In the Eyes of Others. The Modern Devotion in Germany and the Netherlands: Influencing and Appropriating

Abstract

Shortly after the spiritual reform movement Devotio Moderna had been founded by Geert Grote in the 1370s, it began to flourish, especially in the Low Countries and in Northern Germany. The humble mode of life in imitation of Christ and his first followers pursued by the new Devout met with an enthusiastic reception among religious, clerics, and lay people alike. From around 1420 onwards, local bishops and other prelates successfully involved the recently founded Congregation of Windesheim in their attempts to reform monasteries and abbeys belonging to different orders. The new Devout were also deeply concerned with the welfare of ‘ordinary believers,’ as is clearly shown by the widespread dissemination of vernacular books of hours and comparable prayer texts originating from Devout communities. This concern has prompted some Church historians to characterize the movement as ‘semireligious,’ or even as ‘lay movement.’ This introductory contribution attempts to modify this view, and it stresses that the early Modern Devotion should rather be seen as a movement that tried to bring religious communities closer to lay people, and simultaneously strove to give the life of ordinary believers a monastic touch. Together with the following contributions by Rijcklof Hofman, Ulrike Hascher-Burger, Judith Keßler, and Koen Goudriaan, it seeks to provide a better understanding of the manner in which the new Devout tried to share their spirituality with their contemporaries.