Titus Burckhardt
Encyclopedia
Titus Burckhardt a German Swiss, was born in Florence
, Italy in 1908 and died in Lausanne
, Switzerland in 1984. He devoted all his life to the study and exposition of the different aspects of Wisdom and Tradition.
He was an eminent member of the "traditionalist school
" of twentieth-century authors. He was a frequent contributor to the journal Studies in Comparative Religion
along with other prominent members of the school.
. He was the great-nephew of the art-historian Jacob Burckhardt
and the son of the sculptor Carl Burckhardt. Titus Burckhardt was a contemporary of Frithjof Schuon
– leading exponent of traditionalist thought in the twentieth century – and the two spent their early school days together in Basle around the time of the First World War. This was the beginning of an intimate friendship and harmonious intellectual and spiritual relationship that was to last a lifetime.
Burckhardt was, as his grandfather, a connoisseur of Islamic art, architecture and civilisation. He compiled and published work from the Sufi masters: Ibn Arabi
(1165–1240), Abd-al-karim Jili
(1365–1424) and Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (1760–1823).
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy in 1908 and died in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Switzerland in 1984. He devoted all his life to the study and exposition of the different aspects of Wisdom and Tradition.
He was an eminent member of the "traditionalist school
Traditionalist School
The term Traditionalist School is used by Mark Sedgwick and other authors to denote a school of thought, also known as Integral Traditionalism or Perennialism to denote an esoteric movement developed by authors such as French metaphysician René Guénon, German-Swiss...
" of twentieth-century authors. He was a frequent contributor to the journal Studies in Comparative Religion
Studies in Comparative Religion
Studies in Comparative Religion was a quarterly academic journal published from 1963–1987 that contained essays on the spiritual practices and religious symbolism of the world's religions. The journal was notable for the number of prominent Perennialists who contributed to it...
along with other prominent members of the school.
Life
Burckhardt was the scion of a patrician family of BaselBasel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
. He was the great-nephew of the art-historian Jacob Burckhardt
Jacob Burckhardt
Carl Jacob Christoph Burckhardt was a historian of art and culture, and an influential figure in the historiography of each field. He is known as one of the major progenitors of cultural history, albeit in a form very different from how cultural history is conceived and studied in academia today...
and the son of the sculptor Carl Burckhardt. Titus Burckhardt was a contemporary of Frithjof Schuon
Frithjof Schuon
Frithjof Schuon, was a native of Switzerland born to German parents in Basel, Switzerland. He is known as a philosopher, metaphysician and author of numerous books on religion and spirituality....
– leading exponent of traditionalist thought in the twentieth century – and the two spent their early school days together in Basle around the time of the First World War. This was the beginning of an intimate friendship and harmonious intellectual and spiritual relationship that was to last a lifetime.
Burckhardt was, as his grandfather, a connoisseur of Islamic art, architecture and civilisation. He compiled and published work from the Sufi masters: Ibn Arabi
Ibn Arabi
Ibn ʿArabī was an Andalusian Moorish Sufi mystic and philosopher. His full name was Abū 'Abdillāh Muḥammad ibn 'Alī ibn Muḥammad ibn `Arabī .-Biography:...
(1165–1240), Abd-al-karim Jili
Abd-al-karim Jili
Abd al-Karīm al-Jīlī, or Abdul Karim Jili, was a Muslim sufi saint and mystic who was born in 1366 at Jil in Baghdad. He is famous in Muslim mysticism as the author of Universal Man....
(1365–1424) and Muhammad al-Arabi al-Darqawi (1760–1823).
See also
- Frithjof SchuonFrithjof SchuonFrithjof Schuon, was a native of Switzerland born to German parents in Basel, Switzerland. He is known as a philosopher, metaphysician and author of numerous books on religion and spirituality....
- Martin LingsMartin LingsMartin Lings was an English Muslim writer and scholar, a student and follower of Frithjof Schuon, and Shakespearean scholar...
- Jean-Louis MichonJean-Louis MichonJean-Louis Michon is a French traditionalist scholar and translator who specializes in Islamic art and Sufism. He has worked extensively with the United Nations to preserve the cultural heritage of Morocco.-Biography:...
- Tage LindbomTage LindbomTage Leonard Lindbom, who later in his life took the name Sidi Zayd, , PhD in Political science, who was early in his life the party theoretician and director of the archives of the Swedish Social Democratic Party 1938-1965, but later in his life he converted to Islam...
- Kurt AlmqvistKurt AlmqvistKurt Almqvist , PhD in Romance Languages, Swedish poet, intellectual and spiritual figure, representative of the Traditionalist School and the Perennial philosophy. Almqvist was a life-long disciple of the Swiss metaphysician and spiritual guide Frithjof Schuon. He came into close contact with the...
- Ivan AguéliIvan AguéliIvan Aguéli also named Sheikh 'Abd al-Hādī 'Aqīlī upon his acceptance of Islam, was a Swedish wandering Sufi, painter and author. As a devotee of Ibn Arabi, his metaphysics applied to the study of Islamic esoterism and its similarities with other esoteric traditions of the world...
- René GuénonRené GuénonRené Guénon , also known as Shaykh `Abd al-Wahid Yahya was a French author and intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from metaphysics, sacred science and traditional studies to symbolism and initiation.In his writings, he...
- Julius EvolaJulius EvolaBarone Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola also known as Julius Evola, was an Italian philosopher and esotericist...
- William StoddartWilliam StoddartWilliam Stoddart is a Scottish physician, author and "spiritual traveller", who has written several books on the philosophy of religions. He has been called a “master of synthesis” and is one of the important writers on the Perennial Philosophy in the present day. For many years he was assistant...
- Seyyed Hossein NasrSeyyed Hossein NasrSeyyed Hossein Nasr is an Iranian University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University, and a prominent Islamic philosopher...
- Whitall PerryWhitall PerryWhitall Nicholson Perry was born of old New England stock in Belmont, Massachusetts , on January 19, 1920. A quest for wisdom led him, as a young man, to travel out to the Far East...
- Perennialist school
- The Matheson TrustThe Matheson TrustThe Matheson Trust is an educational charity based in London dedicated to further and disseminate the study of comparative religion, especially from the point of view of the underlying harmony of the major religious and philosophical traditions of the world....