Devotio Moderna

Abstract

AbstractThe Devotio Moderna (Latin, modern devotion) was a late medieval renewal movement, which started in the home of its founder Gerard Groote (1340–1384) in the city of Deventer in the Netherlands. Widespread spiritual hunger, the need for religious reform, and an increasingly rational scholastic theology in 14th century Europe provided a conducive climate for fostering spirituality outside conventional channels. The Devotio Moderna established communal houses for women and men devoted to the experience of imitating Christ in Northern European towns and cities; initially, it constituted a “middle way” between the parish and the mostly rural religious orders of the day. They detested knowledge without virtue, so they established dormitories and schools for the spiritual formation of youth. The movement is best remembered for its great spiritual classic that is now, after some debate, generally attributed to Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ (2005) — the most published Christian text outside the Bible. Heart meditation on Jesus' life and death, written in ordinary language, provided the working masses with an accessible means of imitating Christ. This affective meditation undergirded all facets of the movement's origin, character, development, and considerable legacy in both Catholic and Protestant traditions.