The Power of Spirituality in the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age: From the Medieval Mystic Hildegard of Bingen to Jacob Böhme and Johann Scheffler (Angelus Silesius): Messages from the Past for our Future?

Throughout time, individuals have been graced with spiritual visions, and they themselves have subsequently exerted tremendous influence on their society as authority figures because of their unique religious experiences. Medieval mysticism was one of those moments, and despite the growing discomfor...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Classen, Albrecht 1956- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Peeters [2020]
In: Studies in spirituality
Year: 2020, Volume: 30, Pages: 115-144
IxTheo Classification:CB Christian life; spirituality
KAE Church history 900-1300; high Middle Ages
KAG Church history 1500-1648; Reformation; humanism; Renaissance
KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
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Summary:Throughout time, individuals have been graced with spiritual visions, and they themselves have subsequently exerted tremendous influence on their society as authority figures because of their unique religious experiences. Medieval mysticism was one of those moments, and despite the growing discomfort by the Church, mystics appeared also in the late Middle Ages and early modern time. Indeed, when we consider the voices of Jacob Böhme, Sebastian Frank, Valentin Weigel, and Johann Scheffler, among many others, this movement grew considerably in new ways, and this despite various political efforts by the authorities to repress it. In fact, modern theology and philosophy cannot be understood without direct references to those medieval and early-modern spiritualists, whether we think of Arthur Schopenhauer, Martin Heidegger, Carl Gustav Jung, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Karl Barth. This article will examine the significance especially of Hildegard, Böhme, and Scheffler for the history of spirituality until today, each representing a major milestone in the high Middle Ages, in the age of Reformation, and in the Baroque period.
ISSN:0926-6453
Contains:Enthalten in: Studies in spirituality
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.2143/SIS.30.0.3288716