Women Mystics in Medieval Europe

by Emilie Zum Brunn, Georgette Epiney-Burgard

Women Mystics in Medieval Europe revives the exquisite mystical literature of five powerful mystics of the Middle a Benedictine abbess, a Cistercian prioress, and three Beguines. The lost story of feminine Christianity is here enriched for the first time by the historical context of each woman’s life and her fresh literary expression of spiritual reality. Hildegard of Bingen, Hadewijch of Antwerp, Beatrice of Nazareth, Mechthild of Magdeburg, and Marguerite Porete were acknowledged handmaidens of God’s prophetic spirit. Their teaching, solidly based in theological and metaphysical culture, was even thought superior to that of the scholastic doctors of the time. “Flowing Light of the Godhead,” “The Seven Manners of Love,” and “The Mirror of Simple Annihilated Souls,” written in the vernacular, foreshadowed the works of Meister Eckhart. Ruysbroeck the Admirable, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, and many other mystics. In the, clear, vigorous language of these long-suppressed works, readers of today can rediscover the primacy of love and imagination over pure intellect. Women Mystics in Medieval Europe is an important work of reference for Christians and spiritual seekers as well as an inspirational resource for those who aspire to “see without an intermediary what God is.”

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Mysticism, History, Womens, Theology, Christianity

278 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 1989

Reviews

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I have forgotten how I found this book. I know, for some reason, I was interested in the mystic Hadewijch, and I've even forgotten why I was interested in her. Anyway, how we got here isn't important (it almost never is); what is important is how much I surprisingly liked reading about these women, especially Hadewijch. Hadewijch just says a lot of sensible stuff, actually. A lot of the mystics do. They were also much more Buddhist in sensibility than anyone has pointed out. Compassion, suffering, and acceptance of the human condition were all matters they deeply reflected on. If I lived in Medieval Europe, I also would have gone to a nunnery mostly because the smells of every place else would have been horribly overwhelming for my autistic brain. I also think that, as an astrologer, it was nice to hear women write about love, light, and existence in a way that wasn't New Age. I can't even tell you how much I needed this weirdly. But don't worry, I won't become a mystic, even though if anyone should, it should be me.

[Robert Cowlishaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Treasury of Forgotten Wisdom

Christianity today needs to rediscover it’s heart and soul. Throughout this book, I discovered a wisdom hidden within words, but released in this volume. An important read for those drawn to the spirituality of love.

[Giovanni Generoso · Rating 5 out of 5]

These women mystics are explosive. Marguerite Porete and her Mirror of Simple Annihilated Souls is simply splendid. I find her writings more devotionally inspiring than any of the evangelical piety I was fed my whole upbringing.