Gormogons
Sign in to saveThe Ancient Noble Order of the Gormogons was a short-lived 18th century secret society formed by expelled Freemason Philip Wharton. It left no records or accomplishments to indicate its true goal and purpose. From the group's few published articles it is thought that the society's primary objective was to hold up Freemasonry to ridicule. During its brief existence it was accused of being a Jacobite-leaning group, perhaps because the first known Grandmaster (or Oecumenical Volgi) was Andrew Michael Ramsay of Ayr, Scotland, a Jacobite of strong convictions. It also appears to have been a charita
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Article
4 sectionsContents
- Possible etymology of the name
- In popular culture
- See also
- References
The Ancient Noble Order of the Gormogons was a short-lived 18th century secret society formed by expelled Freemason Philip Wharton. It left no records or accomplishments to indicate its true goal and purpose. From the group's few published articles it is thought that the society's primary objective was to hold up Freemasonry to ridicule. During its brief existence it was accused of being a Jacobite-leaning group, perhaps because the first known Grandmaster (or Oecumenical Volgi) was Andrew Michael Ramsay of Ayr, Scotland, a Jacobite of strong convictions. It also appears to have been a charitable organization, at least according to its surviving bylaws. There are also some surviving pendant badges, bearing their sign.
==Possible etymology of the name== Jonathon Green suggests in Cassell’s Dictionary of Slang that, in the form gormagon, the word is a blend of gorgon and dragon, while the Oxford English Dictionary describes the etymology as "meaningless: pseudo Chinese."