England Golden (Elizabeth) Age
The following article is translated extracts taken from my book (published in Hebrew) – England in search of the Holy Grail.
Although Edward III was considered a successful king, his reign also marked the beginning of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, which persisted into the mid-15th century. Prior to this, England experienced the Barons’ Wars, conflicts between the monarchy and nobles advocating for a parliament and greater rights. Additionally, there were ongoing conflicts with the Scots and Welsh. Following these, the War of the Roses unfolded between the House of York and the House of Lancaster, extending well into the end of the 15th century. Hence, for about 300 years—from the era of Eleanor of Aquitaine to that of Henry VIII—England was embroiled in continual strife and wars. However, it was also during this tumultuous period that the English identity, culture, and nationalism were forged, the Normans were assimilated into the populace, and the modern English language began to take shape.
After these challenging times, the 16th century emerged as a period of wealth and prosperity for England, marking its ascent as a global power. This era coincided with the rise of the House of Tudor, which united the white rose of York and the red rose of Lancaster, and saw the reign of significant monarchs such as Henry VII, Henry VIII, and notably, Queen Elizabeth.
Henry VIII
Henry VIII reigned in the years 1509–1547, He was one of the most influential English kings, responsible for making England Protestant and abolishing the monasteries, including Glastonbury Abbey. He was a broad-minded man who loved to read, write, and play—an intellectual and humanist who promoted education. During his reign, the Renaissance found a home in England, shifting the center of cultural life to Northwestern Europe, as Italy was torn by wars and declining in status.
Henry established England’s naval power and orchestrated its separation from the Catholic Church. However, the key figures leading this move were likely Thomas Cromwell, his prime minister, and Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury (1533–1556). Cranmer, the king’s confidant, visited Protestant Germany and was married to Martin Luther’s sister. He wrote the Book of Common Prayer and the articles of faith for the Anglican Church, shaping its path [1].
Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth ruled from 1558 to 1603. During her reign, England became a global power, developing its colonies especially in North America across the Atlantic Ocean. This was due to its status as the world’s strongest naval power and its self-perception as the leader among kingdoms, akin to Judah among the tribes, continuing the tradition of King Arthur’s reign of justice and the quest for the Holy Grail.
Under Queen Elizabeth, the English Renaissance reached its peak, particularly in literature (with figures like Shakespeare), as well as in architecture and art. Great intellectuals such as Francis Bacon and John Dee flourished in England. John Dee, in particular, was considered the spiritual ideologue and man of secrets of the time. Some argue that he was the head of a secret Druid order, following in the footsteps of Dunstan and Merlin the Wizard.
John Dee
John Dee (1527–1609) believed that the actions of alchemists could release forces that would bring about spiritual reformation throughout the world. He served as an astrologer, consultant, and tutor to Queen Elizabeth at the end of the 16th century. In addition to these roles, he was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, and above all, a magician, alchemist, and hermeticist.
Dee significantly influenced the coronation ceremonies of English kings and promoted the concept of the English Empire. He claimed that Arthur was the first to establish such an empire and that England had a global role to fulfill.
John Dee also argued that, in addition to Arthur, there was a Welsh king from the 12th century, Madog ab Owain Gwynedd, who had come to America, thus giving England a right to North America. He advocated for the development of the English navy, wrote a book on sea navigation, and was largely responsible for England’s maritime successes, including in the conflict with Spain.
Dee was not only close to the queen but also served as an advisor and guide to the kingdom’s two most senior ministers, William Cecil and Francis Walsingham, who founded the British Secret Service. Some say he was an agent of the British Secret Service, adopting the code name 007, where the 00 represents the two eyes of the Queen, and he is the 7. He possessed the largest library in England, part of which he acquired during his travels around the world.
In addition to his public political career, John Dee had another side that became dominant in the last decades of his life: his search for meaning and his deep involvement in the occult.
In 1564, he wrote a book about a symbol he invented called Monas, which he believed contained all the secrets of the universe and the structure of the invisible worlds.
In 1582, Dee collaborated with Edward Kelley in an attempt to communicate with angels and summon forces, leading to their discovery of the Enochian language, which they claimed was the primordial language revealed to them through scrying with a glass ball. They traveled across Europe, dedicating themselves to an unconventional life, and parted ways in 1589.
From that time until his death twenty years later, Dee was active in many public and secret English esoteric societies, including those of the Druids. He is considered Dunstan’s successor, with the order’s prophecies stating that every 500 years a high priest arrives—two thousand years ago it was Jesus, fifteen hundred years ago Merlin, one thousand years ago Dunstan, and five hundred years ago John Dee [2].
His son, Arthur Dee, continued his path. John Dee attempted to use magic, alchemy, and communication with spirits to bridge the rift between Protestantism and Catholicism and bring prosperity to England. The English Renaissance, of which he was a prominent representative, combined a humanistic worldview, observation of man and nature, and the occult sciences. During this time, other great minds were active in England, the best known being Francis Bacon.
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon was a key figure who largely determined the spirit of his age, continuing in many ways the path set by John Dee. Bacon (1561–1626) was a scientist and philosopher who influenced the future direction of England and the United States. He espoused a vision of progress, morality, and generosity, advocating that England and human society should aim to create a utopian state, as depicted in his book “The New Atlantis.” A lawyer and member of parliament, Bacon rose to prominence in Queen Elizabeth’s court and reached the height of his status during King James’s reign, becoming Lord Chancellor and a major supporter of establishing colonies in North America, including Carolina, Virginia, and Newfoundland.
Bacon effectively founded the British Royal Society, an influential organization of scientists and progress advocates, from which figures like Newton and Locke later emerged. Some suggest that the society fulfills the ideals of the utopian society described in “The New Atlantis,” influenced by the teachings of the secret organization “The Order of the Rose Cross” (Rosicrucians), with which Bacon was associated.
There is also a theory that Bacon authored the plays attributed to Shakespeare, the greatest literary giant in the English language, using Shakespeare’s name to mask his own literary work, which was considered dishonorable and unbecoming of his status. If true, this would mean Bacon, like John Dee, was involved in the occult, as Shakespeare’s works contain references to astrology, alchemy, and magic.
Freemasonry
Legends of the masons claim that they appeared in England during the reign of King Athelstan (Æthelstan), who conquered York from the Vikings and rebuilt the city. Athelstan, the first king of all England, is said to have joined an existing association of Freemasons and became a passionate Mason himself. Thanks to his status, the Freemasons received a charter recognizing their association. A first convention was held in York, where the laws and procedures that formed the basis of Freemasonry in England were established. King Athelstan linked the fate of the English royal house to that of Masonry, building York according to a Masonic model and turning it into a “mecca” for Freemasons.
However, Masonic associations are believed to have existed much earlier in ancient Egypt, King Solomon’s Jerusalem, and the Roman Empire. According to Freemasonry’s own accounts, near the end of the Empire period, there was a school of sacred architecture near Lake Como in Italy that taught the mysteries of Freemasonry. When Rome fell, the school’s students and their teachings survived, perpetuating the knowledge for future generations. Eventually, the school’s students found their way to various centers in Europe, including the court of King Athelstan.
These legends are not necessarily true. Nonetheless, there is evidence of a city-building plan during Athelstan’s reign, with York serving as an example. This plan was likely the most ambitious of its kind in Europe at the time and may have involved some form of ancient or modern sacred architecture concepts. Additionally, early Bibles found in Saxon England depict God in the typical “Masonic” form of the Great Architect.
During the Crusades, Freemasonry was supposedly practiced by the Templars and the Hospitallers orders. The Templars adopted the symbol of the Temple of Solomon and were in contact with esoteric Muslim and Eastern Christian builders’ societies, such as the Armenians, who preserved the sacred architectural tradition. The Hospitallers excelled in military and religious architecture.
According to the books of the Freemasons: “During the Crusades in Israel, many princes, lords, and citizens dedicated themselves and vowed to rebuild the temple of the Christians in the Holy Land, aiming to restore their architecture to its original state. They agreed among themselves on a number of ancient signs and symbolic words. These symbols and words were communicated only to those who solemnly promised, sometimes at the foot of an altar, not to reveal them to the world. This sacred promise was, therefore, an honorable commitment to the union of Christians of all nationalities. Some time later, our order formed an intimate connection with the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and from that time onward, our lodges received the name St. John.”
When the military orders moved to Europe, they brought with them the builders’ guilds, which later built the Gothic cathedrals. Freemasonry began to appear during this period in Scotland, especially because it was outside the sphere of influence of the Pope. “At the time of the last crusade, many lodges had already been founded in Germany, Italy, Spain, and France. James, the Lord Servant of Scotland, was head master of the lodge at Kilwinning in western Scotland. Immediately after the death of Alexander III, King of Scotland, and one year before John Balliol ascended to the throne, this lord received as freemasons into his lodge the earls of Gloucester and Ulster, one English and the other Irish.”
However, these are all legends appearing only in Masonic literature. Historically, the first Masonic lodges began to appear in Scotland, England, and France in the 17th century. In England, there was a group called “The Hidden College,” and other groups engaged in studying the Hermetic-Kabbalistic tradition. During this time, there was also a guild of masons that many of its members became speculative masons rather than actual builders.
In 1717, the Grand Lodge, the first organized Masonic organization, was founded. The newly formed Freemasons created a system of symbols drawing from both practical construction sources and the Western mystical tradition. Freemasonry spread rapidly in England and around the world, especially in the United States, bringing about the establishment of many lodges based on the values of equality, fraternity, and justice.
footnotes
[1] During the reign of the Catholic Queen Bloody Mary (Bloody Mary), who ruled for five years (1553-1558), he was put on the stake and became the first and most important English Protestant saint.
[2] According to the New Order of Druids (neo-droid branch), the order was founded by Jacqueline Memory Paterson and author of “The Tree of Life” and Archdruid Rollo Maughfling. Top of Form
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