The history of the Rosicrucian Order

History Of the Rosicrucian Order

Despite being one of the oldest esoteric societies, the Rosicrucian Order remains one of the most mysterious and least well-known of the various groups that arose in Europe over the course of the second millennium. Although Rosicrucianism was one of the key influences on the development of Freemasonry, and, as will be discussed in the findings chapter of this study, has played an important role in the development of Western culture and society, its history, symbols, and legacy have frequently been overshadowed by more popular alchemical and metaphysical movements. For example, while most Americans know that many of the founding fathers were Freemasons, fewer likely know that the first governor of Connecticut was deeply interested in Rosicrucianism from an early age, and was even a member of the British Royal Society, which itself grew out of the Rosicrucian-inspired Invisible College (Woodward 30, 262; Elliot & Daniels 207). In a sense, one could even suggest that the Rosicrucian Order may have had an even greater impact than its more well-known peers, precisely because its influence has gone unremarked.

Part of the reason for the Rosicrucian Order's relative mystery in the eyes of most of the public (if they even know of Rosicrucianism at all) is the fact that the society's founding texts were themselves published anonymously, supposedly by members of the order who wanted to make themselves known over one hundred and fifty years after the society's original founding (Williamson 9-10). The founding texts of the Rosicrucian Order are Fama Fraternitatis (full title: Fama fraternitatis Roseae Crucis oder Die Bruderschaft der Rosenkreuzer), Confessio Fraternitatis (Confessio oder Bekenntnis der Societat und Bruderschaft Rosenkreuz), and the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz (Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459), which were published in 1614, 1615, and 1616, respectively. As a result of clues in the first two books and the title of the third (which some scholars believe was written by a different author), the founder of the Rosicrucian Order is said to be one Christian Rosenkreuz, a European doctor who learned at from notable mystical masters throughout the Middle East, and despite the fact that the texts themselves suggest that Rosenkreuz should be interpreted as a kind of allegorical figure, there have been attempts to identify Rosenkreutz with figures throughout history; as a consequence of his alchemical learning, he was supposedly capable of living extra long.

The mythology and practice inspired by the tales of Rosenkreuz's travels placed a sharp focus on the betterment of society as a whole through reform and, perhaps most notably, the administration of free medical services. These ideals resonated with more explicit and mainstream movements within Christianity at the time, while at the same time introducing a fairly progressive vision into a conflicted Europe. The books were an immediate hit throughout Europe, and whether or not a secret society of Rosicrucians actually existed did not matter because the idea alone was enough to ensure that interested individuals, and particularly doctors, philosophers, and aspiring alchemists, would spread the word of the Rosicrucian Order (Woodward 29-30).

Because Rosicrucianism was deeply connected to the study of alchemy and the natural sciences, leading thinkers were attracted to the movement. In turn, a number of scientists and scholars produced works over the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that drew from the ideas of Rosicrucianism. Furthermore, as the lodges of masons gradually organized themselves into the larger organization that would become the Freemasons, many of the movements leading lights were familiar with and fond of Rosicrucianism, to the point that Freemasonry adopted many of the symbols and concepts first introduced by the Rosicrucian texts. Over time, the public discussion of Rosicrucianism subsided as other organizations became more prominent, and the natural sciences were increasingly divorced from alchemical and metaphysical concerns. Nevertheless, the legacy of Rosicrucianism lived on in literature and art, as well as the lasting influence of the other cults and societies it inspired.

By examining the history of Rosicrucianism, its central mythologies and tenets, and its lasting legacy, one is able to see how the (likely fictional) tale of Christian Rosenkreuz's exploits across the Middle East and Europe came to inspire a serious form of philosophical, social, and spiritual inquiry that ultimately helped give rise to the European Enlightenment and modern science. Furthermore, by considering the Rosicrucian Order from the perspective of metaphysics, one can see how the Order helped pioneer the idea of a kind of spiritual or figurative journey, wherein enlightenment is not conceived of a finite goal or end point, but rather is achieved through the performative act of the journey itself, a journey that specifically concerns itself with helping the sick and weak. Ultimately, while the visible influence of the Rosicrucian Order has waned in the centuries since its inception, its legacy continues to impact contemporary art, literature, and metaphysical philosophy.

Chapter 2: Review of Literature

There are two major categories of literature one must consult when investigating the history and legacy of the Rosicrucian Order. First, one should start with the founding texts of Rosicrucianism, if only to provide the reader with a more comprehensive understanding of what the society and system says about itself. However, because the central Rosicrucian texts are by their very nature steeped in mystery, allegory, and metaphor, they can only offer so much verifiable historical content. As a result, one must augment these primary source readings with secondary scholarship on the subject, of which there are three major texts: The Rosicrucian Enlightenment, the Rosicrucian Enlightenment Revisited, and Occult and Scientific Mentalities in the Renaissance. These secondary sources provide a fairly comprehensive examination of Rosicrucianism from a historical perspective, and the points where they disagree on the proper interpretation of certain evidence will present for this study interesting moments of discussion.

In addition, before discussing these texts in greater detail, one must be careful to make a distinction between the history of the Rosicrucian Order as given by the historical evidence available and the history of the Rosicrucian Order as presented within Rosicrucian literature. This distinction is important because one important element of Rosicrucian belief is that the knowledge they purport to give humanity is itself ancient, having been passed down from earlier generations or else acquired directly from God via study and dedication (Williamson 65, Lewis 33). Furthermore, because membership in the Rosicrucian Order was not actually maintained or managed by anyone, and because anyone interested could publish their own accounts of Rosicrucian history and knowledge, the mythical history of Rosicrucianism has over time been blended into the metaphysical systems of other thinkers (Lewis 33). While the Rosicrucian account of the Order's own history cannot be independently verified except inasmuch as it references places and people that really did exist, it does nevertheless offer the reader a useful means of understanding Rosicrucian beliefs and ideals because the mythological and allegorical history provided within the initial Rosicrucian texts are meant to serve as narrative representations of the Rosicrucian path to knowledge. As such, it will be useful to highlight this mythical history in later chapters.

At the time of their writing and afterward, the first two Rosicrucian books, Fama Fraternitatis and Confessio Fraternitatis, were considered companion pieces, because although they were published roughly a year apart, they share a continuity of purpose and style, indicating that they were authored by the same person or people (Williamson 10-11). On the other hand, there are also slight divergences between the two texts that help demonstrate that the authors of the Fama and Confessio were multiple, suggesting that even if the history of Rosicrucianism presented in the books is not true, there was at least some kind of society or order in existence at the time of the books' writing (Williamson 14). However, the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz is so different from the other two, both in content, tone, and style, that some scholars believe it was authored either by different individuals or a different group altogether, who were inspired by but not necessarily connected to those responsible for the first two books (Williamson 136). Furthermore, as opposed to the first two books, whose authorship has remained anonymous, the theologian Johann Andreae claimed responsibility for the Chymical Wedding in his autobiography (Andreae 1). While this claim has been impossible to verify, over time the veracity of his claim has been assumed, if not completely accepted.

Specifically, while the first two books can be read as a combination of allegorical history and manifesto, the third book is much more like an autobiography, albeit an autobiography that is itself an allegory. In particular, while the first two books only make mention of a "C.R.," the third book actually names this character Christian Rosenkreuz, and this name has been retroactively applied to the character of C.R. It is important to mention that the third book does not actually contradict the previous two, but rather expands upon their work, and in particular has the effect of making Rosicrucian beliefs more explicitly Christian by having Rosenkreuz's story take place over the course of seven days, beginning the night before Easter (Andreae 1).

Rather than continue the process that began in the first two books, in which the Rosicrucian Order first announced themselves, gave their history, and then responded to certain criticisms while making their position within Christian theology clearer, the Chymical Wedding can almost be seen as the first instance of literature written within the Rosicrucian tradition, rather than as part of its manifesto-like founding documents, because it does not seek to explain the history of Rosicrucianism, but rather explicate how the teachings and underlying beliefs of Rosicrucianism contribute to and alter one's interpretation of Christian scripture (Williamson 17; Dickson 760). Specifically, one can see a distinct connection between the Chymical Wedding and seventeenth-century attempts to expand Protestantism throughout Europe. The Chymical Wedding can be seen as a the most explicit attempt on the part of Rosicrucians and Rosicrucian supporters to wed the new (or newly revealed) society to the larger religious and cultural movements of the day (Dickson 760-761).

In addition to the founding texts of Rosicrucianism themselves, there has also been serious scholarly consideration of the Rosicrucian Order. The foremost of these is called the Rosicrucian Enlightenment and was written by Francis Yates. Yates' work represents the first substantial, rigorous examination of the Rosicrucians in a historical context, and in many ways it represents the established standard in terms of Rosicrucian scholarship. While Yates focuses mostly on the Rosicrucians' "significant contribution to many areas of Renaissance thought and activity," this effort requires her to demonstrate the Rosicrucians' historical, political, and religious context in detail, which is why her work remains an essential component of any study of Rosicrucianism to this day (Corbin 149). As a result, Yates' scholarship will be helpful in contextualizing the emergence of the Rosicrucian Order during the early seventeenth century.

Yates' scholarship transformed the study of Rosicrucianism, and as a result, inspired subsequent scholars to examine the subject. Thus, some years later, some of the most interesting of these subsequent scholarly examinations of the subject were compiled into the book the Rosicrucian Enlightenment Revisited, after a series of conferences held in Yates' honor (Matthews et. al.). While not all of the essays included in this book are directly relevant to the study at hand, they nevertheless represent important scholarship on the topic, particularly because they serve to extend and expand Yates' own critical and methodological contributions.

However, not all scholarly research on necessarily agrees with Yates' historical contextualization of Rosicrucianism's emergence, and particularly with the belief that it emerged specifically out Frederik V's court (Shackelford 1; Yates 29). Thus, scholarship outside the realm of Yates and her considerable influence is necessary in order to present a more comprehensive and critically rigorous examination of the history of the Rosicrucian Order. Thankfully, the role of the occult and esoteric knowledge in Europe has long fascinated scholars, even if Rosicrucianism is not the most popular topic, and so substantial research on the topic has been collected into the book Occult and Scientific Mentalities in the Renaissance. Like the Rosicrucian Enlightenment Revisited, not all of the essay in Occult and Scientific Mentalities in the Renaissance will be relevant to this study, but its examinations of some of the individuals who may have contributed to the early Rosicrucian texts will be invaluable when considering the history of the order.

In addition to the primary texts and important secondary texts discussed above, the extant literature on the Rosicrucian Order also includes a number of texts that must fall into something of a different category, either because they are metaphysical or alchemical texts written well after the primary Rosicrucian works, or else because they are academic texts which are not concerned with Rosicrucianism directly but which can still offer important insights into the movement. It is not necessary to mention all of these texts in detail here, simply because this literature review would become overlong with little tangible benefits. Instead, it should suffice to simply mention them in general here, and then discuss them in greater detail when necessary in subsequent chapters.

Interestingly, the state of the scholarship concerning the Rosicrucian movement has at this point become somewhat stale, simply because much of what can be said about the movement's general origins has been said, barring any new discoveries of primary texts or unexpected revelations about the extent or content of the group's membership (if a group ever actually existed). This is particularly interesting because although new scholarship can challenge certain details, such as the connection or lack thereof between the early Rosicrucian movement and the political leadership of the day, the most interesting areas of new research lie in attempting to uncover the extent of Rosicrucianism's influence on the political and religious debates of its day as well as its lasting legacy. While it seems unlikely that anyone will be able to offer any substantial new information regarding the origins of Rosicrucianism, examining the Rosicrucian Order's history can allow one to better understand how the controversies, myths, and offshoots Rosicrucianism inspired continue to influence contemporary metaphysical and social debates.

Chapter 3: Methods N/a

Chapter 4: Findings

To begin, this chapter will first discuss the historical evidence related to the emergence and spread of Rosicrucianism based only on what evidence is available and independently verifiable, before moving on to a discussion of the history and beliefs provided by Rosicrucianism's founding texts. Finally, it will conclude with a discussion of the ideological and metaphysical offshoots of Rosicrucianism, such as Freemasonry. In the discussion chapter that follows, these findings will be discussed in conjunction with Rosicrucianism's more general legacy, in order to demonstrate how the foundational ideas and history of the Rosicrucian Order have allowed it to continue impacting society to this day.

The decision to structure this chapter with an initial focus on the independently verifiable historical evidence was made in an attempt to ground this discussion of metaphysical concepts in a more easily intelligible fashion. Because one goal of this thesis is to demonstrate how the Rosicrucian Order's particular theological and metaphysical ideas helped to establish its importance in Western history, it seems prudent to begin not with a discussion of those ideas, but rather the context in which they were first made public. Thus, even if one accepts the Rosicrucian notion that there actually existed a secret society some one hundred fifty years before the publication of Fama Fraternitatis, and furthermore, that this secret society was privy to esoteric knowledge passed down in an unbroken line from as far back as ancient Egypt (as some believe), it is still more helpful to begin in the year 1614, because it is here that, for all intents and purposes, the Rosicrucian Order became a reality in the minds of the public at large (or at least those who could read) (Lewis 33-37).

As mentioned in the previous chapter, one of the few substantial scholarly disagreements about the emergence and spread of the Rosicrucian Order has to do with the political context of the early seventeenth century, and particular how closely tied the publication of Fama Fraternitatis was with the activities of the German and English royalty, and particularly with the marriage of Frederick V and Princess Elizabeth (Shackelford 1). Put simply, the debate centers around interpretations of certain symbols and recurring themes favored by Frederick's court, and whether this evidence is sufficient to conclude that the authors of the first Rosicrucian texts were somehow related to the court or were instead based somewhere else in Germany. This question is interesting because were the Rosicrucian Order to actually be connected with Frederick's court, then it would help make the group's religious and political goals much clearer.

This question has been debated since Yates first published her seminal work on the Rosicrucian Order, and it is unlikely that it will be resolved here. Instead, one may take this point of scholarly disagreement in order to examine the political and religious context of the early seventeenth century, because regardless of whether the Rosicrucians were directly connected to Frederick or not, one cannot help but note that the earliest Rosicrucian texts seemed to contain content aimed directly at the most pressing political and religious issues of their time. This is why the remaining debates in scholarship, while practically unresolvable, nevertheless point towards important details.

When laying out the case for Frederick's possible connection to the Rosicrucians, including the fact that Frederick himself rode under "the Red Cross of St. George," she notes a few important details that will help put the emergence of the Rosicrucian Order in some context. Perhaps most importantly, the marriage of Frederick to Princess Elizabeth represented a kind of culmination of political and religious -- there was little difference at the time -- conflict that had been raging at least since Martin Luther's break with the Roman Catholic Church almost a century earlier (Yates 1). The marriage represented a consolidation of Protestant power in Europe, and it was attended by numerous individuals who would later come to be associated with the Rosicrucians, such as Francis Bacon (Yates 2, 8). One cannot overstate the importance of the marriage, because it represented a union between two gradually emerging empires, empires that were explicitly Protestant and would eventually serve to the marriage took place in 1613, and it was only a year later that Fama Fraternitatis was published in Germany. This is significant because although the earliest publication date was 1614, "the document had been circulating in manuscript before that date, for in 1612 a reply to it by a certain Adam Haselmayer was printed" (Yates 59). As the reader will note, this means that the manuscript was in existence before the marriage of Frederick and Elizabeth, a marriage that solidified the political, religious, and social power of the larger-scale Protestant reforms gradually making their away across much of Europe. Thus, even without answering the question of whether the Rosicrucians were directly connected to Frederick, it is impossible to miss the fact that Frederick's marriage helped secure the kind of political and social environment in which the Rosicrucian texts could be published without fear of substantial retribution.

In fact, one of the prefaces to the Fama Fraternitatis includes an explicit awareness of the possibility of prosecution, even going so far as to suggest that the aforementioned Adam Haselmeyer, whose response to the Fama was included in the 1614 edition, was "seized and clapped in irons on the Galleys" by the Catholic Church (Williamson 64). According to the Fama, Haselmeyer was arrested for implicitly impugning the honesty of Catholics by way of a compliment to the Rosicrucians, whom Haselmeyer characterized as "true souls [and] undeceiving Jesuits" (Williamson 64). However, Haselmeyer's compliment only reveals the tip of the larger religious and political issues hanging in the balance with the publication of the Fama Fraternitatis, because the Fama Fraternitatis, the Confessio Fraternitatis, and the Chymical Wedding all take a decidedly Protestant interpretation of the Bible, and furthermore, attempted to wed Protestant theology with alchemy and existing Eastern esoteric knowledge in a kind of transcendent belief system that would have appeared anathema to the Catholic leadership (Lyttle 3).

At this point one must note that alchemy and Christianity were not necessarily oppositional belief systems at the time of the Fama's publication, because alchemy in the context of the seventeenth century did not necessarily carry the same magical or supernatural connotations that it does today (Miller 719). In fact, alchemy during the seventeenth century was essentially the science of the day, because although it was frequently based on faulty assumptions regarding the functioning of natural phenomenon, it nevertheless was dependent on investigation and experimentation. Furthermore, because the divide that currently exists between science and metaphysics was not yet imposed during the time of Rosicrucians' emergence, one must recognize that alchemical works should not always be taken literally. This is particularly true in the case of Rosicrucianism, because although the founding texts of the Order are deeply rooted in the alchemical tradition, their use of alchemical ideas and images is largely allegorical. In other words, the Rosicrucians were not as much interested in turning lead into gold as they were interested in using the most commonly understood ideas and vocabulary of the day to promote a relatively progressive, disruptive interpretation of Protestant (and specifically Calvinist) Christianity (Vickers 179).

Understanding the immediate political and historical context of the early seventeenth century allows one to proceed to a discussion of the Rosicrucians' actual beliefs with a solid grounding in the practical implications of those beliefs. Arguably the most important of the beliefs contained within the original Rosicrucian texts, or at least the one most likely to paint the Catholic Church in a bad light, is the idea that Rosicrucians should do nothing but "cure the sick, and that gratis" (Williamson 105). Although the Rosicrucians developed a whole corpus of theological and social beliefs, this dictate transcends all of those because it represents the point at which Rosicrucian belief translates in actual practice.

The importance of the fact that the defining feature of Rosicrucian belief is the instruction to administer medical care to the sick free of charge cannot be overstated, because this kind of selfless commitment to the betterment of society, and particularly those who cannot afford to pay for care, represented a serious social, political, and religious development. By the time the Rosicrucian Order revealed itself through its publications, the question of whether Christians were obligated to be poor had been settled in the eyes of many, with the decision falling on the side of wealth and power. The institution of the Roman Catholic church itself is a prime example of how Jesus' instructions to care for the poor at the expense of oneself was gradually replaced with a belief in the primacy of the church organization and its leaders. Even the Anglican Church, with its notable break from Rome, still essentially aggrandized the powerful at the expense of the weak by locating ultimate theological authority in the person of the monarch.

In this theological and political context, the Rosicrucian instruction to heal the sick free of charge represented a genuinely progressive, enlightened view of society and of the obligations the privileged have to those less privileged. It only makes sense, then, that some of the leading thinkers of the day were attracted to the idea that a righteous person:

Makes open avowal, or profession, of but one thing. He makes no open claim to possession of secrets, no public announcement that he is an initiate, no pretensions whatever to occult authority. He comes before the world in just one role, that of healer. (Case 99).

The ultimate secret of the Rosicrucian Order, then, is that there really is no secret. Instead, the highest order is simply to heal people, regardless of social status, wealth, or any other arbitrary category that serves to divide people. If the goal of the Rosicrucians was to lead Europe and the world into a new age of prosperity and harmony, then its primary way of doing that is by encouraging social cohesion and community support, because by instructing its followers to simply heal others with no concern for money, fame, or reward, it introduced pre-existing metaphysical notions of selflessness and charity in a new and exciting manner that would appeal to the emerging class of Renaissance and Enlightenment thinkers.

The popularity of the Rosicrucian Order and its writings among the educated class of Germany and England meant that its central ideas and images were transmitted and received by a relatively wide variety of people. While some of the long-term effects of this transmission will be discussed in the next chapter, perhaps the most immediately important influence Rosicrucianism had was its influence on the development of Freemasonry. While one cannot say with confidence that Freemasonry is the direct and immediate descendant of Rosicrucianism due to the wide variety of influences and preexisting social organizations that went into the development of Freemasonry, one can say that the rise of Freemasonry would have been practically impossible without the emergence of the Rosicrucian Order.

For one, the entire idea of an extensive metaphysical "college" dedicated to learning and passing on esoteric knowledge in Europe owes its creation to thee Rosicrucian Order, because although secret societies existed well before 1614, these societies were neither as widespread or an inclusive as the Rosicrucians. Of course, the inclusivity of the Rosicrucians is paradoxically based on the fact that a true Rosicrucian would make no claim to being one, but the fact remains that the Rosicrucian Order was responsible for popularizing the idea "that learned men ought to communicate their discoveries with one another and meet in collaboration" (Yates 264). Thus, it makes sense that some of the earliest Freemasons of note were also vocal defenders of Rosicrucianism, and furthermore, that the emerging Freemason groups adopted many of the symbols of Rosicrucianism, including the Rosy Cross (Matthews et. al. 255, 260). In fact, even some of the most widely known elements of Freemason imagery, including certain Orientalist architectural features, can be traced back to the images used in the early Rosicrucian texts (Kalmar 68).

Chapter 5: Discussion

Having outlined the findings of this historical examination of the Rosicrucian Order, it is now possible to discuss these findings in the context of Rosicrucianism lasting legacy beyond its initial historical development. Perhaps the most obvious influence the Rosicrucian Order has had independent of its immediate political and religious impact is its contributions to art and literature, because the movement gave Western society a number of interesting symbols and ideas which were ultimately incorporated into a number of works, including nineteenth century music, the poetry to W.B. Yeats, Rene Descartes' journals, and even the stories of Chilean-Argentinian author Manuel Rojas (Contreras 189; Murphy 1; MacDonald 444; Linker 21). It is beyond the scope of this study to examine these instances of Rosicrucian influence in detail, but they are worth pointing out in order to demonstrate the breadth and width of Rosicrucianism's influence over centuries and leagues.