The Felicitaries, officially the Ordre de Felicité, were a French fraternal order based upon freemasonry, which accepted women as well as men (i.e. were "adoptive" in masonic parlance).
The order was founded in Paris in 1743 by a M. Chambonnet. There were four grades: Cabin Boy, Patron, Commodore, and Vice-Admiral. The Grand Master was Admiral. As a seal the order used an anchor hanging from three silken cords. In 1748 the order was reinstituted as the Knights and Ladies of the Anchor.<ref name=EoF /> It was not generally popular with other freemasons, who saw it as frivolous and irregular.
|
