Our foundations
The Seven Principles
Seven principles guide everything the Order does.
Knowledge, Wisdom, Unity, Discipline, Integrity, Enlightenment and Legacy are the commitments that shape our research, our education programmes and the conduct expected of every member.
Principle I
Knowledge
The pursuit of accurate, well-sourced understanding.
Meaning
Knowledge begins with evidence. We value primary sources, careful reading and the willingness to say "we do not know".
Principle II
Wisdom
Judgement in applying what we know.
Meaning
Wisdom is knowledge used well: weighing evidence, recognising the limits of certainty and acting with humility.
Principle III
Unity
A community joined by shared purpose, not uniformity.
Meaning
Unity means working together across countries, backgrounds and opinions in pursuit of common aims.
Principle IV
Discipline
Rigour in method and consistency in conduct.
Meaning
Discipline is the patient, careful work that good scholarship and good organisations require.
Principle V
Integrity
Honesty in what we claim and how we act.
Meaning
Integrity means never inventing history, credentials or identities, and correcting errors openly.
Principle VI
Enlightenment
Reason, curiosity and the free exchange of ideas.
Meaning
Enlightenment is the eighteenth-century conviction that reason and education can improve human life — an ideal still worth defending.
Principle VII
Legacy
Preserving knowledge for those who come after us.
Meaning
Legacy is responsibility to the future: what we preserve, record and pass on.