The Rosicrucians: The History, Mythology, and Rituals of an Esoteric Order

I'd say it is a good historical overview, from the Fama through FUDOSI, of things purporting to be Rosicrucian. Plenty of detailed information is provided and the writing style is clear.

He confuses (as most authors on this subject do)"Christian Rosenkreuz" of "Chemical Wedding" fame with the various & sundry monikers listed in the first two manifestos. Otherwise, a decent history.

THE ROSICRUCIANS :
THE HISTORY AND MYTHOLOGY OF AN OCCULT ORDER

A hundred and twenty years after his death the body of
Father Christian Rosenkreuz remained in a state of perfect
preservation in a seven-sided vault..

So runs part of the legend concerning the birth of the
Fraternity 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 occultism.

Alchemy, Freemasonry, the Hermetic Order of the Golden
Dawn, and literature have all been enriched by the legend and
symbolism of Rosicrucianism. But who were the Rosicrucians
and how did they come to exercise such an influence on the
Western esoteric tradition?

Here - for the first time - the show more strange story of the
Rosy Cross is told in its entirety, from its shadowy beginnings
in the seventeenth century to its many and various modern
offshoots show less

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 show more 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. show less