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It was not until after the mid-eighteenth century that the masonic lodges in Edinburgh became common meeting ground for the social and intellectual elite. While there are examples of these types of men joining before 1750, it was after this watershed date that some of the key men associated with enlightenment thinking in Scotland became members of Edinburgh lodges. Robert Adam, Hugh Blair, Lord Monboddo, James Gregory, Henry Mackenzie and Dugald Stewart are only a few examples of men who made a dual contribution to both freemasonry and the enlightenment. 'Freemasonry in Edinburgh, 1721-1746 : institutions and context' is an examination of freemasonry in Edinburgh before the dramatic influx of the elite. It was during this period that three major developments occurred: existing lodges began the slow transition from traditional operative lodges to the more modern, accepted lodges; lodges were being founded with little or no connection to stonemasons or stoneworks; and, the Grand Lodge of Scotland was established, creating a definite masonic community both within and outwith Edinburgh. This thesis charts the progress of the transition in nine Edinburgh lodges by examining both the histories and membership of these lodges, and considers the influence of the Grand Lodge of Scotland on this process. The key element in this transitional process was the membership. A total of 785 men are known to have joined, or belonged to, these lodges during this period. These men represented occupations from the advocate to the humble wine cooper's servant, and social circumstances from the baronet to the indweller. This membership analysis was the most important area of research because it illustrated the transition in the lodges. Using 30 November 1736, the date that the Grand Lodge Roll began, as a watershed date, it is possible to establish the membership of the lodges during the entire period of study, and to compare the membership of pre-Grand Lodge lodges both before and after the establishment of the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

The thesis attempts to revise our view of Georgian poetry, and thus to rescue it from the critical disregard and disdain it has suffered since the 1930s. Georgian poetry will be redefined as a strong traditional poetry contemporaneous with, and yet different from, literary Modernism. An historical overview of the critical literature from the 1920s onwards will reveal the original co-existence of those now known as 'Georgians' and 'Modernists', stress their mutual break with Edwardian conventions, and will sketch the process by which Georgianism and Modernism became oppositional. Georgianism will be re-evaluated as a brave and creditable attempt to continue the Romantic and humanistic impulse in poetry at a time when younger and ostensibly more radical writers were forsaking it for the values of Modernism. The thesis will further suggest that the Georgian poets had a rather more socially aware and progressive agenda than many of the fledgling Modernists. Georgian poetry is reread, therefore, in order to bring out, as major themes, its concern with the poor and with work, with the changing environment of the nation, with the position of women in Georgian society, and with its response to the First World War. This reappraisal will lead to the contention that Georgianism should not be viewed as a low point in British poetry, but instead as supplying the formal foundations and political sensibility which mark the achievement of Great War poetry. While the thesis is careful not to overbid its claims for reviewing the Georgians' own achievement (especially in respect of their relative lack of formal experimentation compared to the Modernists), it hopes nevertheless to persuade its readers that the poets of 'Liberal England' had a more humane and realistic vision of their world than they have hitherto been credited with.

Auch in Polen ist die zweite Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts eine Zeit, in der man – wie am Beispiel der Warschauer Bühne gezeigt werden soll - auf eine fast experimentelle Weise den Prozeß grundlegender Wandlungen verfolgen kann, die in der Organisation, in der Funktionsweise und im künstlerischen Profil des Operntheaters vor sich gehen.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1950 O4 / Master of Science

This study examines the life of William Vaughan, a merchant in London during the revolutionary era, and the product of a new form of liberal education developed in England's Dissenting Academies. By taking full advantage of the innovative principles of liberal education developed by men like Joseph Priestley, Vaughan, as a professional, was able to wield social and political influence on behalf of a new merchant class previously excluded from the halls of power. Vaughan's success as governor of the Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation and promoter of the English shipping industry, as well as his service as a member of numerous civic and philanthropic organizations, demonstrated a commitment to gradual improvements in the material and moral circumstances of the British Empire that had relatively little to do with the partisan political categories typically associated with the revolutionary era. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

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John Brown (1715-1766) has been portrayed by historians for generations as the archetypal Jeremiah. Depressed about the state of his country, he predicted the collapse of Britain in foreign war or by national bankruptcy. The main negative argument of the An Estimate of the Manners and the Principles of the Times (1757) was that effeminacy and luxury sprang from vast wealth and trade and would soon ruin the nation. In this thesis I contend that this idea does not capture the essence of Brown. John Brown‘s fascinated contemporaries not only because it was a cynical attack on contemporary commercial society. Actually, the Estimate is worthy of attention because Brown was a reformer of a particular kind. The central argument of this thesis is that in order to explore the Estimate as more than a political worry, as in fact a complicated and positive reform strategy, great attention needs to be paid to his politics and philosophy. None of the studies on Brown have taken his politics sufficiently seriously as a contribution to the reform philosophies of his time. This thesis is the first detailed study of the Estimate, its origins, arguments, reception and defence. The analysis of the Estimate can cast more light on the understanding of reform strategies during the enlightenment era and also their limits. This thesis indicates that Brown was less radical and more constructive than studies to date have imagined. In this thesis the extent of the impact of Brown‘s claims is measured, and the manner by which Brown‘s work served to highlight contrasting reform philosophies is emphasised. Therefore the aim of the thesis is to show the full extent of the reform plan Brown envisaged, unifying the moral, religious and political aspects of his thought.