Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Abbreviations
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Part I The legacy of the Fathers
- Part II Early medieval theologians
- Part III The eleventh and twelfth centuries
- Part IV The thirteenth century
- Part V The fourteenth century and beyond
- Chapter 17 Introduction
- Chapter 18 William of Ockham
- Chapter 19 Meister Eckhart
- Chapter 20 Jan van Ruusbroec and the Modern Devotion
- Chapter 21 Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Chapter 20 - Jan van Ruusbroec and the Modern Devotion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Abbreviations
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Part I The legacy of the Fathers
- Part II Early medieval theologians
- Part III The eleventh and twelfth centuries
- Part IV The thirteenth century
- Part V The fourteenth century and beyond
- Chapter 17 Introduction
- Chapter 18 William of Ockham
- Chapter 19 Meister Eckhart
- Chapter 20 Jan van Ruusbroec and the Modern Devotion
- Chapter 21 Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index
- References
Summary
Jan van Ruusbroec’s original theology of the Trinity illustrates the ongoing vibrancy of Trinitarian thinking throughout the fourteenth century. Ruusbroec also develops a rich spirituality which is deeply shaped by this Trinitarian vision – and this constitutes one of the most attractive aspects of this thought. It illustrates the transcendental thrust of Ruusbroec’s theology – one that is deeply Trinitarian.
Jan van Ruusbroec (1293–1381) first became a priest in Brussels but later retired to a new monastery in the Zonien Forest, where the members of his community adopted the rule of St. Augustine (Augustinian canons). He wrote all his works in Middle Dutch (Flemish) although a number of letters survive only in Latin translation. He wrote his most influential book, Die Geestelike Brulocht [The Spiritual Espousals] sometime in the early 1340s. Vernacular religious literature flourished in countries with Germanic languages from the early thirteenth century onwards. In countries in which Romance languages were spoken (closer to Latin) vernacular religious texts originated somewhat later. A number of important religious writers from the early thirteenth century, mostly beguines and Cistercian nuns, such as Hadewijch and Beatrijs van Nazareth, had written religious texts in Middle Dutch in the thirteenth century.
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- Information
- An Introduction to Medieval Theology , pp. 276 - 283Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2012