Medieval mysticism has its origins, among other things, in the theology of Augustine and in monastic piety. Saint BERNARD OF CLERVOSKY (died 1153) was the first in the Middle Ages to formalize mysticism as a kind of theological trend. The starting point of his theology is the man Jesus as Lord and King. Reflection on the earthly life of Christ, especially on His suffering, is the center of Bernard's mysticism. It is primarily based on the theme “Jesus as the bridegroom of the soul”, which is set in the context of the Song of Songs. Among the early scholastics, the mystical trend was continued primarily by HUGO AND RICHARD SAINT VICTORIAN. They clothed mystical ideas in the form of a scientific theological presentation.
Mysticism and scholasticism are often viewed as opposites, which, however, does not correspond to their relationship in reality. Mysticism was not alien to the theology of scholasticism, and the latter to mysticism. Some of the scholastics were pronounced dialecticians, such as Abelard and Dune Scotus, while others combined scholastic theology and mysticism in their work. Representatives of the Saint Victor School have already been mentioned. Another example of this is FOMA AQUINSKY. In his theological work, he expressed the experience and moods of mysticism. In scholastic thinking there are elements akin to mysticism. Franciscan theology speaks of the knowledge of God as the direct enlightenment of the soul; Thomas views the contemplation of the divine as the attainment of the pinnacle of theology ("visio beatifica") and considers science a preparatory stage for such contemplation. Scholastic writings were often based on mystical thinking. Thomas Aquinas once said that he learned more through the contemplation of the cross of Christ than through the study of scientific works. As mentioned earlier, BONAVENTURA was the Franciscan theologian who to a large extent combined mysticism and scholasticism in his work.
During the late Middle Ages, mystical piety was promoted by some common features of the culture of the time. Interest in the person is growing. There is a need for a personal, experienced Christianity. Individual experience is emphasized, which was not common in classical medieval culture. In connection with the expansion of education, the influence and religious activity of the laity is growing.
In the mysticism of the late Middle Ages, the direction prevails, which, due to its sphere of distribution, is usually called German mysticism. In upper and western Germany, a movement arose that called itself "die Gottesfreunde". The leading authors of German mysticism belonged to his circle. They usually came from the Dominican school and in some respects were associated with the theology of Thomas Aquinas.
A characteristic feature of this mysticism was the restriction of the scope of theology in relation to scholastic sums. The subject of consideration is, first of all, the following points: the doctrine of God, the doctrine of angels and the essence of the human soul, as well as the content of the Sacraments and liturgical actions.
The theologian who first of all gave originality to the mysticism of the late Middle Ages was MEISTER EKHART OF HOCHHEIM (d. 1327; taught in Paris, Strasbourg and Cologne). Among his pupils, JOHANN TOWLER (d. 1361; performed primarily as a preacher in Strasbourg, Cologne and Basel) stands out, who was also highly respected among Protestants. To this group belong HEINRICH SUZO (d. 1366) and the Fleming Jan VAN REISBRUK (d. 1381). The work of an unknown author "Theologia deutsch" also appeared in the circle of "friends of God".
Meister Eckhart is connected in his theology with Thomas Aquinas, but also combines the content of the Christian tradition with neo-Platonic mysticism. Along with Latin, he used German. Soon after his death, 28 positions of his teaching were declared heretical. In this regard, his name was not widely known to theologians until the 19th century, when the era of romanticism brought Eckhart to the fore among the mystics. German idealism also borrowed some of his main ideas in a modified form. Eckhart's views had some influence in the philosophy of the outgoing Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Similar ideas can be found primarily in the works of the famous philosopher Nikolai Kuzansky (d. 1464).
For Meister Eckhart, God is absolute Oneness beyond the diversity of the created world and even beyond the Trinity. The emergence of the world is described as either creation or emanation. There is an absolute gap between God and creation. Only the human soul takes an intermediate position. It contains the inner divine core of essence, the foundation of the soul, or the spark of the soul, the "scintilla animae". This foundation of the soul, identical to the One, is the place where God is born in the soul. Meister Eckhart identifies God and being, a pantheistic trait that is, however, opposed by the aforementioned distinction between God and creation.
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Christ is a type for the union of God and man. Thus, He is an example for all believers. The center is not the cross and the resurrection, but the incarnation in which this union manifested itself.
Salvation consists in the fact that man, through dying to the world and immersion in himself, unites with the divine. It goes through three stages: purification, enlightenment and connection.
The first stage, purification, consists in repentance and the withering away of the sinful ego, in the struggle against sensuality.
The second stage, enlightenment, consists in imitation of the obedience and humility of Christ, the main means for which are the contemplation of the sufferings of Christ, the abandonment of one's own will and entry into the will of God. It would be a mistake to perceive the ideal of mysticism as pure passivity. The union of God and human will can also take place in an active life. We need to wish for good and do good that God wants, and turn away from the evil that comes from ourselves. Love for one's neighbor is the highest form of love for God. Meister Eckhart writes: “If someone were in the same rapture as the apostle Paul once, and learned about a sick person who needs a bowl of soup from him, I think it would be much better for you to leave the love of admiration and serve God in greater love. " But above all, suffering contributes to the dying of the ego. The same author says:"The fastest animal that will bring you to perfection is suffering." Contemplation is often associated with the painful mortification of the flesh, many examples of which are given by another of the aforementioned mystics, Heinrich Suso.
The third and highest stage, the union of the soul with God, occurs when a person is freed from the created world and its attractions, as well as from himself. Christ is born in the soul. Man wants what God wants and becomes one essence with Him. Sometimes this connection is experienced as ecstasy or visions follow, which become the pinnacles in the life of a godly person. While, according to Thomas Aquinas, the contemplation of God belongs to eternity, mysticism seeks the perfect experience of the divine already here, in time.
According to German mysticism, God is One, the only reality. “Being is God,” says Meister Eckhart. How should a person imagine creation in accordance with such a monistic understanding? If God is the only reality, then created things are nothing. But after all, they came from God. Should they also be ascribed to them a certain reality, along with the reality of God? Mysticism responds by saying that things in the world have no reality outside of God. They are like rays of light, which are nothing without a source of light. They relate to God as light to fire. Therefore, we can say that the creation came from God, but still it is nothing.
The goal of man is to get away from the world and even from himself in order to find the perfect, that is, to ascend into the One, to unite with God Himself and thereby achieve the only true reality. Man himself belongs to the creation, which is nothing, he is under the rule of evil. His alienation in relation to God is caused primarily by his own will, which is separated from the will of God. Salvation consists in reuniting with the divine and has the three aforementioned stages: purification, enlightenment and union.
The form of mysticism, with which we meet in Meister Eckhart, has other features than the mysticism of Bernard: it is less connected with the content of Christian teaching and in it the influence of the ideas of Neoplatonism is stronger. The “mystical union” as the goal of the godly man is emphasized more than in the writings of Bernard. Eckhart's mysticism is largely built on general philosophical ideas, while at the center of Bernard's mysticism is a prayerful reflection on the life of Christ.
Other authors related to "German mysticism" were definitely influenced by Eckhart, but as a rule they are closer to the tradition of church teaching than he. This is especially the case for Tauler and Theologia deutsch.
Johann Tauler's legacy consists of his sermons, widespread even in Protestant regions. Towler is more practical and closer to the people than Eckhart. He often had purely evangelical ideas and was highly regarded by Luther. Nevertheless, he is a typical mystic and speaks of the divine foundation of the human soul, and also often
Another source that was of great importance to Luther is the seemingly unremarkable work Theologia deutsch. It was first published in 1516 by Luther and was generally the first book that Luther put to print. In the preface to a later edition, he says that "after the Bible and St. Augustine, I have not come across any other book from which I have learned and would like to learn more." The manuscript printed by Luther has been lost, but another version of the same work was found in the last century under the title Der Frankforter. Tauler was the author, according to Luther, but the new find shows that this is not true. The author is unknown, he belonged to the "die Gottesfreunde" circle, and the work probably appeared at the end of the 14th century. The book tells about perfect good, that is, about union with God and about the path leading to this.
Another well-known and most widespread work of mysticism of the late Middle Ages is "De imitatione Christi" by Thomas Kempisky, dating back to the beginning of the 15th century. Its author was first a teacher at the famous monastery school in Deventer in Holland, but spent most of his life as a monk and writer in a German Augustinian monastery. The mentioned work is one of the most widespread in the entire world literature. Three thousand publications are known. The book was published without an indication of the author, and the question of authorship remained controversial for a long time.
From the book: "HISTORY OF THEOLOGY". BENGT HEGGLUND