In the story of the death of Germanicus, there are haunting parallels to one of the most notorious conspiracy theories of modern times. A young man of military experience, beloved by the populace and marked…
Category: Florilegium
Бываютъ странныя сближенья
Сдается мнѣ, будто fake news какъ понятіе, описанное въ агиткѣ ниже, – само плодъ теоріи заговора. The concept of ‘fake news’, along with a more eloquent term describing the same subject (‘post-truth’), emerged within the…
David V. Barrett on Rosicrucianism and the USA
The best-known Rosicrucian Orders today are based in the USA; indeed, reading their literature, one could almost be forgiven for thinking that Rosicrucianism is an invention peculiar to the United States; it is so tied…
David V. Barrett on Tarot and Petrarch
Many of the original images bear a resemblance to characters and themes in the Triumphs of Petrarch, a series of poems written between 1340 and 1374; the Triumph of Love, the Triumph of Chastity, then…
David V. Barrett on the origins and secrecy of speculative Freemasonry
Whatever its provenance, there is little doubt that Freemasonry was ‘born’ in Scotland rather than England. There were strong romantic links between Scotland, France, Freemasonry, pseudo-chivalry and the Jacobites […]. The creation of a London-based…
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David V. Barrett on speculative Freemasonry & Rosicrucians
It cannot be seriously doubted that that there was some form of causative link, direct or indirect, between the Rosicrucians and the early speculative Freemasons. Freemasonry appeared shortly after the Rosicrucians, who grow out of…
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David V. Barrett on Assassins (& Knights Templar)
Hasan-i-Sabbah was a Persian Twelver who converted to Ismailism and became an enthusiastic missionary for its cause, and a supporter of Nizar. In his youth he studied alongside the future tentmaker, astronomer and poet Omar…
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David V. Barrett on Rosicrucians
Others whom the present-day Orders claim to have been early Rosicrucians, annd who were certainly associated with the ideas of the movement, include the mystic Thomas Vaughan (1621-65); the astrologer William Lilly (1602-81); Sir Kenelm…
David V. Barrett on a ludibrium
Was there actually a body called the Rosicrucians? It seems very unlikely. The life-story of their founder and leader, Christian Rosy Cross, was very obviously allegorical. It has even been suggested that the Fama could…
David V. Barrett on John Dee and the British Museum
His [John Dee’s] donation of 4,000 of his own books to a new national library was later one of the starting points of the British Museum. – A Brief History of Secret Societies: An Unbiased…
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