French Masonic Document Signed by Jules Doinel
$600
Out of stock
Description
An unusual piece of French esoterica from the short-lived and controversial Masonic lodge redesigned and renamed by famed French gnostic and occultist, Jules Doinel (1827-1902).
A librarian and archivist by profession, Jules Doinel had been fascinated by the stories of St Joan of Arc and the Cathars from childhood. Following a stint in a Jesuit seminary, his life was split between the two calls: to the priesthood, and to all things esoteric.
Accepted into Freemasonry in 1884, by what was then called The Lodge of Emules de Montyon, Doinel quickly rose to mastery and influence, successfully proposing changing the lodge name to include the Egyptian Goddess Isis the following year.
To Doinel, the legend of Isis’ devoted search for the pieces of her husband’s body is the perfect symbol for science and the pursuit of hidden knowledge. As he explained in 1886,
“Isis represents the woman, the graceful, powerful and gentle being, through whom the intelligent species continues in this world…it represents for us, in this incessant struggle that we support against all errors and against all prejudices, the search for Truth: Truth dispersed in the Cosmos and in the intelligence, like the parts of the immolated body of Osiris.”
An admitted “hearing and seeing medium” from childhood, Doinel maintained an active interest in Spiritualism as well as the Swedenborg-influenced thought of Louis-Claude de Saint Martin, Martinism, in which he collaborated with Dr. Gerard Encausse, or, Papus. Although the majority of the lodge’s non-Spiritualist members had departed due to his influence, Doinel and his supporters defended that their supposed radicalism aimed to offer true equality in Masonry, opening membership to non-Catholics and non-Christians, anticipating the reforms that further separated French Freemasonry from its “Blue Lodge” counterparts.
Doinel’s separation from other Freemasons began with a series of visions in 1888, building to his self-declaration as “Tau Valentin II”, founding the French Gnostic Church in 1890, claiming to possess the restored secrets of the medieval Cathars.
Doinel’s commitment both to his lodge and his church were tested by Leo Taxil as part of the infamous, anti-Masonic Taxil Hoax. Convinced by Taxil’s story of satanic conspiracies at the heart of Freemasonry, Doinel began to suspect his experiences were a seduction by dark powers. In addition to abandoning his church, in 1895, he wrote Lucifer, Unmasked! under a penname supporting Taxil’s accusations and including purportedly protected Masonic secrets. When Doinel’s authorship was discovered, he was unanimously removed from the Isis-Montyon lodge and Freemasonry, despite having been elected Worshipful Master in both 1893 and 1894. The remaining members then voted to change the name back to “Emules de Montyon”.
Following the exposure of Leo Taxil as a fraud, Doinel attempted to make peace with his old friends to little avail. He died in obscurity at Carcassonne, a key Cathar stronghold, still attending local occult meetings and working as a librarian.
Along with Doinel’s signature in his role as orator, this diploma also bears the signature of multi-term president of the Grand Orient de France, Frederic Desmons, and the noted masonic historian Louis Amiable, author of the famous history of Benjamin Franklin’s Order of the Nine Sisters lodge in 1780s Paris. It is also possible that Georges-Leopold LeClerc may have been a relative of Doinel’s first wife, Stephanie LeClerc.
Large, eighths-folded printed diploma, completed by hand in pen. Stamp and seal of the Grand Orient de France, as well as the stamp of the Isis-Montyon Lodge. 11 signatures, including Jules Doinel as orator. Very good with some creases and mild soiling to edges.
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