Mystical Anthropology ─ Authors from the Low Countries

Crucial for the correct understanding of mystical literature is the specific view of the mystical authors of the Low Countries on the ‘structure’ of the human person, which is fundamentally different from the anthropology which is commonly accepted since the late medieval/early modern period. This book explores the most important mystical authors and texts from the Low Countries including: William of Saint-Thierry, Hadewijch, Beatrice of Nazareth, Margaret Porete, Jan van Ruusbroec, Jan van Leeuwen, Willem Jordaens, Hendrik Herp, Arnhem Mystical Sermons, Evangelical Pearl. The most important aspects of mystical anthropology are discussed: the spiritual nature of the soul, the inner-most being of the soul, the faculties, the senses, and crucial metaphors which were used to explain the relationship of God and the human person. Two contributions explicitly connect the anthropology of the mystics to contemporary thought. This book offers a solid and yet accessible overview for those interested in theology, philosophy, history, medieval literature.

Rob Faesen is Professor at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven (Research Unit History of Church and Theology) and at the University of Antwerp (Ruusbroecgenootschap). His research focuses on the history of the Middle Dutch mystical literature. He was a member of the editorial team that prepared the critical edition of John of Ruusbroeca€?s Opera omnia, published in the Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis series (Turnhout, Brepols). In 2008, he published Late Medieval Mysticism of the Low Countries in collaboration with Rik Van Nieuwenhove and Helen Rolfson, in the Classics of Western Spirituality series (New York, Paulist Press). He recently co-edited the forthcoming Companion to Ruusbroec (Leiden, Brill).He holds the Jesuitica Chair at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies.