Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society
testimony of the practice of the Rite of Perfection at the time when Etienne Morin implanted it between Santo Domingo and Jamaica . Undoubtedly , it even came from a Brother in his entourage : the presence of the “ Royal Secret ” ( which the copyist did not initially dare to name explicitly ) shows that he was allowed into the very heart of Morin ’ s system .
Therefore , the text on the Royal Secret — this “ Assembly of the Sublime Princes ,” which , although not a complete ritual as such , contains all the elements of one — very probably comes from Étienne Morin himself . The magnificent illustration of the “ camp of the Princes ,” which is one of the three plates included in the manuscript , also dates back to 1764 . Initially , since it is a very careful piece of work that contrasts with the rough style of the 1764 Santo Domingo Manuscript , I thought that it had been added later on , perhaps even by its owner in the early nineteenth century ( the author of the note making the link with the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite ). However , an in-depth examination of the way the plates have been stuck in at the end of the volume reveals that everything goes together , and that this plate was not a later addition . Importantly ( and movingly ), its forty-one-centimeter by forty-five-centimeter dimensions and the strong paper chosen suggest that it is probably a real painting that was used in ceremonies .
Is the 1764 Santo Domingo Manuscript the French original from which the Francken Manuscript was copied ? No , because if it was , how would we explain the missing sections and the few ( admittedly minor , but real ) differences between the two documents ? It seems more like a testimony on the Rite of Perfection in 1764 , and therefore naturally has close links to the French original of the Francken Manuscript . It is even possible to envisage the following hypothesis : the 1764 Santo Domingo Manuscript reflects the state of the Rite of Perfection in 1764 , when there were only 23 degrees , as specified in the note at the top of the Knight of the Sun ritual . This early state might actually help to explain its “ rough ” aspect . Étienne Morin honed and added to his system between 1764 and 1765 – 68 , when it had 25 degrees , and conferred it to Henry Andrew Francken .
The 1764 Santo Domingo Manuscript therefore appears as a very important document on the beginnings of the Rite of Perfection , and therefore as an essential source on the origins of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite .
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