The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

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Chapter 9 - Masonic and Anti-Masonic Literature
1739; the melodram The Grand Master of the Templars in 1806; another
melodram, Jacques Molai, in 1807; and the tragedy The Death of James Molai in
1812.
In Frankfurt and Leipzig, The Freemason's Secret was performed in 1741.
Denmark knew a Masonic play in 1745, and Italy in 1785. European Masonry,
being generally more tight-lipped than its American fellow organizations, was
really not behind with regard to exposing Masonic contents on the theater stage.
Thus, Elisabeth Großegger describes several Masonic dramas performed in the
18 th and 19 th centuries in Austria in her book Freimaurerei und Theater. 1770-
1800. Freimaurerdramen an den k.k. privilegierten Theatern in Wien. According
to Großegger, Freemasonry was not very secretive in Vienna, belonging to the
daily topics. 1739 Masonic songs were composed, published, and sung in public;
people wore Masonic symbols as "joujoux" on their watch chains; and several
fashion accessories, such as the white muffs with blue hems, were called "à la
franc-maçon." The Masonic theater plays, or such that contained Masonic
references, are a witness of the development of Freemasonry in Austria and the
reaction of the Emperors and the profane population towards it. Furthermore,
these dramas helped the Freemasons to find a self-definition and to look for their
roots - a Masonic problem already mentioned in the Introduction. 1740 Großegger
came to the following conclusion:
Die Bühne wurde nicht nur von freimaurerischen Tendenzen
durchtränkt, sie wurde geradezu Spiegel des sich wandelnden
Schicksales der Freimaurerei. So wurden [...] Stücke aufgezeigt, die von
zaghafter Erwähnung der Freimaurerei in der Frühphase, bis zur
Darstellung von Aufnahmeriten in der Spätphase reichten. Damit
verbunden war der Versuch darzustellen, daß freimaurerischer Einfluß
nicht nur an den Ideen und Symbolen ablesbar ist, sondern sich auch
dort bemerkbar macht, wo es um Themen- und Stoffwahl geht. Die dem
Selbstverständnis der Freimaurer dienenden Ursprungsforschungen
blieben nicht ohne Prägung auf das Theater. 1741
Under different Emperors, the Austrian Masons experienced rise and decline.
The Emperor Joseph II had a positive opinion of the Craft and delivered a patent
on Freemasonry in 1785 according to which Masons were not only tolerated in
silence but acknowledged by the state. However, the liberties and duties of the
Masons were re-arranged and limited. In 1784, Schröder's drama Die
Freymaurer was performed, which openly discussed the problems of
Freemasonry on a profane stage: "Vorwürfe, die den Freimaurern immer wieder
gemacht wurden, werden diskutiert, argumentiert, widerlegt. Was hier an
1739 Cf. Großegger, p. 103.
1740 It has been shown that several American Masonic authorities of the 18 th and 19 th centuries tried to
trace Freemasonry back to impossible times (creation of the world, the Flood, etc.). In Hensler's
play "Die Tempelherren," they are traced back to the Knights Templar of the crusades.
1741 Großegger, p. 122.