Difference between revisions of "Fama Fraternitatis"
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[[File:Fama fraternitatis.jpg|thumb|right|250px|alt=German title page of the 1614 Kassel volume containing the Fama.|Title page of the 1614 volume containing the ''Fama''.]] | [[File:Fama fraternitatis.jpg|thumb|right|250px|alt=German title page of the 1614 Kassel volume containing the Fama.|Title page of the 1614 volume containing the ''Fama''.]] | ||
The '''''Fama Fraternitatis''''' is the first of the two early [[Rosicrucians|Rosicrucian]] manifestos. Published in German in 1614 after circulating in manuscript, it announced a fraternity devoted to the renewal of learning and Christian life. The [[Confessio Fraternitatis|''Confessio'']] followed in 1615.<ref name="stevenson">David Stevenson, ''The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland's Century, 1590–1710'' (Cambridge University Press, 1988), pp. 97–104.</ref> | The '''''Fama Fraternitatis''''' is the first of the two early [[Rosicrucians|Rosicrucian]] manifestos. Published in German in 1614 after circulating in manuscript, it announced a fraternity devoted to the renewal of learning and Christian life. The [[Confessio Fraternitatis|''Confessio'']] followed in 1615.<ref name="stevenson">David Stevenson, ''The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland's Century, 1590–1710'' (Cambridge University Press, 1988), pp. 97–104.</ref> | ||
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| + | == The 1614 volume == | ||
| + | Wilhelm Wessel printed the ''Fama'' at Kassel in a volume containing several works. Before it stood a German translation of a satire by Traiano Boccalini, drawn from his ''Ragguagli di Parnaso'' and entitled ''General Reformation of the Whole World''. An answer by Adam Haslmayr followed the manifesto. Boccalini's satire, the fraternity's announcement and Haslmayr's response were separate texts brought together by the publication.<ref>Lyke de Vries, [https://brill.com/display/book/9789004249394/BP000004.pdf “The Authors and the Rosicrucian Worldview”], chapter 3 of ''Reformation, Revolution, Renovation'' (Brill, 2022), opening discussion of the 1614 volume.</ref> | ||
== Narrative and themes == | == Narrative and themes == | ||
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The ''Fama'' also became a source for later Rosicrucian societies. The [[Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA)|SRIA]] identifies it among the literary sources of its system.<ref name="structure">Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, [https://www.sria.info/about-the-society/sria-structure/ ‘Structure of the Society’] and [https://sria.info/home historical home-page account], note 1 (grade names).</ref> | The ''Fama'' also became a source for later Rosicrucian societies. The [[Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA)|SRIA]] identifies it among the literary sources of its system.<ref name="structure">Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, [https://www.sria.info/about-the-society/sria-structure/ ‘Structure of the Society’] and [https://sria.info/home historical home-page account], note 1 (grade names).</ref> | ||
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| + | == A surviving English manuscript == | ||
| + | The British Library holds a seventeenth-century English manuscript containing the ''Fama'' and ''Confessio'', catalogued as Royal MS 17 C XIX. The paper volume has 43 leaves. Its heading gives a Danzig imprint of 1615, but the library's catalogue identifies confusion between a Dutch source and another Rosicrucian publication. The date quoted in the heading is therefore not a precise date for the English manuscript itself.<ref>British Library, [https://searcharchives.bl.uk/catalog/040-002107359 Royal MS 17 C XIX], Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue.</ref> | ||
== References == | == References == | ||
Latest revision as of 12:20, 1 October 2026
The Fama Fraternitatis is the first of the two early Rosicrucian manifestos. Published in German in 1614 after circulating in manuscript, it announced a fraternity devoted to the renewal of learning and Christian life. The Confessio followed in 1615.[1]
The 1614 volume
Wilhelm Wessel printed the Fama at Kassel in a volume containing several works. Before it stood a German translation of a satire by Traiano Boccalini, drawn from his Ragguagli di Parnaso and entitled General Reformation of the Whole World. An answer by Adam Haslmayr followed the manifesto. Boccalini's satire, the fraternity's announcement and Haslmayr's response were separate texts brought together by the publication.[2]
Narrative and themes
The text tells of a founder who travels in search of knowledge, returns to Europe and gathers a small brotherhood. Its story of the later recovery of his knowledge gives the fraternity's appeal a historical setting. These events form part of the manifesto's narrative; the text is not independent evidence for the founder's life.[1]
The Fama connects the study of nature with religious and moral reform. Its ideal scholars share knowledge for human benefit, and healing has a place in their service. It criticises the pursuit of gold as an end in itself. Its programme therefore extends beyond the popular image of alchemists concerned only with transmuting metals.[3]
Reception and Masonic interest
Publication led to a search for the fraternity and a controversy over its claims. A 1615 Danzig edition printed the Fama and Confessio alongside responses, including one by Adam Haselmeyer. This material records an early public debate around the manifestos.[4]
Stevenson traces interest in the texts in seventeenth-century Britain, including Scots translations dated 1633 and the English edition issued under Thomas Vaughan's name in 1652. He distinguishes such evidence of circulation from the more uncertain question of institutional connections with Freemasonry.[1]
The Fama also became a source for later Rosicrucian societies. The SRIA identifies it among the literary sources of its system.[5]
A surviving English manuscript
The British Library holds a seventeenth-century English manuscript containing the Fama and Confessio, catalogued as Royal MS 17 C XIX. The paper volume has 43 leaves. Its heading gives a Danzig imprint of 1615, but the library's catalogue identifies confusion between a Dutch source and another Rosicrucian publication. The date quoted in the heading is therefore not a precise date for the English manuscript itself.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 David Stevenson, The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland's Century, 1590–1710 (Cambridge University Press, 1988), pp. 97–104.
- ↑ Lyke de Vries, “The Authors and the Rosicrucian Worldview”, chapter 3 of Reformation, Revolution, Renovation (Brill, 2022), opening discussion of the 1614 volume.
- ↑ Fama Fraternitatis, early English translation, transcription at the Alchemy Website.
- ↑ Getty Research Institute, catalogue record and digitised copy of Fama fraternitatis … beneben der Confession (Danzig: Andreas Hünefeldt, 1615), Internet Archive.
- ↑ Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, ‘Structure of the Society’ and historical home-page account, note 1 (grade names).
- ↑ British Library, Royal MS 17 C XIX, Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue.
| Rosicrucian history and related societies | |
|---|---|
| Overview | Rosicrucians · Christian Rosencreutz · SRIA · Golden Dawn |
| Early texts | Fama · Confessio · Chymical Wedding |
| People | William Wynn Westcott · Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers · William Robert Woodman · Arthur Edward Waite · Pamela Colman Smith |
| Related reading | Comparing the traditions · All articles in this section |