Knights of the Maccabees

Knights of the Maccabees
Motto	"Astra Castra; Numen Lumen." (Latin: "The Stars Our Tent; The Deity Our Light." [or, "The Stars My Camp; The Deity My Light."])
Formation	1878/1881
Purpose/focus	Mutual assessment insurance
Main organ	The Maccabees Bee Hive

Kennedy Tent, No. 904 (c. 1899)

The Knights of the Maccabees was a North American fraternal and mutual assessment insurance society, formed in 1878 at London, Ontario by members of the Order of the Foresters, eventually dividing into two main groups: Knights of the Modern Maccabees, incorporated in 1881 at Port Huron, Michigan under the leadership of Nathan Boynton; and Knights of the Maccabees of the World (itself a merger with the Maccabees of the World), likewise based in Port Huron. These two groups would eventually reunite as the Maccabees in the early twentieth century.

The knights took their name from the Maccabees (Maccabeans), the Jewish tribe that led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire, and used the legend of its leader, Judas Maccabeus (Judah Maccabee), as inspiration in the creation of their secret rites and degrees; however, the ritual work and degree system was considered of secondary importance to their member insurance program.

Structure

See our page on K.O.T.M. Tents for index of local Tents

The Maccabees were organised into Tents, each presided over by a Commander and their officers — Lieutenant Commander, Knight Record Keeper, Master at Arms, Sergeant, Chaplain, Guards, Sentinel, and Picket — who, in turn, were under the jurisdiction of a regional Great Camp, and the Supreme Tent as the overall executives.

Selected Bibliography

• Historical Sketches of the Ancient and Modern Knights of the Maccabees: Founded Upon the History of the Judas Maccabeus: With Biographical Sketches of Some of the Principal Officers of the Order, Port Huron, Mich.: Huronia Printing Co., 1889, https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/003140956 
• Michaelis, Cuno (1899), Maccabeeism: From Its Origin to the Present, Detroit, Mich.: Cuno Michaelis, https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009790475 

Resources

• "Knights of the Maccabees" (stichtingargus.nl) — outlines of rituals for the three degrees offered by the Maccabees.