Question about the Society of Twelve.

Hi all *waves*.. Given the knowledge of everyone on this site I would like to ask if anyone knows any details of a society called the "Twelve" sometimes I have seen them referred to as the "Society of Twelve".

What I know is mainly from documents c1600 about the legal system in my neck of the woods (Southern England) where the group is described as an elite group, that only initiate recruits once a year on Whitsun.and has been here "time out of minde"

(Sometimes that phrase, "time out of minde" refers to the customs/rites etc that date from before the reign of Richard the Lionheart, who, as far as I am aware was the kind soul who introduced Admiralty law into England)

In the 1600s references the group is said to be commonly known among the people and while the same can be said today, no one I know, knows anything about them, except they are an elite society and have been here since forever.. and as I have drawn blanks both on the net and in local documents/libraries I thought I'd throw the question out to you guys

So what I am after is any information to describe who they are or what they represent.. While I really doubt they are anything important, a couple of lines to represent a elite society that is at least 400 years and probably a lot older begs to be questioned, and even tho the likes of Thomas Pain was a member it is still only referenced in passing.

So any and all help will be gratefully received

Originally posted by thoughtsfull
Sometimes that phrase, "time out of minde" refers to the customs/rites etc that date from before the reign of Richard the Lionheart

It probably means the same as the Masonic "time immemorial," which means of indeterminate age and unknown origin.

reply to post by thoughtsfull


I found a short reference, here.

the Society of Twelve, a group of town elites who met twice a year to discuss town issues.

Wich seem to be different of this one. Wich is a group of artists.

Originally posted by tomten
reply to post by thoughtsfull

 

I found a short reference, here.

the Society of Twelve, a group of town elites who met twice a year to discuss town issues.

Wich seem to be different of this one. Wich is a group of artists.

Thanks for that It feels utterly strange, a group that meets to discuss "town issues" and almost nothing is known of them.. hence why I feel I am either on a goose chase or perhaps onto something more..

Originally posted by OnTheLevel213

Originally posted by thoughtsfull
Sometimes that phrase, "time out of minde" refers to the customs/rites etc that date from before the reign of Richard the Lionheart

It probably means the same as the Masonic "time immemorial," which means of indeterminate age and unknown origin.

I used to always think it meant the opposite to "in living memory" however the legal stuff seems to point at the phrase linking to eras prior to certain jurisdictions.. Edward III or Richard I seem to be a common theme.. however I am no legal expert.. and could be sailing in circles thanks for the reply

I'm just going to take a swing at this and say maybe it was some sort of tribal commune? If it was a major society it probably would have been absorbed into your parliament some time ago. Again I'm just taking a random swing at this but I hope you dig up something interesting

Originally posted by CapSolo
I'm just going to take a swing at this and say maybe it was some sort of tribal commune? If it was a major society it probably would have been absorbed into your parliament some time ago. Again I'm just taking a random swing at this but I hope you dig up something interesting

Thank you, all swings welcome and a very interesting notion but sadly the history of the Rape of Lewes is not one of tribal communes.. would be nice tho

Well I didn't find much but it appears it was/is a political group that spends a lot on Art.

In 1633 the number of The Society of Twelve was still 19...

Here Thomas Paine first became involved in civic matters, with Samuel Ollive introducing him into the Society of Twelve, a group of town elites who met twice a year to discuss town issues.

Sir William Nicholson

From 1898 he exhibited at the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers being influenced by James McNeill Whistler who was President. In 1904 he was a founder member of the Society of Twelve, and held his first one-man show at the Paterson Gallery in 1906. He was also responsible for several theatre designs including the original sets for Peter Pan in 1904.

William Strang

In 1902 Strang retired from the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers, as a protest against the inclusion in its exhibitions of etched or engraved reproductions of pictures. His work was subsequently seen principally in the exhibitions of the Royal Academy, the Society of Twelve and the International Society, to which he was elected in 1905. Strang was also elected an associate engraver of the Royal Academy when that degree was revived in 1906.

Charles Conder

The first ones exhibited were the Balzac Set at the
Carfax Gallery in 1900, and his drawings and lithographs
became more familiar to the public at the exhibitions of
" The Society of Twelve," where he exhibited in 1904, 1905,
and 1906.

Exhibition of works by members of the Society of Twelve, London : at the Fine Art Society's Rooms, "The Centreway," Collins Street, May 1915

There is a special group "The Society of Twelve" that will make that determination. The Society of Twelve is drawn from the ranks of board members that show an objective, logical, and reasoning for thought. They can be turned to settle debate issues, and other matters. The Society of Twelve will vote to decide matters using a polling system amongst themselves. The polls will be publicized for all members to see.

The Secrets of Cabales Serrada Escrima

I'm going to help you dig. Considering the timing, possibly it was an underground Roman Catholic cell hell-bent on abolishing the Church of England and Queen E the Usurper. Just a guess from my own study of that time period.

I'll look it up (anything to keep from working on my manuscript!) (Jeez)

EDIT: Nope, that's not what they were. See next post.....
do I get an "A"?

reply to post by thoughtsfull


books.google.com...=onepage&q=%22Society%20of%20Twelve% 22&f=false

Okay, here ya go. They were the Ancient Merchants Guild of Lewes. Go to the digitized book (link above) and there's an article about them. Yes, they were forever, from ancient days, and their number was, in fact, not limited to 12.

Interesting stuff. I didn't read it all in detail yet, but they were a fraternity and pretty much on call to their group's business at all times.

It appears that there were subsequent groups called this (Thomas Paine's 19th c crowd)

The one about which you are enquiring, however, was defunct by very early in the 1700s, no longer having the power to select who was in charge of taxes, etc...
Apparently they selected constables...and were not always seen as upstanding...

and in 1720 the Society of Twelve ceased to be even individually represented by the death of Mr Watts its last member after having existed first as a Merchants Guild and afterwards as a Society of Twelve for a period of eight hundred years or more

Enjoy!!