We now delve deep into the aluminum-hat sector of the Land of Conspiracy Theory.
.
The 33rd Twitter clue, sent at about 7:30 a.m. PDT, Wed. July 8th:
.
Ehrenhalber gruendervater?
.
[Note: I cannot represent in Blogger the u-umlaut -- the "u with two dots over it" in gruendervater, and so, per the usual practice, added the first "e."]
.
This is German for "honorary founding father?"; however, in contrast to Clue #29, which was about someone who is acknowledged by legitimate historians as an 'honorary founding father' (the French philosopher Voltaire), this Twitter clue involves someone who is only claimed as an 'honorary founding father' by the most fringe-y of conspiracy researchers.
.
You see, there is no German intellectual who provided philosophical inspiration to the American Founding Fathers, no parallel to Voltaire. (Military leaders of any nation, like the German von Steuben, do not count for the status of "founding father"; among American Founding Fathers, only Washington was military.) However, for over two centuries, it has been rumored that there was a German -- actually, a Bavarian -- who acted as the secret force behind the American Revolution: Adam Weishaupt, founder of the Bavarian Illuminati, upon whom I focused in my consideration of Clue #5.
.
A lot of people were actually less than happy with the American Revolution. A lot of Loyalists (people who supported the English crown) were put out by being forced to leave the former colonies for their political position. A lot of clergy of "established" churches (churches formerly supported by the government) were troubled by the withdrawal of support, which they took to be an attempt to undermine religion generally. Overall, many people in the new United States -- echoing even greater numbers of people in Europe, still under the power of Crown and Church -- were troubled by the direction that the new Republic was taking, in denying aristocrats and clergy their former privileged position in government.
.
Thus arose the rumor that the inspiration of the new Republic was actually the Illuminati, the anticlerical, antiroyalist secret society, also founded in 1776 (although in Bavaria) by Weishaupt (pictured above). Although the Illuminati were suppressed beginning in 1784, and essentially extinct by 1793, it was in their afterlife that the Illuminati really got going.
.
In the 1790s and thereafter, American clergy preached sermons from their pulpits against the supposed influence of the Illuminati in the United States. Books originally published in Europe alleging the ongoing Illuminist conspiracy, such as John Robison's Proofs of a Conspiracy (1797), were widely read in the United States and fanned the flames of what amounted to hysteria. The first novel by the first American to make his living as a novelist, Charles Brockden Brown's Wieland (and his unfinished Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist) involved the role of an Illuminati agent in America impersonating the voice of God to convince a man to murder his wife and children. Thomas Jefferson himself had to answer charges that he was an Illuminatus.
.
It gets better. The 1970s-era Illuminatus! trilogy of novels, by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson (two editors at Playboy), put forth the rumor that Adam Weishaupt left Europe, came to the United States, murdered George Washington and actually took Washington's place as first President of the U.S. Now, looking at the portrait of Weishaupt above, you can see how this rumor began. However, incredibly enough, there are those who believe today that this actually happened!
.
No, it gets even better. Current on-the-fringe proponents of conspiracy theories -- people like Jim Marrs, Texe Marrs, and David Icke -- say that the modern world is under the secret control of the Illuminati even today. For Jim Marrs, the Illuminati are political powers; for Texe Marrs, they are Satanists; for David Icke, they are reptile-like space aliens. (No, I am not making this up.)
.
How will the Illuminati and Weishaupt figure into The Lost Symbol? Good question. In the Dan Brown universe, the Illuminati were a society of scientists founded in the 1500s in Rome; in reality, they were a society of anticlerical, antiroyalist conspirators founded in 1776 in Bavaria. Perhaps Brown will include Weishaupt and the Bavarian Illuminati as a later incarnation of his scientific society; after all, in Angels & Demons, Robert Langdon said the Illuminati had taken a "darker" turn. It looks as if Brown will be resurrecting the old rumors about the Illuminati being involved in the founding of the American republic. However, this being Dan Brown, you can be sure that he will add twists and turns and unforeseen developments galore.
.
Incidentally, it is a nice touch by the clue authors to make this the 33rd Twitter clue. Of course, the number "33" (in a triangle, yet!) figures into the newly released cover of The Lost Symbol (see the post on Clue #31). The ruling body of the Scottish Rite is described as the Supreme Council, 33rd degree. And, of course, in the fringe of the conspiracy theory community, Scottish Rite 33rd degree Freemasons supposedly rule the world.
.
Copyright 2009 Mark E. Koltko-Rivera. All Rights Reserved.
.
Posts
