Mechthild (or Mechtild, Matilda, Matelda) of Magdeburg (c. 1207 – c. 1282/1294), a
Beguine
The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take forma ...
, was a Christian
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
mystic, whose book ''Das fließende Licht der Gottheit'' (''The Flowing Light of Divinity'') is a compendium of visions, prayers, dialogues and mystical accounts. She was the first mystic to write in German.
Life
Definite biographical information about Mechthild is scarce; what is known of her life comes largely from scattered hints in her work. She was born into a noble
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
family. She had her first vision of the
Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
at the age of twelve.
[''Flowing Light'' 4.2.] In 1230 she left her home and “renounced worldly honour and worldly riches” to become a Beguine at
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...
.
There, like
Hadewijch of Antwerp, she seems to have exercised a position of authority in a Beguine community. In Magdeburg she became acquainted with the
Dominicans and became a Dominican tertiary.
[Ghezzi, Bert. ''Voices of the Saints'', Loyola Press]
It seems clear that she read many of the Dominican writers. It was her Dominican confessor, Henry of Halle, who encouraged and helped Mechthild to compose ''The Flowing Light''.
Her criticism of church dignitaries and her claims to theological insight aroused so much opposition that some called for the burning of her writings. With advancing age, she was not only isolated and the object of extensive criticism, but she also became blind. Around 1272, she joined the Cistercian nunnery at Helfta, near
Eisleben
Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as both the hometown of the influential theologian Martin Luther and the place where he died; hence, its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. First mentioned in the late 10th century, E ...
, which offered her protection and support in the final years of her life. Here, she finished writing down the contents of the many divine revelations she claims to have experienced. It is unclear whether she actually formally joined the Cistercian community or whether she simply resided there and participated in the religious services without taking Cistercian monastic vows. The nuns of Helfta were highly educated and important works of mysticism survive from Mechthild's younger contemporaries, St
Mechthild of Hackeborn
Mechtilde of Hackeborn, also known as Mechtilde of Helfta (1240/1241 – 19 November 1298), was a Saxon Christian saint (from what is now Germany) and a Benedictine nun. She was famous for her musical talents, gifted with a beautiful voic ...
and St
Gertrude the Great
Gertrude the Great, OSB (or Saint Gertrude of Helfta; it, Santa Gertrude, german: Gertrud die Große von Helfta, la, Sancta Gertrudis; January 6, 1256 – November 17, 1302) was a German Benedictine nun and mystic. She is recognized as a saint ...
.
It is unclear when Mechthild died. 1282 is a commonly cited date, but some scholars believe she lived into the 1290s.
Composition
Mechthild's book is written in the
Middle Low German
Middle Low German or Middle Saxon (autonym: ''Sassisch'', i.e. " Saxon", Standard High German: ', Modern Dutch: ') is a developmental stage of Low German. It developed from the Old Saxon language in the Middle Ages and has been documented i ...
that was spoken in the region of Magdeburg at the time. It includes phrases in Latin.
Works
Mechthild's writings comprise the seven books of ''Das fließende Licht der Gottheit'' (''The Flowing Light of Divinity''), which was composed between 1250 and 1280. There appear to have been three stages in the evolution of the work. The first five books were finished by about 1260. During the next decade Mechthild added a sixth book. After joining the community of
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
nuns at Helfta around 1272, she added a seventh book, rather different in tone from the previous six.
''The Flowing Light'' was originally written in
Middle Low German
Middle Low German or Middle Saxon (autonym: ''Sassisch'', i.e. " Saxon", Standard High German: ', Modern Dutch: ') is a developmental stage of Low German. It developed from the Old Saxon language in the Middle Ages and has been documented i ...
, the language of northern Germany. While her original composition is now lost, the text survives in two later versions. First, around 1290, Dominican friars of the Halle community translated the first six books into Latin. Then, in the mid-fourteenth century, the secular priest
Henry of Nördlingen Henry of Nördlingen (german: Heinrich von Nördlingen) was a German Catholic priest from Bavaria, who lived in the 14th century, his date of death being unknown. He was the spiritual adviser of Margaretha Ebner (died 1351), the mystic nun of Medin ...
translated ''The Flowing Light'' into the
Alemannic Alemannic (''Alamannic'') or Alamanni may refer to:
* Alemannic German, a dialect family in the Upper German branch of the German languages and its speakers
* Alemanni, a confederation of Suebian Germanic tribes in the Roman period
* Alamanni (surna ...
dialect of
Middle High German
Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High ...
. This version survives complete in one manuscript and in fragmentary form in three others.
What is unusual about her writings is that she composed her work in Middle Low German at a time when most wisdom literature was composed in Latin. Thus she is remembered as an early proponent and popularizer of German as a language worthy of the divine and holy. Mechthild's writing is exuberant and highly sophisticated. Her images of
Hell
In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
are believed by some scholars to have influenced
Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
's ''
The Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...
'', and Mechthild is thought to have been represented by Dante in that work, in the character of
Matelda
Matelda, anglicized as Matilda in some translations, is a minor character in Dante Alighieri's ''Purgatorio'', the second canticle of the ''Divine Comedy.'' She is present in the final six cantos of the canticle, but is unnamed until Canto XXXII ...
. However, there is no concrete evidence for this and there are important differences in Dante's conception of Hell.
While her work was translated into
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
during her lifetime, it had been largely forgotten by the 15th century. It was rediscovered in the late 19th century by Pater
Gall Morel
Gall Morel, O.S.B., was a poet, scholar, aesthete, and educationist, born at St. Gallen, Switzerland, on 24 March 1803; died at the Abbey of Einsiedeln on 16 December 1872. His baptismal name was Benedict, but in the monastery he took the name of ...
, who published the first edition. Her work has been increasingly studied, both for its academic interest and as a work of devotional literature.
[
Mechthild is celebrated as a Saint in local calendars of the ]Roman Rite
The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...
and recorded on 19 November in the most recent edition of the Martyrologium Romanum
The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approv ...
.
Though without evident connections, Mechthild is remembered in the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
with a commemoration
Commemoration may refer to:
*Commemoration (Anglicanism), a religious observance in Churches of the Anglican Communion
*Commemoration (liturgy)
In the Latin liturgical rites of the Catholic Church, a commemoration is the recital, within the Li ...
on 19 November.
Remembrance Days and Artifacts
* Catholic: November 19th (locally canonized)
* Evangelical: February 26th (in Calendar of Saints
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
)
* Anglican: November 19th (in Common Worship
''Common Worship'' is the name given to the series of services authorised by the General Synod of the Church of England and launched on the first Sunday of Advent in 2000. It represents the most recent stage of development of the Liturgical Movemen ...
), May 28th Episcopal Church
A sculpture of Mechthild of Magdeburg, The Holy Mechthild von Magdeburg, is on display in the Magdeburg Sculpture Park. It was created by Susan Turcot as part of a project in collaboration with the Art Museum of the Kloster Unser Lieben Frauen. It was installed in the sculpture park in 2010.
Radio adaptations
The Medievalist Hildegard Elisabeth Keller integrated Mechthild von Magdeburg as one of five main female characters in her work ''The Trilogy of th
Timeless
', published at the end of September 2011. Selected passages have been included in the radio pla
which she wrote and staged. In the fictional encounter, Mechthild talks to Hildegard von Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...
, Hadewijch
Hadewijch, sometimes referred to as Hadewych or Hadewig (of Brabant or of Antwerp) was a 13th-century poet and mystic, probably living in the Duchy of Brabant. Most of her extant writings are in a Brabantian form of Middle Dutch. Her writings inc ...
and Etty Hillesum.
References
Published editions
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* ritical edition of the Middle High German text* (preface by Margot Schmidt) ranslation into English* dition of the Middle High German text with facing translation into modern German
Works cited
* (Als
available at Internet Archive
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Further reading
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mechthild Of Magdeburg
1210 births
1285 deaths
13th-century Christian mystics
13th-century Christian saints
13th-century German women writers
13th-century philosophers
13th-century German Catholic theologians
13th-century German philosophers
Beguines and Beghards
Female saints of medieval Germany
German Christian mystics
Dominican mystics
German philosophers
13th-century German nuns
German women philosophers
German women writers
Medieval German saints
Rhineland mystics
Roman Catholic mystics
Women religious writers
Anglican saints