Content

The unit addresses the subject of medieval Christian mysticism [1100‐1600] in Europe through the study of primary sources using significant authors from various linguistic traditions. It aims to provide students with an understanding of common characteristics of mystical texts as well individual differences related to different historical contexts. The unit will help students reflect meditatively upon selected material and will invite them to relate the study of Christian mysticism to their own personal contexts and their spiritual formation.

Unit code: CH9181J

Unit status: Archived (New unit)

Points: 24.0

Unit level: Postgraduate Elective

Unit discipline: Church History

Delivery Mode: Face to Face

Proposing College: Jesuit College of Spirituality

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Learning outcomes

1.

Articulate a detailed knowledge of the history, content and context of selected mystical texts

2.

Demonstrate a knowledge of the defining characteristics of mystical texts and individual differences between authors and their historical contexts

3.

Research, analyse, critically interpret and develop a sustained argument on selected mystical texts

4.

Critically reflect on medieval mysticism in dialogue with contemporary theology and spirituality

5.

Critically reflect on the relevance of medieval mystical texts in the light of their own spiritual journey and spiritual formation.

Unit sequence

Prohibited combinations Only one of these codes is valid DS9181J/ DS9189J CH9181J/ CH9189J

old code: DS9124J

Pedagogy

Lectures, seminars, tutorials, facilitated interaction in small groups.

Indicative Bibliography

  • Engen, John Van. Sisters and Brothers of the Common Life. The Devotio Moderna and the World of the Later Middle Ages. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008.
  • Faesen, Rob. “What is a Mystical Experience? History and Interpretation.” Louvain Studies 23 (1999): 221‐245.
  • Guigo II. The Ladder of Monks: A Letter on the Contemplative Life and Twelve Meditations. Translated by James Walsh and Edmund Colledge. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1981.
  • Hadewijch. The Complete Works. Translated by Columbia Hart. The Classics of Western Spirituality. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1980.
  • Jan van Ruusbroec. Boecsken der verclaringhe / Little Book of Enlightenment. Edited by Guido de Baere. Translated by Phayre Crowley and Helen Rolfson. Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis 101. Tielt and Turnhout: Lannoo and Brepols, 1989.
  • Leclercq, Jean. The Love of Learning and the Desire for God. A Study in Monastic Culture. Translated by Catharine Misrahi. New York: Fordham University Press, 1961.
  • Late Medieval Mysticism of the Low Countries. Edited by Rik Van Nieuwenhove, Robert Faesen and Helen Rolfson. The Classics of Western Spirituality. New York, and Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2008.
  • Lubac, Henri de. Medieval Exegesis. The Four Senses of Scripture. Vol. 1. Translated by Marc Sebanc. Grand Rapids, MI and Edinburgh: William B. Eerdmans and T&T Clark, 1998; and Lubac, Henri de. Medieval Exegesis. The Four Senses of Scripture. Vol. 2. Translated by E. M. Macierowski. Grand Rapids, MI and Edinburgh: William B. Eerdmans and T&T Clark, 2000.
  • McGinn, Bernard. The Presence of God. A History of Western Christian Mysticism. 5 vols. New York: Crossroad, 1991‐2012.
  • McGinn, Bernard, John Meyendorff, and Jean Leclerq, eds, Christian Spirituality. Origins to the twelfth century. World Spirituality 16. An Encyclopaedic History of the Religious Quest. New York: Crossroad, 1985.
  • O’Walshe, Maurice, and Bernard McGinn, The Complete Mystical Works of Meister Eckhart. New York: Crossroad, 2010.
  • Raitt, Jill, ed. Christian Spirituality: High Middle Ages and Reformation. World Spirituality 17. An Encyclopaedic History of the Religious Quest. New York: Crossroad, 1987.

For translations of other authors, please use the Classics of Western Spirituality Series, unless otherwise advised by the lecturer.

Assessment

Type Description Word count Weight (%)
Essay

1000 word reflection

0 20.0
Essay

5000 word essay

0 80.0
Approvals

Unit approved for the University of Divinity by John Capper on 1 Nov, 2016

Unit record last updated: 2022-10-04 12:03:13 +1100