In the 17th century, these four anonymous works triggered a flood of missives to the - nonexistent - »Brotherhood of the Rosicrucians«, thus having a formative influence on the typical image of a secret society during the ensuing period. This applies in particular to the 'Fama' and the 'Confessio', which describe the life of the founder, Christian Rosenkreuz, and call for theological, scholarly and also political reforms. The 'Chymical Wedding' is one of Andreae's long early works, which incorporates an allegory of the alchemical Ergon into a visionary frame story. The 'Reformation' is the German translation of an Italian satire by Trajano Boccalini. In the introduction, Roland Edighoffer, who consulted all the available editions and transcripts for this edition and gives a critical analysis of the variants, discusses the difficult question of Andreae's part in the Rosicrucian phenomenon.
»The editions prepared by Edighoffer represent fine work, carried out to an impeccable standard. [...] this is an excellent edition of the manifestos, which will surely become a crucial and definitive reference for those interested in the textual history of the initial declarations of the fictional Rosicrucian Brotherhood. [...] Going forward, Edighoffer's fine textual work on the manifestos will no doubt serve as a cornerstone of further research in this interesting field.« Leigh T.I. Penman, ARIES »The work has been carried out meticulously, and the principal editions set out here will most probably serve as the standard from which future citations will be drawn.«Edward H. Thompson, Sixteenth-Century journal