Trials, Tribulations, and Transformation
This chapter examines the activity of the Illuminés d’Avignon during the era of revolutionary tumult that beset France. The society was weakened by internal schism in the wake of the arrest of Ottavio Cappelli and external upheaval. Nonetheless, Tadeusz Grabianka succeeded in preserving the nucleus of the group, including, most notably, A.-J. Pernety, until the latter’s death in 1796. The chapter also undertakes a study of the precarious tightrope Grabianka walked at this time, fostering cordial relations with the revolutionary authorities in Avignon but also acting as a royalist agent. By the late 1790s, it is evident that Grabianka had overseen something of a resurgence in the society’s fortunes, attracting a new generation of initiates. Yet this renewed activity did not last long. The chapter concludes by revealing that the society had effectively ceased to function by the end of 1799. Beset by financial problems, Grabianka travelled to Paris in 1802, where he resided for at least six months, before receiving a passport to travel to his native Podolia.