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Devotio Moderna, or Modern Devotion, was a religious movement of the Late Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages

The Late Middle Ages is a term used by historians to describe history of Europe in the periodization of the 14th and 15th centuries . The Late Middle Ages were preceded by the High Middle Ages, and followed by the Early modern Europe ....
. It came into advocation at the same time as Christian Humanism
Christian humanism

Christian Humanism is the belief that human freedom and individualism are intrinsic parts of, or are at least compatible with, Christianity doctrine and practice....
, a meshing of Humanism
Humanism

Humanism is a broad category of ethics that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal human qualities, particularly rationalism, without resorting to the supernatural or alleged divine authority from religious texts....
 and Christianity
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
. Christian Humanism advocated studying the fundamental texts of Christianity to come to one's own relationship with God
God

God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
. The 15th century laity were able to study the scriptures by the advent of the printing press
Printing press

A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium , thereby transferring an image. The mechanical systems involved were first assembled in Germany by the goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg around 1439, based on existing screw-presses used to press cloth, grapes etc., and possibly to print wood...
. Practitioners of the Devotio Moderna emphasized the inner life of the individual and promoted meditation
Meditation

Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the reflexive, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness....
 according to certain strictures.






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Devotio Moderna, or Modern Devotion, was a religious movement of the Late Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages

The Late Middle Ages is a term used by historians to describe history of Europe in the periodization of the 14th and 15th centuries . The Late Middle Ages were preceded by the High Middle Ages, and followed by the Early modern Europe ....
. It came into advocation at the same time as Christian Humanism
Christian humanism

Christian Humanism is the belief that human freedom and individualism are intrinsic parts of, or are at least compatible with, Christianity doctrine and practice....
, a meshing of Humanism
Humanism

Humanism is a broad category of ethics that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal human qualities, particularly rationalism, without resorting to the supernatural or alleged divine authority from religious texts....
 and Christianity
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
. Christian Humanism advocated studying the fundamental texts of Christianity to come to one's own relationship with God
God

God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
. The 15th century laity were able to study the scriptures by the advent of the printing press
Printing press

A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a medium , thereby transferring an image. The mechanical systems involved were first assembled in Germany by the goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg around 1439, based on existing screw-presses used to press cloth, grapes etc., and possibly to print wood...
. Practitioners of the Devotio Moderna emphasized the inner life of the individual and promoted meditation
Meditation

Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the reflexive, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness....
 according to certain strictures. With the ideals of Christian Humanism, Devotio Moderna recommended a more individual attitude towards belief and religion
Religion

A religion is an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of myth, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendence quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power or truth....
 and was especially prominent in cities in the Low Countries
Netherlands (terminology)

The Netherlands is known under various terms both in English language and Netherlands #Other languages. These are used to describe the different overlapping geographical, linguistic and political areas of the Netherlands....
 during the 14th and 15th centuries. It is regarded sometimes as a contributing factor for Lutheranism
Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century Germans Reformer Martin Luther....
 and Calvinism
Calvinism

Calvinism is a theology system and an approach to the Christian life that emphasizes the rule of God over all things. It was developed by several theologians, but it bears the name of the French Protestant Reformation John Calvin because of his prominent influence on it and because of his role in the confessional and ecclesiastical debates t...
. It was also a major influence upon Erasmus, who was brought up in this tradition. The origins of the movement are bound up with the career of Geert Groote
Geert Groote

Geert Groote , otherwise Gerrit or Gerhard Groet, in Latin Gerardus Magnus, was a Dutch people preacher and founder of the Brethren of the Common Life....
 of Deventer
Deventer

Media:Nl-Deventer.ogg is a municipality and city in the Salland region of the Netherlands province of Overijssel. Deventer is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, but also has a small part of its territory on the west bank....
 (Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
). From his work two kinds of communities formed, the Brethren of the Common Life
Brethren of the Common Life

The Brethren of the Common Life was a Roman Catholic religious community founded in the 14th century by Gerard Groote, formerly a successful and worldly educator who had had a religious experience and preached a life of simple devotion to Jesus Christ....
, consisting mainly of laymen, as well as monasteries in the area of Windesheim
Windesheim

The name Windesheim may refer to:* Windesheim, Netherlands, a place in the Netherlands, near Zwolle*the Christelijke Hogeschool Windesheim, a Christian institution of higher education there...
 near Zwolle
Zwolle

Media:Nl-Zwolle.ogg is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 115,000 citizens....
.

The book The Imitation of Christ, written by Thomas a Kempis
Thomas à Kempis

Thomas ? Kempis was a late Medieval Roman Catholic Church monk and author of The Imitation of Christ, one of the best known Christian books on devotion....
, a Brother of the Common Life, outlines the concepts of Modern Devotion, based on personal connection to God and the active showing of love towards Him (e.g., in the blessed sacrament
Sacrament

A sacrament, as defined in Hexam's Concise Dictionary of Religion is "a rite in which God is uniquely active." Augustine of Hippo defined a Christian sacrament as "a visible sign of an invisible reality." The Anglican Book of Common Prayer speaks of them as "an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible Grace." Examples of sacram...
 of the altar or during mass
Mass (liturgy)

The Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Roman Catholic Church. The term is used also of similar celebrations in Old Catholic Churches, in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglicanism, and in some largely High Church Lutheranism Lutheranism regions, including the Scandinavian and Baltic states countries....
).

See also

  • Geert Groote
    Geert Groote

    Geert Groote , otherwise Gerrit or Gerhard Groet, in Latin Gerardus Magnus, was a Dutch people preacher and founder of the Brethren of the Common Life....
  • Brothers of the Common Life
  • Christian Humanism
    Christian humanism

    Christian Humanism is the belief that human freedom and individualism are intrinsic parts of, or are at least compatible with, Christianity doctrine and practice....