Devotio Moderna
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Devotio Moderna (
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
; lit., Modern Devotion) was a movement for religious reform, calling for apostolic renewal through the rediscovery of genuine pious practices such as humility, obedience, simplicity of life, and integration into the community. It began in the late 14th century, largely through the work of Gerard Groote,''Devotio Moderna'' by John H. Van Engen 1988 pages 7–12''The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Spirituality'' by Gordon S. Wakefield 1983 pages 113–114 and flourished in the
Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
and Germany in the 15th century, but came to an end with the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
. It is most known today through its influence on Thomas à Kempis, the author of '' The Imitation of Christ'', a book which has proved highly influential for centuries. This movement largely believed in austerity for Christians at every level, from clergy to layman, and many followers of Devotio Moderna frowned upon such things as church-led celebrations of certain events.


Origins


1300s

The origins of the movement likely stem from the Congregation of Windesheim, though it has so far proved elusive to locate the precise origin of the movement. Broadly, it may be seen to rise out of widespread dissatisfaction with the Church (both in terms of the structure of the church and the personal lives of the clergy) in 14th-century Europe. Geert Groote (1340–1384) was among many in being highly dissatisfied with the state of the Church and what he perceived as the gradual loss of monastic traditions and the lack of moral values among the clergy. He sought to rediscover certain pious practices. Devotio Moderna began as a lay movement; around 1374, Groote turned his parental house in
Deventer Deventer (; Sallaans dialect, Sallands: ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Salland historical region of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, ...
into a hostel for poor women who wished to serve God. Though similar to
beguine The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christianity, Christian laity, lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in monasticism, semi-monastic ...
houses, this hostel, and later communities of what came to be called the "Sisters of the Common Life", were freer in structure than the beguines and kept no private property. The women who lived in these houses remained, also, under the jurisdiction of city authorities and parish priests. Their way of life therefore sat somewhere between ordinary Christian existence 'in the world', and the formation of an ecclesiastically recognised religious order. From this point, several different loose forms of community emerged. On the one hand, various types of life for the female Devout were formed. Especially from the 1390s under the leadership of John Brinckerinck, one of Grote's early converts, the Sisters of the Common Life spread across the Netherlands and into Germany (with eventually about 25 houses in the former and about 60 houses in the latter). There were also many homes (mostly small and needy) inspired by the movement that were never formally attached to the Sisters of the Common Life, and may eventually have become Third Order Franciscans or Augustinian nuns. Among male followers, the movement was given impetus after Groote's death in 1384 by Florens Radewyns (who had become a priest based on Groote's advice). He gathered like-minded laity and clergy into houses of communal living, eventually known as the Brethren of the Common Life, which numbered 41 by the early 16th century. The majority of members in these communities were priests or candidates for the priesthood (clerics); the few lay brothers, the ''familiares'', usually carried out the menial tasks of cooking, cleaning and tailoring. These communities did not take vows, but led an austere life of penance, prayer, spiritual reading and work, most often the copying of manuscripts. In addition, the Brethren provided pastoral care and spiritual counsel to the sister houses, and at least some of the Brethren engaged in preaching. Groote's message of reform had also been aimed at clerics and priests, some of whom had joined the Brethren. In addition, though, under the leadership of Radewyns, in 1387 some members of the Deventer house set up a new community at Windesheim, near
Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...
, and adopted the habit and rule of St Augustine. Although living a cloistered life under vows, the new community kept many of the practices and spiritual values of the teaching of Groote and Radewyns.


1400s

From 1395, a monastic union was set up around Windesheim; this new confederation grew quickly, and was joined both by older Augustinian communities (including, famously, Groenendaal in 1413), as well as new foundations, and sometimes the conversion of some of the houses of Brothers to this new form of religious life. By the end of the 15th century, there were almost 100 houses (84 of them male) in the Chapter of Windesheim. The movement faced opposition from clergy and laity at times, both during its early years under Groote's leadership and under Radewyns' later expansion. Much of this suspicion was similar to that directed at other new forms of religious devotion developed in the period, such as
beguine The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christianity, Christian laity, lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in monasticism, semi-monastic ...
and
beghard The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christianity, Christian laity, lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in monasticism, semi-monastic ...
movements. Also, the strong resemblance to the monastic life of the daily routine among the Brethren provoked accusations from the mendicant orders that the Brethren and Sisters of the Common Life were starting a new mendicant order, in violation of the
Fourth Lateran Council The Fourth Council of the Lateran or Lateran IV was convoked by Pope Innocent III in April 1213 and opened at the Lateran Palace in Rome on 11 November 1215. Due to the great length of time between the council's convocation and its meeting, m ...
's prohibition of new orders in 1215, and without taking vows. The simplicity and devotion of the ''Devotio Moderna'', though, seems to have lessened the force of many of these criticisms. The movement was especially prominent in cities in the
Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
during the 14th and 15th centuries. Alongside its immediate impact, however, it was the writings of authors associated with the movement (who were most commonly based in the monasteries associated with Windesheim), that gave the Devotio Moderna its wider European influence at the time, and its great subsequent influence.


Decline

In the early 15th century, even before the Protestant Revolution, Devotio Moderna was fading due to many Christians wanting more "pomp and ceremony in processions". In the wake of the Protestant Reformation, the institutions of the ''Devotio Moderna'' declined rapidly. In Protestant territories, both the brother houses and the monasteries were dissolved. Most of the houses of the Brethren, including the founding homes of Deventer and Zwolle, had disappeared by 1600. In Roman Catholic areas, some of the brother houses and houses of the Windesheim Congregation survived until they fell victim to the secularisations of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The most important members of the Windesheim Congregation in Germany, St. Marienwolde in Frenswegen, held out until 1809, when the state officially dissolved it. The last canon, Gerhard Tobbe, left Frenswegen in 1815.


Teachings

Four cornerstones of the Brethren of the Common Life and its associated ''devotio moderna'' were: * contempt of the world and of self (), * imitation of the lowly life of Christ (), * good-will (), and * the grace of devoutness (.)


Contempt of the world and of self

A widely followed movement within the Devotio Moderna traditions frowned upon pilgrimages.


''The Imitation of Christ''

'' The Imitation of Christ'' (c. 1418), often attributed to Thomas à Kempis (d. 1471), a Brother of the Common Life, outlines the concepts of Modern Devotion, based on personal connection to God and the active showing of love towards Him (e.g., in the
Blessed Sacrament The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...
of the altar or during
mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
). It influenced a number of Saints such as
Thérèse of Lisieux Thérèse of Lisieux (born Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin; 2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), religious name, in religion Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, was a French Discalced Carmelites, Discalced Carmelite who is widely v ...
and
Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the S ...
. Though the members of Devotio Moderna also wrote in their native language, which was IJssellands, a written language which stood in between
Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or , there was no overarching sta ...
and
Middle Low German Middle Low German is a developmental stage of Low German. It developed from the Old Saxon language in the Middle Ages and has been documented in writing since about 1225–34 (). During the Hanseatic period (from about 1300 to about 1600), Mid ...
, ''The Imitation of Christ'' is written in Latin. By the late 15th century the advent of the
printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...
increased the reach of the movement; ''The Imitation of Christ'' was printed in several languages by the end of the century.


Techniques for prayer

The spiritual life of the Devotio Moderna followers was marked by focus on inner devotions and frequent short periods of meditation, especially before each new activity. The writings of the Devotio Moderna followers such as Gerard of Zutphen and Jan Mombaer, as well as Groote, introduced the tradition of "methodical prayer," which arranged exercises day by day and week by week. Groote's ''On Four Kinds of Matter for Meditation'' included mental imagery, as well as methodical approaches as an element of meditation. Centuries earlier, Hugh of Saint Victor and Guigo II had produced structured methods for Christian meditation, but their approaches were less systematic.''Christian Spirituality: Origins to the Twelfth Century, Vol 1'' by Bernard McGinn 1986 pages 415–424''Christian Spirituality: Themes from the Tradition'' by Lawrence S. Cunningham, Keith J. Egan 1996 page 88-94 The methodical approach of Devotio Moderna towards prayer and meditation found significant following within the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, as well as later Reformed communities.''Blessed are the Peacemakers: a Christian Spirituality of Nonviolence'' by Michael Battle 2004 pages 67–71 The manuals for methodical prayer and meditation by Florens Radewyns and Zutphen had significant influence within Europe for over a century. The concept of immersing and ''projecting'' oneself into a Biblical scene about the life of Jesus was developed by Ludolph of Saxony in his ''Vita Christi'' in 1374 and became popular among the Devotio Moderna community.''Christian Spirituality: An Introduction'' by Alister E. McGrath 1999 pages 84–87 The methods of methodical prayer as taught by the Devotio Moderna entered Spain and were known in the early 16th century, and influenced the approaches to Christian meditation.''Teresa of Avila's Autobiography'' by Elena Carrera 2004 page 28 Garcias de Cisneros the abbot of the abbey of Montserrat was influenced by the Devotio Moderna and his book ''Ejercitatorio de la vida spiritual'', i.e. "exercises for the spiritual life" became one of the primary sources for the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius used both of these techniques in his Spiritual exercises: a methodical format, as well as self-projection into a Biblical scene, e.g. starting a conversation with Christ in
Calvary Calvary ( or ) or Golgotha () was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, Jesus was crucified. Since at least the early medieval period, it has been a destination for pilgrimage. ...
. Also influenced by the Devotio Moderna were
Ludovico Barbo Ludovico Barbo, O.S.B. (1381–1443), also referred to as Luigi Barbo, was a significant figure in the movement to reform monastic life in northern Italy during the 15th century. Originally a canon of the community which became the Canons Regu ...
, Lawrence Giustiniani and the Canons Regular of San Giorgio in Alga. However, the methods of "methodical prayer" taught by the Devotio Moderna and the techniques used for "self projection" into the imagery of a Biblical scene (to participate in the life of Jesus) significantly influenced the approaches to Christian meditation in the 16th century and thereafter. These methods persist in meditations such as the Spiritual Exercises, which the
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
s continue to practice.


Influence

Devotio Moderna arose at the same time as Christian Humanism, a meshing of Renaissance Humanism and
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, and is related to German mysticism and other movements which promoted an intense personal relationship with
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
. Practitioners of the Devotio Moderna emphasized the individual's inner life and promoted
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...
according to certain strictures. With the ideals of Christian Humanism, Devotio Moderna recommended a more individual attitude towards belief and
religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...
. It is regarded sometimes as a contributing factor for
Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
and
Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...
. It was also a significant influence upon
Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...
, who was brought up in this tradition.


See also

* Brothers of the Common Life * Canons Regular of San Giorgio in Alga * Christian Humanism * Christian meditation * Hendrik Mande * Imitation of Christ (ideal) * Medieval Restorationism * The Imitation of Christ (book)


References


Sources

*


Further reading

* ''Spirituality Renewed: Studies on Significant Representatives of the Modern Devotion''. Edited by Hein Blommestijn, Charles Caspers and Rijcklof Hofman (Leuven: Peeters, 2003) * Elias H. Füllenbach, ''Devotio Moderna (I. Christianity)'', in: Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR), vol. 6 (2013), col. 716–717 * Van Engen, John
''Sisters and Brothers of the Common Life: The Devotio Moderna and the World of the Later Middle Ages''
(Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008) {{Authority control Christian terminology 15th-century Catholicism Catholic Church in the Netherlands History of Christianity in the Netherlands History of Deventer