The Mirror of Simple Souls

Last updated

The Mirror of the Simple Souls
The Mirror of Simple Souls.jpg
Cover of the 1993 Babinsky translation
Author Marguerite Porete
Original titleLe Mirouer des simples âmes anienties et qui seulement demeurent en vouloir et désir d'amour
TranslatorEllen L. Babinsky (1993)
Cover artistMarion Miller
Language Old French
Subject Christianity / Mysticism
Publisher(1993) Paulist Press
Publication date
c. 1300
Publication place France
Published in English
1993
Media typeBook
Pages249
ISBN 0-8091-3427-6
OCLC 28378539
248.2/2 20
LC Class BV5091.C7 P6713 1993
The Mirror of the Simple Souls
Author"An unknown French mystic of the thirteenth century", Clare Kirchberger ed.
TranslatorM. N.
Language English
Subject Christianity, mysticism
PublisherBurns Oates and Washbourne Ltd.
Publication date
31 October 1927
Media typehardback
Pages303
242.144

The Mirror of Simple Souls [1] is an early 14th-century work of Christian mysticism by Marguerite Porete dealing with the workings of Divine Love.

Contents

Love in this book layeth to souls the touches of his divine works privily hid under dark speech, so that they should taste the deeper draughts of his love and drink.

from 15th-century English translator's prologue

The full title of the work is The Mirror of the Simple Souls Who Are Annihilated and Remain Only in Will and Desire of Love. The meditations were originally written in the Picard dialect of Old French [2] and explore in poetry and prose the seven stages of "annihilation" that the Soul goes through on its path to Oneness with God through love. It was enormously popular when written but fell foul of church authorities, which detected elements of the Brethren of the Free Spirit, an antinomian movement in its vision; denounced it as "full of errors and heresies", burnt existing copies; banned its circulation; and executed Porete herself.

However, the work was translated into Latin, Middle English, Middle French, and Old Italian and circulated in France, Italy, Germany, England and Bohemia [2] albeit not with Porete's name attached. In fact, Porete was not identified as the author until 1946. Since then, it has been seen increasingly as one of the seminal works of medieval spiritual literature, and Porete, alongside Mechthild of Magdeburg and Hadewijch, can be seen as an exemple of the love mysticism of the Beguine movement.

20th-century rediscovery

A 15th-century manuscript of an English translation by "M. N." of The Mirror was found by J. A. Herbert in a manuscript collection purchased for the British Library in 1911; it was shown to Evelyn Underhill. Other 15th-century copies were subsequently found in the Bodleian library and the library of St. John's College, Cambridge, together with a Latin version made in the late 15th century by Richard Methley of Mount Grace, Yorkshire. A printed edition was edited by Clare Kirchberger from those four manuscripts, and published by Burns Oates and Washbourne Ltd., publishers to the Holy See, in 1927, complete with a nihil obstat and imprimatur . [3]

The translation by "M. N." included a number of glosses by him and divided the text into divisions and chapters:

The French book that I shall write after is evil [i.e. badly] written and in some places for default of words and syllables the reason is away. Also, in translating French, some words need to be changed or it will fare ungoodly, not according to the sense.

Translator's prologue

For the 1927 edition, the mediæval text was used but with spellings updated, and occasional words replaced accompanied by footnotes with additional glosses.

See also

Related Research Articles

Middle English Bible translations covers the age of Middle English, beginning after the Norman Conquest (1066) and ending about 1500.

<i>The Cloud of Unknowing</i> Medieval work of Christian mysticism

The Cloud of Unknowing is an anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English in the latter half of the 14th century. The text is a spiritual guide on contemplative prayer. The underlying message of this work suggests that the way to know God is to abandon consideration of God's particular activities and attributes, and be courageous enough to surrender one's mind and ego to the realm of "unknowing", at which point one may begin to glimpse the nature of God.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wycliffe's Bible</span> Middle English translations of the Bible

Wycliffe's Bible or Wycliffite Bibles or Wycliffian Bibles (WYC) are names given for a sequence of Middle English Bible translations believed to have been made under the direction or instigation of English theologian John Wycliffe of the University of Oxford. They are the earliest known literal translations of the entire Bible into English. They appeared over a period from approximately 1382 to 1395.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John of Ruusbroec</span> 14th-century Brabantian theologian and mystic

John of Ruusbroec or Jan van Ruusbroec, sometimes modernized Ruysbroeck, was an Augustinian canon and one of the most important of the medieval mystics of the Low Countries. Some of his main literary works include The Kingdom of the Divine Lovers, The Twelve Beguines, The Spiritual Espousals, A Mirror of Eternal Blessedness, The Little Book of Enlightenment, and The Sparkling Stone. Some of his letters also survive, as well as several short sayings. He wrote in the Dutch vernacular, the language of the common people of the Low Countries, rather than in Latin, the language of the Catholic Church liturgy and official texts, in order to reach a wider audience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Suso</span> German Dominican friar and writer

Henry Suso, OP was a German Dominican friar and the most popular vernacular writer of the fourteenth century. Suso is thought to have been born on 21 March 1295. An important author in both Latin and Middle High German, he is also notable for defending Meister Eckhart's legacy after Eckhart was posthumously condemned for heresy in 1329. He died in Ulm on 25 January 1366, and was beatified by the Catholic Church in 1831.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beguines and Beghards</span> Historical Christian lay religious order

The Beguines and the Beghards were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take formal religious vows; although they promised not to marry "as long as they lived as Beguines", to quote an early Rule of Life, they were free to leave at any time. Beguines were part of a larger spiritual revival movement of the 13th century that stressed imitation of Jesus' life through voluntary poverty, care of the poor and sick, and religious devotion.

Walter Hilton, Can. Reg. was an English Augustinian mystic, whose works gained influence in 15th-century England and Wales. He is commemorated by the Church of England and by the Episcopal Church in the United States.

Quietism is the name given to a set of contemplative practices that rose in popularity in France, Italy, and Spain during the late 1670s and 1680s, particularly associated with the writings of the Spanish mystic Miguel de Molinos, and which were condemned as heresy by Pope Innocent XI in the papal bull Coelestis Pastor of 1687. "Quietism" was seen by critics as holding that man's highest perfection consists in a sort of psychical self-annihilation and a consequent absorption of the soul into the Divine Essence even during the present life.

Marguerite Porete was a Beguine, a French-speaking mystic and the author of The Mirror of Simple Souls, a work of Christian mysticism dealing with the workings of agape. She was burnt at the stake for heresy in Paris in 1310 after a lengthy trial for refusing to remove her book from circulation or to recant her views.

<i>Revelations of Divine Love</i> Medieval book of Christian mystical devotions by Julian of Norwich

Revelations of Divine Love is a medieval book of Christian mystical devotions. Containing 87 chapters, the work was written between the 14th and 15th centuries by Julian of Norwich, about whom almost nothing is known. It is the earliest surviving example of a book in the English language known to have been written by a woman. It is also the earliest surviving work written by an English anchorite or anchoress.

The Brethren of the Free Spirit were adherents of a loose set of beliefs deemed heretical by the Catholic Church but held by some Christians, especially in the Low Countries, Germany, France, Bohemia, and Northern Italy between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. The movement was first identified in the late thirteenth century. It was not a single movement or school of thought, and it caused great unease among Church leaders at the time. Adherents were also called Free Spirits.

<i>Sister Catherine Treatise</i> Work of medieval Christian mysticism

The Sister Catherine Treatise is a work of medieval Christian mysticism seen as representative of the Heresy of the Free Spirit of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in Europe. Wrongly attributed to Christian mystic Meister Eckhart, it nevertheless shows the influence of his ideas or at least the ideas which he was accused or attributed as having had by the Inquisition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speculum literature</span> Medieval literary genre

The medieval genre of speculum literature, popular from the twelfth through the sixteenth centuries, was inspired by the urge to encompass encyclopedic knowledge within a single work. However, some of these works have a restricted scope and function as instructional manuals. In this sense, the encyclopedia and the speculum are similar but they are not the same genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meister Eckhart</span> 13/14th-century German theologian, philosopher and mystic

Eckhart von Hochheim, commonly known as Meister Eckhart, Master Eckhart or Eckehart, claimed original name Johannes Eckhart, was a German Catholic priest, theologian, philosopher and mystic. He was born near Gotha in the Landgraviate of Thuringia in the Holy Roman Empire.

Heilwige Bloemardinne was a Christian mystic who lived in Brussels and was loosely associated with the Brethren of the Free Spirit. She was also known as Heilwijch Blomart and Bloemardine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bible translations in the Middle Ages</span>

Bible translations in the Middle Ages went through several phases, all using the Vulgate. In the Early Middle Ages, written translations tended to be associated with royal or episcopal patronage, or with glosses on Latin texts; in the High Middle Ages with monasteries and universities; in the Late Middle Ages, with popular movements which caused, when the movement were associated with violence, official crackdowns of various kinds on vernacular scripture in Spain, England and France.

<i>Stimulus Amoris</i>

The Stimulus Amoris is a mystical treatise on love written by the Franciscan James of Milan in the late thirteenth century. The text was expanded after James's death, growing from twenty-three to fifty-three chapters by the early fourteenth century, and growing yet again in its 1476 and 1596 printings. There are at least six forms of the Latin text in existence. In its original version, it survives in ninety manuscripts. The early fourteenth century version, however, often called the Stimulus maior or Forma longa, exists in complete form in 221 manuscripts and partially in another 147.

Richard Methley, also known as Richard Firth or Richard Furth (c.1451–1527/8), was a monk of the Carthusian house of Mount Grace Priory in Yorkshire. He is remembered for his writings - some original, and some translations.

For medieval women, mysticism was "a succession of insights and revelations about God that gradually transformed the recipient" according to historian Elizabeth Petroff of Oxford University in her 1994 book, Body and Soul. The word "mysticism" has its origin in ancient Greece where individuals called the mystae participated in mystery religions. This page focuses on examples primarily relating to Christian expressions of mysticism amongst women, their lives, and their significant contributions to their communities' theology and cultural psyche. The life of a medieval woman mystic was spent seeking unity with God in a series of stages. The mystical life of a medieval woman began with a purge of the spirit in which she released herself from earthly indulgences and attachments. In a state of contrition the medieval woman mystic faced suffering because of her past sins, and the mercy of God was revealed to her through penitence. Mystics sought to imitate the suffering of Christ in order to gain an understanding through experience. During the compassion stage of suffering, the pain experienced by the medieval woman mystic "revealed the believer's love of Christ, fostered unity with Christ and the world, and began to draw the believer beyond the physical Jesus who suffered on the Cross to understand the immensity of the love that motivated Christ in the world to suffer on humanity's behalf". Medieval women mystics experienced visions during what medieval historians refer to as the Illuminative stage of their lives that contained instructions from God and would communicate their revelations in written form.

Clare Kirchberger was an Anglican nun, medievalist and librarian, who edited and translated several works of Christian mysticism.

References

  1. Full title: The Mirror of the Simple Souls Who Are Annihilated and Remain Only in Will and Desire of LoveSells, Michael A. (1994). Mystical Languages of Unsaying . University of Chicago Press. pp.  118. ISBN   0226747867.
  2. 1 2 Justine L. Trombley, A Diabolical Voice: Heresy and the Reception of the Latin "Mirror of Simple Souls" in Late Medieval Europe (Cornell University Press, 2023), p. 3.
  3. Introduction to said book: By an unknown French mystic of the thirteenth century (1927). Clare Kirchberger (ed.). The Mirror of Simple Souls. Translated into English by M.N. (trans.). Burns Oates and Washbourne Ltd. p. 303.