The Rose Cross and the Age of Reason: Eighteenth-century Rosicrucianism in Central Europe and its Relationship to the Enlightenment

Focuses on the interaction between two movements of thought in 18th-century Germany: the philosophy of the Enlightenment and the complex of ideas known as Rosicrucianism. Dating from the early 17th century and drawing on Pietism, Freemasonry, Kabbalah and alchemy, the Rosicrucian movement enjoyed a revival in Germany during the 18th century. Historians have often depicted this neo-Rosicrucianism as a Counter-Enlightenment force. Here, McIntosh argues rather that it was part of a third force , which allied itself sometimes with the Enlightenment, sometimes with the Counter-Enlightenment. This work is a study of the German Rosicrucian revival, in particular the order known as the Golden and Rose Cross (Gold- und Rosenkreuz). Drawing on hitherto unpublished material, it shows how the order exerted a significant influence on the cultural, political and religious life of its age.