The Rosicrucian Manifestos
Early in seventeenth century Germany two anonymous manuscripts were in circulation which would cause a stir in intellectual and spiritual communities in Europe with calls for reformation and a focus on the Hermetic-Cabalist tradition. The manuscripts were finally printed as the Fama Fraternitatis and Confessio Fraternitatis and told the story of the founding of a mysterious society; the Brethren of the Rosy Cross, which eschewed religious dogma and called for the study of Alchemia, Magia and Cabala. Considered a ludibrium by many, including the supposed author Johann Valentin Andreae who later said he wrote them as a ‘youthful jest’, the Manifestos nonetheless ignited a firestorm of controversy which resulted in the rise of many forms of Rosicrucianism. Some of these movements have come down to us today in the form of magical orders such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Builders of the Adytum or AMORC, now based in San Jose California. As the Master Therion wrote in Liber LXI vel Causae concerning purported Rosicrucian manuscripts; “You will readily understand that the genuineness of the claim matters no whit, such literature being judged by itself, not by its reputed sources.” Seventeenth century Europe was expectant of political and religious change as two new stars appeared in firmament as discussed by Johannes Kepler in his De Stella nova in pede Serpentarii; De Stella incognita Cygni, which was printed in Prague two years after the stars appeared in 1604. This unique celestial event, depicted in the Temple of the Rosy Cross print, fortified the call for political and spiritual renewal ‘trumpeted’ by the manifestos. This invisible college, as the Rosicrucian Order was sometimes refered to, is represented in the print as a temple on wheels ‘under the shadow of the wings of the Lord.’ Schweighardt was a supporter of Rosicrucian ideas, but he was by no means alone in these endeavours as his reference to Julianus de Campis [wielder of the sword] shows. Of course there were other supporters such as, Michael Maier, Robert Fludd and Thomas Vaughan, the latter causing to be printed the first English edition of the Manifestos.
Trade Edition
Full cloth with gilt title and Rose Cross device. Letterpress printed dust jacket. Limited to 777 copies only.
Original price - $40.00
Rosencreutz Edition
Full scarlet leather with raised spine bands gilt title and Rose Cross device. Handmarbled endsheets and silk ribbon bookmark. Limited to 120 copies only.
Original price - $155.00
Nequaquam Vaccum Edition
Full Vellum with raised spine bands gilt title and Rose Cross device. Handmarbled endsheets and silk ribbon bookmark. Limited to 37 copies only. Includes a copy of the Temple of the Rosy Cross print.
Original price - $225.00
