The Carbonari are remembered above all as a political secret society of the Risorgimento. But to understand them properly we must also look at their form: an organisation with rites of admission, degrees, a symbolic language and a vocabulary of its own. In this sense the Carbonari belong fully to the history of European initiatory societies, despite their openly political aims.
Uncertain origins
The origins of the Carbonari are debated. One tradition links them to the confraternities of charcoal burners and woodcutters of eastern France, such as the one known as the fendeurs, the "splitters", which already in the eighteenth century had rites inspired by work in the woods. What is certain is that the Carbonari spread widely in the Kingdom of Naples during the years of French rule, in the first decade of the nineteenth century, and from there to the rest of the peninsula.
At first many Carbonari were hostile to the French government; later their aim became the demand for liberal constitutions from the restored monarchs.
The vocabulary of the woods
The most characteristic feature of the Carbonari is their vocabulary, taken from the world of charcoal burners:
| Carbonari term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Vendita | The individual cell or lodge |
| Baracca (hut) | The meeting place |
| Good cousins | Members, among themselves |
| Pagans | Non-members |
| Alta vendita | Higher coordinating body |
| Grand Master | Head of the vendita |
Non-members were therefore "pagans", while members recognised one another as relatives, cousins, joined by a bond that overrode social distinctions.
The degrees
The basic structure had two degrees:
- Apprentice, who received the first symbols and swore secrecy;
- Master, who gained access to a deeper level of the rituals and of the society's aims.
Over time further degrees appeared, especially in the organisations most closely tied to political action. The resemblance to the first Masonic degrees is clear, and there were people who belonged to both societies.
The symbols
The ritual objects recalled the woods and the work of charcoal burning, but were loaded with moral and religious meanings. Readings vary between rituals and regions; these are among the most frequent:
- charcoal, which burns and purifies, was an image of faith and zeal;
- fire, which turns wood into charcoal, was the symbol of regeneration;
- the cross, present in the rituals, recalled the passion of Christ;
- the axe and the bundle of sticks recalled work and the union of forces.
The Carbonari claimed a patron, St Theobald, a medieval hermit venerated by charcoal burners. The colours associated with the society were black, red and blue, interpreted as charcoal, fire and smoke, or as faith, charity and hope.
The admission rite
At admission the candidate was led blindfolded into the hut, questioned and put through trials, and finally swore the oath of secrecy and loyalty. The ceremony had a strong dramatic element, drawing on images linked to the passion of Christ. The new "good cousin" then received the signs of recognition and the words of the degree.
The risings of 1820-21
The Carbonari played a direct role in the constitutional risings. In July 1820 at Nola two officers, Michele Morelli and Giuseppe Silvati, led an insurrection that forced King Ferdinand I to grant a constitution. The following year similar risings broke out in Piedmont. In both cases Austrian intervention restored the previous situation, and arrests and sentences followed.
Among the Carbonari arrested in those years was Silvio Pellico, who described his imprisonment in the Spielberg in the book My Prisons, published in 1832. Giuseppe Mazzini too was a member of the Carbonari before founding Young Italy in 1831, which pursued different aims and methods.
The Church's condemnation
In 1821 Pope Pius VII, with the constitution Ecclesiam a Jesu Christo, condemned the Carbonari with excommunication. The document accused the society of misusing Christian symbols and rites and of conspiring against governments. The condemnation strengthened the society's identification with opposition to established powers.
The Carbonari beyond Italy
From Italy the movement passed to France, where the Charbonnerie arose in 1821 and attempted several conspiracies against the restored monarchy. Similar societies formed in Spain and Portugal too. After the 1830s, however, its importance declined rapidly, replaced by new forms of political organisation.
An example of initiatory form
The Carbonari show how deeply, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the idea of initiation was rooted in European culture. Even those with political aims felt the need for degrees, symbols and oaths to create bonds of loyalty and a sense of belonging. Ritual form was not decoration, but the means by which a secret community became one.
In short
- The Carbonari spread in the Kingdom of Naples in the early nineteenth century, with debated origins in charcoal burners' confraternities.
- They used a vocabulary of the woods: vendite, huts, good cousins and pagans.
- The main degrees were apprentice and master, with admission rites and oaths.
- Charcoal, fire and the cross were their main symbols.
- They played a part in the risings of 1820-21 and were condemned by Pius VII in 1821.
