Christian Rosencreuz

According to the Rosicrucian legend, the order began with one Christian Rosenkreuz, born in 1378 in Germany. Beginning in 1393, he visited Damascus, Egypt, and Morocco where he sat under the masters of the occult arts. Upon his return to Germany, he began in 1407 the Rosicrucian Order with three monks from the cloister in which he had been raised. He also erected the House of the Holy Spirit (the Spiritus Sanctum) which was completed in 1409. The original group was enlarged to eight. Christian Rosenkreuz died in 1484 (at the age of 106) and was entombed in the Spiritus Sanctum. Knowledge of his tomb was lost, but it was rediscovered in 1604. its opening led to the spread of the Order anew.

Modern Rosicrucian groups have different opinions about Christian Rosencreuz. Some believe he actually existed as the early documents assert; others see the name as a pseudonym for one or more historic personages (Francis Bacon perhaps). Still others view the story as a parable, and occult legend that points to more profound truth.

Knowledge of Christian Rosenkreuz and the Order he supposedly founded was given to the world in three documents in the second decade of the seventeenth century:

The Fama Fraternitas of the Meritorious Order of the Rosy Cross (1614) The Confession of the Rosicrucian Fraternity (1615) The Chumical Marriage of Christian Rosenkreuz (1616 pub purportedly written by Christian Rosenkreuz in 1459)

Common thought within the Rosicrucian community looks upon Christian Rosenkreuz as a fantastic legend, with it's main purpose being to reestablish the main purpose of the Order, founded in ancient Egypt.