The Rosicrucian Enlightenment Revisited

John Matthews

Jan 1999 · SteinerBooks

About this ebook

In 1995, to honor the role of Central Europe in the spiritual history of the West, the New York Open Center invited students of Rosicrucianism and the Western Mystery traditions to the Czech Republic to discuss the historical backgrounds of Rosicrucianism. Two years later a second meeting was held in Prague to celebrate the Hermetic world of Rudolf II.

The result is this book: in which John Matthews addresses the relationship between the Grail and the Rose; Christopher Bamford speaks of the prehistory of the Rosicrucian reformation in the late Middle Ages--among women mystics, alchemists, Cathars, Franciscan spirituals, as well as in Luther and the great Paracelsus; Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke tells the wild tale of John Dee's mission to central Europe; Joscelyn Godwin unfolds the paradigmatic Rosicrucian life of Michael Maier; Claire Goodrick-Clarke recounts influence of Comenius; Paul Bembridge speaks of Rosicrucian Resurgence at the Court of Cromwell; Robert Powell describes the roles of Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, and Rudolf II; and Christopher McIntosh speaks of the Rosicrucian Legacy.

Also included are the texts of the two Rosicrucian Manifestos--the Fama and the Confessio. Illustrated.

C O N T E N T S

Introduction by Ralph White

1. "The Grail and the Rose"
by John Matthews

2. "The Meaning of the Rose Cross"
by Christopher Bamford

3. "The Rosicrucian Prelude: John Dee's Mission in Central Europe"
by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke

4. "The Deepest of the Rosicrucians: Michael Maier"
by Joscelyn Godwin

5. "Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Rudolf II, and the Prague Hermetic Renaissance"
by Robert Powell

6. "The Twelfth Adept: Michael Sendivogius in Rudolfine Prague"
by Fafal T. Prinke

7. "The Rosicrucian Afterglow: The Life and Influence of Comenius"
by Clare Goodrick-Clarke

8. "The Rosicrucian Resurgence at the Court of Cromwell"
by Paul Bembridge

9. "The Rosicrucian Legacy"
by Christopher McIntosh

About the author

John Matthews was born in the North of England in 1948. He has been a professional writer since 1980, and has produced over forty books ranging from Celtic and Arthurian legends to collections of stories, essays, and poetry He has given workshops in Britain, Central Europe, and America and is primarily concerned with the interpretation of myth. He is an internationally renowned authority on mythology and folklore with a special interest in the Arthurian and Grail traditions and Celtic lore. Matthews best known works are The Grail: Quest for Eternal Life, Taliesin: Shamanism and the Bardic Mysteries in Britain and Ireland, and The Celtic Shaman. Other books include Arthur and the Grail Quest, Within the Hollow Hills, and The Winter Solstice, which won the Benjamin Franklin Award in 1998. Matthews has also co-authored with his wife, Caitlin Matthews, a study of the Western mystery tradition, The Western Way. Together they designed and wrote the best-selling Arthurian Tarot, which has sold more than 50,000 copies and has been translated into several languages.