A history of the role that the occult has played in the formation of modern science and medicine, The Rosicrucian Enlightenment has had a tremendous impact on our understanding of the western esoteric tradition. Beautifully illustrated, it remains one of those rare works of scholarship which the general reader simply cannot afford to ignore.
The Rosicrucian Enlightenment
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'Zestful, stylish, full of suggestive ways forward, Yates's bold reassessment of Rosicrucianism is provoking, exhilarating and indispensable.' - Diarmaid MacCulloch, BBC History Magazine
About the Author
Dame Frances Yates (1899 - 1981). English scholar who brought about the revival of interest in the historical role of the occult sciences, demonstrating their link with the rise of modern science.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
46 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of the books featured in the annotated bibliography that I am writing. It is not some occult handbook; rather, it is a concise history of this movement during the 17th century, written by an eminent Renaissance scholar.
If you really want to know what was happening in Great Britain and Europe during this period, what brought about the Rosicrucian Manifesto and Confessio - and why - this is the book to read. Dame Frances Yates' clarity in setting down this underground movement, how these men communicated and disseminated their thoughts and beliefs (which were considered heretical to the church and treasonous to the politics of their day)is an enlightening revelation.
It is to these men, who fought for the freedom from Church strictures to study mathematics, philosophy and science openly, that we should give our thanks today. These are the great minds who held a utopian vision: Johann Valentine Andreae, Giordano Bruno, Elias Ashmole, John Dee, Sir Phillip Sidney, Thomas Vaughan, Francis Bacon, Robert Fludd, Michael Maier, Tommaso Campanella, and others (the only person missing is Sendivogius). These are the alchemists who were responsible for the later advancement into rational science.
47 of 52 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Wonderful book. Highly recommended. The book is a history of a very overlooked portion of the role that the so called "occult" has played in the formation of modern science and medicine. It traces with wonderful skill, the foundations of the Royal Society. It shows Bacon was FIRMLY entrenched in the lore of alchemy and hermeticism. Those early scientists were indeed the last of the great alchemists. She goes on to show the link between the "invisible college" and the rise of objective thought that culminated with the Renaissance. In the process she charts the greater part of Pre-Renaissance history! If you have an interest in the esoteric foundations of science, then this is a worthy expenditure of your time.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book began a revolution in encouraging scholars and laypersons to take the role of Esoteric movements as a legitimate element in the study of Western history. Though there have been recent disputes with some conclusions drawn by Dame Yates in this work, it still remains a pioneering document of historical research. The recent collection of essays by Christopher Bamford, "The Roscicrucian Enlightment Revisited" goes toward validation of much of this work. A seminal book in esoteric studies, highly recommended.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting and cleverly constructed, but writing is mediocre
Having known nothing about the Rosicrucians but having a long-standing interest in Renaissance magic, I found this topic completely fascinating and I can't believe the Rosicrucian... Read more
Published on August 24, 2005 by Elizabeth Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Rise of Rosicrucianism.
_The Rosicrucian Enlightenment_ by Renaissance scholar Frances Yates is a fascinating account of the Rosicrucian movement in seventeenth century Europe and its relationship to... Read more
Published on August 2, 2005 by New Age of Barbarism
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best,, so far
I found this book to be invaluable in clearing the factual fog around the original Rosicrucians. The author was a scrupulous and brilliant historian who has not, as far as I can... Read more
Published on November 6, 2004 by C. L. Getz
3.0 out of 5 stars
History vs Herstory
This book is very well written and contains alot of valuable info on the Rosicrucians. But as you were always told, do not believe everything you read. Read more
Published on February 2, 2002 by "goldenidols"
4.0 out of 5 stars
Essential information marred by fanciful argument.
This book is easily the most accessible work in the English language on the Rosicrucian furore, and, by default, has become somewhat of a standard text in the absence of any other... Read more
Published on November 5, 2001 by Joe Penn
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 48
books:
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100
books
cite this book:
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- The New Atlantis and The City of the Sun: Two Classic Utopias by Francis Bacon on 15 pages
- John Dee: The World of an Elizabethan Magus by Peter J. French on 14 pages
- The Advancement of Learning (Modern Library Science) by Francis Bacon on 8 pages
- Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross by Arthur Edward Waite on 6 pages
- The City of the Sun by Tommaso Campanella on 4 pages
See all 48 books this book cites
- The Rosicrucian Enlightenment Revisited by John Matthews on 16 pages
- John Dee's Occultism: Magical Exaltation Through Powerful Signs (SUNY Series in Western Esoteric Traditions) by Gyorgy E. Szonyi on 6 pages
- Hegel and the Hermetic Tradition by Glenn A. Magee on 6 pages
- The Religion of Technology: The Divinity of Man and the Spirit of Invention by David F. Noble on 6 pages
- Nature as Model: Salomon de Caus and Early Seventeenth-Century Landscape Design (Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture) by Luke Morgan on 6 pages
See all 100 books citing this book
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