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History

Crisis and ban

The final decline of the Illuminati started with the indiscretions of their own Minervals in Bavaria, and especially in Munich. In spite of efforts by their superiors to curb loose talk, their own propaganda gave their Minervals an illusion of invulnerability. Due to their politically dangerous boasts of power and criticism of monarchy, the "secret" order's existence became common knowledge, along with the names of many important members. The presence of Illuminati in positions of power now led to some public disquiet. There were Illuminati in many civic and state governing bodies. In spite of their small number, there were claims that success in a legal dispute depended on the litigant's standing with the order. The Illuminati were blamed for several anti-religious publications then appearing in Bavaria. Much of this criticism sprang from vindictiveness and jealousy, but it is clear that many Illuminati court officials gave preferential treatment to their brethren.

Already in 1781 Ignaz Frank, the confessor of the Elector Karl Theodor, had denounced the Illuminati, calling them the brothers of Judas, preparing for the Kingdom of the Antichrist. Five independent Bavarian lodges blamed the Illuminati for their own decline, and the Rosicrucians suspected that two anti-Rosicrucian tracts were the work of Rosicrucians who had defected to the Illuminati. A librarian called Strobl, and a Professor called Westenrieder, who had both been refused membership, added further denunciations, and Canon Dantzer accused them of anti-clericalism, and believed they would try to kill him. Many of these attacks were typical anti-masonic propaganda at the time, and were largely ignored until the Dowager Duchess Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony, widow of the previous ruler of Bavaria, became involved.

At the start of October 1783, the Duchess received an anonymous denunciation which used a summary of the Minerval grades and fragments of catechisms from the Illuminatus grades to accuse the order of seducing young men away from patriotism and religion. The most telling accusation was that the Illuminati favoured the Austrian emperor, as the Duchess feared the annexation of Bavaria by the Austrians, which at the time was a real possibility. The Illuminati, for their part, were naturally drawn to Joseph II for his liberal views on religion, and opposition to the Church's political power. Although the duchess' continued attempts to interfere in Bavarian politics were resented by the Elector, she had the support of Bavarian patriots. Her views on the Illuminati were eventually bound to be heard.

Her informant was Joseph Utzschneider, nephew of André, once treasurer of Bavaria and rumoured lover of the Duchess. After André's arrest on suspicion of Prussian political involvement, Utzschneider became her private secretary. Recruited to the Illuminati, Utzschneider became disillusioned that his position and connections did not bring him preferential elevation within the order. Having been reproached and ejected after turning up uninvited to one of Weishaupt's private tutorials, Costanzo then demanded that he obtain letters from Frederick the Great and his chief minister to the Duchess. Utzschneider resigned and turned informant for his employer, providing her with details of the order's most compromising rituals and grades.

Initially ignored in Bavaria, she sent her "evidence" against the Illuminati to Prussia. While Frederick the Great confided to Charles of Hesse that he believed the Illuminati might be the tool of the Holy Roman Emperor, the Duchess was again not taken seriously due to the extremity of her denunciation. However, early in 1784 the Illuminati were becoming alarmed at Utzschneider's revelations. A novel entitled Tableau of Human Life unfavourably exposed the Illuminati agenda of social and political change obtained by subversion. Baader, the Duchess' physician, assured her that the society was anti-Austrian, a lie so obvious that she again went to the Elector with her suspicions. Charles Theodore was now suspected of being a Freemason, having expelled a Jesuit for preaching against religious tolerance. The pleas of the Duchess joined a host of other complaints to a sovereign jealous of his own power. On 23 June an edict appeared banning all secret societies, without naming any specific bodies.

The Munich Illuminati immediately ordered their lodges and Minerval groups to suspend working. The non-specific nature of the edict allowed them to believe that their own ban might be short-lived if they demonstrated loyalty to the Elector. Weishaupt believed the Elector to be a Freemason, and was confident that the ban would soon be lifted for his order, but might still suppress the meetings of his enemies. Patriotic detractors of the order believed them to be agents of Austria. Unfortunately, Austria's ambassador believed them to be agents of Prussia, almost equally feared. Nonetheless, the Illuminati believed that their suppression would be brief, and advised their members in circulars to continue to write to each other and pay their subscriptions. They published an article alleging that the main object of the edict was the Jesuit Order. Counter-charges stated that the Illuminati and the Freemasons, due to their recruitment of politicians, judges and officials, had already formed a state within a state, and were attacking the banned Jesuits to divert attention from themselves.