The Flowering of Mysticism: Men and Women in the New Mysticism (1200-1350). Volume III of The Presence of God: A History of Western Christian Mysticism by Bernard McGinn

Abstract

BOOK REVIEWS613 The Flowering ofMysticism: Men and Women in the New Mysticism (1200- /350).Volume III of The Presence ofGod:A History of Western Christian Mysticism. By Bernard McGinn. (New York: Crossroad/Herder. 1998. Pp. xv, 526. $60.00.) The present book is the third volume of a projected five-volume work treating the history of Western Christian mysticism. McGinn singles out the year 1200 as one of particular importance in the development of what he calls the new mysticism. In this context, he understands mysticism to be concerned with the "notion of consciousness of God's presence in a deeper and more immediate way" (p. xi). This understanding of the term has the advantage of allowing the author to treat a significant range of religious phenomena of an experiential nature under this more general definition. The volume opens with an introduction that lays out the broader historical context for the material to be treated. One of the very significant factors in the movement from the earlier Christian tradition into the thirteenth century is the move from a spirituality characterized strongly by withdrawal to a monastic setting to a spirituality that is lived in the world outside the monastery. Significant in this regard is the rise of the mendicant Orders, and particularly the early struggle of St. Francis of Assisi. Should his way be one of withdrawal as a hermit , or should he go through the world preaching the Gospel? In a Franciscan text from the early thirteenth century known as the Sacred Exchange, the entire world is seen as a cloister for the friars. Later in the century, and going into the fourteenth, Meister Eckhart could insist that "God could be found, directly and decisively, anywhere and by anyone" (p. 14). McGinn sees this as a movement from a view of action and contemplation as successive steps in a life dedicated to God to a sense that the two could be fused in the context of public activity. Margaret of Cortona is a powerful example of one who was able to combine exceptional asectic and mystical practices even while being engaged in such public affairs as founding a hospital for the poor. Another significant element that could lead one to speak of a new mysticism is the place played by women after the year 1200. This is not to say that women played no role in earlier Christian history. But it is to underscore the fact that written evidence for such a role is meager. And when the evidence becomes more plentiful, as it does in the thirteenth century, one is struck by the diversity among the women. This makes it difficult to argue for a single form of women's mysticism as distinct from a male form. In fact, McGinn chooses not to do so. Rather, he chooses the idea of a "conversation" between male and female mystics as a helpful model for understanding the relation between them. And even when we have written evidence from women mystics, it is often the case that this comes not directly from the women themselves, but from their male admirers . The origin of the well-known text of The Book ofAngela is an excellent example of this sort of collaboration between a female ecstatic and a male cleric. Thus, what may be presented as the writing of a woman may, in fact, be 614BOOK REVIEWS the view of a male writer about what he thought was significant in the life of the woman. To what extent this corresponds to the woman's self-understanding is problematic. But despite this sort of problem, it seems in the long run that such co-operation between male and female mystics led to the enrichment of both. A third element in this historical period is the development of new literary forms and the expanded use of the vernacular. There were academic forms of theological development characteristic of the emerging universities. In that context, one moves from the common monastic lectio of the sacred text with a running commentary to new forms such as the quaestio drawn out in a highly dialectical fashion. The language of the university culture was Latin. During the same period, the...