Par Bricole
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Par Bricole is a Swedish Bacchanalian order society for men only, founded in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
on 15 May 1779 in Källaren Kejsarkronan at
Drottninggatan Drottninggatan (''Queen Street'') in Stockholm, Sweden, is a major pedestrian street. It stretches north from the bridge Riksbron at Norrström, in the district of Norrmalm, to Observatorielunden in the district of Vasastaden. Composition Fo ...
6. The main sources of inspiration were the
Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
and
Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet, and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as wel ...
's sayings about Bacchus. The name Par Bricole comes from a French
billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue stick, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . Cue sports, a category of stic ...
term, meaning "with bounce". Within the society, it is traditionally and a bit improperly interpreted instead as "by chance", actually "by detours", "indirectly", and is usually abbreviated "P.B." Par Bricole's mother lodge is still in Stockholm and is housed in the order's "tribal house" Bellmanhuset by Urvädersgränd. The order also has subsidiary lodges in
Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
(Göta Par Bricole), Vänersborg, Borås, Malmö, Jönköping, Sundsvall, and Örebro.


Prehistory

The first origin of the society was in a small circle of cheerful associates (among them Carl Israel Hallman), for whom the poet
Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet, and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as wel ...
preferred his parody-humorous Acts concerning the Order of Bacchus, as described in his poems in '' Bacchi Tempel'' and his ''
Fredman's Epistles ''Fredmans epistlar'' (English: ''Fredman's Epistles'') is a collection of 82 poems set to music by Carl Michael Bellman, a major figure in Swedish 18th century song. Though first published in 1790, it was created over a period of twenty year ...
''. He seems in part to have intended to have fun both with the pursuit of titles and stars of the order as well as with Freemasonry's mysterious ceremonial nature. Numerous certificates suggest that Bellman established three "knighthoods" by 1774, from which Par Bricole immediately developed. However, the official existence of the society has usually been counted from 1779, when Olof Kexél was summoned and prepared the ritual for several new, higher, degrees. At the same time, Duke Charles of Södermanland (the future
Charles XIII Charles XIII or Carl XIII (; 7 October 1748 – 5 February 1818) was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 to his death. He was the second son (and younger brother to King Gustav III) of King Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Louisa ...
) became the patron of the Order.


Members and lodges

Among the members of Par Bricole during the 18th century are such well-known figures as
Elis Schröderheim Elis Schröderheim (26 March 1747, Stockholm – 30 August 1795), was a Swedish official, politician and a member of the Swedish Academy 1786-1795 (chair nr 12) as well as member number 233 of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. He was an influe ...
,
Nils von Rosenstein Nils von Rosenstein (1 December 1752 — 7 August 1824) was a Swedish civil servant and propagator for enlightenment thinking. He served as tutor to the future King Gustav IV Adolf for eleven years (1784–1795) and as the first permanent secreta ...
,
Johan Henrik Kellgren Johan Henric Kellgren (1 December 1751 – 20 April 1795) was a Swedish poet and critic. Biography He was born at Floby in Västergötland (now part of Falköping Municipality, Västra Götaland County). He studied at the Royal Academy of Turku ...
,
Johan Gabriel Oxenstierna Count Johan Gabriel Oxenstierna (19 July 1750 – 29 July 1818) is considered one of the foremost Sweden, Swedish poets of the History of Sweden (1772–1809), Gustavian period. A prominent courtier during the reign of King Gustav III of Sweden, ...
,
Bengt Lidner Bengt Lidner (March 16, 1757 – January 4, 1793) was a Swedish poet, born in Gothenburg. His opera ''Medea'' was translated to English and played in England during his lifetime, but wasn't played in Sweden until 2004. His father died when he w ...
,
Abraham Niclas Edelcrantz Abraham Niclas Edelcrantz (born Clewberg; 28 July 1754 – 15 March 1821) was a Finnish-born Swedish poet and inventor. He was a member of the Swedish Academy, chair 2, from 1786 to 1821. Edelcrantz was the librarian at The Royal Academy of Turk ...
, A.A. Stjerncrantz, Johan Magnus Lannerstierna, Olof Åhlström, Francesco Antonio Uttini, Christopher Christian Karsten, Carl Stenborg and Edouard Du Puy. Until his death, Kexél was master of ceremonies and Bellman was the first poet. 1799 takes the second period of the order with the establishment of new offices, among others the office of Grand Master. In 1801 a branch lodge was established in
Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
(Göta Par Bricole); since then, such have occurred in
Vänersborg Vänersborg () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Vänersborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 23,882 inhabitants (out of a municipal total of 39,904) Until 1997 it was the capital of Älvsborg County, which mer ...
(1839),
Borås Borås ( , , ) is a city (officially, a locality) and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 114,556 inhabitants in 2024. It is widely known for being a textile city, home to worldwide brands and companie ...
(1860),
Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
(1878),
Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat o ...
(1879),
Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. Old town i ...
(1985) and
Örebro Örebro ( ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...
(2017).


Early 19th century

In the early 19th century, the seriously mysterious, "higher" bricolerie threatened to take over, but from 1820 the words again took a happier turn, and "Nachspiel" or "after parties" were introduced. Among active members at this time are
Lars Hjortsberg Lars Hjortsberg (22 November 1772 – 8 July 1843) was a Swedish stage actor. He belonged to the pioneer generation of elite actors of the Royal Dramatic Theatre and has, alongside Emilie Högquist, been referred to as the most famous Swedish a ...
, archbishop
Valerius The gens Valeria was a patrician family at ancient Rome, prominent from the very beginning of the Republic to the latest period of the Empire. Publius Valerius Poplicola was one of the consuls in 509 BC, the year that saw the overthrow of the ...
, J.M. Stjernstolpe, J.V. Berger, J.H. Pettersson, Bernhard Crusell, Franz Berwald, Johann Franz Brendler, Andreas Randel, the Bellman singer Axel Arvid Raab, Lars Adolf Kinmansson, the poet
Fredrik August Dahlgren Fredrik August Dahlgren (20 September 1816 – 16 February 1895) was a Swedish writer, playwright and songwriter. Biography Dahlgren was born in Nordmark parish in Värmland, Sweden. He was the son of Barthold Dahlgren, the manager of the mine ...
, Clas Livijn, Bernhard von Beskow, Johan Anders Björck, H.M. Munthe, Olof Strandberg and Pehr Westerstrand (Grandmaster 1832-1857). During the 1850s and 1870s, the
Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...
's foremost singer took an active part in the order's activities.


Grandmasters

Among the recent grandmasters of the order are the surgeon Professor Carl Jakob Rossander (1892-1900) and the regimental doctor H. Sundberg (1910-1925). The current Grand Master is Henrik Mickos (since 2016). In 1829, Par Bricole celebrated its 50th anniversary, and on July 26 of the same year, Johan Niclas Byströms, who was paid for by the company, unveiled Bellman's bust at Bellmansro in Royal
Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...
. Since then, Bellman's Day (July 26) has been celebrated annually there as a folk festival under the leadership of P.B. The order's feast days are also May 15 and Barbara's Day, December 4 (chosen by Bellman in honour of his grandmother, Barbara Klein; Barbara is usually glorified fantastically as a kind of
Dionysian The Apollonian and the Dionysian are philosophical and literary concepts represented by a duality between the figures of Apollo and Dionysus from Greek mythology. Its popularization is widely attributed to the work ''The Birth of Tragedy'' by Fri ...
goddess, the "aunt" of all bricolists). In 1874, the order celebrated its 100th anniversary with a festive cantato by Talis Qualis and
Ludvig Norman Ludvig Norman (28 August 183128 March 1885) was a Swedish composer, conductor, pianist, and music teacher. Together with Franz Berwald and Adolf Fredrik Lindblad, he ranks among the most important Swedish symphonists of the 19th century. Norma ...
.


The modern order

Par Bricole counts a large number of members united in their interest in the arts of speech, music and theatre. The
king of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. by law a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parl ...
stands as the protector of the order. The song plays a big role in the company. During its first half-century it was cultivated in the form of the company song; then this has been succeeded by the quartet and later the choir. Par Bricole has an excellent choir, and its leaders have been Frans Preumayr (1832–1853), Eduard Brendler and (1853–1862)
Andreas Randel Andreas Randel (6 October 1806 – 27 October 1864) was a Swedish composer and violinist. The overture to his ''The People from Vårmland'' was recorded by Kungliga Hovkapellet Stig Westerburg. Randel got his last name from Ramdala parish; he wa ...
, who both composed the company's ceremonial choirs, during the 1860s
August Söderman Johan August Söderman (17 July 1832 – 10 February 1876) was a Swedish composer. He was born and died in Stockholm, and has traditionally been seen as the pre-eminent Swedish composer of the Romantic generation, known especially for his li ...
, August Melcher Myrberg and Olle Strandberg, 1869–1880 Joseph Dente, 1880–91 Ludvig Ohlsson, and 1891–1915 Erik Åkerberg. The choir's conductors from the 1970s were Håkan Sund, Hans Lundgren and Hans Kyhle (1979–2007). Since 2010, the choir has been led by Ian Plaude.


References


Sources

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External links

* {{Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman 1779 establishments in Sweden Society of Sweden Bacchanalian fraternities Fraternities and sororities in Sweden 18th-century establishments in Stockholm