Felicitaries

The Felicitaries, officially the Ordre de Felicité, were a French masonic order 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. It was not generally popular with other freemasons, who saw it as frivolous and irregular.

See also: Women and Freemasonry