Christian Rosenkreutz

Christian Rosenkreuz (also spelled Rosenkreutz and Christian Rose Cross) is the legendary, possibly allegorical, founder of the Rosicrucian Order (Order of the Rose Cross). He is presented in three manifestos that were published early in the 17th century. These were:

According to legend, Christian Rosenkreuz was a doctor who discovered and learned esoteric wisdom on a pilgrimage to the Middle East among Turkish, Arab and Persian sages, possibly Sufi or Zoroastrian masters, supposedly in the early 15th century (see § Symbolism of the numbers in the Manifestos); returned and founded the "Fraternity of the Rose Cross" with himself (Frater C.R.C.) as Head of the Order. Under his direction a Temple, called Sanctus Spiritus, or "The House of the Holy Spirit", was built.

It is described that his body, as discovered by a Brother of the Order, was in a perfect state of preservation 120 years after his death (which occurred in absolute secrecy) – as Rosenkreuz had predicted — in a heptagonal chamber erected by himself as a storehouse of knowledge. It is described that on the Sarcophagus in the centre of the Crypt of Christian Rosenkreutz were written, among other inscriptions the words, "Jesus mihi omnia, nequaquam vacuum, libertas evangelii, dei intacta gloria, legis jugum" ("Jesus is everything to me, by no means empty, the freedom of the gospel, the untouched glory of God, the yoke of the law"), testifying to the builder's Christian character.

Rosenkreuz's crypt, according to the description presented in the legend, is located in the interior of the Earth, recalling the alchemical motto V.I.T.R.I.O.L.:  Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem ("Visit the interior of the Earth; by rectification thou shalt find the hidden stone").

According to some researchers, Christian Rosenkreuz was the last descendant of the Germelshausen, a German family which flourished in the 13th century. Their castle stood in the Thuringian Forest on the Border of Hesse and they had embraced Albigensian (i.e., Cathar) doctrines, combining Gnostic and Christian beliefs. The whole family was put to death by Konrad von Marburg except for the youngest son, who was only five years old. He was carried away secretly by a monk who was an Albigensian adept from Languedoc. The child was placed in a monastery which had already come under the influence of the Albigenses, where he was educated and made the acquaintance of the four other brothers who were later to be associated with him in the founding of the Rosicrucian Brotherhood. His account derives from oral tradition.

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