The Great German Mystics

The remarkable mystic movement of fourteenth-century Germany produced three major writers — Eckhart, Tauler, and Suso — as well as a wide audience for their voluminous works. This survey chronicles the authors' lives, critiques their works, and discusses their influence on the development of Christian spiritual expression along with that of their contemporaries, the Friends of God and the Franciscan Friars. These works appeared at a time of crisis, unfolding against a background of calamities ranging from violent upheavals in church and state to a series of natural disasters, including pestilence, famine, earthquakes, and floods. Confronted with the insecurity of human life, readers turned to Eckhart and his contemporaries for answers. Written in the vernacular rather than Latin, these sermons, tracts, and anecdotes provided solace in troubled times, and they remain a touchstone for studies in comparative religion. This introduction to the flowering of medieval mysticism forms a perfect entrée for students and lay readers alike.