNameLabel Illuminatus Dirigens or Scottish Knight] / [https://database.factgrid.de/query/index.html#%23defaultView%3ATimeline%0ASELECT%20%3Fperson%20%3FpersonLabel%20%3FDatum%20%3Fgnd_id%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%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99743%3B%0A%20%20%20%20p%3AP447%20%3Fstatement.%0A%20%20%3Fstatement%20ps%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99743%3B%0A%20%20%20%20pq%3AP106%20%3FDatum.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP76%20%3Fgnd_id.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%28%3FDatum%29 timeline]
 
=== Mysteries Class ===
 
A. Lesser Mysteries
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FNameLabel%20%3FPers%20%3FPersLabel%20%3FPersDescription%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%3FPers%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99744.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FPers%20wdt%3AP247%20%3FName.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3FNameLabel Lesser Priest Degree or Presbyter] / [https://database.factgrid.de/query/index.html#%23defaultView%3ATimeline%0ASELECT%20%3Fperson%20%3FpersonLabel%20%3FDatum%20%3Fgnd_id%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%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99744%3B%0A%20%20%20%20p%3AP447%20%3Fstatement.%0A%20%20%3Fstatement%20ps%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99744%3B%0A%20%20%20%20pq%3AP106%20%3FDatum.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP76%20%3Fgnd_id.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%28%3FDatum%29 timeline]
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FNameLabel%20%3FPers%20%3FPersLabel%20%3FPersDescription%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%3FPers%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99745.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FPers%20wdt%3AP247%20%3FName.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3FNameLabel Lesser Regent Degree or Princeps] / [https://database.factgrid.de/query/index.html#%23defaultView%3ATimeline%0ASELECT%20%3Fperson%20%3FpersonLabel%20%3FDatum%20%3Fgnd_id%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%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99745%3B%0A%20%20%20%20p%3AP447%20%3Fstatement.%0A%20%20%3Fstatement%20ps%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99745%3B%0A%20%20%20%20pq%3AP106%20%3FDatum.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP76%20%3Fgnd_id.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%28%3FDatum%29 timeline]
B. Greater Mysteries
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FNameLabel%20%3FPers%20%3FPersLabel%20%3FPersDescription%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%3FPers%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99746.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FPers%20wdt%3AP247%20%3FName.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3FNameLabel Magus, Docetist] / [https://database.factgrid.de/query/index.html#%23defaultView%3ATimeline%0ASELECT%20%3Fperson%20%3FpersonLabel%20%3FDatum%20%3Fgnd_id%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%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99746%3B%0A%20%20%20%20p%3AP447%20%3Fstatement.%0A%20%20%3Fstatement%20ps%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99746%3B%0A%20%20%20%20pq%3AP106%20%3FDatum.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP76%20%3Fgnd_id.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%28%3FDatum%29 timeline]
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FNameLabel%20%3FPers%20%3FPersLabel%20%3FPersDescription%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%3FPers%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99747.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FPers%20wdt%3AP247%20%3FName.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3FNameLabel Rex, Philosophus] / [https://database.factgrid.de/query/index.html#%23defaultView%3ATimeline%0ASELECT%20%3Fperson%20%3FpersonLabel%20%3FDatum%20%3Fgnd_id%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%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99747%3B%0A%20%20%20%20p%3AP447%20%3Fstatement.%0A%20%20%3Fstatement%20ps%3AP447%20wd%3AQ99747%3B%0A%20%20%20%20pq%3AP106%20%3FDatum.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3Fperson%20wdt%3AP76%20%3Fgnd_id.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%28%3FDatum%29 timeline]
== Positions ==
# Serving Brother
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FFamiliennameLabel%20%3FPerson%20%3FPersonLabel%20%3FPersonDescription%20WHERE%20%7B%0A%20%20SERVICE%20wikibase%3Alabel%20%7B%20bd%3AserviceParam%20wikibase%3Alanguage%20%22en%22.%20%7D%0A%20%20%3FPerson%20wdt%3AP266%20wd%3AQ146597.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FPerson%20wdt%3AP247%20%3FFamilienname.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%28%3FFamiliennameLabel%29 Censor]
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FFamiliennameLabel%20%3FPerson%20%3FPersonLabel%20%3FPersonDescription%20WHERE%20%7B%0A%20%20SERVICE%20wikibase%3Alabel%20%7B%20bd%3AserviceParam%20wikibase%3Alanguage%20%22en%22.%20%7D%0A%20%20%3FPerson%20wdt%3AP266%20wd%3AQ146597.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FPerson%20wdt%3AP247%20%3FFamilienname.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%28%3FFamiliennameLabel%29 Quaestor]
# Decanus (Dean)
# Prefect
# Provincial
# Inspector
# National Inspector
# [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FFamiliennameLabel%20%3FPerson%20%3FPersonLabel%20%3FPersonDescription%20WHERE%20%7B%0A%20%20SERVICE%20wikibase%3Alabel%20%7B%20bd%3AserviceParam%20wikibase%3Alanguage%20%22en%22.%20%7D%0A%20%20%3FPerson%20wdt%3AP91%20wd%3AQ146421.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FPerson%20wdt%3AP247%20%3FFamilienname.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3FFamiliennameLabel%20 Member of the Areopagus]
# General
 
== All the code names "Ordensnamen" ==
:* [https://database.factgrid.de/query/#SELECT%20%3FPseudonym%20%3FPseudonymLabel%20%3FName%20%3FNameLabel%20%3FNameDescription%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%3FPseudonym%20wdt%3AP2%20wd%3AQ14170.%0A%20%20OPTIONAL%20%7B%20%3FPseudonym%20wdt%3AP139%20%3FName.%20%7D%0A%7D%0AORDER%20BY%20%3FPseudonymLabel All Illuminati code names (including names of places and regions) with their real name correlates]
 
== Some notes on the numerous registers of members that can be compiled ==
 
Several lists of Illuminati members began to circulate right after their discovery in 1786. All of them were considerably shorter than the list the basic search in this database will yield with the advantage of being able to pull together all the sources we can name today. One reason for the lower number compiled by the Bavarian authorities is that the organisation had by 1786 developed several centres whose documents of the entire organisation would have yielded quite different but yet again not necessarily conclusive picture of the entire organisation.
 
The most conclusive compound of membership lists that survived lies today in volume 10 of the so called "Swedish Box", the collective archive of [[Item:Q133|Johann Joachim Christoph Bode]] in Weimar and [[Item:Q978|Ernest II.]] in Gotha. Instead of offering one unified list the volume incorporates hundreds of lists and single membership documents from provinces, local minerval churches and individuals. The leaders of the provinces were apparently ready to share information about the congregations under their monitoring nut none of these lists bears a date, several of them give pictures of the same place at different stages, snapshots taken between 1782 and 1786; and all of them offer only minimal information: code names, real names, and just enough background information to allow the identification among insiders. Some of these lists just give the code names. All we have here is a collection of local snap-shots taken at different moments without any interest in a final picture.
 
Lists are one thing &mdash; actual membership had quite its own logic. New members had to be proposed by accepted members. Illuminati were usually keen to make their first proposals of friends they would wish into the order within less than a year. Those proposed would be honoured as friends who deserved this trust, and they then could work as a base within the growing organisation. Knigge claimed he alone had added some 500 members to the organisation and he demanded independence on that account. To be proposed was at the same moment not an automatic ticket into the Order. The superiors and provincials tried to obtain background information before they processed new proposals. They would then ask for a trial essay and in the next step for character information which the "Insinuant" had to provide in a table under the given headings &mdash; so the gradual approach towards membership.
 
Johann Joachim Christoph Bode took the signature on the "Revers" as the definitive entry point. The Revers was an oath of loyalty signed with either their real name or, in other cases, already with the Illuminati Order name.
 
::REVERSE [OBLIGATION. LETTER OF A CANDIDATE.]
::I, the undersigned, obligate myself by my honour and my good name, without any secret reservation, never to reveal to anyone, not even to my most intimate friends and relatives, neither by word nor gestures, glances, nor in any other conceivable way, anything of the matters entrusted to me by Herr … concerning my acceptance into a certain secret society, whether I am accepted or not. This even more so as I have been assured prior to my acceptance that in this society nothing is done that is against the state, religion, or good morals. I also promise to immediately return the documents which will be communicated to me for this purpose or any letters I may receive after having made the necessary excerpts in a manner unintelligible to others. All this, as I am an honest man, and intend to remain one.
::Signed in … on the … day of … in the year … (L. S.)
 
But those who signed the statement would not necessarily feel as members that very moment. The Illuminati [[Item:Q969|Friedrich Christian Rudorf]] recruited in Buttstädt, the last local group we know of, signed their [[Item:Q11216|Reverse]] letters in the summer of 1785 and began sending in their monthly [[Item:Q10508|Quibus Licet]] without hearing anything from the Order until July/August 1786. They felt lost and confused: Were they actually members? They were waiting for an initiation, a ceremony to be performed in a Minerval Church; Buttstädt never received one. Rudorf's members remained corresponding members for the remaining two years of the Order.
 
Fully functional Minerval Churches had monthly meetings &mdash; in Gotha's prominent case right into the summer of 1787. To be invited to the meetings was a clear signal that one was "in" the Order. The initiation came, however, only with the next level: the step into the Minerva degree.
 
The local reports of the congregations list members both present and absent on ladders from Novice to Regent. Membership was organised within the degree system which embraced the degrees of Freemasonry in the Order that was on its way to build a Freemasonic superstructure. Members like Ernest II and Bode had, however, never been Novices. They had been given the chance to read all the degree texts available to be then promoted to the top level positions they were supposed to fill. Even the career as a Freemason was not mandatory: High ranking Illuminati had connections into lodged that would promote a desired candidate to any rank needed in the Order just to fulfill the formal demands.
 
The FactGrid database under these premises, is the ideal tool to provide the nuanced picture. You can filter: Who was proposed? Who was actually invited to sign a Revers? Who was listed as holding a particular degree, and at what particular moment in the brief history of the Order? Who held positions?
 
Any of these questions will paint an interesting picture; here, however, the database is work in progress (and will remain work in progress for years to come). The two questions that can be asked with relatively conclusive data are at the moment the questions of Proposals and of signed Reverse letters. The lists which the simple SPARQL queries will compile are not yet satisfying: One would love to have them with the respective date and place information and with short biographical details. Some of the more detailed information is already given in the respective data sets and only waiting for SPARQL-experts who can write the scripts for the more interesting tables. SPARQL-experts could certainly also give first visualisations of the networks and of the Orders gradual geographical expansion. We will need data visualisers to exploit the information with technical insight and we need people who will eventually reassess all the documents with a fresh look at the membership information which they yield in all the nuances which we are now able to translate into database statements &mdash; only with the data we will we be able to give the more complex picture on the more complex searches which are now becoming possible.  
 
[[User:Olaf Simons|Olaf Simons]] ([[User talk:Olaf Simons|talk]]) 10:40, 14 March 2019 (CET)

Revision as of 11:41, 26 March 2020

back: The Gotha Illuminati Research Base


Membership

  1. proposed as member to the Order of the Illuminati
  2. signed a Revers for the Order of the Illuminati / timeline

Degrees

Minerval Class

  1. Novice / timeline
  2. Minerval / timeline
  3. Illuminatus Minor or Minervalis Illuminatus / timeline

Masonic Class

A. Symbolic Freemasonry

These are the regular Masonic grades, they demanded membership in a local Lodge which was on this personal level infiltrated by Illuminati members - often, however, up to the point that the respective "Meister vom Stuhl" was already also the "Superior" of the local Illuminati "Minerval Church" which sent this member into the lodge. Some Illuminati received fast Masonic promotions so that they could quickly gain the higher Illuminati degrees which they needed in top level positions.
  1. Apprentice
  2. Fellow
  3. Master

B. Scottish Freemasonry

  1. Illuminatus Major or Scottish Novice / timeline
  2. Illuminatus Dirigens or Scottish Knight / timeline

Mysteries Class

A. Lesser Mysteries

  1. Lesser Priest Degree or Presbyter / timeline
  2. Lesser Regent Degree or Princeps / timeline

B. Greater Mysteries

  1. Magus, Docetist / timeline
  2. Rex, Philosophus / timeline

Positions

  1. Serving Brother
  2. Censor
  3. Quaestor
  4. Decanus (Dean)
  5. Prefect
  6. Provincial
  7. Inspector
  8. National Inspector
  9. Member of the Areopagus
  10. General

All the code names "Ordensnamen"

Some notes on the numerous registers of members that can be compiled

Several lists of Illuminati members began to circulate right after their discovery in 1786. All of them were considerably shorter than the list the basic search in this database will yield with the advantage of being able to pull together all the sources we can name today. One reason for the lower number compiled by the Bavarian authorities is that the organisation had by 1786 developed several centres whose documents of the entire organisation would have yielded quite different but yet again not necessarily conclusive picture of the entire organisation.

The most conclusive compound of membership lists that survived lies today in volume 10 of the so called "Swedish Box", the collective archive of Johann Joachim Christoph Bode in Weimar and Ernest II. in Gotha. Instead of offering one unified list the volume incorporates hundreds of lists and single membership documents from provinces, local minerval churches and individuals. The leaders of the provinces were apparently ready to share information about the congregations under their monitoring nut none of these lists bears a date, several of them give pictures of the same place at different stages, snapshots taken between 1782 and 1786; and all of them offer only minimal information: code names, real names, and just enough background information to allow the identification among insiders. Some of these lists just give the code names. All we have here is a collection of local snap-shots taken at different moments without any interest in a final picture.

Lists are one thing — actual membership had quite its own logic. New members had to be proposed by accepted members. Illuminati were usually keen to make their first proposals of friends they would wish into the order within less than a year. Those proposed would be honoured as friends who deserved this trust, and they then could work as a base within the growing organisation. Knigge claimed he alone had added some 500 members to the organisation and he demanded independence on that account. To be proposed was at the same moment not an automatic ticket into the Order. The superiors and provincials tried to obtain background information before they processed new proposals. They would then ask for a trial essay and in the next step for character information which the "Insinuant" had to provide in a table under the given headings — so the gradual approach towards membership.

Johann Joachim Christoph Bode took the signature on the "Revers" as the definitive entry point. The Revers was an oath of loyalty signed with either their real name or, in other cases, already with the Illuminati Order name.

REVERSE [OBLIGATION. LETTER OF A CANDIDATE.]
I, the undersigned, obligate myself by my honour and my good name, without any secret reservation, never to reveal to anyone, not even to my most intimate friends and relatives, neither by word nor gestures, glances, nor in any other conceivable way, anything of the matters entrusted to me by Herr … concerning my acceptance into a certain secret society, whether I am accepted or not. This even more so as I have been assured prior to my acceptance that in this society nothing is done that is against the state, religion, or good morals. I also promise to immediately return the documents which will be communicated to me for this purpose or any letters I may receive after having made the necessary excerpts in a manner unintelligible to others. All this, as I am an honest man, and intend to remain one.
Signed in … on the … day of … in the year … (L. S.)

But those who signed the statement would not necessarily feel as members that very moment. 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 anything from the Order until July/August 1786. They felt lost and confused: Were they actually members? They were waiting for an initiation, a ceremony to be performed in a Minerval Church; Buttstädt never received one. Rudorf's members remained corresponding members for the remaining two years of the Order.

Fully functional Minerval Churches had monthly meetings — in Gotha's prominent case right into the summer of 1787. To be invited to the meetings was a clear signal that one was "in" the Order. The initiation came, however, only with the next level: the step into the Minerva degree.

The local reports of the congregations list members both present and absent on ladders from Novice to Regent. Membership was organised within the degree system which embraced the degrees of Freemasonry in the Order that was on its way to build a Freemasonic superstructure. Members like Ernest II and Bode had, however, never been Novices. They had been given the chance to read all the degree texts available to be then promoted to the top level positions they were supposed to fill. Even the career as a Freemason was not mandatory: High ranking Illuminati had connections into lodged that would promote a desired candidate to any rank needed in the Order just to fulfill the formal demands.

The FactGrid database under these premises, is the ideal tool to provide the nuanced picture. You can filter: Who was proposed? Who was actually invited to sign a Revers? Who was listed as holding a particular degree, and at what particular moment in the brief history of the Order? Who held positions?

Any of these questions will paint an interesting picture; here, however, the database is work in progress (and will remain work in progress for years to come). The two questions that can be asked with relatively conclusive data are at the moment the questions of Proposals and of signed Reverse letters. The lists which the simple SPARQL queries will compile are not yet satisfying: One would love to have them with the respective date and place information and with short biographical details. Some of the more detailed information is already given in the respective data sets and only waiting for SPARQL-experts who can write the scripts for the more interesting tables. SPARQL-experts could certainly also give first visualisations of the networks and of the Orders gradual geographical expansion. We will need data visualisers to exploit the information with technical insight and we need people who will eventually reassess all the documents with a fresh look at the membership information which they yield in all the nuances which we are now able to translate into database statements — only with the data we will we be able to give the more complex picture on the more complex searches which are now becoming possible.

Olaf Simons (talk) 10:40, 14 March 2019 (CET)