Customer Reviews

The Golden Builders: Alchemists, Rosicrucians, and the First Freemasons

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book would be an excellent addition to the library of anyone interested in the evolution of Western thought, and especially those wanting more light on the role of Hermeticism and two of its most significant offspring, Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry.

The Golden Builders leaps into the same league as the works of such respected esoteric scholars as Francis Yates and Antoine Favre, though in many ways it is more satisfying. It is quite readable, direct, and delightfully uncluttered with obscure references, vague associations, and specious conclusions. In most cases, Churton is very clear with his suppositions and conservative with his speculations, and he provides thorough footnotes.

Unlike many authors who have attempted to accomplish similar aims, Churton carefully elucidates the many personal relationships and connections among his central characters, as well as analysing their personalities and motivations. This accomplishment is clearly the result of Churton's painstaking examination of many period publications, personal writings, and private communications.

The Golden Builders skillfully reveals the extent to which the original Rosicrucian documents and the ensuing furor of interest fits so perfectly into the religious and political climate of the Renaissance and Reformation. Johann Valentin Andreae receives much deserved attention as a literary genius with significant connections among other influential men of the time. On a broader scale, the Rosicrucian myth and movement is placed squarely within the evolution of Hermeticism as a transformative element in Western thought.

Readers interested in the history and formation of Freemasonry might also be pleased to find that Churton carefully explores the intellectual atmosphere and cultural conditions surrounding the two earliest known Accepted Masons, Robert Moray and Elias Ashmole, especially the latter. As a result of this study, the purposes of the Craft are revealed as being far more than a convivial fraternity concerned with common teachings on morality and charity. Churton has made a significant contribution to understanding Accepted Masonry as originally being profoundly philosophical and inspirational in nature.

Whether you are a novice or already well read in this field of interest, The Golden Builders would be well worth your money as both an entertaining read and informative resource.

The Golden Builders is not only a thorough overview of the ideas and men that molded the Hermetic traditions, it is a highly readable (Dare I say entertaining?) journey through the largely unexplored sources of the Western spiritual sciences.

I like this book because it is the first to explain Templaric origins and combine it with the more traditional stone mason's guilds to explain the existence of speculative masonry.

In doing so, the author also explains the heavy influence of the Enlightenment Era upon the Craft. Those looking for light will receive it by order of this book.