Gerlac Peterssen (known as Gerlacus Petri) (1377 or 1378 in

Deventer Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...

– 18 November 1411) was a Dutch mystic. He entered the Institution of the Brethren of Common Life, and devoted his time to

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

, transcription of manuscripts, education, and prayer. He became connected with many illustrious contemplative men, e.g.,

John of Ruysbroeck John van Ruysbroeck, original Flemish name Jan van Ruusbroec () (1293 or 1294 – 2 December 1381) was an Augustinian canon and one of the most important of the Flemish mystics. Some of his main literary works include ''The Kingdom of the Divi ...

Florence Radewyns Floris Radewyns (or Latinized Florentius Radwyn) (c. 1350 – 24 March 1400) was the co-founder of the Brethren of the Common Life. Life Floris was born at Leerdam, near Utrecht, about 1350. He passed a brilliant university course and took his ...

Henry of Kalkar Henry of Kalkar, otherwise Heinrich Eger (or Egher) of Kalkar (1328 – 20 December 1408), was a Carthusian theological writer. Life Henry was born at Kalkar in the Duchy of Cleves. He began his studies at Cologne, and completed them at Paris, ...

, Gerard of Zutphen, Thomas à Kempis, John a Kempis and Johann Vos of Huesden. When Radewyns founded a monastery of regular canons at Windesheim, in 1386, Gerlac followed him, and remained there till 1403 as a simple clerk; he had no other employment than that of a sexton. He has been called another Kempis, and several critics have ascribed to Kempis words or theories which belong to Gerlac. Gerlac left his brethren to come back to his cell, where, as he said, "somebody was waiting for him". It has been maintained that ''The Imitation of Christ'' by Thomas à Kempis reproduced several ideas and the general spirit of Gerlac's ascetic works. In fact, Kempis inserted into the work, which he wrote in 1441, the passage of the ''Soliloquies'' where Gerlac says that he would feel no pain, if necessary for the greater glory of God, to be in hell for ever. This passage is an interpolation, which was soon deleted from the ''Imitation''. The difference between the ascetic theories of Gerlac and those of the author of the ''Imitation'' are numerous and deep enough to make any similarities apparent.

Works

*"Breviloquium de accidentiis exterioribus" (before 1403) *"De libertate spiritus" *"Soliloquium cum Deo ignitum" (Cologne, 1616; Flemish translation, 1623; French, 1667; Italian 1674; Spanish, 1686).

References

* Fabricius, Bibl. m. œ., V (1736), 770 *

Johannes Franciscus Foppens Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as "John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, ''Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' Yeh ...

, Bibl. Belgica, I (1739), 364 * Graesse, Trésor (1862), III, 58 *

Jean-Noël Paquot Jean-Noël Paquot (1722–1803) was a Belgian theologian, historian, Hebrew scholar and bibliographer. Life Paquot was born in Florennes in 1722. In 1738 he enrolled at the University of Louvain, graduating Licentiate of Theology in 1751. Fro ...

, Hist. litt. Pays-Bas, XVIII (1770), 35–36. {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Gerlac 1370s births 1411 deaths 14th-century Christian mystics 15th-century Christian mystics People from Deventer Dutch Christian religious leaders Dutch non-fiction writers Roman Catholic mystics