Summary

Behmenism was a Continental religious sect based on the teaching and writings of Jakob Boehme (Böhme, Behm)(1575-1624), a German Lutheran religious philosopher and Pietist mystic. He has been called the"Teutonic Theosopher".

Boehme was born near Görlitz in Upper Lusatia, modern Saxony, of a good family. He attended the local schools and was a good student. Due to his poor physical health, he was apprenticed as a cobbler ca. 1590. In 1599, he was admitted as a master craftsman in the local guild, and was married. He was prosperous in business andraised a large family.

Boehme came into contact with many men of letters seeking refuge in Görlitz. About 1600, Boehme became interested in the works of Martin Moll, the Primarius of Görlitz (1600-12?), and attended local lectures and discussion groups. Moll was considered somewhat of a mystic in his writings. Based on his own religious Epiphany in 1610, Boehme began to postulated a new concept of the Godhead, and His relationship with Man.

Boehme wrote his first treatise Die Morgenroete in Aufgang oder Aurora in 1612 as a manuscript. In 1613, an unauthorized copy of the manuscript was copied and circulated by a friend. A copy fell into the hands of the local authorities. Boehme was jailed shortly, and censured by the local Lutheran authorities. Boehme was hounded by the new Primarius of Görlitz (1613-24), Pastor Gregor Richter who seems to have taken a personal dislike to this presumptuous shoemaker. Boehme sold his shop in 1613, and began traveling on business.

In 1618 he started writing devotional treatises. The majority of his works were written from 1619-1624. His second major work was Weg zu Christo (1620). It was published in 1624 by wealthy friends. He was once again called before the authorities, and censured by Richter. He and his family were expelled from Görlitz in March of 1624.

Boehme was invited by friends to visit Dresden. He had hoped to meet the Elector of Saxony but he left disappointed. He returned to Görlitz in mid-1624 only to find that his family was being persecuted. After a few months traveling, he returned home and became ill, he died on 17 November 1624. His grave site was desecrated by locals a short time later.

Boehme was a well respected philosopher among various circles in Europe. Unfortunately for Boehme, the political and religious climate of his home in Görlitz was rather narrow. He was subject to the personal attacks of the Primarius of Görlitz (1613-24) who considered the uneducated shoemaker an affront to the Church. "No man is a prophet in his own home town" would be a fitting reply. Most of Boehme's publications were not published until after 1640.

English Behmenists

English Behmenists developed independently of their Continental brethren. Some of the English Behmenists eventually merged with the early Quakers, who incorporated Boehme's teachings into their own doctrines. Boehme through his writings would lead men to a fuller religious experience and awakening to God.

English translations of Boehmes' writings were very popular in England. Manuscripts seem to have been available in the late 1640's. A biography of Boehme was produced about 1645 by Richard Whittaker. Boehme's works were being translated after 1645 into English by the following translators: John Sparrow (1615-1665?); Humphrey Blunden; and, John Ellistone (d.1652).

Behmenist views were often voiced during the Interregnum. Morgan Llwyd (1619-59), a Welsh poet and radical puritan was an early admirer. A prominent advocate of Boehme was the Rev. James Pordage who was known for his Familist leanings. Peter Sterry, the chaplain to Oliver Cromwell, was well versed in Boehme.

James Pordage established a Familist community near Bradfield about 1647. A prominent English disciple of his writings was Jane Lead(e) (1623-1704) who published a number of books in the late 1690's. Together they established the The Philadelphian Society, from an illusion in the Book of Revelations, in London to promote an interest in Boehme's works and philosophy. Interest in Boehme continued after the Restoration (1660).

Boehme's teaching and writing provided a conduit for many mystical and spiritualistic influences of the late Middle Ages into England including: Pietism, Schwenckfeldianism, Rosicrucianism, Paracelsus (1493-1541)and the Hermetic Tradition. His works also influences other theologians of the period. Boehme exercised a great deal of influence in Germany, and in the English-speaking countries.

A SELECT BEHMENIST BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Sources

Boehme, Jacob, 1575-1624. Die Morgenroete in Aufgang or Aurora (1612)

______. [Another ed.] (1914)

______. [Another ed.] Barker, C. J. (ed.) (1967)

______. Weg zu Christo (1620)

______. Die drei Prinzipien göttlichen Wesens

______. [Another ed. Engl. trans.] Concerning the Three Principles of the Divine Essence, Sparrow, J. (trans.) (1910).

______. De Signatura Rerum (1651)

______. [Another ed.] (1965) [EEb, 1641-1700; 171:1] [Wing B3419] [Buddecke 119]

______. Mysterium Magnum

______. [English trans.] Mysterium magnum, or An exposition of the first book of Moses called Genesis (1654) [EEb, 141-1700; 125:5] [Wing B3411]

______. Tafeln von den dreyen Principien göttlicher Offenbarung

______. [English trans.] Foure tables of divine revelation [EEb, 141-1700; 125:5]

______. Von Christi Testamensis

______. The Confessions of Jacob Behmen ... to which is prefixed the life of the author (1764-81)

______. Works. Schiebler, K. W. (ed.) (1831-47)

______. Works. Schiebler, K. W. (ed.) (1922, reprint)

______. [Works]. Samtliche Schriften Faksimile - Neudruck der Ausgabe van 170 begonnen von August Faust neu Herausgegeben von W. E. Peuckert (11vols; 1986)

______. [Another ed.] (1951-61)

Hotham, Durant, 1617?-1691. Life of Jacob Behmen (1654)

Lead, Jane Ward, 1623-1704. The Revelation of Revelations (1981, 1683)

______. Des Garten-Brunns (1698) [German baroque literature, Harold Jantz collection; no. 1529, reel 320]

Taylor, Edward. Jacob Boehme's Theosophick Philiosphy Unfolded (1691)

Secondary Sources

Backer, C. J., Prerequisites for the Study of Jacob Boehme (1920)

Bailey, M., Milton and Jacob Boehme: A Study in German Mysticism in the 17th century (1914)

Benz, E., The Mystical Sources of German Romantic Philosophy (1983)

______. "Der Prophet Jacok Boehme: Eine Studie über den Typus nachreformatorische Prophetentums", in Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur [in Mainz]. Abhandlungen der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Klasse, Jahrg. 1959, Heft 3

Brinton, H. R., The Mystical Way. (1931)

Buddecke, W., Die Böhme -Ausgaben Ein beschreibendes Verzeichnis (2 vols; 1957)

______. "Die Böhme Handschriften und ihr Schicksal", Jacob Boehme Society Quarterly, 1 (1953)

Deghaye, P., La Doctrine Esoterique de Zinzendorf (1700-1760) (1969)

______. La Naissance de Dieu ou la doctrine de Jacob Boehme (1985)

Evans, E. L., "Morgan Lloyd and Jacob Boehme", Jacob Boehme Society Quarterly, 1 (1953)

Freher, D. A., The Paradoxical Emblems (1983)

Gichtel, J. C., Theosophia Practica (1973)

Gorceix, B., Johann Georg Gitchel Theosophe d'Amsterdam (1975)

______. Flambee et Agonie. Mystiques du XVlle siecle allemand (1977)

Grunsky, H., Jacob Boehme (1956)

Hankamer, P., Jacob Boehme (1924)

Harless, G. C. A. von, Jacob Böhme und die Alchymisten (1882)

Hirst, D., Hidden Riches: Traditional Symbolism from the Renaissance to Blake (1964)

Hobhouse, S. (ed.), Selected Mystical Writings of William Law (1938)

Hutin, S., Les Disciples anglais de Jacob Boehme aux XVII et XVIII siecles (1960)

Jones, R. M., Spiritual Reformers in the 16th and 17th Centuries (1912)

Jung, C. G., Mysterium Coniunctionis (1963)

Koyre, A., La Philiosphie de Jacob Boehme (1929)

______. Mystiques, spirituels, alchimistes du XVIe siecle allemand (1971)

Martensen, H. L., Jacob Boehme: Studies in his Life and Teaching (1949)

Muses, C. A., Illumination on Jacob Boehme: The works of Dionysius Andreas Freher (1951)

Nigg, W., Heimliche Weisheit (1987)

Nobile, E., Jacob Boehme ed il suo dualismo essenziale (1928)

Penny, A. J., Studies in Jacob Böhme (1912)

Schrey, R., Die Lehre des Jacob Böhme (1925)

Sedir, P., Les Temperaments et la Culture Psychique d'apres J. Boehme (1984)

Smith, N., Perfection Proclaimed: Language and Literature in English Radical Religion,1640-1660 (1989)

Stoudt, J. J., Sunrise to Eternity: A Study of Jacob Boehme's Life and Teachings (1957)

Struck, W., Der Einfluss Jackob Boehmes auf die englischer Literatur des seizehnten Jahrhunderts (1936)

Tesche, H., Vom dreifachen Leben: Ein geistiges Porträt des Mystikers Jakob Böhme (1977)

Thune, N, B., The Behmenists and the Philadelphians: a Contribution to the Study of English Mysticism in the 17th and 18th Centuries (1948)

Walton, C., Notes and Materials for an adequate biography of the celebrated Divine and Theosopher, William Law (1854)

Waterfield, R. (ed.), Jabob Boehme essential readings (1989)

Wehr, G., Jacob Böhme in Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten (1971)

______. and Deghaye, P., Jakob Böhme (1977)

Weiss, V., Die Gnosis Jacob Böhmes (1955)