The Rhineland Mystics

The work of the great Rhineland mystics of the fourteenth century speaks to the modern reader with astonishing directness and clarity. In their emphasis on the personal, inward experience of God and their questioning of the formal, ritualistic side of religion, Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, and Jan van Ruusbroec appear almost as contemporaries. This impression is heightened by vivid new translations by Oliver Davies, who also sets the Rhineland mystics in their historical and cultural context and examines why we seem to have a special sensitivity to their voice in spite of a gap of over six hundred years.

Language : English.

The work of the great Rhineland mystics of the fourteenth century speaks to the modern reader with astonishing directness and clarity. In their emphasis on the personal, inward experience of God and their questioning of the formal, ritualistic side of religion, Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, and Jan van Ruusbroec appear almost as contemporaries. This impression is heightened by vivid new translations by Oliver Davies, who also sets the Rhineland mystics in their historical and cultural context and examines why we seem to have a special sensitivity to their voice in spite of a gap of over six hundred years.

This masterpiece provides simple insights into where the ethics, virtues and spirituality of Europe originated. From Ancient Mesopotamia to the wisdom of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the mysticism of the Rhine was a fusion of the greatest teachings which was influenced by Oriental, Hellenistic, Hermetic, Celtic, Vedic, and Gnostic spirituality of the East and the secret lodges of Europe. Germanic Spirituality was profoundly affected by the Rhineland Mystics such as Meister Eckhart and others. The book then explains how the renaissance in Central Europe passed the torch of spirituality and philosophy to the great secret lodges of Europe which brought it to the rest of the world. This book is designed to allow the reader to go back into history and see where the virtues, ethics and philosophy of modern mysticism comes from which has impacted anyone who studies spirituality, philosophy, and metaphysics today.

This history not only serves to acquaint us with the origins and development of Christian spirituality, but, equally importantly in the author's view, projects into our contemporary world the lives and teachings of men and women who have reached a high degree of sanctity through the ages. His study is Catholic in both senses of the word. He has concentrated his attention on the history of spirituality in the Roman Catholic Church; and he has taken a comprehensive view of the full range of forms of that Catholic tradition, including -- so that we can learn from the mistakes of the past -- the heterodox tendencies and movements that have arisen from time to time.

"Ursula King's Christian Mystics offers a distinctive perspective on spirituality. The author presents the Christian mystical tradition through short biographies of its great figures, biographies which are highly readable without oversimplifying the ideas of these great figures. This is an outstanding entryway into the rich and deep world of Christian mysticism, recommended for readers of all backgrounds." - Michael Sells (Professor of Comparative Religions, Haverford College).