Dionysius’ Reception in the English-Speaking World

Abstract

Abstract The first appearance of Dionysius in English dress was the translation of his Mystical Theology by the author of The Cloud of Unknowing. Through this Dionysius became a significant influence on the flourishing of mystical prayer in late medieval England. At the Reformation, this tradition of prayer was preserved as a special treasure of the now-outlawed English Catholicism, especially among the exiled nuns of Cambrai, and their chaplain, Augustine Baker. In England, after the Reformation, Dionysius was known to such as Hooker, but appreciated somewhat more in the esoteric tradition, echoes of which can be found in poets such as Lord Herbert of Cherbury, John Donne, and Henry Vaughan, whose brother, Thomas, demonstrates a deep interest in Dionysius, in whom he finds parallels with the Kabbalah. Further interest is found in the nineteenth century, when the Corpus Dionysiacum was first translated into English. Reception in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was partly a matter of disdainful scholarly interest in such as Westcott and Dean Inge, partly a revived enthusiasm for mystical prayer inspired by the late medieval English mystics, notably in the case of Evelyn Underhill, with whom the wheel turns full circle.