School of thought

Medieval Mysticism

Tradition

Classification

Period: c. 1141-1500 CE
Regions: Europe (origin)
Domains: Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Religion

Overview

Medieval Christian mysticism sought direct experiential union with God, going beyond the rational theology of Scholasticism. Thinkers like Meister Eckhart and Julian of Norwich, and before them the precursor Pseudo-Dionysius, explored the via negativa (knowing God by what God is not), the practice of radical detachment, and the transformation of the soul through divine love.

Key ideas

Via Negativa: God transcends all human concepts. We approach the divine not by affirming attributes but by denying that any of our concepts adequately applies to God, entering the 'divine darkness.'
Gelassenheit (Releasement): Eckhart's key concept: letting go of self-will, attachments, and even the desire for God — creating an inner emptiness in which the divine can be born in the soul.
Unio Mystica: The ultimate goal: mystical union with God in which the distinction between the soul and the divine dissolves — 'The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me.'

Key figures

Meister Eckhart · Hildegard of Bingen · Julian of Norwich · The Cloud of Unknowing author · Pseudo-Dionysius (precursor, c. 500) · John of the Cross (successor, 16th c.)

Positions held

Mystical Knowledge

Influenced by

Neoplatonism
Patristics
Sufism
Direct borrowing is documented for Ramon Llull, who wrote that his Book of the Lover and the Beloved followed the manner of the Sufis.
Uncertain: Wider claims of Sufi influence on Christian mystics such as John of the Cross go back to Asín Palacios and remain debated.

References

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Meister Eckhart
Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias (1141–51), the earliest listed member's work and the start date used here
Hildegard of Bingen, Scivias, Opening Declaration (1141–51) — Formation: Hildegard began the Scivias under Abbot Cuno of Disibodenberg, in the German Rhineland.
Bernard McGinn, The Foundations of Mysticism (Crossroad, 1991)
Ramon Llull, Blanquerna (c. 1283), Book V, prologue to the Book of the Lover and the Beloved (the book composed in the manner of the Sufis)
Miguel Asín Palacios, El Islam cristianizado: estudio del 'sufismo' a través de las obras de Abenarabi de Murcia (Madrid, 1931)
Meister Eckhart: Selected Writings — Meister Eckhart (trans. Oliver Davies)
Revelations of Divine Love — Julian of Norwich