German mysticism, sometimes called Dominican
mysticism or Rhineland mysticism, was a late
medieval Christian mystical movement that
was especially prominent within the Dominican
order and in Germany.
Although its origins can be traced back to
Hildegard of Bingen, it is mostly represented
by Meister Eckhart, Johannes Tauler, and Henry
Suso.
Other notable figures include Rulman Merswin
and Margaretha Ebner, and the Friends of God.
This movement often seems to stand in stark
contrast with scholasticism and German Theology,
but the relationship between scholasticism
and German mysticism is debated.
Viewed as a predecessor of the reformation,
the contrast becomes very apparent.
For example, the use of an approachable vernacular
stands in stark contrast to the constrained
Latin of the Scholastics, the increased focus
on the laity stands in contrast to the more
deeply sacramental understanding of the Church,
and these elements are both taken up and transformed
in the writings of Martin Luther.
German mysticism can also be viewed as a practical
application of Scholasticism.
Though Meister Eckhart is most well known
for his popular German sermons, he also wrote
a lengthy philosophical exposition of the
same teachings in Latin.
Some scholars have read him as a rather orthodox
Thomist, seeing his mysticism as flowing naturally
from established teachings through Eckhart's
own idiosyncrasies and exaggerations.
Some of the movement's characteristics:
A focus on laymen as well as clerics
An emphasis on instruction and preaching
Downplaying ascetism
A focus on the New Testament rather than the
Old Testament
A focus on the Christ rather than the Church
A use of the vernacular (German and Dutch)
rather than Latin or HebrewSome in the movement
came under criticism by the Church for heterodox
or heretical opinions.
It influenced the following Protestant Reformation,
as well as philosophers such as Schopenhauer
and Wittgenstein.
== See also ==
Ariosophy, a völkisch movement originating
in the late 19th century, inspired in part
by the Rhineland mystics but also by Germanic
paganism and Theosophy
Jakob Böhme, a later Lutheran mystic
Catharism
Christian mystics
Henry Denifle, a 19th-century Austrian scholar
who devoted much work to the German mystics
Doctrines of Meister Eckhart
Nicholas of Cusa
Paracelsus
Theologia Germanica, an anonymous text associated
with the Friends of God
Waldensians
== External links ==
The New Mysticism
Relationship with protestantism
Meister Eckhart & the German Dominican Mystics
of the 14th Century
Jacob Boehme Online
Carl Welkisch
