The Rosicrucian Reformation

Abstract

The first two Rosicrucian texts, the Fama Fraternitatis and the Confessio Fraternitatis, were published in the early seventeenth century as mission statements of a secret fraternity. This article investigates a key aspect of these heterodox writings that is not fully explored in the existing literature, namely the call for a general reformation of religion, politics, and knowledge. This article compares this call for reform, which was embedded into an apocalyptic context, to medieval and early-modern prophecies and confessional views, and thereby aims to establish its origins and originality.