Mechthild von

Magdeburg
Circa 1207 – circa 1282
Mechthild von
Magdeburg
Circa 1207 – circa 1282

Mechthild von Magdeburg

c. 1208 - c. 1282
Mechthild von Magdeburg
• Germany in the mid-thirteenth century
• The Catholic Church In the mid-thirteenth century
• Biography
• Mechthild’s writings

Mechthild von Magdeburg

c. 1208 - c. 1282
 Germany in mid-
13th Century
• Henry VI is hereditary King of the
loosely-allied German principalities &
Holy Roman Emperor.
• Henry marries Constance, the heiress to
Norman-conquered Sicily, southern
Italy & northern Africa, making him and
later also their son, Frederick II King of
Sicily & Holy Roman Emperor, allied to
French Normans and the conquered
Italians.
• German Kings’ control over German
principalities is nominal. There are
frequent skirmishes among territories
vying for control of adjacent land and
their taxes. Trade and agriculture are
disrupted. Peasants and villagers suffer.

Mechthild von Magdeburg

c. 1208 - c. 1282
Magdeburg’s prominence
Center of trade and commerce Member of the Hanseatic League
• River port city, largest in
northern Germany at the time.
• Monasteries, convents and
churches date to before the 9th
century.
• Massive fire during Mechthild’s
childhood destroyed most of
the city.

Mechthild von Magdeburg

c. 1208 - c. 1282
The Church in Germany mid-13th century
Church organization
• Dioceses and parishes:
diocesan priests and priests of
religious orders.
• Nunneries/convents under
control of a bishop through the
framework of a religious order.
• Religious orders: Franciscan,
Benedictine, Dominican, Kloster unser
Cistercian. Lieben
Frauen
• Hermitages, cloisters, Founded
beguinages. 1015

Mechthild von Magdeburg

c. 1208 - c. 1282
13th century Beguinage (Bruges)

Mechthild von Magdeburg

c. 1208 - c. 1282
The Church in Germany mid-13th century
Beguinages
•. • Women of all social classes, not
belonging to a religious order
• Usually lived in self-governing,
financially-independent
communes on a voluntary basis.
• Led deeply religious lives of
poverty and chastity
• Nursed the sick, prepared dead for
burial, cared for widowed young
mothers, disabled and the elderly
by cooking, housework, weaving,
other menial work.
• 1260 Diocesan Synod restricted
Magdeburg beguinages.

Mechthild von Magdeburg

c. 1208 - c. 1282
The Church in Germany mid-13th century
Beguinages
•. • Women of all social classes, not
belonging to a religious order
• Usually lived in self-governing,
financially-independent
communes on a voluntary basis.
• Led deeply religious lives of
poverty and chastity
• Nursed the sick, prepared dead for
burial, cared for widowed young
mothers, disabled and the elderly
by cooking, housework, weaving,
other menial work.
• 1260 Diocesan Synod restricted
Magdeburg beguinages.

Mechthild von Magdeburg

c. 1208 - c. 1282
Biography
• From noble family, likely one
attached to a court outside
Magdeburg.
• Literate, knowledge of Low
German courtly literary works,
some Latin.
• At 12 began experiencing divine
contact.

Mechthild von Magdeburg c. 1208 -

c. 1282
Biography
• In her 20s became
a beguine.
• Began writing The
Flowing Light of the
Godhead in the
vernacular, rather
than in Latin.
• Moved to Helfta
under Gertrud of
Hackeborn.

Mechthild von Magdeburg c. 1208 -

c. 1282
Mysticism
• ‘mysticism’ would best be thought of as a constellation of
distinctive practices, discourses, texts, institutions,
traditions, and experiences aimed at human
transformation, not attainable through normal intuition,
contemplation or reflection, and either supra-sensory, or
sub-sensory.
• ‘unitive’ mystical experiences involve a union of the mystic
with some other reality: all that is, essential Being, divinity,
etc.
• ‘numinous’ experiences involve experience of divinity
without experiencing unity with the divinity
Mechthild von Magdeburg c. 1208 -
c. 1282
Kataphatic mysticism
• The essence of mysticism is the experienced union with divinity
as the Absolute from which comes an infused knowledge of
the absolute. This knowledge is not from experience of the
sensible world. And it is not revealed by Revelation. It is a
transcendental activity derived from love to experience an
invisible objective world that reaches beyond ordinary human
capability.
• In Kataphatic Mysticism the mystic goes beyond the mystical
experience to organize, categorize, understand -- make sense
of – explain under coherent logical principles of truth and
consistency the meaning or message of that experience. In
other words, the mystic subsequently attempts to
communicate the will of God.
Mechthild von Magdeburg c. 1208 -
c. 1282
Adjunct conditions of mystical
experience
physical psychological phenomenological
Stigmata Ecstasy –boundless joy Ineffability
Speaking in tongues Trance Divinity
Levitation Auditory hallucination (Voices) Rapturous Union – sexual or asexual
Hypoventilation Visual hallucination (Visions) dissociation
Cardioversion Disassociation Radiance
Deafness, muteness, blindness Memory loss Infused truth, knowledge,
Dyskinesia prophetic indicia
Absent sensoria
paralysis

Mechthild von Magdeburg c. 1208 -

c. 1282
• To achieve infused contemplation the mind must be
free from perceptions, judgements, and pre-conceived
ideas. Disengagement from intellectual perceptions
includes setting aside all aspects of intellectual activity
so the mystic can pass through the sensible realm to
reach the presence of the divine where the infused
knowledge of God is received. The mystic induces the
experience, intentionally or unintentionally through an
attitude of complete humility and passivity. This attitude
reduces the extent to which her human nature might
interfere with gaining knowledge of God’s will or with
accurately reporting messages imparted by the divinity.

Mechthild von Magdeburg c. 1208 -

c. 1282
Mysticism as Epistemology
• Mysticism as an epistemology does not rely upon nor is it
derived from the logic of argument. However, it is not
illogical/inconsistent with laws of logic.
• In logic, certainty is derived from the characteristics of
those statements that are necessarily or indubitably true.
In mysticism, certainty is derived from the characteristics of
personal experiences that are indubitably true.
• Mystical experience does not lead to illogical conclusions.
It is not a psychological abnormality, although it is a rarity.
The experience is psychologically irrefutable, certain.
(Think of Thomistic vs. Kierkegaardian accounts of faith)
Mechthild von Magdeburg c. 1208 -
c. 1282
The Text
Content
• Reporting of visions, not of
ecstatic experiences.
• Mechthild treats the visions as
imagery: raw material that she
has a duty to explain, interpret,
analyze.
• Carefully skirts around
theological issues so as to avoid
charges of false authority.
Style
• Use of vernacular to reach an
educated “lay” audience.
• Religious Genres: prayer, hymn,
sermon, liturgy, prophesy.
• Courtly Genres: allegory,
dialogue, love-poetry, bridal
poetry, minstrel’s song.
• Learned Genres: political rhyme
(nursery rhyme), polemic,
autobiography, epistolary,
directive

Mechthild von Magdeburg c. 1208 -

c. 1282
The Text
• Mechthild goes beyond • Mechthild’s knowledge is
reporting individual mystical for the most part not
experiences. infused. She is not given
• She concludes that the clear messages to relate to
meaning of these others. Her knowledge is
experiences is that she inspired. She has the
receives privileged responsibility for making
communication with divinity. sense of it, for grasping its
She has been charged to meaning.
think about various issues,
and to give her analysis and • She has been empowered
direction because it is to teach, to criticize.
divinely inspired.
Mechthild von Magdeburg c. 1208 -
c. 1282
The Text
The Soul’s love for God
• The soul complains: love for
God has cost it everything:
youth, friends, family, wealth,
health, honor, etc.
• But what is this “God” that the
soul loves?
• Creator & Ruler of the universe
• Omnipresent
• The epitome of love allegorized as
the Bridegroom
God’s Love for the Soul
• Yeah, but, God answers, look at
what you got in return: knowledge,
virtue, heaven, purification that
brings you closer to oneness with
God.
• God passionately desires unification
with all souls. This is not a deficiency
in God’s omnipotence, but an
opportunity for the soul to exercise
free will in coming to know God,
and in binding itself to God.

Mechthild von Magdeburg c. 1208 -

c. 1282
The Text
The Paradox: Freely Knowing
• God passionately • It is the recognition of the separation of self
desires unification from the divine that impels the self to seek
with all souls. This is the divine. It must freely pursue all ways of
not a deficiency of coming to know. The more one loves, the
God’s omnipotence, more one knows (because God reveals
but an opportunity more). The more one knows, the more one
for the soul to loves. The experience of God’s love must
exercise free will in be freely, willfully sought, not directly
coming to know inspired or illumined without being sought.
God, and in unfreely • The yearning for knowledge must be great,
binding itself to God. intense, brave, adventurous, risk-taking.
Mechthild von Magdeburg c. 1208 -
c. 1282
The Text
The Paradox: Unbound vs. Unfreely Bound
• God passionately • The terms Mechthild uses are “Unbounded”
desires unification and “Bound” love.
with all souls. This is • Love that is unbound is sensual/sensory
not a deficiency of love.
God’s omnipotence,
but an opportunity • Unbound love is malleable, wishy-washy,
for the soul to one can talk oneself into it and one can will
exercise free will in oneself out of it. Unbound love involves the
coming to know exercise of free will as that is informed by
God, and in unfreely the senses.
binding itself to God.

Mechthild von Magdeburg c. 1208 -

c. 1282
The Text
The Paradox: Unbound vs. Unfreely Bound
• God passionately • Mechthild uses the term “Bound” love to
desires unification refer to love that transcends sensual,
with all souls. This is sensory love.
not a deficiency of • Bound love is the no-holds-barred search of
God’s omnipotence, the soul for the voice of God, for God’s
but an opportunity enlightenment of the mind, for the will of
for the soul to God, whatever that search might require. It
involves the complete suspension of the
exercise free will in exercise of free will in a self-annihilating yet
coming to know self-fulfilling surrender. Being bound to God
God, and in unfreely through love is possible only with unbridled,
binding itself to God. absolute trust in God.

Mechthild von Magdeburg

c. 1208 - c. 1282
The Text
Another Paradox: Unification via Estrangement
• Mechthild passionately • Mechthild engages here in a Cartesian-like
desires unification with exercise of profound doubt.
God and God with her.
But in Books 4 & 5 she • The search for unification with God involves
asks God to show his the complete suspension of the bodily
love for her by cutting experience of unification. Only through an
her off from all contact annihilation of the self and its interest in
with him. She wants to ecstatic experience of divinity can she
be left in purgatory, come to union. The body is a tool, but it is
then in hell, then also an obstacle. Being bound to God
beneath the devil’s through love is possible only with unbridled,
tail. How does this help absolute trust in God. And trust begins with
bind her to God? doubt.

Mechthild von Magdeburg

c. 1208 - c. 1282
The Text
Another Paradox: Unification via Estrangement
• Why does trust begin • Mechthild’s descent into hell creates for her
with doubt? a Cartesian-like experience of profound
doubt.
• How does sinking into
hell bring her closer • Has God truly forsaken her? It appears so.
Pain and agony assail her body and soul.
to heaven?
• All evidence, all experience points to her
abandonment by the God she believed
loved her.
• But there is one thing she cannot doubt:
the persistent memories of contact with
God.

Mechthild von Magdeburg

c. 1208 - c. 1282
The Text
What has she learned? Unification via Estrangement
• That sinking into hell • Mechthild doesn’t complete her book until
after her retirement to Helfta. There, she submits
brings her closer to to the rule of Gertrud of Hackeborn.
heaven. • She lives amongst women who are far more
educated, more erudite than she.
• She must die, body
and soul, but more • She is ill, blind, totally dependent upon the
caring of others and totally unable to
importantly, she first reciprocate other than by humbly accepting
must be reduced to her personal degradation.
a state of true abject • She understands now that this is the true
meaning of her estrangement from God.
humility to the point
• She must die, give it all up, truly surrender. As
of total degradation. soon as she finishes the final chapter of FL.

Mechthild von Magdeburg

c. 1208 - c. 1282
Mechthild von
Magdeburg
Circa 1207 – circa 1282

Mechthild von Magdeburg

c. 1208 - c. 1282