Landgrave Karl of Hesse

In 1782, the Knights Templar Order met at Wilhelmsbad in a congress hosted by Landgrave Karl von Hesse-Kassel (1744-1836). A publisher named J.C. Bode, who recently
was recruited into the Illuminati, enlisted Karl von Hesse into
the Illuminati at the Wilhelmsbad Congress as alias Aaron.1
In 1817, Karl von Hesse would write a memoir published privately and then publicly in 1861 after his death that
revealed what happened at Wilhemsbad. He said the meeting
decided there to overthrow France. Karl went along with this
plan until after the Congress Bode revealed to him elements
of the Illuminati plan that he thought were revolting.
Role at The Templar Wilhemsbad Congress

Karl von Hesses knowledge of the Wilhemsbad Templar Congress came from being a co-host of the event. As
Wilhemsbad was a small town outside of Hanau, it was
within his domain.2 As a leading figure of Templarism as
well as the host of the Wilhelmsbad Congress, the man then
known as Landgrave Karl von Hesse (1744-1836) sat during
the sessions beside Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick the head
of the Templar Order at the Wilhemsbad Congress.

1. Francovich, Storia della Massoneria in Italia Dalle Origini alla Rivoluzione Francese, supra, at 347.
2. Hanau was under the sovereignty of the mother of Karl since 1760. See
Autobiography of Charles of Hesse, Littells Living Age (July-Sept.
1866) Vol. II at 199. This article is another review of Karl von Hesses
memoir published in 1861.
Introduction

Prior Role of Karl von Hesse in France & With Templars

Karl von Hesse in 1773 at Paris co-founded the Rite

of Philalthes at the Lodge Amis Runis.3 In 1775, Karl
joined the Strict Observance (Templars) lodge in Denmark.4
In 1779, the Paris Amis Runis although patented by the
Grand Orient (the licensing superior organization of French
Freemasonry) decided to ally itself with the Lyons Templar
Strict Observance known as the Chevaliers Bienfaisants. It
did so by adding in 1779 a grade called Knight Templar
adopted from the Lyons Templar lodge.
Brief Biography of Karl von Hesse

While the name [Hesse] sounds German,... he was a

Dane, a man of great prominence, [a commander in] the Danish Army, a relative of the Danish King.5 For most of his
life, Charles lived in Gottorp Castle with his family. For several years, he was royal governor and commanding general of
the twin duchies Schleswig-Holstein.6 In 1805, Karl was
given the title Landgrave of Hesse by his elder brother, who
had assumed the higher dignity and titulary of Imperial
Prince-Elector.
Karl von Hesse is not to be confused with his nephew,
Charles of Hesse, who travelled to Paris in 1790, and became
a Jacobin. Later Charles served as General within the armed
forces of revolutionary France.7

3. Terry Melanson, Perfectibilists: The 18th Century Bavarian Order of

the Illuminati (2009) at 332.
4. Melanson, Perfectibilists, supra, at 333.
5. Helene Petrovna Blavatsky, Theosophical Quarterly Magazine (19311932) (2003 reprint) at 359.
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_of_Hesse (accessed 6/11/09).
7. No such exploits are mentioned as part of his biography. See http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_of_Hesse. Rather, these are the activities of Carl Constantin von Hessen-Rotenburg (1752-1821).
Introduction

Memoir of 1817

In 1817, as Karl von Hesse neared his 72th year, he

left an explanation of his life in the Illuminati in his handwritten memoirs. He learned at Wilhelmsbad of the plan to overthrow France. Yet he had no problem in this until Bode
revealed to him an Illuminati writing that he had to return
some days later. It represented the entire plan of the Order.
After studying them carefully, Karl regarded these plans as
contrary to religion and morality. Karl was not a Christian.
Rather, he was a serious follower of Egyptian mysteries then
in vogue, although he was an admirer of Jesus. But Karl saw
lessons in the Illuminati that would undermine religion and
morality. Thus, in 1817 Karl of Hesse explained that from at
least 1783 onward he had worked as an Illuminati leader
solely to undermine the Illuminati.
Karl von Hesses memoir was later privately published by his long-time friend and loyal freemason, Mr. Gerber.8 It was written/dictated by Karl in French in March 1817
and then published in 1861 at Copenhagen as Mmoires de
mon Temps dicts par S.A. Landgrave Charles, Prince de
Hesse (Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz, 1861).9
However, the memoir was familiar to masonic brothers by at least 1821. For Cadet-Gassicourt who died in 1821
mentions in Ancient Initiates a sequel to his Tombeau du
Molai published posthumously10 that additional evi8. On Gerber, the autobiography of Karl von Hesse, and this memoir
admitting to the Illuminatis plans at Wilhelmsbad, see Saint-Rene
Taillandier, Un Prince Allemand Du XVIII Siecle DApres des Memoirs Inedits, Revue des Deux Mondes (Jan. 1, 1866) 891, at 923 n. 1.
Gerber also wrote a book-length proposal for reform of Freemasonry
dedicated to Karl von Hesse. Id. at 923. Both Karl von Hesse and his
friend Gerber consistently displayed a life-long zeal to protect and promote Freemasonry, and never slandered the organization.
9. The original text is available through Gallica (and posted in the Rare
Book section of my website) or a reprint can be obtained via Amazon
in a print by Adamant Media Corporation in 2001.
10.Charles Louis Cadet de Gassicourt, Wikipedia (French).
Introduction

dence to support the connections he was drawing (i.e., the

Templars/Illuminati to the French Revolution) comes from
Karl von Hesse.11
At the same time, this book Mmoires de mon Temps
was not intended for the public. The Endinburgh Review
noted that the book was printed for private circulation in a
very distinguished circle but for the honour of receiving a
copy we are indebted to the condescending kindness of an
illustrious personage at the Court of Denmark. It added: We
have reason to believe that no objection will be taken to the
use we are about to make of it.12 After a comprehensive
review, the Edinburgh Review found that the most implicit
reliance may be placed in [Karls] accuracy and good faith.
(Id.)
The Key Portion of The Memoir About the Illuminati

Karl von Hesse said in a memoir dated March 31,

1817 found to begin at page 136 of the Mmoires the
following about the Illuminati, the plan of a French Revolution and the Wilhemsbad Congress:
[136] The year 1782 was fixed for a masonic convention at
Wilhemsbad. The Duke Ferdinand, the grand-superior of
the Order, had already spoken to me a couple of years earlier, approving and desiring it quickly... It was decreed to
assemble... I had been grand master of two German provinces, and of Italy, but I was able to make it a separate
province. [137] I am not permitted to say more about its
work. It will suffice to say that we infinitely sought to
improve the order, and a religious tendency began to
replace the preceding goals. At the same time, a new society, formed in Germany, especially in Bavaria, was
named the Illuminati. Many of their leaders were at
Frankfurt and many gathered around also the city of
11.See Appendix L: Gassicourt From Inside Reveals Agencies Who
Caused The French Revolutions on page 1.
12.Edinburgh Review (London: 1866) Vol. 251 (Jan.-April. 1866) at 484.
A German edition was printed in 1866.
Introduction

Hanau. They were able to gain most of the deputies [at

Wilhemsbad] to their system of iniquity which had much
in common with the principles of the Jesuits [N.B. he may
mean their strict discipline] and above all with Jacobinism. It started out that there were a few proselytes amongst
the deputies, but they were able to gain over a great number. The next year, Bode came to see me at Kassel to talk
to me of this New Order, that is masked behind the first
degrees of Freemasonry. He began by saying that its aim
was to overthrow the Church and Thrones.13
Bode was a strong honest man of very good intentions.
He gave me a notebook and said to me: You see here a
system which may cause the misery of mankind if it falls
into bad hands; but governed by a man of sound understanding, it may also do much good. I place these papers in
your hands, being fully empowered by the Order, and you
must be one of the chiefs: it is the north of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Russia that will depend entirely on
you.14
He left the papers with me and he would return to take my
orders within a few hours. I spread out the papers as
promptly as I could, and prayed to God from the bottom of
my heart to guide me in an affair of such importance for
the good of the entire world. I saw very well what I would
do, and my first movement was to bear witness as to the
horrors that I found;15 but, moreover, I felt the evil which
could result from ambitious hands, egoists, like Bode,
who would put themselves above the law of religion and
morals. I remained poised and responded to Bode, when
he returned [138] to me, about the question he put to me:
Well! you have the papers! How do you find them? Do
you accept the charge of the office that is offered you?

13.The sentence in the 1861 French version is: Le commencement

paraissait mener au bien, la fin tait la renversement de lglise et des
trnes.
14.For this quote of Bode by Karl, the translation was taken from the
Edinburgh Review (London: 1866) Vol. 251 (Jan.-April. 1866) at 522.
15.The 1861 French version reads: Je vis bientt de quoi il saggisait, et
mon premier mouvement furt de tmoigner, combien jabhorrais les
horreurs qui sy trouvaient.
Introduction

From that point until the end, I accepted the charge, with
the customary condition that the highest grades of the
order of masonry would not enter without my permission. With this understanding, he responded that you are
empowered to arrange everything as you find good.
The name of the charge was called the National of the
North. This was a perfect plan for the introduction of
Jacobinism.16
I received a list of members, which still exists. They fortunately were not strong, and then I returned to Denmark,
and I spoke with their leaders, taking each aside separately. But, I say, none of them knew yet the highest grades
and did not know the ruinous goal where they were to be
drawn along. I instructed them that I had accepted the
title Chief of the North to arrest the progress of this monstrous society. God is my witness! It did not do well in the
North, because of the persecutions that began in Bavaria,
and Jacobinism did not take hold in Germany, as it did in
France, where I had already learned at Wilhemsbad that
it was planned to make a revolution.17

The Edinburgh Review simply summarizes this part.

It does so without noticing the amazing revelation it represented. The Review seemed to have no knowledge about the
significance of what Karl was saying. It even erroneously
said the Illuminati were formed in Germany in 1782,18
exposing that the reviewer of 1866 did not know much about
the Illuminati. Nor did the review understand the importance
16.The original text reads, Ctait un plan parfait de lintroduction du
jacobinisme.
17.These last two sentences read in the original: Je les en instuisis, en
leur disant que je navais accept dtre le chef du Nord, que pour
arrter les progrs de cette monstreuse socit. Dieu soit lou, elle ne
fit plus un pas dans le Nord, au moins de mon su. Les perscutions
commencrent en Bavire, et le jacobinisme ne put prendre racine en
Allemagne, comme it fit en France, o jappris dj Wilhemsbad
quon prmditait une rvolution. Mmoires de mon Temps dicts
par S.A. Landgrave Charles, Prince de Hesse (Copenhagen: 1861) at
138.
18.Edinburgh Review (London: 1866) Vol. 251 (Jan.-April. 1866) at 522.
Introduction

of this memoir to unravel the origins of the French Revolution. The reviewer then blandly notes that the Illuminati told
Karl their real object was revolution in church and state.19
Despite mentioning that fact, the reviewer makes no mention
of how these facts would change the perception of the history
of the French revolutions of 1789 or 1792. The Edinburgh
Review ends the review by saying that Karl von Hesse takes
credit for having thus checked the spread of Jacobinism in its
most baneful shape.20
Karl von Hesses Revelation: Its French Reception

In November 1865 and January 1866, the Revue des

Deux Mondes analyzed the memoirs of Karl von Hesse. In the
January 1866 edition, it focused upon his revelation about
Wilhemsbad and the Illuminati. Its subtitle was Charles de
Hesse et Les Illumins. Unlike the Edinburgh Review, this
reviewer knew the significance of the bombshell that Karls
memoir represented.21 The Revue des Deux Mondes then provided extensive quotes from pages 136-138 of the Memoir

19.Id.
20.Id.
21. Saint-Rene Taillandier, Un Prince Allemand Du XVIII Sicle
DAprs des Mmoires Indits [Part] II Charles de Hesse et Les Illumins, Revue des Deux Mondes (Jan. 1, 1866) at 891 et seq. The portion dealing with quotes about the Illuminati begins on page 917-925 et
seq. You may read this article online from Gallica at http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k355067/f890.table (accessed 11/30/
2008). I also posted a copy at the rare book section of my website at
http://sites.google.com/site/illuminatiofbavaria/free-books-1.
Part I can also be found at Gallica. It is entitled Saint-Rene Taillandier,
Un Prince Allemand Du XVIII Sicle DAprs des Mmoires Indits
[Part] I. - Charles de Hesse et Frdric II, Revue des Deux Mondes
(Nov. 1, 1865) at 774 et seq. It can be retrieved via Gallica at: http://
catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k35505w. I have also posted a copy at
http://sites.google.com/site/illuminatiofbavaria/free-books-1.
Introduction

where Karl von Hesse speaks about the Illuminati, Wilhemsbad, and the plan of revolution in France. It accepts this was
in fact written by Karl von Hesse.
The Revues Factual Errors in the Biography

The Revue des Deux Mondes, however, suggested that

this memoir was Karls attempt to clear his name by the
Revue claiming Karl was once a Jacobin in revolutionary
France. The Revue says in 1790 he caused to be inscribed his
name at the Club of the Jacobins.22
However, the author of Deux Mondes was confusing
Landgrave Karl von Hesse (1744-1836) with Charles of
Hesse also known as Carl Constantin von Hessen-Rotenburg
(1752-1821). The latter went to France in 1790, and joined
the Jacobins, there becoming known [in France] as Charles
of Hesse, and Citizen Hesse due to his exploits with the
Jacobins. Later, Charles of Hesse became a General during
the period of the Terror.23 Citizen Hesse was the nephew of
Landgrave Karl. He should not be confused with the Landgrave himself.
Revues Mistaken Impression on The Religious Views of Karl

The Revue des Deux Mondes leads the reader to also

believe that Karl von Hesse was animated by a strong Christian belief-system. This is as wrong as the Revues erroneous
view that Karl von Hesse was the Jacobin Charles of Hesse.
Tallandier in the Revue said of Karl von Hesse:

22. Saint-Rene Taillandier, Un Prince Allemand Du XVIII Sicle

DAprs des Mmoires Indits [Part] I. - Charles de Hesse et Frdric
II, Revue des Deux Mondes (Nov. 1, 1865) at 775.
23.Carl Constantin von Hessen-Rheinfels-Rotenburg, Wikipedia (German)(accessed 6/9/09). See also Arthur Chuquets book entitled Un
Prince Jacobin Charles de Hesse ou le Gnral Marat (A Jacobin
Prince Charles of Hesse or the General Marat) (1906).
Introduction

He has a serious spirit, a religious soul,

strongly attached to Christian doctrines.24

The truth was different. While Karl admired Jesus,

Karl certainly was not attached to Christian doctrines in any
orthodox sense.
What Religious Views Motivated Karl von Hesse

What drove the Landgrave Karl von Hesse? Was it a

love for the Christian religion that he decided to keep a
watchful eye on the Illuminati, to break their negative influence? Not likely.
As the Edinburgh Review puts it, Karl von Hesse
explained that in 1824 he tried to start a new church, which
indeed did find members in Europe and America, which had a
mystical interpretation of the Bible but was equally
removed from Protestant[ism] and Catholic[ism].25 While
Karl von Hesse was a profound admirer of Jesus Christ, he
held a completely unorthodox faith.26 To found this new

24.Saint-Rene Taillandier, Un Prince Allemand Du XVIII Sicle

DAprs des Mmoires Indits [Part] I. - Charles de Hesse et Frdric
II, Revue des Deux Mondes (Nov. 1, 1865) at 775.
25.Id., at 523.
26.In his Memoirs dated 1817 but published in 1861, Karl revealed his
feelings about Jesus while speaking about his close friend, St. Germain. This latter gentleman was a mystic who claimed he was hundreds of years old and capable of healings. Karl wrote of St. Germain:
His philosophical principles in religion were pure materialism, but he
knew that it was difficult to make a victorious argument; yet I had the
pleasure of often confounding him. [St. Germain was] not an admirer
of Jesus Christ, [but when] he allowed me a few words to speak in this
regard, I would say: My dear Count, you are free to believe what you
want about Jesus Christ, but I can tell you frankly that you will find
great difficulty in holding me to speak against him, to whom I am
entirely devoted. Quoted in Saint-Rene Taillandier, Un Prince Allemand Du XVIII Siecle DApres des Memoirs Inedits [Part] II Charles
de Hesse et Les Illumins, Revue des Deux Mondes (Jan. 1, 1866) at 905.
Introduction

church, Karl wrote a book entitled La Pierre Zodiacale du

Temple de Denderah explique par S. A. le Landgrave
Charles de Hesse (Copenhagen: 1824).27
In this book, Karl von Hesse reveals a fascination
with the Zodiacal Monument from the Temple Dendera. The
French armies in 1798 took it from Egypt. It thereafter could
be seen at Paris. On the monument appeared Zodiac signs and
hieroglyphics from ancient Egypt. The Zodiac signs matched
those from the Greek era, raising questions of whether Zodiac
secrets have been handed down from Egypt to Greece, and
from Greece to our modern world. Karl von Hesse cited
excitedly the fact historians at the time believed the monument dated to 14,000 years prior to the Christian era.28 Karl
for years had studied Egypt and its mystery cult.29 In the
Preface, Karl makes the reader become excited with him
about the possibility that he has found in the hieroglyphics on
this monument the ancient sacred secrets of Egypt. Karl
von Hesse then traced each hieroglyphic with precision for
his readers attention.30 This was a serious effort. Karl cited
major text books on interpreting the hieroglyphics to support
his understandings.31
While his work was quite scholarly, with many drawings and citations to studies of ancient Egypt, it turned out
that his book had a major flaw. Investigators much later
proved that this monument found in Egypt dated to the
Roman era, and thus there was no link between that temple
27.One can download this 95 page book through books.google. Bibliographical details are found in Ida Augusta Pratt, Richard James Horatio
Gottheil, Ancient Egypt: Sources of Information in the New York Public Library (New York Public Library, 1925) at 222.
28.Charles of Hesse, La Pierre Zodiacale du Temple de Denderah explique par S. A. le Landgrave Charles de Hesse (Copenhagen: 1824) at
3.
29.Id., at 4.
30.Id., at 4-5.
31.Id., at 7-8.
Introduction

10

monument and ancient Egypt. Thus, the Greek signs of the

Zodiac had been transported to Egypt rather than having a
more ancient legacy in Egypt itself.32
Yet, Karls seriousness on this issue, and elaborate
investigation, was worthy of a man of letters.
More important, this proves the effort of Karl von
Hesse to combat the Illuminati from within was not to serve
conservation of the old order of things, in particular the
Christian system. Rather, Karl must have seen the Illuminati
as contrary to religion and morality which he believed as part
of his own eclectic outlook. In light of Karls very atypical
religious outlook, he must have meant the Illuminati were
inspiring principles that undermined religion and morality,
e.g., their Machiavellianism.
Thus, it is very clear that Karls opposition to the Illuminati did not have to do with his regard for Christianity.
Rather, it had to do with his speculative spirit that sought
answers in the secrets of Egypt yet apparently eclectically
merged with some admiration for Jesus. It was wholly misleading to tell the readers of the Revue that Karl von Hesse
was strongly attached to Christian doctrines.
Conclusion

Karl of Hesse was a believer in an esoteric new age

religion yet who was concerned about the Illuminatis
agenda.

32. Karl Baedeker, Paris and Environs (Leipzig, 1884) at 182.

Introduction

11

Introduction

12