Carbonari, A Secret Political Society

Carbonari
(CHARCOAL-BURNERS)

The name of a secret political society, which played an important part, chiefly in France and Italy, during the first decades of the nineteenth century

Article located here:

www.newadvent.org...


Anyone heard of this secret society before?

Yes, Garibaldi was a member.

Can you tell me a little more than that ML? What knowledge do you have of the Carbonari and their undertakings. Any links you can share?

I read a book about them once, it just had their history, a biography of their famous members, and their initiation rituals. They were an independent body but had ties to Mazzini's Young Italy movement, and wanted to unite the Italian nation under a democtratic republic and restrict the political influence of the papacy. It was sort of the Italian version of the Bavarian Illuminati, except most of the members were protestants instead of deists.

Fiat Lvx.



[edit on 19-10-2004 by Masonic Light]

What is the name of this book? Maybe I'll be lucky and find it in the local library. It would probably be a good read.

I think it was called "History of Secret Societies", or something similar. It is also had background and ritual excerpts of Masonry, Oddfellows, Woodmen of the World, Knights of Columbus, Knights of Pythias, the Orange Order, and the two more unsavory "secret societies", the Mafia and Ku Klux Klan.

Fiat Lvx.

Yes i have. we talked about it on history classes.

Here is a paper on the Carbonari and their actions. It makes for very intersting reading.
www.savefile.com...

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The author seems to make a case for their being a masonic offshoot, though notes that legend even attributes their formation to Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. The author actually has a number of papers that describe the rituals of the Carbonari. Apparently they claim Jesus Christ as the first "carbono" and the disciples as his carbonari. Some of their invovlment and that of other secret societies in the Italian revolution, the Risorgimento, is discussed here

It certainly does make an ineresting read sir. I noticed the article mentions the higher degrees which most never even new existed were like the Illuminati having the same goals which was to destroy every positive religion and every form of government and Monarchys.

I wonder why they chose a name which means coal burners?

I wasn't clear on that either. I looed around and found an explanation here, of all places
www.allstates-flag.com...


So I guess the idea stems from a more distant time when people couldn't pass through the town gates at will and needed permission to travel and the like. Or, perhaps, the people that formed the carbonari beleived that that was the case anyway.

Also they have a page on the carbonari flag here
www.allstates-flag.com...
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Aren't the (modern-day) Carbonari merely the Italian equivalent of the FBI or US Marshalls?