TheAncient Noble Order of the Gormogons was a short-lived 18th centurysecret society formed by expelled FreemasonPhilip Wharton. It left no records or accomplishments to indicate its true goal and purpose. From the group's few published articles it is thought that the society's primary objective was to hold upFreemasonry to ridicule.[1] During its brief existence it was accused of being aJacobite-leaning group,[2] perhaps because the first known Grandmaster (orOecumenical Volgi) wasAndrew Michael Ramsay ofAyr,Scotland, a Jacobite of strong convictions.[3] It also appears to have been a charitable organization, at least according to its surviving bylaws. There are also some surviving pendant badges, bearing their sign.[4]
Jonathon Green suggests inCassell’s Dictionary of Slang that, in the formgormagon, the word is a blend ofgorgon anddragon, while theOxford English Dictionary describes the etymology as "meaningless: pseudo Chinese."[5]
InThe 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue,[6] the wordgormagon was humorously defined thus: "A monster with six eyes, three mouths, four arms, eight legs, five on one side and three on the other, three arses, twotarses [penises], and a **** upon its back." The compilerFrancis Grose gave the game away in his dictionary entry by explaining that it was "a man on horseback, with a woman behind him".[7] (His "five legs on one side" description could be merely that the woman was ridingside-saddle).
One of the earliest references to the Gormogons was a September 3, 1724 entry inThe London Post, which stated that it was founded by a certain Chin-Qua Ky-Po, who was claimed to be the first emperor ofChina, many thousand years before Adam.[8] In this entry, the order was said to have been brought to London by a "Mandarin", who in turn initiated several "Gentlemen of Honor" into its ranks.[9] Scholars offer differing accounts as to when this order became extinct. For instance, it was proposed that it ended in 1738.[9] Another account maintained that it survived until 1799, when an Act was passed in July 12th of that year suppressing all secret societies with the exemption of Freemasonry.[10]
The Gormogons have been referenced in the TV showBones. Beginning with the season 3 premiere, "The Widow's Son in the Windshield", the Jeffersonian team investigated a cannibalistic serial killer they callGormogon, for his obsession with secret societies and his targeting of theKnights of Columbus.
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