Fama Fraternitatis
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]
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.[2]
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.[3]
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.[4]
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.
- ↑ 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).
| 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 |