Hadik Barkóczy Ilona és a szabadkőművesek
Helene Hadik-Barkóczy and the Freemasons

Summary/Abstract: The paper describes in detail and analyzes the unduly neglected story of the initiation of a woman, the countess Helene Hadik-Barkóczy as a Freemason and the subsequent annulment of the process. In Hungary, there were two masonic Grand Lodges, The Grand Lodge of St. John and the Grand Orient, which operated independently from each other. With the support of Johannite Grand Master Ferenc Pulszky. the countess’ initiation was carried out in a provincial lodge of the Grand Orient. Her initiation was then declared void by the Grand Orient and the participants were punished. To support her request and later the validity of the initiation, the countess referred to precedent. Her argument was based on her knowledge about Freemasonry, her legal status as a male heir (praefectio) and the lack of gender requirements in the constitution of the Grand Orient. On the basis of a Prussian concept of law typical in the country at the time, the latter revoked the initiation with reference to non-compliance with the bureaucratic formal requirements of the Grand Orient. It is an interesting contradiction that while the countess’ emancipatory claims were based on a feudalistic institution (praefectio) the basis for the Freemasons’ refusal was the ideal of civic equality.

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