The St. Trudpert Song of Songs: Latin Intertextuality and German Mysticism

Building on recent findings from Early Middle High German literature, this study compiles and analyses for the first time completely the circa eighty alliterating word-pairs from Heinrich's , a work dated just after the evasive temporal boundary between Early Middle High and Middle High German (circa 1170). Comparisons are established to pairs from Heinrich's somewhat earlier texts and comprehensive data available on Old High and Early Middle High German. Methodology considers speculation on the figurative nature of some of the expressions and formal issues related to idiomatic usage.

The article “The specifics of the mystical discourse in humanitarianism” presents the results of research into the essence of mysticism throughout its historical development in the context of philosophy, religious studies, and literature. The author understood the essence of the mystical in such fields of humanities as: philosophy and literary studies. Differences in the perception of mysticism in “Western” and “Eastern” philosophies are clarified. Attention is focused on the concepts of Ukrainian scientists who interpreted mysticism and mysticism in different ways. The concepts of "female mysticism", "Christian mysticism", "German mysticism", mysticism of the occult era, as well as modern mysticism are also analyzed. Their leading specific features, which developed and transformed depending on socio-cultural changes, are singled out. Concepts of mysticism of such philosophers as Meister Eckhart, V. Stace, V. James are outlined. An attempt was made to analyze mystical elements in myths and folklore, the connection of mysticism with mythopoetics and neomythologism in literature was considered. It has been established that interest in the mystical, as well as in the philosophy of existentialism, especially spreads in response to significant social changes, when values are reassessed and spiritual orientations change, it is the mystical experience that arouses special interest and acquires a mass character. It has been noticed that mysticism in literature, in particular, in Ukrainian, is now gaining considerable popularity. Authors of whimsical prose, mystical novels and short stories actively engage mystical experience as an anthropological mode. The origins of mystical images in literature can be seen in myths and in German literature of the 18th and 19th centuries (J. von Goethe, E. Hoffmann). The author of the article also drew attention to different classifications of demonological images in Ukrainian literature (classifications by V. Davydyuk, N. Levkovych, A.-D. Kryvenko), their specificity depending on different regions of Ukraine, the connection with holidays and special days for Ukrainians, as well as the fact that many images of Ukrainian mythology are characterized by ambiguity.

Mīr Dāmād (d. 1041/1631), philosopher and mujtahid. Spiritual authority and legal authority in Shīʿi Safavid Iran. Studies on Twelver Shīʿism, particularly in the context of Safavid Iran (907-1134 / 1501-1722), are characterized by a dichotomy between the emphasis on law and that on philosophy, reflecting the duality between both the exoteric and esoteric dimensions of this religion. Based on this observation, this article presents a corpus of known and lesser known texts of Mīr Dāmād (d. 1041/1631), a philosophy master and super- mujtahid at the court of the Shāhs in Esfahan, in order to analyse the link between these two facets of his personality and shed some light on the relationship between legal and spiritual authorities in modern Shīʾism. The first part of this paper studies Mīr Dāmād’s portrait in the Shīʿi prosopographical sources. The second part deals with his legal works, notably his fatwās on Friday prayer and defensive jihād. The third part analyses the doxographic notice devoted to Mīr Dāmād by his former student Quṭb al-Dīn Ashkevarī (d. between 1088 and 1095 /1677 and 1684), which weaves legal, philosophical and mystical texts authored by his teacher. This study will show that in the view of Mīr Dāmād and his disciples, the temporal authority of the jurisconsult, during the period of Great Occultation, remained inseparable from the spiritual authority of the Gnostic (ʿārif), whose metaphysical knowledge was both rationally proven and mystically experienced.

Reviewed by: Jewish Mysticism from Ancient Times through Today by Marvin A. Sweeney Joshua Ezra Burns marvin a. sweeney, Jewish Mysticism from Ancient Times through Today (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2020). Pp. xvi + 432. $60. The stated purpose of this volume is to present "an account of the development of visionary and mystical experience in Jewish tradition from antiquity to the present" (p. 8). What it actually presents amounts to two accounts of varying quality and coherence. The first, comprising chaps. 1 through 5, reads like a primer on prophecy in the Hebrew Scriptures and Jewish literature of the Second Temple period highlighting its visionary themes. The second, comprising chaps. 6 through 10, surveys postbiblical Jewish texts and concepts belonging to the general order of esoteric or mystical theology, from the Hekhalot, or heavenly ascent texts of late antiquity, through the medieval Kabbalah and contemporary Hasidism. The two halves of the book do not mesh especially well. Linking them is an underdeveloped argument positing that the appearance of scriptural visionary motifs in postbiblical Jewish mysticism indicates a religious phenomenon whereby the visionary accounts of Israel's prophets informed the development of subsequent Jewish thought and devotional [End Page 310] practice involving sensory experience of the divine. That is a dubious analytical premise. Where prophecy was supposedly initiated by God, the pursuit of communion with God that typifies Jewish mystical speculation is meant to be initiated by the individual. Sweeney's elision of that distinction renders his reasoning more suggestive than persuasive. The greater part of the book is given not to reasoning but to description. In the first half of the book, S. summarizes a wide range of prophetic texts and depictions of prophecy in the Hebrew Scriptures and early Jewish literature. His analysis of those materials is capable but largely derivative, often drawing upon his own extensive body of scholarship. The second half, focusing on mystical texts, is almost entirely descriptive. Annotations are sparse, nebulous, and often conspicuously out of date. The contrast gives the impression of a scriptural scholar dabbling in a field of expertise not his own. S. occasionally offers comments challenging the stance of Gershom Scholem (e.g., Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism [New York: Schocken, 1941]) and his followers setting mysticism in opposition to the rationalistic intellectual pursuits of rabbinic Judaism. S. notes that Torah study and prayer, quintessential rabbinic acts of devotion involving the consumption of prophetic writings, historically have been regarded in mystical circles as means of accessing the divine realm. He likewise highlights the appearance of classical rabbinic personalities in mystical lore. Those observations, by no means original, represent the clearest efforts on the author's part to substantiate his location of prophecy and mysticism in a linear phenomenological continuum. The book is not easy to digest. It is unreasonably dense. Its literary summaries are supplemented by all sorts of ancillary information: form-critical commentaries, historical excursions, biographical legends, and so forth. These passages are impressionistic, repetitive, and, in the second half of the book, poorly documented. As for the summaries themselves, they are packed with too much information for the casual reader to retain reasonably. That is a tremendous liability as S. proceeds from the simple visionary claims of the prophets to discuss the more sophisticated cosmological schemes and metaphysical concepts of later ages. The net effect is that of an overambitious survey of literature embedded in a chronicle of Jewish history and burdened by a thesis that is not argued cogently. Aspiring to accomplish too much, the study ends up accomplishing too little to justify reading it from cover to cover. In view of the foregoing, I am at a loss to imagine an ideal audience for this book. Scholars acquainted with its subject matter will find the book superficial. Graduate students and seminarians will find it tedious. Undergraduates will find it impenetrable. S. seems to pitch his work to a reader in need of remedial education in the Hebrew Scriptures yet conversant in postbiblical Judaism, its culture, and its religious lexicon. I can imagine it working for adult learners with healthy attention spans interested in exploring formative Jewish texts seldom read outside of Hasidic circles. But I would not recommend...

The term “mysticism” is a modern scholarly category, not an ancient concept. Although the etymology of the term “mysticism” (from the Greek word myeo [“to be initiated”]) has roots in Greek mystery cults, ancient people did not use the term to describe their religious experiences. “Mysticism” is rather an etic term, a modern analytic tool for investigating a cluster of religious phenomena in ancient literature. In early Jewish and Christian literatures, mysticism refers to religious experiences which embody the act of revelation itself, an encounter with God. Since only written records are available to us, the modern reader has no direct access to ancient religious experiences. Nevertheless, the value of these mystical texts is that they contain diverse projections and reflections of ancient authors’ beliefs and of their desire to understand a reality beyond the human realm and to experience a direct connection with a transcendent God. This connection is accessed either through ecstatic experiences or particular praxes, often resulting in the transformation of the mystics and the attainment of esoteric knowledge. Scriptural interpretation plays a pivotal role in the development of early Jewish and Christian mystical texts. On the basis of foundational scriptures, especially Genesis 1–3; Exodus 24 and 33; Ezekiel 1, 8, 10, and 40–48; Isaiah 6; and Daniel 7, ancient Jewish and Christian writers competed to explain certain biblical motifs and reinterpret them within particular sociocultural situations. The common mystical themes shared in both early Jewish and Christian literature include visions of an anthropomorphic God, stories about heavenly ascent, revelations of hidden secrets, angelic adjurations and liturgies, and transformative divine encounters. The range of materials brought to bear on early Jewish and Christian mysticism include Jewish apocalyptic and pseudepigraphic texts, Hellenistic Jewish Texts, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the New Testament, early Christian literature, Gnostic Texts, and Hekhalot Literature. This chronological order does not indicate a linear progression toward a discrete tradition; rather, the varied application of similar themes and literary forms represents the diverse nature of Jewish and Christian mystical traditions.

Reviewed by: Women’s History in the Age of Reformation: Johannes Meyer’s Chronicle of the Dominican Observance by Johannes Meyer Sharon M. Wailes Johannes Meyer. Women’s History in the Age of Reformation: Johannes Meyer’s Chronicle of the Dominican Observance. Translated by Claire Taylor Jones. Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 2019. 306 pp. Paper, $35.00. Claire Taylor Jones offers a contemporary English translation of Johannes Meyer’s narrative of the late-fourteenth-and early-fifteenth-century Dominican Reform movement, a narrative that focused on women’s monasteries within German regions. The word Reformation in the book’s title refers not to the Protestant Reformation but to a late-medieval effort to reform Dominican monastic communities. Those practicing what was called the Observance desired to return to the austere way of life and deliberate religious devotion, perceived as being the original ways of the order. For women’s monastic communities, enclosure— separating the community from the outside world— accompanied reform. Jones’s introduction warns that Meyer’s narrative style, although perhaps bizarre to a modern reader, is typical for a late-medieval Dominican friar. Meyer includes copious references to historical figures but also impresses with his detailed accounts of specific communities, the sisters there, and how these communities were reformed. Woven into historical accounts are depictions of miracles that come to those advocating the reform. Accounts of sisters’ visions and divine ecstasy coexist with narratives of the practical duties of their offices and the bureaucratic and political obstacles they face. Entrusted for a great deal of his career with pastoral care in women’s monasteries, Meyer writes specifically for his primary audience, Dominican nuns. For his narrative, he chooses the genre of the Schwesternbuch (sisterbook), a genre containing writings by nuns with nuns as the intended audience. Meyer makes women visible not only by telling their stories and by directly addressing his female audience but also by deliberately naming the nuns involved in starting the reform: “I have recorded here the names of these thirteen devout mothers because they were the holy foundation [ . . . ] one also reads the names of distinguished holy fathers worthily commemorated in this way” (68). The lives of monastic women are being given more visibility by an emerging corpus of editions, translations, and secondary sources. Through her translation, Jones adds to this body of literature and provides access to a specific moment in women’s history in German-speaking [End Page 123] regions. Her translation of the original (late) Middle High German is formal but deliberately not archaic. Her thorough introduction and copious footnotes offer ample scaffolding to the modern reader in order to give maximum access to the author’s world. She explains specialized terminology, gives essential information for historical figures, provides reference information for other works to which Meyer refers, gives references when certain nuns are mentioned in outside sources, and corrects Meyer’s information when it is not consistent with other sources. Beyond building a historical context, Jones also explains the meaning of certain religious practices and the significance of the religious imagery within the narrative. For scholars, connections between the translation text and the corresponding locations in the main manuscript used (Strasbourg, Bibliothèque nationale et universitaire, MS 2934) provide orientation points for comparison. Also for ease of comparison, Jones has written her translation in anticipation of a possible modern critical edition of Meyer’s text. Concise footnotes mark variations among manuscripts. Because of the book’s accessible style, it can be used in lecture and discussion material. Meyer’s book includes both positive and negative aspects of these women’s lives. He mentions different offices women held for self-governance. He praises female scribes, talented in copying both text and music. However, behind his recounting of God’s aid in reforming difficult nuns, one sees that communities were often enclosed against their will, facing excommunication and, ironically, imprisonment if they refused. Thus, in a gender studies course, one can use the text to teach about women’s autonomy, yet also about abuse. German instructors teaching cultural history must often begin in the Middle Ages with the feudal pyramid including the nobility, ministeriales, and serfs. This book offers a way to...

This chapter focuses on Julian of Norwich, the most attractive and most original figure in medieval English mysticism. Many people consider Julian of Norwich to be a spiritual authority through her unique revelations of the human love of a maternal God. Her work not only moves readers more deeply than any other English mystical text; it has also been described as the most significant theological achievement of late-medieval England. This chapter first considers the textual transmission of Julian's A Revelation of Love before turning to her theological self-assurance. It then discusses Julian's Cistercian concept of God as mother and her awareness of God's impassibilitas (his inability to die). It also examines the role of prayer in Julian's mystical theology as well as her views on Trinity, Incarnation, and the human being. Finally, it looks at the Pseudo-Dionysian tradition's influence on Julian's theology, Julian's reception of St. Paul, and unsolved problems in her biography.

The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Mysticism

Nach Feststellung des Bestands an stabreimenden Wortpaaren im frühmittelhochdeutschen Rolandslied und dem Erscheinen der neuen kritischen Ausgabe von Strickers Karl der Große (Singer), ist es angebracht, nach den Wortpaaren in Singers Karl zu fragen, sie zu sammeln und zu analysieren und diese im Kontext und in Beziehung zu anderen frühdeutschen Werken zu beschreiben. Bislang ist das Althochdeutsche und das Frühmittelhochdeutsche erschlossen worden, mit Zusätzen aus dem Mittelhochdeutschen, vor allem in der hochklassischen Epoche. Auf eine Liste der Wortpaare chronologisch nach dem Erscheinen im Text folgt die alphabetisch geordnete Einzelanalyse, in der der Kontext erschlossen wird, Bezüge zum Rolandslied und gegebenenfalls zu der früheren Überlieferung der Wortpaare hergestellt werden, wobei der Gesamtbestand der stabreimenden Wortpaare in diesem Werk gewürdigt wird. Stabreim wird als rhetorisches Mittel nach germanischer Tradition aufgefasst; das heißt, dass nur betonte Silben miteinander staben. Vokale staben untereinander. Die Verbindungen , und staben je nur miteinander. Die knapp 50 stabreimenden Wortpaare in Strickers Karl werden mit den 42 im Rolandslied bezeugten Paaren verglichen, wobei insbesondere Änderungen Beachtung verdienen. Neue Paare warden identifiziert, während bekannte Paare in ihrer Gebrauchstradition erschlossen werden. Es stellt sich heraus, dass maßgebliche Nachschlagewerke in vielen Fällen die Wortpaare nur unvollständig dokumentiert haben. Somit wird die Geschichte der stabreimenden Wortpaare im Frühdeutschen neugestaltet. Weitere Untersuchung werden die Rolle der stabreimenden Wortpaare in der Geschichte der deutschen Sprache und ihrer Literatur klarer warden lassen. 

Gothic <i>leiþu</i>, “strong drink; fruit wine?” and its Cognates in the Germanic Languages

The Modern Language JournalVolume 62, Issue 8 p. 414-419 Teaching a Course in the German Cinema Klaus Phillips, Klaus Phillips University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Klaus Phillips (Ph.D., University of Texas) is an Assistant Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). His areas of specialization are early New German Literature (1400–1700) and Contemporary German Literature and Culture.Search for more papers by this author Klaus Phillips, Klaus Phillips University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Klaus Phillips (Ph.D., University of Texas) is an Assistant Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). His areas of specialization are early New German Literature (1400–1700) and Contemporary German Literature and Culture.Search for more papers by this author First published: December 1978 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1978.tb02413.x AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume62, Issue8December 1978Pages 414-419 RelatedInformation

Building upon recent phraseological studies of Old High and Middle High German texts, the alliterating word pairs in the later works of Hartmann von Aue are catalogued and analyzed philologically, thus contributing to an emerging complete listing of the paired rhetorical expressions through the Early Middle High German period, here Hartmann’s major courtly Arthurian romance, Iwein, his religious tale Gregorius, and Der arme Heinrich. Each pair is listed, described in the context in which it appears, and compared with any extant pairs from earlier German works. Previous research on the pair is reviewed. Hence, we trace the evolution of these expressions, in some cases through centuries. On the one hand, Hartmann employs alliterating expressions that date to the Old High German period, while on the other hand apparently creates new, or at least not previously documented ones. As in findings in earlier texts, pairs recorded on multiple occasions are likely to have been used by other authors. Typical for medieval German texts - when compared to similar modern expressions - is the insight that there is a fair amount of variation concerning the sequence of the alliterating elements and/or the inclusion of morpho-syntactic modifiers such as pronouns, possessives, adjectives, or adverbs. When known, later examples of the alliterating word-pairs are cited, albeit for obvious reasons only in an incomplete fashion. Two updates on the emerging Old High and Early Middle High German word-pair catalogue are included. Finally, a complete listing of the alliterating word-pairs in Hartmann’s works is provided. The long-term project continues to chart the emergence of German alliterating word-pairs chronologically, here within the first decade of the thirteenth century.

Charlemagne in Medieval German and Dutch Literature

Discourse in Old Norse Literature

Perspectives of medieval German literary research The article contains Volker Honemann’s farewell lecture from his chair as professor of German Literature of the Middle Ages at the Department of German of Munster University, delivered on 18th of July 2008. It deals at first with the special character of ›Germanistische Mediavistik‹ compared with linguistics and with literary research concerning the 17th to 20th century. After that it concentrates on three research perspectives, i. e. areas of German literature of the Middle Ages where the present state of research is particularly unsatisfactory: Early Middle High German literature (ca. 1050–1180), which should be acknowledged as a literary epoch of it’s own, Middle Low German literature (13th–early 17th c.), which is in considerable parts terra incognita, and German literature of the 16th century (which for a long time has not been in the focus of German literary research). Given the considerable deficiencies, the author argues that today a re-philologization is necessary.