Stadholder William IV and freemasonry

The Institute for History in the Netherlands has made the inventories of the houses/posessions of the House of Orange (1576-1795) accessible online. A search for masonic terms generated just one item. The Inventory of clothing and precious objects of stadholder William IV [= ‘Inventaris van kleren en kostbaarheden van Willem IV, 1750], includes:

‘No 359: one decoration of enamel on copper, made in Berlin, representing a freemasons lodge’.

[= ‘No. 359: 1 plaque emaille sur cuivre, faite a Berlin, et representant un loge des francs-macons’.]

A new 'academic' initiative

The latest issue of Ken U Zelven, the magazine of the Grand East of the Netherlands, mentions the following news:

The Grand Masters of the Regular Grand Lodge of Belgium and the Grand East of the Netherlands have signed a Convenant on 1st June 2010, stating their intent to establish an academic bureau in order stimulate the study of masonic sources in the Dutch language area and to do so within one year. The bureau will support the Chair for the history of freemasonry at the Leiden University.

The author of this article justly remarks that it is curious, that the Statutes will include the formal condition that the academic bureau will be dissolved, if one of the participating Grand Lodges would lose its status as 'regular' masonic body. (Which means: is no longer recognized as regular by the Grand Lodge of England; a recognition which since the 18th century is based on, amongst others, the restriction of membership to men only).

There are several existing international networks and cooperation agreements between academic research centres, heritage institutes and scholars in the field of study, which include irregular masonic bodies (with both male and female members) and their museums. It is customary in academic circles not to state a preference for research into, or in cooperation with, regular or irregular masonic bodies. All of freemasonry, in it's many shapes and forms, is interesting within an historical perspective, and academic research should not be restricted by prejudice or preference, if it's results are to be impartial.
Any new initiative should be applauded, but the preference for 'regularity' stated here, could be interpreted to contradict the intended ' academic' character of this new initiative.

[Source: Ken U Zelven, nr. 7-2010, article by Louis van Koert of loge Concordia ad Libertatem]

18th-20th century newspapers online

The National Library of the Netherlands has made a database available of Dutch newspapers from 1615 until 1995, in which full text searches are possible. These newspapers contain a lot of information on Freemasonry in the Netherlands, but also report masonic news from abroad and include advertisements for contemporary publications on the subject.
For non-Dutch researchers it may be relevant to know that many of these newspapers were written in French (such as the Journal de La Haye, published up until 1849). The website also includes an option to view articles as text-only (OCR), which allows one to 'cut and paste' text in Word and then apply any (free, online) translation programme.
Website: http://kranten.kb.nl

Update on the Cultural Masonic Centre

In earlier messages on this blog, we have asked your attention for the controversial moving plans of the Order of Freemasons under the Grand East of the Netherlands, which involve the historical collections in the Cultural Masonic Centre in The Hague.
this plan met with much controversy amongst academia and heritage professionals. Several list members have actively supported the campaign by the OVN Foundation to respect the collection in its cultural, historical an academic infrastructure in The Hague.
Most recently received news is that the Grand Lodge intends to go ahead with its plans, but... decided to take the topic off the official agenda for the yearly meeting in June 2010. The reason given was that the Grand Lodge is considering a location offered in Utrecht, but that particular plan is in too premature a stage to discuss with the members or bring to a vote.
This means the decision on the Cultural Masonic Centre has been postponed until the yearly meeting of 2011 (or a special interim meeting on the subject, if called for).

The OVN Foundation made an appeal to the heritage sector and all lodges of the Grand East to respect the cultural, historical and academic ties of the collection to the city of The Hague, which go back nearly 300 years. Positive response came from several heritage organisations, which are willing to help the lodges in The Hague to come up with a more suitable plan. Many academics in the field of study wrote letters of support. And many Dutch lodges responded positively, complaining about the decision process used by of the Grand Lodge.

In June, a new Grand Master was installed, who may have a fresh view on the situation. The board members who initiated the plan for the move are no longer in office. Hopefully the new team of decision makers will see the importance of respecting the cultural and historical context of the collection, as well as it's academic infrastructure, and is willing to explore the options of realising its ambitions together with the heritage sector in The Hague.

Readers are invited to give their opinion on the situation via the survey above.

[Image: The Cultural Masonic Centre in The Hague, The Netherlands, www.vrijmetselarij.nl]

OVN research grant 2010

The OVN Foundation has awarded a research grant to to Joyce Stoffelsma, a student of western esotericism at the University of Amsterdam. The grant will allow Stoffelsma to make a professional inventory of the historical archive of the Dutch Federation of the International Order of Co-Masonry 'Le Droit Humain'. This inventory will make the archives dating from 1904 until 1945 accessible for future research. The project is made possible by kind cooperation of Le Droit Humain and The Hague's Municipal Archive. See earlier posts ons this blog for more information. Dr. Marco Pasi of the (chair for the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents) at the University of Amsterdam will oversee the progress of the project.

The Expression of Freemasonry

In 2008 prof.dr. Malcolm Davies organized the conference 'The Expression of Freemasonry' in The Hague. The papers presented at this conference were to be published, but unfortunately prof. Davies became ill and passed away before he could finish the project. As the Leiden University or the Order of Freemasons Under the Grand East of the Netherlands, who supported the conference, did not pick this project up, the OVN Foundation has offered to do so instead. With the kind cooperation of various speakers, a selection of the papers will be published by the OVN Foundation in 2010, as a fitting tribute to prof. Davies' contribution to the field of study. More information will be made available at a later stage.

CMRC conference

The Canonbury Masonic Research Centre in London is organizing its twelfth annual conference, which this year is devoted to the theme of ‘Anti-Masonry’. The full programme, including many prominent academic speakers, is available here. Topics discussed range from
the Unlawful Societies Act to the Protocols of Zion and Fascist attitudes to freemasonry.

New publications

- L'architecture maçonnique du 18e siècle à nos jours, exhibition catalogue Musée de la Grande Loge de France, Paris 2010, 152 pp. Nearly 300 objects, drawings, prints and paintings have been borrowed from the Masonic Museums in Europe (The Hague, Bayreuth, Brussels, Vienna, etc.) as well as large private and public collections.

- Janet Burke/Margaret Jacob, 'Les premières francs-maçonnes au siécle des Lumiéres', Monde Maçonnique I, Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux 2010. First volume of a new series edited by Cécile Révauger, 190 pp, € 17,-.

- An older publication, but now available online: José Antonio Ferrer Benimeli (ed.), Masonería, política y sociedad, Centro de Estudios Históricos de la Masonería Española, 1989. Download articles via Dialnet.

Save the CMC in The Hague

The OVN Foundation has written a pressing letter (in Dutch: 'brandbrief', literally: 'burning letter') to representatives of the government and heritage sector in The Hague, alerting readers to the planned move of a world famous heritage collection from the city. This letter informs local officals about the plans of the Order of Freemasons under the Grand East of the Netherlands to move it's historical collections, currently housed in the Cultural Masonic Centre, to another city in the Netherlands.
The Order's internal committee advising the on the move, has most recently stated that Amsterdam and Utrecht are the only suitable locations for a new National Masonic Centre, in which the collection is to be housed along with administrative offices and lodge facilities. This would mean ripping the important historical collection from its cultural and historical context: the city of The Hague, where the collection has organically grown for 300 years. The collection is historically and physically totally intertwined with the city and functions as an integral part of its excellent academic and heritage infrastructure. A move would diminish the collection's cultural value as a whole, sever ties with related collections and research infrastructure, and would also spell a cultural distaster for the region itself.
The masonic lodges in The Hague, organized in the 'Regioconvent Groot-Den Haag', have indicated they wish to keep the collection in The Hague, but have so far failed to take decisive action. There are many excellent alternatives to house a new National Masonic Centre in The Hague, which have not been explored or considered by the Order's decision makers in this process. No advice has been sought from independent heritage experts in this matter. Lodge members from across the country (who are largely unfamiliar with the contents and history of the collection, unaware of it's context and ties with the Hague, and unfamiliar with the physical needs of a collection of national importance) will be asked to vote about the collection's future at the next yearly meeting.
The 'brandbrief' calls upon the local government and heritage sector to join efforts with the local lodges and come up with an alternative plan, which will convince the Order and its members at the upcomming yearly meeting that the collection should be allowed to remain in The Hague.

Network Esoteric Collections in the Netherlands

In 2008 an OVN-conference was organized in the National Library of the Netherlands on the theme of 'Geheime kennis. De bijzondere archieven en bibliotheken van maçonnieke en esoterische organisaties in Nederland' (Secret Knowledge. The archives and libraries of masonic and esoteric organisations in the Netherlands). As a result, the OVN Foundation, Chair for the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents and the National Library discussed a plan to found a platform, which would unite professionals working with Dutch esoteric collections in both the public an private sector. They saw a growing need for interdisciplinairy exchange of knowledge and cooperation between the professional heritage sector, the academic sector and esoteric organisations concerning the care for the cultural heritage of esoteric currents.
Because other projects were prioritised, this plan remained on the shelf for some time. Meanwhile, so many new network opportunities have been created online, that there is no longer a need for the formal structure (and meeting schedule) of an association. This is why the OVN Foundation took the initiative in March 2010 to launch the online Network Esoteric Collections in the Netherlands. Free membership is open to curators of public and private esoteric collections, academics at university chairs and centres, and other professional researchers in the field of study.