The Masons and the Mysteries in 18th Century Drama : : Three Masonic Comedies: Pierre Clément, Les Fri-maçons; Carlo Goldoni, Le Donne Curiose; Francesco Griselini, I Liberi Muratori / / Matthew Leigh.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DG Ebook Package English 2020
• VerfasserIn: Leigh, Matthew,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin ;, Boston : : De Gruyter, , [2019]; ©2020
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Series: Trends in Classics – Pathways of Reception , 2
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (XVII, 267 p.)

The fathers of modern freemasonry sought a classical pedigree for their rituals and forms of association. This volume offers the first academic study of how freemasons writing in the first half of the 18th century deployed their knowledge of antiquity to bolster this claim and how the creative literature of the period reflected their ideas. The scholarly investigation of freemasonry is a relatively new phenomenon. The writings of active freemasons tend either to generate new masonic myths or to focus on the minutiae of insignia, rank, and ritual. Only in the last 50 years have non-masons given serious thought to freemasonry as a social practice and to its place within the intellectual and political life of Enlightenment Europe and beyond. Study of masonic elements in literary texts lags much further behind. This volume offers the first English translations of three mid-18th century comedies on female curiosity about this exclusively male order and shows how they reflect contemporary attempts to forge a link with ancient mystery cult. The theatrical aspect of masonic ritual and the ancient mysteries is examined in depth. This volume opens up important new ground in classical reception and 18th century theatre history.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Preface to Three Masonic Comedies -- Contents -- Abbreviations for Texts and Sources -- 1. The Masons and the Mysteries in 18th Century Thought and Drama -- 2. P. Clément, Les Fri-Ma -- 3. Carlo Goldoni, Le Donne Curiose -- 4. Francesco Griselini, I Liberi Muratori -- Appendix -- Bibliography -- Index for Three Masonic Comedies