Rudolf John Gorsleben (16 March 1883 – 23 August 1930) was a German Ariosophist,

Armanist Armanism and Ariosophy are esoteric ideological systems that were developed largely by Guido von List and Jörg Lanz von Liebenfels respectively, in Austria between 1890 and 1930. The term 'Ariosophy', which means the wisdom of the Aryans, was i ...

(practitioner of the

Armanen runes Armanen runes (or ''Armanen Futharkh'') are 18 pseudo-runes, inspired by the historic Younger Futhark runes, invented by Austrian mysticist and Germanic revivalist Guido von List during a state of temporary blindness in 1902, and described in hi ...

), journal editor and playwright.

Life

Gorsleben was born in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he fought in a German unit stationed in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. He formed the Edda Society ('' Edda-Gesellschaft'') and wrote the book '' Hoch-Zeit der Menschheit'' ('' The Zenith of Humanity''), first published in 1930. It is known as "The Bible of Armanism" and has been translated into English by

Karl Hans Welz Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austri ...

. Gorsleben died in

Bad Homburg Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's offic ...

of a chronic heart complaint.Goodrick-Clarke,

The Occult Roots of Nazism ''The Occult Roots of Nazism: The Ariosophists of Austria and Germany, 1890–1935'' is a book about Nazi occultism and Ariosophy by historian Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, who traces some of its roots back to Esotericism in Germany and Austria betwe ...

, p. 159

Quotes

*"The healing power of medical drugs is the Ur-power of their original essence in conjunction with the power of Ur-vibrations of the human-Divine combination that is composed of body, soul and spirit." - ''Hoch-Zeit der Menschheit'' (English edition) *"With the introduction of Runic knowledge the generation of our days can achieve the control of secret powers within the life of their soul and reach the Spring-Root, which is the Whole of the Runes, the All-Raune, which opens all spiritual treasures to us, if we are Children of the Sunday, Children of the Sun, Children ("Kinder") of the Ar (Eagle, Sun), announcers ("Künder") of the Ar, people knowledgeable ("Könner" in modern German) of the Ar, Ar-koner, persons knowledgeable in the Ar-Kana (Arkana = arcane wisdom) or if we strive to become all of the above. The Runes have their own lives, they are true magical signs, from which we can draw the Spirit to Advise and the Courage to Action." - ''Hoch-Zeit der Menschheit'' (English edition)

Gorsleben's Periodicals

* ''Deutsche Freiheit. Monatsschrift für Arische Gottes- und Welterkenntnis.'' Ed. Rudolf John Gorsleben, 1925 to 1926, Munich (3.1925 and 4.1926) * ''Arische Freiheit. Monatsschrift für arische Gottes- u. Welterkenntnis'', 1927, Dinkelsbühl (5.1927) * ''Hag-All, All-Hag. Zeitschrift für arische Freiheit'', Edda-Gesellschaft, 1930 to 1934, Mittenwald, Obb. (7.1930 to 11.1934)

Written works

*''Der Freibeuter'', Drama , 1913 *''Der Rastäquar'', Drama, 1913 *''Die königliche Waschfrau'', Lustspiel, 1918 *''Die Überwindung des Judentums in uns und außer uns''. 71 S., Deutscher Volksverlag Dr. Ernst Boepple, München 1920 *''Die Edda. Übertragen von Rudolf John Gorsleben''. Die Heimkehr (W. Simon, Buchdr. u. Verlag), Pasing 1920 *''Gedichte'', 1921 * ''Das Blendwerk der Götter (Gylfaginning). Aus d. jüngeren Edda ins Hoch-Deutsche übertr. von Rudolf John Gorsleben''. 75 S., Die Heimkehr (W. Simon, Buchdr. u. Verlag), Pasing 1923 * ''Die Edda, Band 1. Lieder- Edda. Heldenlieder, Sprüche, Götterlieder - was wirklich in der Edda steht.'' Reprint von 2002 *''Festschrift zum fünfundzwanzigjährigen Bestehen des

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as w ...

1901 - 1926''. Den Mitarbeitern zugeeignet,

, Leipzig, 1926. Sammelwerk. Enthält: Rudolf John Gorsleben: ''Gedanken um Zeit und Ewigkeit'' * ''Das Geheimnis von Dinkelsbühl. Eine tiefgründige und doch kurzweilige Abhandlung über den Ursprung der Stadt, ihre Geschichte, die Herkunft des Wappens, über den Brauch der uralten „Kinderzeche” und über die Bedeutung einer rätselhaften Inschrift der Geheimen Bruderschaft der Bauhütte, hauptsächlich an Hand der Kenntnis der Runen / entdeckt, entziffert u. erklärt von Rudolf John Gorsleben'', 70 S., Brückner, Berlin 1928 (Wunder der Heimat, H. 1) * ''Das Geheimnis von Dinkelsbühl... Reprint: Antiquariat an der Segringer Straße, Dinkelsbühl 2004. * ''Hoch-Zeit der Menschheit''. XXV, 689 S., Ill., Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1930 * ''Hoch-Zeit der Menschheit''. XXV, 689 S., Ill., Neudr. der Ausgabe Leipzig 1930, Faksimile-Verl./Versand, Bremen 1981 (Historische Faksimiles) * ''Hoch-Zeit der Menschheit''. XXV, 764 S., Ill., Faks.-Nachdr. der Ausg. Leipzig 1930, Faks.-Verl., Bremen 1993 (Serie Forschungsreihe „Historische Faksimiles”)

Notes

External links

*
''Hoch-Zeit der Menschheit'' in PDF-format

In English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorsleben, Rudolf John Germanic mysticism German occultists German military personnel of World War I Writers from Metz People from Alsace-Lorraine Ottoman military personnel of World War I 1883 births 1930 deaths Thule Society members