The Bride of the Holy Trinity: The Role of Mary in Mechthild of Magdeburg's Mystical Theology
Church History: Studies in Christianity and Culture June 1, 2022 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1017/s0009640722001354 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
The Virgin Mary appears as a spiritual teacher in Mechthild of Magdeburg's thirteenth-century mystical text, The Flowing Light of the Godhead, actively guiding the narrator into higher mystical states. While Mary also fills traditional roles, Mechthild adapts these to support her own vision of the contemplative life. Mary thus serves as a model for religious experience and authorizes Mechthild's contemplative ideals, adding to the understanding of late medieval women's religious writing.
Study at a glance
| Design | historical analysis |
|---|---|
| Key finding | In Mechthild of Magdeburg's The Flowing Light of the Godhead, the Virgin Mary is depicted as a spiritual teacher who actively draws the narrator into higher forms of the mystical life, authorizing and sanctioning Mechthild's contemplative ideals. |
Abstract
This article adds to our understanding of late medieval women's religious writing by examining the role of the Virgin Mary in Mechthild of Magdeburg's thirteenth-century mystical text The Flowing Light of the Godhead (Das fließende Licht der Gottheit). The Virgin Mary was ubiquitous in late medieval religious writing, but she played different roles and modeled different ways of life, reflecting the particular aims of individual authors. In Mechthild's text, Mary is depicted as a spiritual teacher who actively draws the narrator into higher forms of the mystical life. Mechthild also portrays the Virgin in several traditional roles, adapting each of these roles to support her particular vision of the mystical life. Mary thus functions as a model for religious experience in The Flowing Light, while also authorizing and sanctioning Mechthild's contemplative ideals.