| Abstract [eng] |
The Masonic Society, particularly active and significant in the socio-cultural activities of the 18th century Europe, has remained influential to this day. Members of the Masonic Society and the ideology cherished by the Masons affected, and in some cases even predetermined, the nature and scope of Lithuanian studies from the period of their flourishing in the 18th through the early 20th century. In the process of the present research, attempts were made to find out how the Masonic ideology penetrated into the Lithuanian studies-related aspirations of cultural workers and affected them and how much Masonic relationships contributed to the realisation of those aspirations. In the dissertation research, the relationships between the Masonic Society and the Lithuanian studies as well as the impact of the Masonic ideology on the evolution and development of Lithuanian activities in East Prussia in the period of the 18th through the early 20th century have been explored for the first time. |
