Brotherly Love

Freemasonry and Male Friendship in Enlightenment France

Nonfiction, History, France, Religion & Spirituality, Other Practices
Cover of the book Brotherly Love by Kenneth B. Loiselle, Cornell University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Kenneth B. Loiselle ISBN: 9780801454868
Publisher: Cornell University Press Publication: August 21, 2014
Imprint: Cornell University Press Language: English
Author: Kenneth B. Loiselle
ISBN: 9780801454868
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Publication: August 21, 2014
Imprint: Cornell University Press
Language: English

Friendship, an acquired relationship primarily based on choice rather than birth, lay at the heart of Enlightenment preoccupations with sociability and the formation of the private sphere. In Brotherly Love, Kenneth Loiselle argues that Freemasonry is an ideal arena in which to explore the changing nature of male friendship in Enlightenment France. Freemasonry was the largest and most diverse voluntary organization in the decades before the French Revolution. At least fifty thousand Frenchmen joined lodges, the memberships of which ranged across the social spectrum from skilled artisans to the highest ranks of the nobility. Loiselle argues that men were attracted to Freemasonry because it enabled them to cultivate enduring friendships that were egalitarian and grounded in emotion.Drawing on scores of archives, including private letters, rituals, the minutes of lodge meetings, and the speeches of many Freemasons, Loiselle reveals the thought processes of the visionaries who founded this movement, the ways in which its members maintained friendships both within and beyond the lodge, and the seemingly paradoxical place women occupied within this friendship community. Masonic friendship endured into the tumultuous revolutionary era, although the revolutionary leadership suppressed most of the lodges by 1794. Loiselle not only examines the place of friendship in eighteenth-century society and culture but also contributes to the history of emotions and masculinity, and the essential debate over the relationship between the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Friendship, an acquired relationship primarily based on choice rather than birth, lay at the heart of Enlightenment preoccupations with sociability and the formation of the private sphere. In Brotherly Love, Kenneth Loiselle argues that Freemasonry is an ideal arena in which to explore the changing nature of male friendship in Enlightenment France. Freemasonry was the largest and most diverse voluntary organization in the decades before the French Revolution. At least fifty thousand Frenchmen joined lodges, the memberships of which ranged across the social spectrum from skilled artisans to the highest ranks of the nobility. Loiselle argues that men were attracted to Freemasonry because it enabled them to cultivate enduring friendships that were egalitarian and grounded in emotion.Drawing on scores of archives, including private letters, rituals, the minutes of lodge meetings, and the speeches of many Freemasons, Loiselle reveals the thought processes of the visionaries who founded this movement, the ways in which its members maintained friendships both within and beyond the lodge, and the seemingly paradoxical place women occupied within this friendship community. Masonic friendship endured into the tumultuous revolutionary era, although the revolutionary leadership suppressed most of the lodges by 1794. Loiselle not only examines the place of friendship in eighteenth-century society and culture but also contributes to the history of emotions and masculinity, and the essential debate over the relationship between the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.

More books from Cornell University Press

Cover of the book Hirelings by Kenneth B. Loiselle
Cover of the book Ethnic Bargaining by Kenneth B. Loiselle
Cover of the book The East Country by Kenneth B. Loiselle
Cover of the book Bitter Choices by Kenneth B. Loiselle
Cover of the book Antiques by Kenneth B. Loiselle
Cover of the book Logics of War by Kenneth B. Loiselle
Cover of the book The Ethics of Destruction by Kenneth B. Loiselle
Cover of the book Breaking the Mold by Kenneth B. Loiselle
Cover of the book Juki Girls, Good Girls by Kenneth B. Loiselle
Cover of the book The Poison Plot by Kenneth B. Loiselle
Cover of the book Collaborative Governance for Urban Revitalization by Kenneth B. Loiselle
Cover of the book Winter in the Wilderness by Kenneth B. Loiselle
Cover of the book Representing the Holocaust by Kenneth B. Loiselle
Cover of the book My Imaginary Illness by Kenneth B. Loiselle
Cover of the book Her Father’s Daughter by Kenneth B. Loiselle
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy