Christopher McIntosh

Besproken in Thoth 1996 no.5, p.173 door Br.Kwaadgras:
“Dit boek is momenteel de beste verhandeling over de opkomst van het verschijnsel Gold- und Rosenkreuzer.”
Besproken in AQC ?:
“Bro. McIntosh, however, is not concerned with the Rosicrucians of the seventeenth-century manifestos, but with the revival of Rosicrucianism that grew out of the alchemical enthusiasms of Samuel Richter, a Silezian Pietist, who was active during the early years of the eighteenth century. This neo-Rosicrucianism arose in tandem with the Enlightenment – the Aufklärung- and, while it was not exclusively masonic, it took tangible form in the 1750’s when it was grafted on to the more exotic offshoots of the Craft and came to its full flowering as the Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross…It is thus no easy task to untangle the complex web of relationships within and between the Golden and Rosy Cross, the Asiatic Brethren, the Illuminati, and the whole gamut of masonic chivalric Orders that flourished in Germany and Eastern Europe during the second half of the eighteenth century, but Bro. McIntosh has done it with skill and meticulous attention to detail…It deserves a place in every masonic library of repute.”… (plus d'informations)

Besproken in Thoth 1996 no.5, p.173 door Br.Kwaadgras:
“Dit boek is momenteel de beste verhandeling over de opkomst van het verschijnsel Gold- und Rosenkreuzer.”
Besproken in AQC ?:
“Bro. McIntosh, however, is not concerned with the Rosicrucians of the seventeenth-century manifestos, but with the revival of Rosicrucianism that grew out of the alchemical enthusiasms of Samuel Richter, a Silezian Pietist, who was active during the early years of the eighteenth century. This neo-Rosicrucianism arose in tandem with the Enlightenment – the Aufklärung- and, while it was not exclusively masonic, it took tangible form in the 1750’s when it was grafted on to the more exotic offshoots of the Craft and came to its full flowering as the Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross…It is thus no easy task to untangle the complex web of relationships within and between the Golden and Rosy Cross, the Asiatic Brethren, the Illuminati, and the whole gamut of masonic chivalric Orders that flourished in Germany and Eastern Europe during the second half of the eighteenth century, but Bro. McIntosh has done it with skill and meticulous attention to detail…It deserves a place in every masonic library of repute.”… (plus d'informations)

A very odd book - I found it in equal parts entertaining and frustrating. It introduced me to many ideas about Nordic mysticism and 'heathenry' that I had not before heard of or thought about, and did so in an entertaining way. So as a social history of the revival of interest in ancient Nordic culture, the vikings, and shamanism was good.

However the author has a habit of talking about sources that are, shall we say, not really credible. He weaves established historical and geographical fact with nationalist, fantastical and sometimes outright crazy ideas and rarely differentiates between the two. So the book becomes a mash-up between an ethnographical study, a personal recording of ideas and ... a round-up of outlandish theories.

Thing is, for all it's faults I am going to give it three stars because there was some work of interest in here, and the topic is interesting. I just hope I come across a better book on the subject some time soon.… (plus d'informations)

THE ROSICRUCIANS :
THE HISTORY, MYTHOLOGY, AND RITUALS OF AN ESOTERIC ORDER

Almost 120 years after his death. the body of Father Christian
Rosenkreuz was discovered perfectly preserved in a seven-sided
vault. So runs part of the legend concerning the birth of the
Praternity of the Rosy Cross, with its mysterious founder
Christian Rosenkreuz, forerunner of the many "Secret
Masters" who have had such a profound influence on the
course of Western esoteric tradition. Alchemy, Freemasonry
the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and important liter-
ary works have all been enriched by the legend and symbolisımn
of Rosicrucianism. Author Christopher Mclntosh chronicles
the obscure and often elusive history of this secret order, ģiving
Rosicrucian seholars an excellent resource work. He plants the
roots of Rosicrucianism firmly in Hellenic and Arabic sources
establishing an intellectual matrix encompassing Qabalistic
doctrine. medieval mysticism, and Renaissance Neoplatonism
s the fertile soil in which the movement flourished. Illustrating
the affinity between the Rosicrucian ideal and the paradigm of
early modern science, Mclntosh reaches out to figures like
Eckhart, Tauler, Comenius, and Bacon to tie Agrippan and
Paracelsan mind-sets to the curious mythology of the Rosy
Cross. Paying special attention to the role of Freemasonry in
preserving the Rosicrucian ideal, Mclntosh pursues his
research through the 18th and 19th centuries, exploring its
growth and metamorphosis in Germany and France. He
includes a survey of Rosicrucianism in America, exploring the
latter-day survivals of Bacon's New Atlantis. In this third
revised and updated edition, Melntosh confronts the challenge
shared by all seholars: how to enrich the academic ideal of
objectivity with the heightened clarity of personal perspective.… (plus d'informations)