The Real History of the Rosicrucians
Founded on their own manifestoes, and on facts and documents collected from the writings of initiated Brethren
- First published:
- 19th century
- Language: English
The Real History of the Rosicrucians is a book by Arthur Edward Waite, first published in 1887. This comprehensive study investigates the origins, doctrines, and influence of the mysterious Rosicrucian brotherhood, separating historical fact from myth and legend. Waite examines the early Rosicrucian manifestos, the cultural and philosophical context of their appearance in 17th-century Europe, and the secretive movements and esoteric traditions they inspired. With a critical yet sympathetic approach, the book explores the symbolic language, alchemical themes, and spiritual ideals associated with the order, while dismantling popular misconceptions and spurious claims. It remains a foundational text for those seeking an informed and thoughtful exploration of one of the most enigmatic and influential societies in Western esotericism.
Provenance
Why this book is in the catalog
Included because retained bibliographic metadata links this work to Initiatory orders and secret societies and Occultism and esotericism.
Controlled discovery queries from global-grey matched “Occult Teachings and Traditions”. Retained metadata contains “esoteric” in the description, “Esotericism” in the description, “occult” in the subject metadata, and 1 additional metadata match(es).
- “Occult Teachings and Traditions”· via Global Grey ebooks
- “esoteric”· in description
- “Esotericism”· in description
- “occult”· in subject
- “Occult Teachings and Traditions”· in subject
Controlled discovery queries from openlibrary matched “Rosicrucians”. Retained metadata contains “Rosicrucians” in the title, “rosicrucian” in the description, “Rosicrucians” in the description, and 3 additional metadata match(es).
- “Rosicrucians”· via Open Library
- “Rosicrucians”· in title
- “rosicrucian”· in description
- “Rosicrucians”· in description
- “Rosicrucians”· in subject
- “Secret societies”· in subject
Membership records how this book met the catalog’s discovery criteria — relevance to a tradition, not a judgment of the book’s claims.
Read & download
Free, public copies reported by our sources. Links open the source directly.
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Global Grey describes the underlying texts in its catalog as public domain; its branding and website name remain protected, and users must assess local law.
marks a direct file download. Rights vary by country; each source states its own terms.
Buy or borrow
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- Find in a library (opens in a new tab)
- Open Library (opens in a new tab)
Links to ISBN 083341738X; other editions may be cheaper. WorldCat shows libraries near you that hold a copy.
Editions
Open Library reports 5 editions; 2 cataloged here.
| Edition | Date | Publisher | Language | ISBN | Access | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Global Grey ebook edition (available formats vary by title) | — | Global Grey ebooks | English | — | Public download | |
Founded on their own manifestoes, and on facts and documents collected from the writings of initiated Brethren Open Library record | November 30, 2005 | Adamant Media Corporation | English |
| No ebook |
Subjects
Identifiers & provenance
How this record was assembled, and the authority identifiers it carries.
Identifiers
- ISBN-13
- ISBN-10
- Open Library work
- Global Grey
- real-history-of-the-rosicrucians
Cataloged from
- Global Grey ebooksreal-history-of-the-rosicrucians (opens in a new tab)
- Open LibraryOL1111280W (opens in a new tab)
Cataloging notes
- Open Library reports 5 editions; this snapshot catalogs one representative edition and preserves work-level ISBN, date, and publisher aggregates.
- Catalog id
- openlibrary-work:OL1111280W
- Edition coverage
- Multi source partial
- Retrieved









