Archives crucial for Freemasons’ identity
22 December 2020

The Order of Freemasons’ meticulous archives are fundamental to their identity, according to a thesis from Uppsala University, which focuses on the Masons’ archives in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Order of Freemasons’ meticulous archives are fundamental to their identity. The unique structure of the masonic archives reinforces the secrecy and mystique of the self-image that has been fashioned by the Order — and characterises it in the eyes of others. This is shown in a recent thesis from Uppsala University, which focuses on the Masons’ archives in the 18th and 19th centuries.
“On the other hand, there’s no longer as much secrecy as many people, both inside and outside the Order, believe. Digital versions of numerous printed works from the 18th and 19th centuries are now available online, and scholars have access to huge amounts of material in public research libraries and archives, especially in Germany and France.”
The speaker is Tim Berndtsson, a recent PhD graduate, whose thesis is about the archiving practices of Freemasonry in Europe. He spent five years reading documents and exploring archives in Copenhagen, Berlin and The Hague. He also visited the Archive and Library of the Swedish Order of Freemasons, which until recently were closed to external researchers.
Berndtsson’s research was motivated by his wish to investigate the nature of archiving practices in organised civic life and associations of the 18th century. Within a fairly short time, the masonic approach to archiving presented itself as a subject in its own right. The Masons established an advanced system of administrative autonomy, while the closed nature of Freemasonry also made their local associations (“lodges”) repositories of esoteric knowledge.
The European continental branch of Freemasonry (to which Sweden belongs), in particular, is distinguished by its comprehensive documentation and archiving tradition.
Powerful conspiracy theories
Berndtsson’s research focuses mainly on the latter half of the 18th century – a period when secrets of diverse kinds were a central feature of existence but the authorities, for their part, were deeply suspicious of all covert activities. This epoch culminated in the French Revolution (1789–99), which some sought to blame entirely on the Freemasons.

Photo: Agnes Kotka
“There are powerful conspiracy theories about them that have come to the fore at various times in history, depending on contemporary events. There’s no evidence for the demonising theories. It’s the very secrecy that creates them and has caused problems for the Masons, not only in the 18th and 19th centuries, but also from the world wars of the 20th century on.”
During the Second World War (1939–45), the Nazis systematically confiscated all the masonic material they could find. Once the war had ended, the Freemasons in France and Germany opted to deposit their collections in national research archives and generally open them up for serious scholarship. Given that the collections had already been brought out into the open, locking them away again was, they reasoned, no end in itself. This is the reason for the accessibility of these collections today, to members of the Order and outsiders alike.
Some of Berndtsson’s conclusions are as follows.
The Freemasons base their self-image and brand alike on all-inclusive archiving. Their thoroughness shows the conceptual importance of the archives in the 18th century, and also reflects how Freemasons in general see themselves.
“The Masons may be said to have created archives, but archives have also created the Masons. They’ve had clear rules about archiving. They’ve archived a great volume of different materials – from restaurant bills to initiation rituals – methodically and with meticulous care. They’ve managed to maintain the same procedures for a long time, and so been able to secure their own continuity, and build their own identity, over the centuries.”
Mixed archives
The Freemasons’ way of archiving demonstrates the diverse uses of archives through history.
Nowadays, many people associate archives with openness, but in the 18th century – especially for the Freemasons – secrecy was a more important component. Modern archive theory distinguishes between archives composed of administrative registers and those containing scholarly collections. The Masons’ archives were of both types, often mixed together and not infrequently housed in the same space. Administrative documents, such as a membership register, records of proceedings and descriptions of how to perform rituals for specific ranks, are stored on the same shelves in the same libraries as narratives about the history of the Knights Templar, alchemy, kabbalah and astrology.
“The elements of both administrative control and esoterica, which some have regarded as hocus-pocus and others a source of spiritual wisdom, have also resulted in the archives as such becoming the subject of fantasy. Ever since the 18th century, both conspiracy theories and novels have been created on the basis of notions about the Masons’ ‘secret archives’. These fantasies of hidden information and knowledge, in turn, have led to further books and other writings being produced – reinforcing even more the conception of Freemasonry as something exclusive and exceptional,” Berndtsson says.
Publication
Berndtsson, T. (2020). The Order and the Archive: Freemasonic Archival Culture in Eighteenth-Century Europe. PhD thesis, Uppsala University, published in Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis.
News
-
“The public is generally poorly informed”
29 mars 2023
Hello May-Britt Öhman, researcher at the Centre for Multidisciplinary Studies on Racism and expert contributor to the Government's Committee on Reindeer Lands.What is the purpose of this inquiry?
-
From living heritage to zombie churches
22 mars 2023
Churches are preserved by an antiquarian system that risks killing them instead of keeping them alive. The Swedish State and the Church of Sweden therefore need to define new joint visions and goals to enable the ecclesiastical cultural heritage t...
-
Democracy researchers to participate in literature festival
22 mars 2023
War, crime and literature as a path to reconciliation is the theme of the Uppsala International Literature Festival on March 23–25. One of the organisers is the Democracy and Higher Education research programme at Uppsala University. Christina Kul...
-
ERC grant for research into Swedish slavery
03 februari 2023
Fredrik Thomasson, researcher at the Department of History at Uppsala University, has received the ERC Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). This grant relates to a project on Swedish colonial history on the island of Saint ...
-
The names given to the clouds, an important part of the university's history
04 januari 2023
The book “Molnspanare– en meteorologisk historia” (Cloud spotters – a meteorological history) tells of the emergence of meteorology as a scientific subject. Among other things, you can read about how the Latin names and classification of the cloud...
-
The history of Easter Island can teach us about sustainability
08 december 2022
Tourism has exploded on Easter Island over the last twenty years – something that has led to both financial gain and major encroachments on the island's environment. Researchers from Uppsala are now studying how history can teach us to build a mo...
-
Nobel Prize-winning literature often published by small publishing houses
05 december 2022
During the Christmas trade period, books written by the latest Nobel Prize laureate tend to sell at least as well as the more traditional bestsellers. It is very important for publishers to have Nobel Prize winners on their lists, according to res...
-
Conference: 30 years of EU citizenship
21 november 2022
This year marks 30 years since European Union citizenship came into being. It will be highlighted at an international, interdisciplinary conference in Uppsala on 22–23 November. Both researchers and all those interested are welcome to attend.
-
New honorary doctors in the Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences
03 november 2022
The faculties at Uppsala University have decided on the award of honorary doctorates for 2022. Among the new honorary doctors at faculties in the Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences are researchers in economic geography, family l...
-
The vulnerability of surrogate mothers in a global market
17 oktober 2022
A new dissertation on surrogacy highlights Thai women's experiences of having acted as surrogate mothers. The dissertation shows the women's vulnerability in a global surrogacy industry, but also provides a more nuanced picture of what makes women...
-
Historical discoveries as Linnaeus Garden is excavated
07 oktober 2022
Unique pots, eighteenth-century porcelain and the bones of countless fish and birds: archaeologists who have been excavating part of the Linnaeus Garden have come across a wealth of exciting objects that can tell us more about the people and anima...
-
Popular 18th-century medicine in a new form
05 september 2022
Hello to Nils-Otto Ahnfelt, PhD pharmacist and visiting researcher at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences. Together with the historian of science Hjalmar Fors, you have developed a reconstruction of the 300-year-old medicine Hjärnes Testa...
-
Torgny Segerstedt Medal and Geijer Prize winners announced
05 september 2022
This year’s Torgny Segerstedt Medal has been awarded to Mikael Stenmark, professor in philosophy of religion at the Department of Theology. The Geijer Prize goes to Viktor Persarvet and Astrid Wendel-Hansen.
-
Digging from the present down to antiquity
30 augusti 2022
Welcome to the Viking Age! The archaeology students, with their trowels and their scrapers, have dug past the medieval layers and made their way down to the 11th century, approximately 30 centimetres below today's ground level. During the seminar ...
-
The sheep – Gotland’s symbol of sustainability
14 juni 2022
Sheep are the strongest symbol of sustainability on Gotland, according to Gurbet Peker. Not only do real ones graze all over the island, you can even find sheep sculpted in concrete in Visby. Peker researches the day-to-day lives of lamb farmers i...
-
Can democracy solve the climate crisis?
13 juni 2022
Hello Linda Wedlin, organisor and moderator of a panel discussion during Almedalen Week with the theme ‘What knowledge and what kind of democracy is needed for a successful climate transition?’ What are you going to be discussing?
-
Mapping people of the past by means of their bones
09 maj 2022
What is the best way to find out about a human being or animal that has been dead for perhaps several centuries? “Study the bones” is what Sabine Sten, professor of osteoarchaeology, would say. They can reveal an individual's age, body length, DNA...
-
Transforming space and society in Kiruna
24 mars 2022
State and corporate ideas about nature, people and the future played a decisive role in the development of Kiruna as a mining town over a century ago. Since 2004, when 6,000 Kiruna residents were informed that they would have to move because of gr...
-
New light cast on female pelvises in University collections
04 mars 2022
Many of the University’s museums currently hold preserved specimens of embryos, fetuses, newborns, and women’s pelvises. During the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century, these formed part of embryological and obstetric collections at...
-
350 years old remains in a Stone Age site in Portugal
25 februari 2022
An African man who lived just 350 years ago was buried in a prehistoric shell midden in Amoreira in Portugal. This was very surprising because Amoreira and other midden sites in the Muge region are well known by archaeologists for the cemeteries o...