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Rosicrucianism in the Early Modern Period in Denmark

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Rosicrucianism in the Early Modern Period in Denmark Early Modern Rosicrucianism in Denmark 431 Chapter 53 Early Modern Rosicrucianism in Denmark Rosicrucianism in the Early Modern Period in Denmark Jole Shackelford Rosicrucianism was an idealistic movement of the counter-Reformation pe riod that was officially proclaimed in 1614 by the anonymously published manifesto Fama fraternitatis Roseæ Crucis oder Die Bruderschaft des Ordens der Rosenkreuzer (Rumour of the Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross) in Kassel, Germany. This was soon followed by the anonymous Confessio oder Bekenntnis der Societät und Bruderschaft Rosenkreuz (The Confession of the Rosicrucian Society and Brotherhood) and Secretioris philosophiæ consideratio brevis (A Brief Consideration of a More Secret Philosophy) in 1615, and the alchemical- religious allegory Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosenkreutz (The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz) by Johan Valentin Andreæ in 1616. These tracts are thought to be the product of a collaboration among a loosely- affiliated group of students and religious thinkers in Tübingen and Marburg during the first fifteen years of the seventeenth century, which included Johan Valentin Andreæ. Although advertised as a brotherhood, there is no historical evidence to support the actual existence of a Rosicrucian organisation in the early seventeenth century, and historians regard it as an informal intellectual and spiritual movement with a coherent, but loosely defined ideological basis that was expressed through manuscript and printed letters, pamphlets, and treatises that circulated in northern Europe in the late sixteenth and early sev- enteenth centuries. Lutheran Concordists Oppose Continued Reformation The main thematic currents of the Rosicrucian ideology were grounded in the frustration felt by many Protestants who were disillusioned with the direction that the Reformation had taken after Martin Luther’s death. Turning away from dogma, the Rosicrucian authors and their spiritualist predecessors, among whom were Johan Arndt and Valentin Weigel, instead drew concepts and ter- minology from alchemical and Paracelsian medical and religious tracts along with the chief texts of medieval mysticism and Renaissance Hermetism. These writers sought to further the process of religious reformation, which had been © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2016 | doi 10.1163/9789004325968_055 432 Shackelford betrayed by confessional bickering and had become ossified in the magisterial reforms of Luther and, ultimately, the conservative turn that Luthera nism took with the Formula of Concord (1577). The Formula of Concord was, as its name suggests, an attempt to create unity among the diverse protestant factions within the broad Lutheran camp that had appeared during the tumultuous years of argument over the Augsburg Confession (1530–1540), which defined the central beliefs of the Lutheran denomination. Between 1540 and 1580, a predominantly rationalist faction of Luther’s fol- lowers, took its inspiration from Philip Melanchthon’s curricular initiatives and his basic idea that Protestant unity should not be sacrificed to intransigent positions on doctrinal matters that he did not view as central to the creed. He taught that religion and natural philosophy ought to be mutually supportive and he sought a measure of accommodation with the variant confessional for- mulations, thus healing the greatest rifts that threatened Protestant harmony. The Philippists, as they were known, advocated tolerance and broad interpre- tation of Calvinist positions on the nature of Christ, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and related issues, and were consequently labelled Crypto-Calvinists (closet Calvinists) by opponents who regarded themselves as Luther’s true followers. Guided by the powerful theological voices of Johannes Brenz, Jakob Andreæ, and Martin Chemnitz, and with the support of the powerful Elector August of Saxony, who was married to the sister of King Frederik II of Denmark, the Gnesio-Lutheran (ultra-orthodox) party was organised to define narrowly the Lutheran creed; they determined to denounce and suppress the Philippists and created the Formula of Concord, which was used to exclude Philippist tol- erance of confessional variants. The Book of Concord, which bound the Formula with Luther’s Catechism and other fundamental codifications of the Lutheran creed, was legitimated by the Saxon elector as defining a unified Lutheranism that could stand up to political and religious forces within the Protestant world and the threat of Catholic counter-reformation. However, it also presented a narrow definition of the faith, which left many self-proclaimed Lutherans out- side of the fold, to be branded by the orthodox with such appellations as “enthusiasts”. Concordists and Philippists in Denmark All of this touched Danes quite closely, since Denmark and the North German duchies also ruled by Frederik II were reformed by the followers of Philipp Melanchthon and attempted to follow a Lutheran path of moderation that was tolerant of Calvinism and other sectarian tendencies. Pressured by his .
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