The women of Helfta : scholars and mystics

Author(s)

    • Finnegan, Mary Jeremy

Bibliographic Information

The women of Helfta : scholars and mystics

Mary Jeremy Finnegan

University of Georgia Press, c1991

Other Title

Scholars and mystics

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Note

Rev. ed. of: Scholars and mystics. (Chicago: Regnery, 1962)

Includes bibliographical notes (p. 151-160), bibliography (p. 161-168), and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Helfta, a centre of intellectual activity in 13th-century Saxony, was the site of a Cistercian monastery, a religious community that included the mystics Gertrude the Great, Mechtild of Hackeborn and Mechtild of Magdeburg. Originally published in 1962 under the title "Scholars and Mystics", Mary Jeremy Finnegan's study has been revised and updated to reflect recent scholarhip. Described as a pioneering work in the study of medieval women writers, the book focuses on the women of Helfta whose mystical writings - "The Messenger of God's Loving Kindness", "The Book of Special Grace" and "The Flowing Light of Divinity" - have attracted much scholarly attention. These writings are valuable as first-hand accounts of the mystical experiences of the Saxon monastic women. They offer insights into the daily difficulties and challenges faced by a community of women who were able to maintain an atmosphere where learning, courtesy and holiness flourished in one of the stormiest periods of German history.

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