The Era of the Seven Brothers in Avignon, 1783–1790

Abstract This chapter focuses on what can be seen as a golden era in the history of the Avignon Society. Although dating from the time when A.-J. Pernety relocated to Valence in southern France, in late 1783, the era of the Seven Brothers only began when Grabianka arrived in Avignon in early 1787. Thenceforth, a leadership council of seven brothers was formed, and it remained intact until 1790. This three-year period began with a determined effort to promote the society among like-minded peers throughout Europe. This part of the book examines the society’s success in persuading illuminists from across Europe to travel to Avignon to be consecrated into the millenarian sect. The chapter mines the accounts left by those foreign travellers and provides new insights into the remarkable consecration rite practised in Avignon, as well as the everyday life of the society in the late 1780s. The chapter also analyses the seeds of discord that were planted in late 1787 by the arrival of Ottavio Cappelli in Avignon, whose influence as a purported prophet led the group to renounce its espousal of Swedenborgian doctrine in favour of an emphasis on a Marian cult.