Legend
According to legend, Christian Rosenkreuz was a doctor who discovered and learned esoteric wisdom on a pilgrimage to the Middle East among Turkish, Arab and Persian sages, possibly Sufi or Zoroastrian masters, supposedly in the early 15th century (see section below on Symbolism); returned and founded the "Fraternity of the Rose Cross" with himself (Frater C.R.C.) as Head of the Order. Under his direction a Temple, called Sanctus Spiritus, or "The House of the Holy Spirit", was built.
It is described that his body was discovered by a Brother of the Order, in a perfect state of preservation, 120 years after his death (which occurred in absolute secrecy) - as Rosenkreuz had predicted - in a chamber erected by himself as a storehouse of knowledge. It is described that on the Sarcophagus in the centre of the Crypt of Christian Rosenkreutz were written, among other inscriptions the words, "Jesus mihi omnia, nequaquam vacuum, libertas evangelii, dei intacta gloria, legis jugum," (being in translation, "Jesus is everything to me, by no means empty, the freedom of the gospel, the untouched glory of god, the yoke of the law") testifying to the builder's Christian character. Rosenkreuz's crypt, according to the description presented in the legend, seems to be located in the interior parts of the Earth, recalling the alchemical motto VITRIOL: "Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem ("Visit the Interior Parts of the Earth; by Rectification Thou Shalt Find the Hidden Stone.").
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