Fama Fraternitatis

Original edition of the Fama Fraternitatis, 1614.

The grave of Christian Rosenkreuz found after the Fama Fraternitatis in 1604, here depicted as "Philosophenberg" in the third issue of «Die geheimen Figuren der Rosenkreuzer» (The Secret Figures of the Rosicrucians) (Altona, 1785-1788)

The Fama Fraternitatis was first published in 1614 by Wilhelm Wessel in Kassel without any indication of the author. It is a short outline of the life story of the legendary Frater C.R., who tried to pass on the knowledge he had gathered in the Middle East and Africa in Europe, but failed because of the narrow-mindedness of European scholars.

„The outside world has been repeatedly pointed to Rosicrucianism by the two writings which date from the beginning of the seventeenth century. In 1614 the so-called 'Fama Fraternitatis' appeared, and a year later the so-called 'Confessio' - two books about which there has been much dispute among scholars. And not only about what is usually disputed with so many books, whether that Valentin Andreae, who in his later years was a quite normal superintendent, really wrote the book - but with these books it has also been disputed whether they were taken seriously by the authors or whether they were only meant to be a mockery of the fact that there was a certain mysterious Rosicrucian brotherhood which had such and such tendencies and aims. Then, in the wake of these writings, there is a whole series of others which tell all kinds of things about Rosicrucianism. If you take the writings of Valentin Andreae and also other Rosicrucian writings in your hand, then, if you do not know the actual basis of Rosicrucianism, you will find nothing special in these writings. For it has not been possible until our time to become acquainted with even the most elementary aspects of this spiritual current, which has really existed since the fourteenth century and still exists today. All that has passed into literature, all that has been written and printed, are individual fragments, individual lost things which have come to the public through betrayal, which have been inaccurately and in many ways perverted through charlatanry, swindling, ignorance and stupidity. The true, genuine Rosicrucianism has, ever since it has existed, only been the subject of verbal communication to those who had to take an oath of secrecy. For this reason, nothing of any significance has passed into the public literature. Only then, when one knows what can be communicated publicly today - for certain reasons which would go too far to explain now - in elementary Rosicrucianism and what we will be able to speak of today, can one find some sense in the often grotesque, often merely comic, but often also dizzy and seldom harmonious communications of literature.“ (Lit.:GA 55, p. 176f)

It is assumed that the abbreviation C.R. stands for Christian Rosencreutz, who is mentioned in the «Chymical Wedding». According to the founding legend, after his journey, Christian Rosencreutz founded his own secret brotherhood to preserve the special knowledge that Frater C.R. had acquired on his journey. The members of the Brotherhood spread out across Europe. In the headquarters of this society, the third generation after Rosencreutz finds the body of the founder in 1604.

The account of the discovery of the body by Frater C. R. is based on the narrative of the hidden tomb of Hermes Trismegistos and thus the rediscovery of the Tabula Smaragdina "Verba Secretorum Hermetis, quae scripta erant in Tabula Smaragdi, inter manus eius inventa, in obscuro antro, in quo humatum corpus eius repertum est. - The words of the Mysteries of Hermes engraved on the Emerald Tablet (literally: ...which were written on the S.) were found between his hands, in a hidden cavern, which made his human body reappear." (Quote sentence 1 of the Tabula Smaragdina).

The Fama Fraternitatis is embedded in an anonymous writing with the title "Allgemeine und General Reformation der ganzen weiten Welt. Beneben der Fama Fraternitatis" (Universal and General Reformation of the Whole Wide World. Together with the Fama Fraternitatis). The first part, the Reformation, is a satirical fable dealing with the General Reformation as it was treated in the circle of Johann Valentin Andreae. In fact, it was only taken unchanged from Traiano Boccalini's Ragguagli di Parnasso, which had already been published in 1612. Nevertheless, according to current research, it can be proven that the authorship or the Tübingen circle around Andreae extended to the university professor Christoph Besold. A prefabricated manuscript of the Fama Fraternitatis was already in circulation around 1604. Andreae had been a student at the University of Tübingen since 1601. Besold's role was determined by the fact that he exerted a great influence on Andreae. It is assumed that Besold also maintained contacts with followers of Simon Studion. Simon Studion was himself a graduate of the University of Tübingen and at that time wrote, among other things, the Naometria, which was published in 1604 - at the same time as the tomb opening described in the Fama. In the Naometria, ideas of an aspired spiritual reformation and upheaval of society were also presented. Studion uses the symbols cross and rose in his work and mentions a society called Militia Crucifera Evangelica. This society is considered by some to be the forerunner of the later Rosicrucian Brotherhood, which was formed for the protection and purity of the Christian faith. In order to understand the origins of the Fama, one must bear in mind that at that time there was a tremendous will for reformation emanating from the population. Since Luther, people were again increasingly directed against the clergy and possibly tried to build up an alliance against the Catholic Societas Jesu, also called the Jesuit Order.

See also

• Confessio Fraternitatis (1615)
• Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz (1616)

Literature

• Johann Valentin Andreae: Die Bruderschaft der Rosenkreuzer. Esoterische Texte (Diederichs Gelbe Reihe; 53). Diederichs, München 1995, ISBN 3-424-00793-5 (hrsg. von Gerhard Wehr)
• Peter Selg: Rudolf Steiner und Christian Rosenkreutz, Vlg. des Ita Wegman Instituts, Arlesheim 2011 (The appendix contains a new translation of the Fama fraternitatis by Johannes Wilhelm Gädeke)
• Rudolf Steiner: Die Erkenntnis des Übersinnlichen in unserer Zeit, GA 55 (1983), ISBN 3-7274-0550-3 English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org

References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated. Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com. Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English. Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA) Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.

Weblinks

• Fama Fraternitatis
• Allgemeine und General Reformation der ganzen weiten Welt. Beneben der Fama Fraternitatis des löblichen Ordens des Rosencreutzes (gedruckt zu Cassel durch Wilhelm Wessel anno 1614)
• Fama Fraternitatis auf hermetik.ch
• Fama Fraternitatis des löblichen Ordens des Rosencreutzes (translated into German by Lorenzo Ravagli)
• Fama fraternitatis, oder, Entdeckung der Brüderschafft des löblichen Ordens dess Rosen Creutzes: beneben der Confession, oder, Bekantnus derselben Fraternitet, an alle Gelehrte und Häupter in Europa geschrieben : auch etlichen Responsionen von Haselmeyern und anderen gelehrten Leuten auff die Famam gestellet, Danzig 1615 auf archive.org