The Rosicrucian Marriage
There is much to be said about the Rosicrucians. Many tales and broken fragments of a history untold… But one that seems to be the most peculiar is that of King James I and his daughter, Elizabeth Stuart - Queen of Bohemia. Others know her as the Winter Queen. Many know of King James- as evidently his name is known best from our ‘King James Bible’. But little know of the marriage that took place between his daughter and her beloved Frederick V of Palatine. And what better way to celebrate a valentines day by writing of one. So let’s go back 400 years ago… to a valentines day in 1613.
Marriage for the wedding of Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of James I, and Frederick V, Elector Palatine, 14 February, 1613
On valentines day, February 14th 1613, the spectacular wedding had taken place at the Royal Chapel of Whitehall Palace in London. So great was this wedding that it nearly bankrupted King James and the court from all the lavish clothes, jewelry, feasts, entertainments for this wedding. It is quite humorous to think about; but it was true. As the 16 year old Elizabeth strode down in her white satin gown and a crown of gold with giant pearls and diamonds, standing like shining pinnacles over her ‘deep amber-coloured hair’; her young 16 year old Frederick gazed lovingly at her. Their adornments of all white pearls and diamonds symbolizing purity and innocence for their cosmic unity to take place. This was indeed a true Alchemical Wedding. As even their sixteen bridesmaids were dressed in all white satin; adorned in jewels - as her passage looked like the Milky Way. Elizabeth’s charm and beauty; stunned them all- as even the gossipers held their tongue when gazing upon her. “Already all men, even the Puritans, fell under the magic of her smile…”
Young Frederick V, Count Palatine of the Rhine, we must note, was of undeniably high lineage. His ancestors included the kings of Aragon ands Sicily, the landgraves of Hesse, the dukes of Brabant and Saxony, and the counts of Nassau and Leuven. This made Frederick a great candidate for Elizabeth’s hand in marriage amongst many of the other possible suitors that had been presented for her. “No one in the Holy Roman Empire can have failed to know the chief elector had married the great daughter of Britain. Through the dense forests, in the cities, the news travelled, arousing satisfaction in some quarters that here was a great alliance, strengthening the German protestant cause. In other quarters there would have been less satisfaction, particularly at Graz where the Austrian Hapsburgs kept their stately court.”
“From the Marriage of Elizabeth and Frederick v, all the treasures of English Renaissance outpoured, and London went wild with joy at what seemed to be a continuation of the Elizabethan Age in this alliance of a new, young Elizabeth with the leader of the German Protestants and a grandson of William the silent.” - The Rosicrucian Enlightenment, Frances Yates.
During this special time, Shakespeare was still alive and well in London, the globe theatre was not yet burned down, Inigo Jones was perfecting the Court Masque and Francis Bacon had published ‘The Advancement of Learning’. This was indeed a pivotal moment for Europe’s progress to a Rosicrucian Dawn. Oh what a festive, and glorious time this was - for the marriage of Frederick V and Elizabeth Stuart was to shake the grounds for a very heavy uproar of a pre-enlightenment era in Europe.
As we can examine through illustrated manuscript works from the British Museum, days before their wedding Frederick and Elizabeth had an elaborate firework show- that was said to be an allegorical exaggeration of Frederick as St. George, Patron of the Order of the Garter, clearing the world of ‘evil enchantment’. For it was to show Frederick’s special appendage to the order of the garter - an ‘elizabethan’ tradition carried out. And by no surprise the infamous Shakespeare did indeed attend thier wedding - giving the very special performance of ‘The tempest’. Francis Yates writes in her Rosicrucian Enlightenment; “This Shakespeare play known to have been performed before Frederick and Elizabeth was a comic moment in their history- comic in the sense that their lives seem now a comedy with a happy ending- having something of the air of a shakespearean hero and heroine.”
“Thus England had sent forth her royal daughter with a very halo of romance, an almost legendary splendor of unparalleled magnificence calculated to stir the imagination of all Europe. The grave burghers of Heidelberg were all well aware of the political importance of their prince’s union; the sincere votaries of the Reformed Faith looked upon it as an earnest of the triumph of Calvin’s doctrines. To them, as to the English puritans, she was God’s own chosen handmaiden, the especial instrument of destiny.” - The Winter Queen by Marie Hay (author of ‘A German pompadour’ ‘Dianne de Poitiers’ and ‘An unrequited loyalty’.
And as Frederick and Elizabeth were making their way to Heidelberg, they arose with much joy and hope in their hearts. There were much parades and festives at Heidelberg castle for some days after their arrival. Triumphal chariots and elaborate costumes… that tell a deep and rather hidden story; all as a way to herald this new era that was about to take place. Here comes Frederick sailing on by; dressed as Jason with the Argonauts on the quest for the Golden Fleece… as the pendant hangs upon their ship. And upon the mast of their ship is seen the Garter; a royal blue pennant bearing the inscription, “Honi soit qui mal y pense” - ‘shame on him who thinks evil of it’ alluding to, again, the infamous motto of the order of the garter which Frederick himself belonged as husband of Great Britian’s daughter. “The allusion of Frederick as Jason was an allusion to the order of the Golden Fleece, as elector of the empire Frederick was of course a member of this imperial order”… “He had appeared in the London fireworks as St. George of the Order of the Garter; here he is Jason of the Order of the Golden Fleece.” Admist the adventurous sails to Heidelberg, Frederick held onto his beloved Elizabeth, as she proclaimed with excitement, “My lord! My Lord! This is indeeed a happy day!” and as he drew her near he whispered in her ear, “Be not wroth, sweet queen of my heart. I could wait no longer! Methought the day had a hundred hours, and the night a million years while I was far from you.” Upon their arrival, Frederick and his lady rolled on by as the masses of some men called out, “Keep back your dear highness, that we may see your lady’s face!”. Humble Frederick, sweeping his plumed hat from his head in a courtly salute, said aloud “Ye do well, my friends, to wish to see our fair pearl of loveliness!” and he reined back his prancing steed from beside the coach window so that Elizabeth’s sweet, haunting face was seen by all. Then from thousands cried out in astonishment, “Hail to the pearl of England! Hail! Hail!”
The first few days of young Elizabeth’s marriage I could imagine, were bothersome. For she most probably had times where she wished for a simplicity of peace being young and in love to her new husband Frederick; and not a princess of only political importance. Marie Hay writes, “Indeed, the eyes of all Europe scrutinized the new Princess Palatine, for she was the living link between protestant England and reformed Germany. The Calvinists regarded her as one on a side path towards salvation, and if she were not walking in the narrow and only way, at least she was approaching thereunto. The Lutherans looked at her as to one of their own faith who would protect them from their hated brethren in Christ, the calvinists. The Catholic world viewed her as a new power of evil, as a worldly strength gained by heretics. Spain cast glances of sombre hatred towards Heidelberg, for it had been the dream of her most astute politicians to unite the widower Phillip III and Elizabeth Stuart, and thus establish the right of Spain to the Kingdom of England.” Elizabeth’s mother, Anne of Denmark secretly wanted her to marry Phillip iii in the cause of her being catholic. As for Elizabeth’s father, James I, it is of a complicated subject his direct feelings upon this marriage and where he stood throughout it all. The ironic issue at play was that not even Frederick or his allies, or James and his allies fully understood where James stood. So naturally, it was thought that James was in approval. George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury married these two together- and surprisingly enough was a translator of the King James Bible. He regarded their marriage as a ‘Religious Mission- Puritan & purifying in its influence.”
With all this being said, King James’ was in the midst of many political conflicts at play. He desired to be a peace maker; as his aims were to come to terms with England’s perpetual and Catholic enemy, Spain, while simultaneously serving as a role of leader of protestant Europe. However, the strange issue is- again, the silence from her fathers side confused not only Frederick’s supporters; but James’ allies as well - who interpreted James to be in approval of the marriage and thus ushering forth a new elizabethan era. To save time, I won’t be delving too far into the stance of James- but more so the imprint that this short termed marriage itself had upon a momentous movement that was circulating throughout Germany - and that is the Rosicrucian Movement and the circulating manifestos and their ‘Invisible brotherhood’ that made their appearance in Germany during short proximity of this time. This was by far no strange coincidence. As the calvinist movement prospered greatly within Palatine; so too did other movements that became inspired here- as it attracted all liberal thinkers of many types. What comes into play here, is a somewhat controversial intermingling of christian and hermetic sciences and thought movements. As it was very much flourishing during this time. Above all we see this most definitely coming from Prague and the influence of John Dee, as all the alchemical and esoteric interests were flooding into Germany encouraged by Prague’s ruler, Rudolph ii- who took much abstruse interest in these studies. And thus, atlas came Princess Elizabeth bringing her influence from the late renaissance flowering in Jacobean London. Heidelberg Castle flourished with magio-scientific marvels of all kinds- and Heidelberg university became a centre of protestant learning during the years between the wars.
Here we see something that is absolutely of utter abtrusity; ‘The Hortus Palatinus’. A so called, “Rosicrucian Garden” that Frederick V had installed for Elizabeth Stuart at Heidelberg Castle for her arrival. For after their wedding, Frederick returned to Germany to renovate his new palace for his beloved wife. He even created an ‘English Wing’ as a clear gesture to welcome her to feel at home in her new abode. At the time this garden was known as the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ and it has been termed Germany’s greatest Renaissance Garden. For it was filled with wonders of all kinds; such as singing musical fountains and mythical statues. “Very striking was the statue of memnon; this statue gave forth sounds when the sun rays struck it, as displayed in the classical story.” The scientific method in which this was achieved is shown in engravings derived from pneumatics of hero of Alexandria. And it is important to note as well that in the construction of building this hermetic garden were two key prominent architects; Salomon De Caus and Inigo Jones. Frederick had met with both of these men in the start of designing and building this garden for his wife at King James I court. One of Salomon’s grottos, allegedly contained rosicrucian mysteries. Due to Salomon’s alleged rosicrucian background, the complex gardens became an allegory for a rosicrucian ‘botanical cosmos’ containing a deep coded secret in their design, based off an “ancient tradition passed down through the ages.”
Heidelberg Castle & The Hortus Palatinus, showing the large multi-leveled terraced garden.
One of Salomon De Caus’s grottos, allegedly containing Rosicrucian meanings
Marie Hay writes, “Master Solomon De Caus, artist, architect, engineer, was summoned from France to replan the gardens, and Elizabeth Stuart passed many hours poring over drawings and designs, or wandering about the gardens with the enthusiastic Frenchman, who vowed that he would make Heidelberg a very paradise.” … Salomon believed music to be the chief of all sciences based on number; and he is said to have constructed a water-organ at Heidelberg castle (an ancient water-organ is described by Vitruvius). This, must have made their garden full of musical enchantments like that of ‘Prospero’s island’. Which now alludes to a mystical meaning behind Shakespeare’s tempest being played for Frederick and Elizabeth upon their wedding. To Modern day thinkers, this may come off as something of little importance- but for this time it was a true beauty in the heart of an on coming scientific age, in the minds of many men who viewed these instruments as ‘magical’ rather than purely scientific. But this beauty, sadly, was not to last for long. The thirty Years War had just begun, which was to destroy the spledours and advancement of Jacobean Heidelberg. And Heidelberg’s Garden suffered badly during the Thirty Years War; the ornate gardens were used as an artillery base for attacking the city. “The Fierce propaganda war launched against Frederick after his defeat and used every weapon of ridicule and satire against him.” Large numbers of satirical prints were circulating…
‘The post boy riding through the country side sounding his horn…’
‘Looking for a missing king’
In one of these depictions is shown Frederick and his wife and child in their garden that leads to hell and flames. And thus now we see a repetitive cycle of an exquisite renaissance culture being turned into a hostile propaganda. This was of no surprise as the Jacobean Era held a distinct fear of sorcery and witches- so anything deemed ‘magical’ or ‘scientific’ was of the devil. In the terrible thirty years war Bohemia suffered badly, alongside the Bohemian Church that went back into repression. “As the year wore on the situation grew very menacing. Frederick’s enemies were massing to expel him; his more important allies, the German Protestants princes, were not coming in his assistance. Anhalt was in command of Frederick’s forces; the Duke of Bavaria commanded the catholic armies. Frederick’s forces were totally defeated at the Battle of the White Mountain, outside of Prague, on November 8, 1620. This victory riveted the Hapsburgs domination on Europe for another generation and initiated the Thirty Years War.” The whole country suffered badly, and the Palatinate was to suffer more than any other part of Germany. Frederick had thus, then failed as king and lost the battle at the white mountain. As a failed deliverer of Bohemia and a failed candidate for a new anti-hapsburg leadership in Europe, once he had lost- the battle was finished. Elizabeth had given birth to another child in Prague (famous in the English Civil Wars as Prince Rupert of Rhine), and Frederick and his wife and children escaped in such a hurry from Prague that most of their valuables were left behind. Amongst these were valuables of the Order of the Garter. The propaganda pamphlets continued. Picturing Frederick as a poor fugitive with one of his stockings coming down- an illusion to his loss of a garter. These satires alluded to his wife’s father being in support of a garter knight that had not been forthcoming.
Garterless Fredrick
In allusion to him being a garterless knight of the Order of the Garter.
But it was this, failed and pre-mature renaissance that had echoed a Rosicrucian Dawn… and the arrival of the strange manifestos in Germany in the late 16th century. And more specifically, a third manifesto that arose in 1617,The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz.
This manifesto, couldn’t have been identical to the elector Palatine and his wedding to daughter of James I, but we can make a very good guess as to what were the influences at Tübingen when Andrea was a student there writing the early works of the Chemical Wedding. The reigning Duke of Württemberg was Frederick I, who desired greatly to come into an alliance with Queen Elizabeth I and to obtain the Order of the Garter. “The Queen allowed his election to the Order of the Garter in 1597 but the actual ceremony did not take place until November, 1603, when the Garter was conferred on him in his own capital city of Stuttgart by a special embassy from King James I.” And thus James in this act continued on the legacy of the Elizabethan Tradition of the Order of the Garter with Elizabeth’s allies and the German Protestant powers, though in after years he was to deny the hopes that were raised. With this in conclusion, there is further study into works like that from Elias Ashmole, on the Order of the Garter. And a most mysterious work, the Naometria by Simon Studion… dedicated to a lineage of a mysterious ‘Templar Order’ called, ‘Miltia Crucifera Evangelica’. The book talks of the secret meeting in 1586 to create the ‘Militia Crucifera Evangelica’. A.E Waite had examined the manuscript and believed the Rose contained in the cross embedded in this manuscript was one of the earliest rosicrucian symbols found. The word Naometria itself means, ‘The Art of Temple Measurement’. This curious work was dedicated to Duke of Württemberg, the supposed Grand Master of the order, a year after the Garter Ceremony, in 1604. The work was evidently concerned with apocalyptic prophecies, and much to do with the dimensions of Solomon’s temple and the particular events and dates in both biblical and European history. The date 1586, when this order was found, would take us back to reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The writer was most specifically concerned with a secret alliance between Henry, King of France, and James I of Great Britain, and Frederick, Duke of Württemberg. This work drew of enough interest, that a society formed called, ‘Society Naometria’ which included Tobias Hess (Bible scholar and Cabalist) & at last Johann Andrea. So here we see the direct influence of Andrea and his publishing of the third Rosicrucian Manifesto, ‘The Chemical Wedding’. And evidently we see the chemical wedding reflecting the Order of the Golden Fleece, a order directly fashioned after the Order of the Garter. So was his work inspired from the Naometria? Well, this view is encouraged as Andrea evidently knew of this work, as we examine that he wrote of the Naometria in his work Turris Babel. A.E Waite makes it clear in his work The Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross, that “It is obvious that the romance of the chemical nuptial is concerned with the Order of the Golden Stone and not of the Rosy Cross. It is merely incidental that the narrator (c.r.c) happens-as his name suggests-to be already a Brother of the Red Rosy Cross. It follows that the chemical wedding is only as if a memorial was extracted from the chivalrous archives of an Order of the Golden Stone, which was also arbitrarily connected by the fact of its badge with the Order of the Golden Fleece. The latter was instituted at Bruges in 1430 by Phillip iii, Duke of Burgundy, to commemorate his marriage with Isabella of Portugal.” Then A.E Waite goes on to explain that the true ‘Ludibrium’ Andrea had claimed his manifesto was, was only truly a ‘hoax’ in the sense to put an underlying cloak of an inner order within his work; which was thus not inherently ‘Rosicrucian’. It is a much lofty concern, and it is important to note that the ‘Naometria’ very well could’ve influenced the rash decisions to make Frederick V accept the bohemian crown and come into marriage with James daughter, in belief that a certain millennium was at hand. Perhaps, Andrea himself was inspired of this marriage. And it is no surprise that these two ‘Royal Teenagers’ fashioned illusionary festives in honor of both these orders at hand, like I have shown in this story above… where there lied illusions to Frederick as Jason and the Argonauts on the Quest for the Golden Fleece, and his play as St. George in illusion to the Order of the Garter… and the Rosicrucian Shakespeare at the heart of it all, giving his performance at their wedding, ‘The Tempest’.
So, who was Elizabeth Stuart and Frederick V? What did they truly stand for? Why was it particularly the Order of the Garter and the Golden Fleece? Why was Elizabeth deemed as ‘God’s handmaiden’? And why was she the supposed continuance of the ‘Virgin’ Queen, Elizabeth I? What is this all really entailing? Only few may understand why I ask these questions.
But now we have to arrive at the important work at hand- The Chemical Wedding. Which may conclude some very important keys on a rosicrucian quest. And I will leave it with thus.
The Seventh Day.
“After Eight o’clock I woke and quickly got myself ready, intending to go back to the tower. But the dark passages in the rampart were so many and various that I wandered a good while before finding an exit. This happened to others too, until at last we met in the lowest vault and were given clothes of all yellow, as well as our Golden Fleeces. At this time the Virgin told us that we were knights of The Golden Stone, which we had not known beforehand. When we were all ready, the old gentlemen presented each one of us with a golden medal, on one side of which were these words: AR.NAT.MI (Ars naturae ministra; Art is the minister of Nature.) And on the other side were these: TEM.NA.F (Temporis natura filia: Nature is the daughter of time.)”
(One of the riddles of the name of the Virgin contained in the alchemical wedding whom wore the insignia of the Golden Fleece and Lion is as follows; “My name contains six and fifty, yet only has eight letters. The third is a third part of the fifth, which added to the sixth will produce a number, the root whereof shall exceed the third by the first precisely, and it is the half of the fourth. The fifth and seventh are equal; so are the the last and first. These make with the second as much as the sixth has, and this contains four more than the third tripled.” The hidden name was
A L C H I M I A
A=1 L=12 C=3 H=8 I=9 M=13 I=9 A=I = 56)