Resisting the Rosicrucians: Theories on the Occult Origins of the Thirty Years' War

Author(s): Wm. Bradford Smith

Source: Church History and Religious Culture, Vol. 94, No. 4 (2014), pp. 413-443
Published by: Brill
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43946118
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 Church History

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CHURCH HISTORY AND an(ļ
RELIGIOUS CULTURE 94 (2014) 413-443 Religious Cul
BRILL brill.com/chrc

Resisting the Rosicrucians

Theories on the Occult Origins of the Thirty Years' War

Wm. Bradford Smith

Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, ga
bsmith@Oglethorpe.edu

Abstract

In The Rosicrucian Enlightenment Frances Yates theorized that the occult p

described in the Rosicrucian Manifestos of 1614 were attached to a polit
uniting Protestant England with the Palatinate. Though modern scholars h
rejected Yates's argument, at least two writers in the early seventeenth cen
along similar lines, linking the Rosicrucians to the revolt that placed t
Elector on the Bohemian throne, initiating the Thirty Years' War. Friedr
Suffragan-Bishop of Bamberg, and Jean Boucher, a noted French controver
saw the Rosicrucians as an occult conspiracy working to undermine Cat
from within. The two author's attack on the Rosicrucians contained a ve
of Renaissance monarchy. In the end both authors proposed a form of con
government intended to remedy the worst defects of Renaissance absol
ensure the survival of Catholicism in an age of religious war.

Keywords

Förner, Friedrich - Boucher, Jean - Yates, Frances - Rosicrucians - Brotherhood of

the Rosy Cross - Thirty Years' War - Palatinate - Libavius, Andreas - Gretser, Jacob -
Renaissance monarchy - thaumaturgy - constitutionalism - Counter-Reformation -
occultism - Habsburg

1 Introduction

One of the most curious events in Reformation history was the

ance of the Rosicrucian Manifestos. In 1614 and 1615 two pamph
lished in Cassel, purporting to describe the workings and missio

© KONINKLIJKE BRILL NV, LEIDEN, 2014 | DOI: 10.1163/18712428-09404004

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414 SMITH

society, th
in the pam
means for
work begun
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ences, natu
best-known
enment2 Y
context of
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Cabalism of
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lypticism in t
Montgomery
ald R. Dickso
(iqq6), pp. 76
2 Frances Yat
the Elizabeth
3 Brian Vicke

CHURCH

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 415

Imperialism" of John Dee. Dee's variety of esoteric thought, according to Yates,

found fertile ground in the court of the Palatinate. The Rosicrucian Manifestos,
then, represented the "export of Elizabethan occult philosophy to Germany"
with the royal wedding as the outward and visible sign of the reception of this
new culture.4 But as R.J.W. Evans and others have shown, Yates seriously over-
stated the role of John Dee whose influence on German occultism was belated
and fairly minor. And while her theory connecting the appearance of the Rosi-
crucian manifestos to the wedding of Frederick v to the princess Elizabeth
"is an attractive one," it nevertheless "presents grave obstacles."5 Robin Barnes
has argued that Yates seriously exaggerates the political aspect of the Rosicru-
cian "movement." What we know about the origins of Rosicrucianism makes it
difficult to associate, as Yates did, the Rosicrucian movement with Calvinism.
The known supporters of the movement were almost all orthodox Lutherans,
and parallels between the Rosicrucians and other learned societies in Germany
have been demonstrated. That some apocalyptically-minded Lutherans looked
to the Palatine Elector as a leader in their struggle against the Habsburgs had
less to do with the Elector's intellectual virtues than with the fact that the Saxon
elector - historically the focal point of Lutheran political loyalty - refused to
play the part assigned him by the radicals. The idea that a common passion for
the occult drew together England, the Palatinate, and German Lutherans on the
eve of the Thirty Years' War appears, on close examination, to be far less likely
than Yates would have wanted us to think.6 The speculative nature of so much
of the argument ensures that The Rosicrucian Enlightenment must remain, as
Charles Nauert suggested, a book in the subjective mode.7
No one has ever doubted Dame Yates's erudition; likewise her occasional
carelessness with sources is well known. Ultimately, as a scholar she was per-

4 Yates, Occult Philosophy (see above, n. 2), pp. 198-200; for alternative accounts of the origins
and development of Central European occultism, see Evans, Making of the Habsburg Monar-
chy (Oxford, 1979), chapters 9-12; Gershom Scholem, Alchemy and Kabbalah , trans. Klaus
Ottmann (Putnam, ct, 2006).
5 R.J.W. Evans, Review of The Rosicrucian Enlightenment , The Historical Journal 4 (1973),
pp. 865-868; cf. Evans, Rudolfu and his World: A Study in Intellectual History 1576-1612 (Oxford,
1973), pp. 218-229; Nicholas H. Lulee, 'John Dee and the Paracelsans,' in Allen Debus and
Michael Walton, eds., Reading the Book of Nature (Kirksville, mo, 1998), pp. 111-131; compare
Nicholas Goodrich Clark, 'The Rosicrucian Prelude: John Dee's Mission in Central Europe/ in
Ralph White, ed., The Rosicrucian Enlightenment (Hudson, ny, 1999), pp. 74-97.
6 Barnes, Prophecy and Gnosis , pp. 223-224.
7 Charles Nauert, Review of Yates, The Rosicrucian Enlightenment , Renaissance Quarterly 28
(1975)» PP- 366-367.

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 4i6 smith

haps better
aside, The R
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2 Rosicrucians as Sectarian Radicals

Rosicrucianism grew out of the stock of Renaissance humanism, as refract

through apocalyptic and Utopian ideals of late sixteenth-century Lutherani
Lutheran pansophism represented a curious mixture of heterodox Protestan
ism, Paracelsan science, neo-Joachimite prophecy, and millenarian idea
made possible in part on account of official Lutheranism's generally po
attitude towards natural philosophy.8 In a more general way, it reflec
habit of mind that was increasingly aware of the "antithesis between the o
vation of appearance and the intuition of an underlying reality."9 In a
of eschatological expectation, occult wisdom offered a way of compreh
ing the great questions that vexed mankind. The expectation of the com
tion of the reformation of the world, the conclusion of the struggle betw
good and evil, and the end of history spurred even greater efforts to find

8 Peukert, Rosenkreutz (see above, n. 1), pp. 16-30; Robin Barnes, Prophecy and Gnosis , p
219; Jost Weyer, Graf Wolfgang 11 von Hohenlohe und die Alchemie: Aichemistische Studien
Schloss Weikersheim (Sigmaringen, 1992), pp. 377-379; Hereward Tilton, The Quest f
Phoenix: Spiritual Alchemy and Rosicrucianism in the World of Count Michael Maier (1
1622) (Berlin, 2003), p. 36.
9 Evans, Rudolf //, p. 248.

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 417

hidden meanings of events and to discern the universal purpose that lay be-
neath them.10
There were distinct political implications to the occult movements of the
later sixteenth century. They reflected an "ambitious mentality" which sought
to find unity in the chaos of a religiously divided world.11 As Bruce Moran has
noted, the philosophia hermetica constituted "an official court philosophy" in
much of Germany. Occult science offered the image of a unified creation, in
which each part reflected the whole of the cosmos. Within that scheme, the
monarch increasingly was perceived as the source, the "genesis" of earthy and
heavenly harmony.12 The essential connection between macrocosm and micro-
cosm assumed that manipulation of the parts might bring about a transfor-
mation of the whole: "when adapted to the political context, the relationship
between microcosm and macrocosm offered precisely the right sort of analogy
for German princes seeking to justify personal claims to individual authority
within the political universe of the Holy Roman Empire."13
Since occult philosophy offered metaphysical support for the prince's own
separatist claims, it was a potentially dangerous doctrine, especially when
linked to millenarian speculation. As Peukert suggested, the Rosicrucian Mani-
festos have to be seen in the context of the intensification of religious and polit-
ical polemic in the later sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Joachimitist
calculations identified 1585, 1588, and 1591 as possible dates for the end of the
world.14 1617, the Centenary of the Reformation likewise appeared to be a year
of destiny to Lutheran observers.15 There was an assumption that the new ref-

1 o Bruce T. Moran, The Alchemical World of the German Court : Occult Philosophy and Chem-
ical Medicine in the Circle of Moritz of Hessen (1572-1632) (Stuttgart, 1991), pp. 7ff.; Barnes,
Prophecy and Gnosis, pp. 184-185, 203-205; Evans, Rudolfu, pp. 196 fr., 274 ff.; Russell Hvol-
bek, 'Being and Knowing; Spiritualist Epistemology and Anthropology from Schwenkfeld
to Böhme/ sc/22 (1991), pp. 97-110; here at p. 98; see also D.P. Walker, Spiritual and Demonic
MagicfromFIcino to Campanella (University Park, pa, 2003); Frances Yates, Giordano Bruni
and the Hermetic Tradition (Chicago, 1991); Gershom Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mys-
ticism (New York, 1995), pp. 18-22.
1 1 Evans, Habsburg Monarchy, pp. 419-427.
1 2 Moran, Alchemical World, pp. 9-14. Roy Strong, Art and Power (Woodbridge, 1894), pp. 171-
173-

1 3 Moran, Alchemical World, p. 25.

14 Nicolaus Hunnius, Christliche Betrachtung der Newen Paracelsischen und Weig lianischen
Theology (Wittenberg, 1622); Peukert, pp. 8-16, 26-30.
15 Johannes Schleupner, Ausschreiben, Wie vnd aus was vrsachen, Inn des Durchleuchtigen
Hochgebornen Fürsten und Herrn Herr Christiani, margraffen zu Brandenburg ... Landen
vnd Fürstenthm, ein Christliches Evangelisches Jube fest zu feiern sey (1617). Schleupner

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 4i8 smith

ormation w
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was the spect
threaten the
The years ar
which contem
There are direct links between the Paracelsan revival and some of the sec-
tarians, most notably Valentin Weigel and Jacob Böhme.19 The mystics and
the magi shared a common epistemology that identified true knowledge with
prophetic wisdom and hidden signs revealed to man outside of the main-
stream of either philosophy or theology.20 The problem was how to distin-
guish genuine divine inspiration from demonic influences. Towards the end

has been described as "a light of orthodox Lutheranism,' but was also a member of the
pansophical Christian Society organized by the duke of Brunswick. Peukert, pp. 169-173.
See also; William Bradford Smith, Reformation and the German Territorial State: Upper
Franconia 1300-1630 (Rochester, 2008), pp. 149-151; idem , 'Germanic Pagan Antiquity in
Lutheran Historical Thought,' The Journal of the Historical Society 3 (2004), pp. 366-369;
Barnes, Prophecy and Gnosis , pp. 100 ff.,
16 Cf. Evans, Habsburg Monarchy , pp. 51-47, 394-399. On peasant revolts in this period, see
Tom Scott, 'Peasant Revolts in Early Modern Germany,' The Historical Journal 28 (1985),
pp. 455-468. Winfried Schultze stresses the secular nature of these later revolts, arguing
that they are fundamentally different from the Peasants' War of 1525 and other religiously-
inspired rebellions of the 1520s and 30s. Schulze, ed. Aufstände, Revolten, Prozesse. Beiträge
zu bäuerlichen Widerstandsbewegungen im frühneuzeitlichen Europa (Stuttgart, 1983).
Both Herman Rebel and Günther Dippold, however, have shown connections between
popular resistance and the pressure of the Counter Reformation. Rebel, Peasant Classes:
The Bureaucratization of Property and Family Relations under Early Habsburg Absolutism
1511-1636 (Princeton, 1983); Dippold, Konfessionalisierung am Obermain (Staffelstein,
1996), pp. 249-254.
17 Peukert, Rosenkreutz , pp. 10-12, 158.
18 Hvolbek, 'Being and knowing,' p. 105; Evans, Rudolfu,
1 9 Barnes, Prophecy , pp. 205-210; Hvolbek, p. 103; Tilton, pp. 36-38; Steven E. Ozment, Mysti-
cism andDissent: Religious Ideology and Social Protest in the Sixteenth Century (New Haven,
1973)» PP- 208-218.
20 Hvolbek, p. 98; Evans, Rudolfu , pp. 200-201.

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 419

of the sixteenth century, theologians strove to provide clear criteria for distin-
guishing between varieties of magical and mystical experiences.21 The general
consensus was that there was something of the demonic in the more extreme
claims of both sectarian enthusiasts and learned occultism. The connection
between pansophism and radical sectarianism provides a common thread link-
ing Lutheran and Catholic reactions to the Rosicrucian manifestos.22
One of the first authors to make a direct comparison between the Rosicru-
cians and radical sectarians was the alchemist Andreas Libavius of Coburg. His
Wohlmeinendes bedencken of 1616 contains a sharp rebuke of the Fama which
rests on his long argument against the Paracelsans.23 What Libavius found
most distressing among the Paracelsans and, by extension, the Rosicrucians,
was their muddle-headedness. His goal was to establish a clarity of language
and cleanse alchemy of its more speculative, mystical trappings; the Paracel-
sans, in his view, did the opposite, muddying the solution by adding sorts of
eclectic spiritual and philosophical claims into the mix.24 The "clever and sot-
witted Paracelsans" latch onto whatever ideas come into their skull - "so-called
Cabalistic, Magic, Microcosmic, Macrocosmic, etc." Their writings are so con-
fused and obscure no one could possibly make any sense of them.25 Delving
into the tangled jungle of Rosicrucian thought, he finds several genuinely dis-
turbing aspects. It would seem that to be a member of the order one would
have to be a mathematician, an alchemist, a cabalisi, a magus, and skilled in
"necromancy, chiromancy, and other Paracelsan arts."26 The powers Rosicru-
cians claim to have defy credulity. How could this society remain hidden for so
long? How would members travel to the meetings, unless they flew there, like
Tannhäuser to the Venusburg? To Libavius's ears, the meetings of the society
sounded like the witches sabbath and its members like witches. Their "general

21 Cf. Benedict Pererius, Adversus fallaces et superstiosas artes (Louvain, 1582), pp. 6-34;
Girolamo Menghi, Compendio dell'Arte Essorcistica (Bologna, 1580), pp. 85-117; Moshe
Sluhovsky, Believe Not Every Spirit: Possession, Mysticism, and Discernment in Early Modern
Catholicism (Chicago, 2007).
22 Michael Heyd, 'The Reaction to Enthusiasm in the Seventeenth Century: Towards an
Integrative Approach,' jmh 53 (1981), p. 272.
23 Andreas Libavius, Wohlmeinendes bedencken, Von der fama vnnd Confession der Brüder-
schaft deß Rose Creiitzes (Erfurt, 1616); Bruce Moran, Andreas Libavius and the Transfor-
mation of Alchemy: Separating Chemical Cultures with Polemical Fire (Sagamore Beach MA,
2007), pp. 240 ff.; Peukert, pp. 96-103; cf. Yates, Rosicrucian Enlightenment , pp. 69-72.
24 Bruce T. Moran, 'Libavius the Paracelsian? Monstrous Novelties, Institutions, and the
Norms of Social Virtue/ in Debus and Walton. Reading the Book of Nature, pp. 67-80.
25 Libavius, Wohlmeinendes bedencken , p. 5.
26 Ibid., pp. 24-26.

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 420 SMITH

reformatio
the demoni
Libavius associates the Rosicrucian movement with Calvinism on several
occasions, but he is more consistent in stressing the linkages between Rosicru-
cians and Anabaptists. "Certain concepts" of the general reformation "approach
those of the Anabaptists," in particular their stress on achieving purity in this
world.28 They reject the authority of Scripture, preferring their own "oracles"
and mystical visions. In this sense, they are like the Magi of old, but also pretend
to a "godly face, like the false prophets, Anabaptists and Enthusiasts."29 Libavius
expresses the fear that this projected "general reformation of all arts accord-
ing to the skill of the Magi" could result in "a great disturbance" among the
Peasantry, a "Miinsterish uprising."30 The Rosicrucian reformation is a Paracel-
san fantasy whose ultimate source is not God or scripture by the father and
founder of all lies and false prophets, the Devil. The apocalyptic prophecies of
the Rosicrucians are no different from those of Müntzer and the Anabaptists.
For decades predictions of the world's end had been floating about. The apoca-
lypse was to have come in 1572, 1593, and various other years. These Paracelsan
"prophets" think themselves wiser than Daniel, but ultimately all of their prog-
nostications are "foolish fantasies" and "Devilish pasquinades."31 For Libavius,
the real danger lies in the simultaneous promise of spiritual and worldly gain,
the mixing of a spiritualist message with promises of material gain. The Rosi-
crucian "enlightenment" is nothing other than carnality in the guise [Nebel) of
spirituality. At the root of "Paracelsan dreams" of a worldly paradise was pre-
cisely the sort of thinking that could stir the mob to popular rebellion.32
A similar critique appears at the end of a 1618 treatise by the Jesuit scholar
Jacob Gretser.33 Since one is required to defend the Holy Cross against all
injuries, Gretser felt compelled to respond to the "desperate and destructive
attack and insult" on the Catholic faith posed by the authors of the Fama

27 Ibid., pp. 30-39, 50-53, 60-68.

28 Ibid., p. 15. Libavius refers the reader her to a work by the Spanish Franciscan, Luys
Malvenda, Von den sonderbaren Geheimnussen deß Antichristi (Munich, 1604).
29 Libavius, Wohlmeinendes bedencken, pp. 210-211.
30 Ibid., p. 13
31 Ibid., pp. 238-258, 285.
32 Ibid., pp. 13, 227, 285-286; compare Norman Cohn's descriptions of the "eschatologi-
cal phantasies" of Müntzer, Hans Hut, and Hans Denek, Cohn, Pursuit of the Millenium
(Oxford, 1970), pp. 247-255; also Gottfried Seebaß, Müntzers Erbe. Werk, Leben und Theolo-
gie des Hans Hut (7527) (Erlangen-Nuremberg, 1981), pp. 178-181; Waite, pp. 45-40, 197-205.
33 Jacob Gretser, Syntagma, de S.R. Imperii Sacrosanctis Reliquiis (Ingolstadt, 1618).

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 421

and the Confessio Fraternitatis. Gretser summarizes major points of the Rosi-
crucian pamphlets, their revelation of the secret society of the Rosy Cross,
and their goals of general reformation. Based on his reading of the mani-
festos and Menapius's response, Gretser declares the Rosicrucians to be frauds
and heretics. They constitute an arrogant mob of "magicians, Paracelsans,
alchemists, distillers, Anabaptists, Schwenkfelders, and fanatical enthusiasts"34
The common thread connecting the Rosicrucians with the "Anabaptists,
Schwenkfelders and Enthusiasts" is that they possess "the sweetest delirium"
that they alone have been sent down from heaven to govern and reform the
world.35 The world has already seen what sort of political "reformations and
emendations" these sorts have made. In the work of Thomas Müntzer in Thu-
ringia and the Anabaptists in Münster as well as the Peasant rebellions that
had plagued Germany the true nature of their reforms had been made mani-
fest. The impious and sacrilegious society of the Red Cross is nothing but the
work of the devil, designed to stir up conflict and disorder.36
Though they agreed on little else, Andreas Libavius and Jacob Gretser were
in full accord on the matter of the Rosicrucian imposture.37 Both rejected the
scientific claims of the society as contrary to established wisdom and logic.
More significantly, both linked the Rosicrucians to earlier sectarian radicals,
specifically identifying them with Thomas Müntzer and the Anabaptists of
Münster. There is something rather conventional in all of this: German authors
could find no worse bogeymen to frighten their audiences. Nevertheless, the
association they drew between Rosicrucianism and civic disorder points to the
perceived danger of the movement. As R.J.W. Evans observed, "occult rejection
of a rational approach to the world often stood in alliance with a spiritual
rejection of both brands of established religion," Catholic and Protestant.38
In their patronage of alchemists and magicians, German princes were quite
literally playing with fire.

3 Friedrich Förner

Libavius's critique of the Rosicrucians represented, for Yates, proof positive

both of the significance of the Rosicrucian movement and its connection to

34 Ibid., p. 85.
35 Ibid., p. 88.
36 Ibid., pp. 89-90.
37 Cf. Moran, Andreas Libavius , pp. 112-115 f°r the conflict between Libavius and Gretser.
38 Evans, Rudolfu, p. 197.

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422 SMITH

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 423

caricatures of the ex-King of Bohemia and his policies which were dissem-
inated after his defeat.41

What is most striking about this passage is that in nearly every particular it
is just plain wrong. It is not clear whether Waite had actually seen the book
or not - he describes it as "an exceedingly rare work" of which there was no
copy in the British Museum. On the basis of the date of approbation, he argues
that the book must have been published after the battle of White Mountain.42
Yates accepted Waite's judgment, butwould have done better to have examined
the book on her own. Palma Triumphalis Miraculorum Ecclesiae Catholicae
was written by Friedrich Förner, suffragan-bishop of Bamberg, a man whose
primary claim to fame rests on his role as leader of the witch hunts in the
prince-bishopric of Bamberg.43 The book did not represent the triumphalist
propaganda of the period after the battle of White Mountain. It was clearly
conceived and mostly written earlier in a moment of deep despair when it
appeared that only a miracle could save the Habsburg Empire and the Catholic
Reformation from complete collapse.44 The dedicatory epistle, addressed to
Ferdinand n, is dated the first of September 1620, ten weeks before the battle
of White Mountain. In a work published in 1624 and also dedicated to the
emperor, Förner notes that in the years between the publication of the two
volumes God had provided a miraculous victory, just as he had predicted earlier
in the dedication to the Palma Triumphalis .45 Förner did not base his argument
on a "garbled version of the manifestos." He appears to have seen the expanded
1617 edition of the Fama, which included short treatises by Georg Molther and
Julianus de Campus.46 The crux of Förner's argument is that one of the chief

4 1 Yates, Rosicrucian Enlightenment, p. 137.

42 Waite, pp. 353-354» note 1; the entry in yd 17 supports this view.
43 Friedrich Förner, Palma Triumphalis Miraculorum Ecclesiae Catolicae; et in primis Gforio-
sissimae dei Genitricis Virginis Mariae (Ingolstadt, 1621); on Förner, see Smith, Reformation
and the German Territorial State , chapters 8-10; idem , 'Friedrich Förner, the Catholic Ref-
ormation, and Witch-Hunting in Bamberg/ Sixteenth Century Journal 36 (2005), pp. 115-
128; Lothar Bauer, 'Die Bamberger Weihbischöfe Johann Schöner und Friedrich Förner,'
Berichte des Historischen Vereins Bamberg 101 (1965), pp. 306-528.
44 Palma Triumphalis, sigs. B2V-G7V; see also Franz Christoph Khevenhiller, Annalium Ferdi-
nanden, Neunter Theil (Leipzig, 1724), pp. 297-301.
45 Friedrich Förner, Leupoldi de Babenburg, Episcopi Quondam, Imperialis Ecclesiae Bomber -
gensis, De Zelo Catholicae religionis, Veterum Germaniae principium, Romanorum Regum,
Imperatorum (Ingolstadt, 1624), sigs. (2V~)(3r).
46 Fama Fraternitatis, oder Entdeckung der Bruderschafft dess löblichen Ordens dess Rosen
Creutzes (Frankfurt, 1617); Georg Molther, Grundliche Relation, pp. 83-108; Julianus de

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424 SMITH

causes of th
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CHURCH

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 425

particular the chapel at Marienweiher.49 Book one provides a general intro-

duction, including a history of the connection between heresy and rebellion,
focusing on the efficacy of Catholic miracles against the false miracles of the
heretic which are ultimately diabolical in origin. The section dealing with the
Rosicrucians forms the summit of the argument in book I, with the Rosicru-
cians as the final chapter in the history of rebellious heresies and demonic
falsification of miracles.50
The treatise begins with an extended dedication to the emperor Ferdinand
Ii. Förner calls on Ferdinand to be like David rather than Saul, placing his trust
in God. Like David, the Emperor should be pious, humble and in all ways zeal-
ous in the correct worship of God. He should be fervent in the establishment
of justice and a most vigilant shepherd of his country and his subjects. If he
does all these things, then he will be victorious over his enemies.51 In support
of his argument, Förner refers Ferdinand to two psalms. Psalm 109 contains
the famous call to obedience and the promise of victory: "The Lord said unto
my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies they footstool."
Psalm 77 likewise promises victory through obedience, but also contains a stern
rebuke of previous generations. It is here that the subtext of Förner's argument
first appears. If Ferdinand is David, then his predecessor must clearly have been
Saul. The reign of Rudolf 11 had been a time when the commandments had
been forgotten; his was the "stubborn and rebellious generation" which was not
steadfast in devotion to the divine cult. On account of their impiety of Ferdi-
nand's predecessors, the empire was facing its most supreme test. The source
of the current threat was the "monstrous" Calvinist heresy that had afflicted
all of Europe with the spirit of rebellion. Catholic rulers in England and the
Netherlands, as well as parts of Germany had succumbed to the power of inter-
national Calvinism. On the other side stood the orthodox monarchs: Philip iv
of Spain, Louis xiii of France, Maximilian of Bavaria and, somewhat incon-
gruously, the Lutheran Elector John George of Saxony.52 Behind these noble

49 The shrine at Marienweiher was of particular interest of Förner, and he devoted another
entire treatise to the subject. Förner, Beneficia Miraculosa tam Vetera quam recentia Virgi-
nisDeiparœ Weyerensis (Cologne, 1620).
50 Palma Triumphalis, G7V-13V.
51 Ibid., D3r-D4r. One cannot help but wonder whether Förner had in mind the episode
concerning the witch of Endor as he painted the contrast between the two kings - the
godly ruler David/Ferdinand and the impious ruler Saul/Rudolf. See Palma Triumphalis ,
p. 400, where he makes a direct connection between Saul and the Calvinista
52 Cf. Bireley, Religion andPolitics in the Age of the Counterreformation: Emperor Ferdinand 11,
William LamormainĻ S.]., and the Formation of Imperial Policy (Chapel Hill, 1981), p. 4.

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426 SMITH

rulers stood th
the Catholic a
Queen of Heav
ism and guaran
Förner provid
had triumphed
the aid of the
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and John 11 C
here the simil
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adjudged the w
that now affli
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53 Palma Trium
54 Ibid., Gv. Förn
work, published
Eisleben" (i.e., L
them promise a
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Catvinianis ... et
55 Palma Triump
56 Ibid., I2f.

CHURCH HI

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 427

Förner's argument in these early pages represents one side in the debate
among Catholic theologians over the meaning and direction of the war. On the
political side, there was a debate among the Spanish and Bavarian parties at the
Imperial court. While Spanish policy ultimately viewed the re-Catholicization
of Europe as the goal, the king and his officials knew that there was no chance
of carrying out their mission under the current circumstances. Their goals, in
the short term, were more limited. Philip iii wished to see Ferdinand deal with
the revolt quickly and then make peace in Germany so he could support his
Spanish cousins in quelling the Dutch Rebellion. This would involve defend-
ing the Spanish Road and, possibly, intervention against the French along the
south-western frontiers of the Empire. Maximilian of Bavaria, on the other
hand, wished to see a continuation of the war against the Protestants in Ger-
many and opposed involvement in the Netherlands or any actions that might
bring France into the conflict.57 From a religious perspective, the question was
between pursuing a policy of moderation or assuming a more aggressive pos-
ture towards the Protestants. Martin Becan, the Imperial Confessor, was one
of the primary spokesmen for the moderates. His argument was that to extend
the war any further would imperil both the lives of Ferdinand's subjects and
the gains Catholics had made to this point.58 The militants, on the other hand,
saw the Bohemian rebellion as a Holy War. This view was first championed by
Muzio Vitelleschi, Superior General of the Jesuit Order, then later by the Jesuit
theologians Adam Contzen and William Lamormaini. The accession of Pope
Gregory xv in February, 1621 gave even greater prestige to this viewpoint From
Gregory's perspective, this not simply a holy war, it was a providential war. Ulti-
mately, the victories won by the Catholics over the Protestants were signs of
divine providence, and in that sense a form of divine Revelation. To ignore the
signs of victory would be to deny one's trust in God and His mercy. As Vitelleschi
wrote to Becan after White Mountain, the enemy would be overcome "not by
human counsels and strength but by miracles and prodigies."59
Förner clearly would have agreed with Vitelleschi, but note that his com-
ments here were written earlier. His conception of providential war rests not on
Catholic victories in the present war - of which there had really been none -

57 Bireley, Religion and Politics, pp. 6-7; Charles Howard Carter, The Secret Diplomacy of the
Habsburgs, 1598-1625 (New York, 1966), pp. 43, 171-181.
58 Martin Becan, S.J., Quaestiones MisceUanae De Fide Haereticis Servanda (Mainz, 1619);
Becan, Compendium Manualis Controveriarum de fide et Religione (Venice, 1765), pp. 357-
367-

59 Bireley, Religion and Politics, pp. 23-24, 130-131; Bireley, The Jesuits and the Thirty Years'
War (Cambridge, 2003), pp. 48-51, 60-61.

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 428 SMITH

but rather on
graphical focu
Christian Emp
places the Boh
rather than a
his ties to the
serves to inten
flict in Bohem
of 1525.
It takes over 400 pages for Förner to return to the Rosicrucian menace. The
intervening sections of book I explore the origins and nature of miracles, as
well as the false claims of the heretics. Förner begins by noting how historically
heretics have denied the efficacy of miracles. Wyclif had called them "decep-
tions of the Devil," a sentiment repeated by Hus, Luther and most recently
Calvin. Protestants slandered the Catholic Church by claiming that their sup-
posed miracles had either nature causes or were akin to demonic magic. Such
calumnies were common among "Muhammadans and heretics."61 In truth, the
Church had been founded on miracles. The miracles of Christ were essential
for the establishment of the Church. Christ had ordered his Apostles to con-
tinue his mission and grated them "the power of thaumaturgy" to assist them
in the work of extending the church to all nations.62 On account of the mira-
cles of the Apostles and the saints, innumerable multitudes of people had been
brought into the faith of Christ63 With the miracles of the Old and New Testa-
ment in view, how can the modern "reformers" - Hus, Luther, Zwingli, Calvin,
Beza, "and the like" - call these the work of demons? How can they impugn the
power of the Church to work miracles as demonic acts, the works of Antichrist,
when Christ himself and his Apostles had worked miracles and ordered their
successors to do the same? The Acts of the Apostles make it plain that the mir-
acles of the Apostles were genuine and absolutely essential for the growth of
the Church.64

60 Compare the Epilogue to Palma Triumphalis, addressed to Ferdinand Ii, II, pp. 318-319.
61 Palma Triumphalis, p. 7.
62 Ibid., pp. 8-15. Here he is referring to the version in the Gospel of Mark.
63 Palma Triumphalis, pp. 37-40.
64 Ibid., pp. 40-43. Similar arguments appear in French controversial literature from the late
sixteenth centuries, where direct connections were drawn between demonic possession,
Calvinist skepticism, and the necessity of miracles for the rise and spread of the Church.
See, for example, Louis Richeome, Trois Discours pour la Religion Catholique des miracles,
de saincts, & des images (Bourdeaux, 1599); Charles Blendec, Cinq Histoires Admirables
(Paris, 1582).

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 429

Förner's argument at this stage focuses primarily on the denial of miracles by

Calvinista in particular French Huguenots, suggesting a connection between
the rejection of Catholic thaumaturgy and rebellion. The debate over miracles
thus appears intimately connected to the problem of religious civil war. This
connection becomes ever clearer as Förner begins to distinguish between two
types of heresy. The first are those which deny the efficacy of miracles. Walden-
sians, Lollards, Hussites, and more recently Lutherans and Calvinists fall into
this category. The other are those who actually perform false miracles or won-
ders (Mira) either through fraud or with the assistance of demons. A classic
example is the Arian bishop Cyrola who staged a miraculous "cure" of a blind
beggar. His attempt failed, and the man who had claimed to be blinded was
struck blind for his impiety. Only the intercession of a Catholic bishop was
able to restore the man's sight, demonstrating the truth of the Catholic faith.65
Förner finds a parallel between the Arians and the demonic magic of the Albi-
gensians. To demonstrate their supposed "sanctity," a group of Cathar priests
walked across the surface of a river. The people were amazed at this, and some
of them came out onto the river and stood with the Cathars on the surface of
the waters. But this was no miracle - it was an illusion created with the help of
demons. This fact was revealed when a Catholic priest, through the invocation
of the divine name and with a display of the consecrated host and the sign of
the cross, caused the Cathars and their converts to fall into the river whence
they were swept away.66
The Albigensiens, as workers of demonic wonders, stand in a line of here-
sies that began with Simon Magus. The "pseudo-prophecies" of Lutherans
and Calvinists constitute illicit attempts to divine the future with the aid of
demons.67 The demonic nature of Protestantism figures in Förner's analysis
of miracles involving the Catholic wives of Huguenot nobles, cases either of
demonic possession or the saving of dying children through the sacrament of
baptism. Förner uses these stories - presented in Bredenbach as proof of the
efficacy of the Sacraments - as metaphors to explain the impact of Calvinism
on society. Calvinism is the source of disorder, civil war, and death. The "chil-
dren" condemned to death and damnation by cruel Calvinist fathers and saved
by loving Catholic mothers stand for the people of Europe who the Holy Mother

65 Palma Triumphalis, pp. 405-407, see also pp. 66 ff. Förner's account is based on that in
Tilmann Bredenbach, Sacrarum Collatinum Libri viii. (Cologne, 1592), pp. 555-559; the
original is Gregory of Tours, lh, 2.3.
66 Palma Triumphalis, pp. 73, 397-398, 434-435; after Caesarius of Heisterbach, 9.12.
67 Palma Triumphalis , pp. 396-400, 410-416, 418-422; after Bredenbach, Collationes , pp. 813-
821.

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 430 SMITH

Church seek
on a political
ulous deliver
arms.68
A more extreme manifestation of the new heresies was Anabaptism. Förner
presents the Anabaptists as a demon-worshiping sect and the modern heirs
of the Albigensian "magicians." They are guilty of false miracles, pretending to
turn water into wine and fill the nets of fisherman as Christ and the Apostles
had done. This is, of course, stock in trade of heretics - to pretend to the
miraculous virtue of the Apostles while consorting with demons.69 In their
"nocturnal conventicles," Anabaptists engage in the most despicable forms of
vice: once the lights are extinguished each couples with the closest person,
regardless of age, sex, or affinity. All this is done supposedly in fulfilment of
the Biblical injunction to "be fruitful and multiply," but is in truth an occasion
for "inordinate carnal lust," adultery, incest, and sodomy. On account on such
blasphemy, the Anabaptists should be eradicated "with fire and sword."70
At this point Förner begins his description of "the latest form of this sort of
vomit and apostasy," the grandiloquently titled "Fraternity of the Rosy Cross."
In the several little books that had circulated in Germany, the members of this
"ridiculous, vain, inane, and brutish" order had proclaimed a four part program.
They were a congregation of the Elect, called together by God to bring about a
reformation of the church, a restoration of the lapsed civil order, and a purifi-
cation of science and medicine. They would also demonstrate how through
natural scientific methods, lead, copper, and other base metals could be trans-
formed into gold. Förner makes light of these claims. Following Jacob Gretseťs
earlier critique of the Rosicrucians, he insists that their claims are nothing short

68 Palma Triumphalis , pp. 422-433. Given the prominence given to the word "ludibrium" in
Yates's and others' discussion of the meaning of Andreae's Chymical Hochzeit, Förner's
employment of the term seems noteworthy. When applied to Calvinism and the Rosi-
crucians the word for Förner does not mean joke, but rather something more akin to
disrespectful or even blasphemous (Leichtfertig would appear to be the German word he
intends).
69 Palma Triumphalis , pp. 416-417, 434-436. The comments about sexual immorality derive,
in part from the traditional conception of heretics inherited from antiquity, but also
from the institution of polygamy in Münster under the Anabaptist "Kingdom." See Waite,
pp. 17-19; Cohn, Pursuit of the Millenium , pp. 261-269; see also Cohn, Europe's Inner
Demons (Chicago, 1992), esp. chs. 1-4; Carlo Ginzburg, Ecstasies, trans. Raymond Rosen-
thal (Chicago, 1991).
70 Palma Triumphalis, p. 436.

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 43I

of blasphemy. They claim to possess the powers that rightfully belong to Jesus
Christ, Savior of the world, the true restorer and reformer.71 The universal ref-
ormation is nothing but an "obscene fable." It is merely a rarified version of the
teachings of Thomas Müntzer, that "disciple of Luther" who called upon the
lower orders to rebel against their superiors, leading to the Peasants' War of
1525. The Rosicrucian claim that they "have been deputized by God to repair
the Reipublicam Christianam," represents "the genuine voice of the Anabap-
tists of Münster." There can be no doubt that the Rosicrucians represent yet
one more lethal and poisonous heresy intending to stir up subjects into a state
of rebellion.72

Förner subsequently criticizes the Rosicrucian pretense of having reformed

medicine. Their claims to heal various diseases involves a rejection of the
authority of the most ancient and respected medical authorities, in particular
Galen and Aristotle. Their arrogance in the face of authority points again to
their kinship to the Anabaptists, who pretend to great moral virtue, but in truth
are guilty of the most vicious carnality and lasciviousness. Both claim to speak
to angels but possess all the impurities of Asmodeus, the one they worship
in their libidinous nocturnal conventicles.73 Förner notes how many German
princes have been seduced by the Rosicrucian alchemists and conjurors and
have even advanced them in their courts. Through promises of earthly wealth,
the Rosicrucians had placed themselves in a position to defraud not only
princes but all of Germany by manipulating the value of coins through their
alchemical illusions.74
The miraculous activities of the Society, as catalogued by the Wetzlar physi-
cian Georg Molther, point to the character of their doctrine.75 Weighing the
writings of the Rosicrucians against authority of scripture and the Fathers,
particularly Augustine, Förner argues that one can only conclude that their
power comes from demons. They constitute the apotheosis of heresy; the per-
fect combination of demonic magic and political sedition.76 Despite the fancy
pseudo-scientific language and moralizing tone of their tracts, they are no dif-
ferent from the Münster Anabaptists or the Thuringian confederates of Thomas

71 Ibid., pp. 437-439; in this section Förner draws heavily on Gretser, Syntagma, pp. 83-84
but greatly amplifies Gretseťs argument.
72 Palma Triumphalis, pp. 439-442.
73 Ibid., pp. 442-44S
74 Ibid., pp. 447-449-
75 Ibid., p. 449; Molther, Grundliche Relation ; cf. Gretser, Syntagma , pp. 84-87; Peukert, Der
Rosenkreutz , pp. 127-129.
76 Palma Triumphalis , pp. 449-452.

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 432 SMITH

Müntzer.77
vain, and ce
lows up th
the Rosicru
mists, dist
siasts."79

While the association between the Rosicrucians and religious sectaries is a

common theme in the controversial literature, Förner takes the matter much
further than either Gretser or Libavius. Chapter 50 of the Palma Triumphalis
is almost entirely taken up with extended quotations from the Commentaries
of Laurentius Surius, in particular those sections dealing with the Anabaptist
"kingdom" of Münster. Förner begins by quoting Surius's discussion of the
errors of the Anabaptists, their conflicts and division into multiple sects. They
are not driven by a spirit of sober constantia , but by wild, satanic insanity. Such
doctrines are not worthy of serious contemplation; one should flee from them.
So too the teachings of the Rosicrucians. To what end, Förner asks, should
one study their magic? "One rejoices at chasing mice out of his house and
moles out of his fields," but people are still drawn to magical inanities. What
profit is there in their "morbid curatives, mixed with diabolical superstition"?
The Rosicrucian "science" is a hodge-podge of "planetary signs, constellation
figures, concentric and eccentric circles, various sects, morbid incantations
and exorcisms, providential numbers, sophomoric pranks, and hot air." The
similarities between the Rosicrucians and the "Anabaptists, Schwenkfelders,
and Enthusiasts" on this point is obvious. Both promise in the title pages
of their books "universal reformation," which seems to extend to not only
the earth but the celestial spheres. But their miracles are false or are only
possible through submission to evil demons. They are the classic example
of demons appearing as angels of light, but once the confused nonsense of
their mystical doctrines are stripped away, one is left face to face with the
Devil.80

The Rosicrucians, then, are yet one more demented magical sect, ejected
from the same sewer that produced the Albigensians and the Anabaptists.
Indeed, the Rosicrucian movement is merely a development and progression
of "Mennonism" mixed with magic. To emphasize the comparison, Förner

77 Ibid., p. 454.
78 Ibid., p. 455-
79 Ibid., p. 456; quoting Gretser, Syntagma , p. 85, and Laurentius Surius, Commentarius Brevis
Rerum in Orbe Gestarum (Cologne, 1586), pp. 157-158.
80 Palma Triumphalis , pp. 457-458; cf. Gretser, Syntagma , p. 88.

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 433

recounts in full Surius's account of the Anabaptist tyranny in Münster. Surius

showed how the Anabaptists gradually infiltrated the city. While there was no
doubt that their ideas represented an extension of Lutheranism, the Lutheran
residents of the city, no less than the Catholics, were forced to take flight or
submit to their tyranny. They sought to set up "a king of Israel" on their own
making, throwing over all order. Their king and queen represented all carnality
and debauchery. They maintained their power through demonic illusions and
prodigies. Hence a regime that was supposed to have been founded on the
Gospel turned into one approaching those of the Goths, the Cimbri, and the
Vandals in its impiety and barbarism.81
Förner makes no effort to make a direct comparison between the rebellion
in Münster and current events, but it is difficult to avoid seeing a link. Just as
the Anabaptists had exploited Lutheranism to infiltrate the regime of the city
and seize power, so too had Rosicrucians and Calvinists taken advantage of the
Religious Peace of Augsburg to insinuate themselves into the Empire, into the
princely courts, and even the court of the Emperor himself. In the following
chapter, Förner argues that the Lutheran fascination with the forbidden arts of
"necromancy, oracles, and divination" opened them up to demonic influence. It
is certain that the successes of Lutheran prophecy were brought about through
the cooperation with demons.82 The "comical" King and Queen of Münster
seem, in this presentation of Surius's narrative, to parallel the Winter King and
Queen of Bohemia. The connection to the latter is borne out in the next several
chapters which catalogue Calvinist persecution of Catholics. The first and
most extensive example, is England. Under Queen Elizabeth - "that Amazon"
infected with all sorts of Calvinist perversion - Catholics had been brutally
suppressed and subjected to martyrdom. That "stiff-necked" queen had aided
the heretics in France and subjected her own subjects to manifest oppression.
Consequently her reign was nothing less than a "diabolical abomination."83 In
Switzerland, the "Zwinglo-Calvinists" had perpetuated even more butchery.84
Ultimately, the Calvinist scourge, permitted under the false cover of "Religious
Peace" had led to nothing but savagery, war, and the spilling of innocent blood.
But in the "holocaust" of the Catholic martyrs, the truth of the Catholic faith
was revealed. Nonetheless, it was essential for Catholic princes and subjects
alike to take up the sword and defeat the enemy, lest Calvinists assume power

81 Palma Triumphalis , pp. 458-464; Surius, Commentario Brevis, pp. 235-240; cf. Cohn,
Millenium, pp. 255-280.
82 Palma Triumphalis , pp. 465-470; compare Surius, Commentarius Brevis , p. 237.
83 Palma Triumphalis , pp. 479-481.
84 Ibid., pp. 482-490.

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434 SMITH

over the sta

the doctrin
salvation.85
It is unclear
crucians an
the convent
both as "en
does Förne
for Calvinis
umphalis w
with the R
the Catholic
ing; as such
tion involve
Förner's acc
Through th
the courts
Rudolf ii h
external en
Rosicrucians
to undermin
Rosicrucian
initiated th
other Cath
is not beca
indeed vanis
Mountain, F
dinand place
it appeared
allies, had t
Förner thu
ment - Rosi
essary to se
gle between
generalized
princes - T
national con

85 Ibid., pp.

CHURCH

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 435

Müntzer, the Anabaptists of Münster, and the Rosicrucians reveals a common

tactic: the exploitation of Lutheranism as a means to fomenting sedition and
erecting a new state founded on heretical and demonic principles. Hence Rosi-
crucianism is not so much a philosophical movement as a mendacious political
device. At the same time, in context with some of his later works, it is hard to
avoid the feeling that Förner holds the Habsburgs at least partially responsi-
ble for the current difficulties. He is outspoken in his criticism of Rudolf n.86
The accession of Ferdinand n marks a change in fortune for the Habsburg
dynasty, but Förner continually reminds the emperor of his obligations - the
Imperial prerogatives are contingent on the emperor's willingness to defend
the church, extirpate heresy, and reign in concord with the "zealous" Catholic
princes.87 In his funeral oration for Bishop Johann Gottfried von Aschhausen,
Förner compares the Empire to a palace. The pillars that support it are the
Electors and princes, "all the archbishops, bishops, dukes, margraves, indeed all
principalities and prelacies under their care." The term "Roman Empire" com-
prehends not only the "the Roman Emperor, whose powers include jurisdiction
and authority over the entire Christian world," but first and foremost the Chris-
tian princes who comprise the "singular unified monarchy."88 The Rosicrucian
crisis, it would seem, represented the failure of previous Habsburg emperors
rooted in their own fascination with the occult.

4 Jean Boucher

Not long after Förner published his treatise, a work appeared in France con-
necting the Rosicrucian menace with the collapse of political order throughout
Europe. Jean Boucher's Couronne Mystique was written to stir the Christian
nobility of Europe to action against the enemies of the Faith, in particular the
Turk.89 In the second book he addresses the Rosicrucians in the middle of a
convoluted discussion of politics and witchcraft. While not central to his argu-
ment, Boucher's treatment of the theme corresponds at several points with
Förner's critique, even though it rests on an entirely different body of sources.

86 See, for example, Friedrich Förner, Duo Specula Principis Ecclesiastici e Duorum Laudatis-
simorum Prcesulu ac Principům (Ingolstadt, 1623), pp. 8-9.
87 Förner, De Zelo Catholicae Religionis, sig. ( ) 1 f., pp. 157-165.
88 Förner, Duo Specula, p. 7.
89 Jean Boucher, Couronne Mystique, ou Dessein de Chevallerie Chrestienne (Tournai, 1623);
Stuart Clark, Thinking with Demons , pp. 386-388; Clark, 'The 'Gendering' of Witchcraft in
French Demonology: Misogyny or Polarity?' French History 5 (1991), pp. 426-437.

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 436 SMITH

Themes presen
are apparent, t
Jean Boucher
guer and one
outspoken in h
Henry m and
cause.90 Again
he argued tha
however, he re
princes and no
the Sorbonne.
tives of the pe
pact or contr
bound by that
monwealth; in
God is no diffe
commonwealth
best thought o
conditional, an
having departe
demonstrated
deposed.93
Boucher's arguments regarding the rights of the people bear a certain resem-
blance to those voice by Huguenot theorists, in particular the author of the
Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos , though he was quick to distance himself from that
work.94 To some degree, Boucher was even more radical than the Protestants.
Whereas the Huguenots couched their statements about the rights of the peo-
ple in very general terms, Boucher directly condemns particular rulers, calling
for their deposition.95 His justification for resistance rests in part on secular
political issues, but primarily on religious concerns. In this respect, the place

90 Frederic J. Baumgartner, Radical Reactionaries: The Political Thought of the French Catholic
League (Geneva, 1975), pp. 123-126; Megan Armstrong, Politics of Piety: Franciscan Preach-
ers during the Wars of Religion 1560-1600 (Rochester, 2004); Jonathan L. Pearl, The Crime of
Crimes: Demonology and Politics in France 1560-1620 (Waterloo, Ontario, 1999).
9 1 Jean Boucher, De Iusta Abdicatione e Francorum Regno (Louvain, 1591).
92 Boucher, De Iusta Abdicatione, pp. 36-52, 389-391.
93 Ibid., pp. 9-43, 72; Baumgartner, pp. 127-135.
94 Boucher, Couronne Mystique , pp. 558 f.
95 Baumgartner, pp. 136-140.

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 437

of magic in Boucher's condemnations of Henry hi and Henry iv is signifi-

cant. Boucher contrasts the legitimate thaumaturgy of the crown with the false
theurgy and sorcery of Henry in. Under the last of the Valois, magicians had
spread throughout France. Noble men and women alike had been initiated into
"execrable mysteries." Henry and his courtiers frequently consulted "certain
'mathematicians' and 'philosophers' (as the demoniacs, fortune-tellers, magi-
cians, and seers call themselves)." Moreover, Henry used all sorts of illicit unc-
tions and partook in sordid nocturnal demonic rituals.96 Later, Boucher made
similar accusations against Henry iv, although in his case the demonic sect in
which he participated was Calvinism.97
The second book of Couronne Mystique deals with the origins and character
of heresy. Beginning in chapter 28, he explores the connections between heresy,
in particular Calvinism, and sorcery. Sorcery is "the horror of horrors, the
crime of crimes, of all impieties the most impious." It necessarily involves the
rejection of God and the worship of a false deity. Unfortunately, "not a few" have
been converted to this new religion. Like the pagans of old, their devotion, while
having the appearance of piety, is in fact Devil worship. At the root of magic are
the vices of the flesh with all their vehement passions: envy, vengeance, and
violence.98

Calvinists, like other sorcerers, view religion as a means to worldly ends.

They are both atheists, rejecting the sacraments and placing the Dragon, Satan
himself, at the center of their devotions. Such atheism has been revealed time
and time again in the string of heresies that had threatened the church since
the days of Simon Magus. Calvinists practice absurd and farcical "mysteries" not
unlike those of the followers of Mithras. The false, demonic rituals conducted
in Calvinist "synagogues" may be traced to Innes and Mambres and all the
magicians descended from Ham.99
According to Boucher, the English are to blame for the recent spread of
heresy and sorcery in France and the rest of Europe. Henry vi 11 had created
the schism within the church. Since the beginning of his cruel reign, atheism
and sorcery had multiplied. We should not be surprised by this, Boucher sug-

96 Boucher, De Iusta Abdicatione , pp. 170-190, 335. One suspects that Boucher was here
alluding to the king's sexual proclivities.
97 Jean Boucher, Sermons de la Simulee Conversion, et nullité de la pretendue Absolution de
Henry de Bourbon (Paris, 1594)» pp. 27, 94-96.
98 Boucher, Couronne Mystique, pp. 537-539.
99 Ibid., pp. 539-547; cf. Boucher, Simulee Conversion , p. 24; David M. Whitford, The Curse of
Ham in the Early Modern Era : The Bible and the Justification for Slavery (Farnham, Surrey,
2009), pp. 55-56.

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438 SMITH

gests, since En
creatures that
France, noted
influence.100

In recent yea
superstition. B
ing from Germ
fraternity, na
Rosicrucian "so
Rosenkreutz.
of Ceres and
ancients were
have been sed
of enchantme
the rise of th
witchcraft in
forces at the
band of Germa
dent that witc
the Huguenots
"familiars of d
Huguenot victo
The rise of t
"Luthero-Calv
entirely in con
the Synod of D
clave. Rosicruc
Boucher quotes
the effect that
of wine to the
observed large
France."101 Th
demonic forces

100 Boucher, Cou

Binsfeld, Nichola
ular variety of sp
three other sort
fairies as well as
101 Ibid., p. 555

CHURCH HIS

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 439

of Henry iv (a man whose genuine hostility to the Church of Rome is compa-

rable with that of the Emperor Henry iv), the influx of German mercenaries
in support of heresy and schism, and the influence of England, the font of the
"Luthero-Calvinist" schism.102 In this work, then, Boucher comes as close as any
seventeenth-century author to supporting Yates's argument: the Rosicrucians
are part of an occult conspiracy originating in England that had spread to Ger-
many and is connected with the current upheavals that plagued Europe.

5 Conclusion

Friedrich Fömer and Jean Boucher both clearly believed that there was a R
crucian political conspiracy linked to the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War
question remains, however, whether their views were representative. On t
point, the evidence is slight. Both authors present the connections bet
the Rosicrucians, Calvinists, and England as if it were a commonplace. To s
degree both expand on themes developed earlier by Andreas Libaviu
Jacob Gretser. In Förner's case, the connection is direct: he cites Gretser a
very likely knew Libavius's work. Boucher drew on an entirely different
of material, yet comes to much the same conclusion.103 The presence of s
ilar ideas in works as widely separated in time and space as those of Fö
Boucher, Libavius, and Gretser suggest that linking Rosicrucianism with p
ular rebellion was something of a commonplace. That said, there is a di
difference between their analyses and those of Libavius and Gretser. The l
discussed the link between Rosicrucianism and popular rebellion in the
ical terms; for Förner and Boucher the link was direct: a Rosicrucian cons
acy lay behind the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War. One wonders what
might have done with the two works had she studied them closely. But be
in a conspiracy is not proof that the conspiracy ever existed. Moreover, th
is something else far more significant than convoluted conspiracy theorie
work in these treatises.
It is striking that both Former and Boucher wrote their treatises well a
the initial furor over the publication of the Rosicrucian manifestos ha

102 Ibid., pp. 555-557-

103 Boucher's most important source was an attack on Paracelsan medicine by the
Johannes Roberti. Roberti, Metamorphosis Magnetica Catvino-Gocleniana, qva Calv
Dogmatistae, Et in Primis, D. Rodolphvs Goclenivs, Stupendo Magnetismo, in Giezita
grant (Louvain, 1618); Moran, Andreas Libavius, pp. 275-276.

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440 SMITH

down. Why
ism per se
moment wh
the forces
ferocity of
Förner and
that placed
to the earli
ism of the
enemy here
and underm
War, right
Boucher we
lar, they pe
mooted by
Boucher lin
"new heresy
church in
and is not u
entering th
the most in
argument r
the power o
hands of a s
this is pow
the counci
both the k
monarchic
in council).
the popes, w
in its tempo
hold a uniq
aristocrats
pope cannot
or to replac
republic an
describes t
abstraction
regime wor
government

CHURCH

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 44I

The distinction between state and government found in Couronne Mystique

finds a parallel in Forneťs description of the Empire. Förner views the monarch
as an executive, placing formation of policy in the hands of the lords spiritual
and temporal, in particular the former. Although he only speaks in terms of
analogies, Förner clearly conceives of the Empire as a mixed monarchy where
the role of the Emperor is to execute the policies framed at least in consultation
with the "pillars" of the Empire - the princes.104 Forneťs political ideas are not
all that surprising, given the traditions of the Imperial constitution. Arguably
Forneťs aim in the republication of Lupoid von Bebenburg's De Zelo Catholicae
Religionis was to reassert the constitutional forms of Charles iv, built on the
idea of balance between Kaiser und Reich. In that regard, his thought is rather
less radical than that of Boucher - Förner never even comes close to framing
a doctrine of resistance, much less arguing for the legitimate deposition of the
sovereign. Nevertheless, both Förner and Boucher had learned to be skeptical
of monarchy on account of their own experiences. Boucher's attitudes were
clearly framed in response to the reigns of Henry in and Henry iv, kings whose
association with heresy made them at best doubtful pretenders to the title
"Most Catholic King." Similarly, the reigns of Maximilian n and Rudolf n made
Förner less than enthusiastic about the piety of the Austrian branch of the
Casa Habsburga. Although both men now served monarchs whose orthodoxy
seemed beyond suspicion, they still were reluctant to place absolute authority
in the hands of the prince.
In other words, what we find in these two texts is not so much a conflict
between the idea of monarchy and popular heresy, but between two rival con-
ceptions of popular sovereignty. The precise form of the opposition, moreover,
is determined by the conception of sovereignty as it was understood at the
beginning of the seventeenth century. Two factors had fundamentally altered
the way in which people had come to view the state and society. The coupling
of political and religious reform, begun in the fourteenth century and contin-
ued through the Conciliar epoch, gained greater urgency in the years after the
Protestant Reformation. In the Confessional era, the state came increasingly
to be defined according to the religious beliefs of the prince. Consequently,
the sacral character of sovereignty was intensified, especially as religious con-
troversy boiled over into religious war. Within the culture of late Humanism,
sovereignty came to be conceived in occult terms; thaumaturgie sovereignty
was the ideal to which practically all rulers of the late Renaissance subscribed.

104 This idea is presented most clearly in the Dua Specula of 1623, where Förner bemoans the
fact that one of the pillars - the kingdom of Bohemia - had collapsed into heresy.

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442 SMITH

Consequentl
juxtaposition
legitimate th
crucians rep
simply with
sorcery, Kab
comment ab
clean the oc
the "aristoc
misrule of H
heresy to ga
cerers and t
to turn away
afforded by
There is som
As R.J.W. Ev
of natural p
world was d
might be n
dangerous,
within care
learned occu
political fro
character. In
to whom th
men to eng
alchemists o
men who be
ening the st
decades."106
Perhaps the
fear of the
monarchy. N
be trusted t
with the exc

105 Evans, Hab

106 Bruce Jana
land (Universit

CHURCH H

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THEORIES ON THE OCCULT ORIGINS OF THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR 443

Hugh Trevor-Roper described as the "Puritanism of the Right."107 Both present

as their ideal a mixed monarchy wherein policy was framed by the clergy in
consultation with the ruling estates of the realm; the only alternatives to such
a system was either the tyranny of sorcerer kings or the horror of Münster and
peasant rebellion. For both authors the policy around which the realm could be
united was the same - Providential War against the enemies of the Faith, either
the Calvinists or, in the more grandiose fantasies of Boucher, the Turk. Both saw
in the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War the same opportunity - the chance to
complete the work of religious reform that had begun two centuries earlier but
had been commandeered by the heretics. The false "universal reformation" of
the Rosicrucians revealed the opportunity for a genuine, Godly and orthodox
reform of the church and of society in general. In that regard, their ultimate
goals were little different from those articulated by the fictional Christian
Rosenkreutz and the all-too-real Thomas Müntzer.

107 Hugh R. Trevor-Roper, The General Crisis of the Seventeenth Century/ in Trevor Aston,
ed., Crisis in Europe, 1560-1660 (Oxford, 1965), p. 80.

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