The Mirror of Simple Souls
Encyclopedia
The Mirror of Simple Souls is an early 14th century work of Christian mysticism
by Marguerite Porete
dealing with the workings of Divine Love.
Written originally in Old French
at a time when Latin
was the prescribed language for religious literature it explores in poetry and prose the seven stages of 'annihilation' the Soul goes through on its path to Oneness with God through Love. Enormously popular when written it fell foul of the Church authorities, who, detecting elements of the antinomian Heresy of the Free Spirit
in its vision, denounced it as 'full of errors and heresies', burnt existing copies, banned its circulation, tried and executed Porete herself. In spite of this the work was translated into several different languages around Europe, including English, albeit not with Porete's name attached. In fact it was not identified as being by Porete at all 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
, an exemplar of the love mysticism of the Beguine movement.
in 1911 and was shown to Evelyn Underhill
. Other 15th century copies were subsequently found in the Bodleian 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 Nihil Obstat
and Imprimatur
.
The translation by "M. N. " included a number of gloss
es by him, and divided the text into divisions and chapters.
For the 1927 edition, the mediæval text was used but with spellings updated, and occasional words replaced accompanied by footnotes with additional glosses.
Christian mysticism
Christian mysticism refers to the development of mystical practices and theory within Christianity. It has often been connected to mystical theology, especially in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions...
by Marguerite Porete
Marguerite Porete
Marguerite Porete was a French mystic and the author of The Mirror of Simple Souls, a work of Christian spirituality dealing with the workings of Divine Love. She was burnt at the stake for heresy in Paris in 1310 after a lengthy trial, after refusing to remove her book from circulation or recant...
dealing with the workings of Divine Love.
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.
Written originally in Old French
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
at a time when Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
was the prescribed language for religious literature it explores in poetry and prose the seven stages of 'annihilation' the Soul goes through on its path to Oneness with God through Love. Enormously popular when written it fell foul of the Church authorities, who, detecting elements of the antinomian Heresy of the Free Spirit
Heresy of the Free Spirit
The Free Spirit heresy consisted of small groups of Christian heretics living mostly in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic, during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Their worship was not well organized and their doctrine was not well defined. Their beliefs were mostly spread in the form of...
in its vision, denounced it as 'full of errors and heresies', burnt existing copies, banned its circulation, tried and executed Porete herself. In spite of this the work was translated into several different languages around Europe, including English, albeit not with Porete's name attached. In fact it was not identified as being by Porete at all 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
Mechthild of Magdeburg
Mechthild of Magdeburg , a Beguine, was a medieval mystic, whose book Das fließende Licht der Gottheit described her visions of God....
and Hadewijch
Hadewijch
Hadewijch was a 13th century poet and mystic, probably living in the Duchy of Brabant.Most of her extant writings, none of which survived the Middle Ages as an autograph, are in a Brabantian form of Middle Dutch...
, an exemplar 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 Mr. J. A. Herbert among a manuscript collection purchased for the British LibraryBritish Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
in 1911 and was shown to Evelyn Underhill
Evelyn Underhill
Evelyn Underhill was an English Anglo-Catholic writer and pacifist known for her numerous works on religion and spiritual practice, in particular Christian mysticism....
. Other 15th century copies were subsequently found in the Bodleian 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 Nihil Obstat
Nihil obstat
Nihil obstat is a declaration of no objection to an initiative or an appointment....
and Imprimatur
Imprimatur
An imprimatur is, in the proper sense, a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement.-Catholic Church:...
.
The translation by "M. N. " included a number of gloss
Gloss
A gloss is a brief notation of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text, or in the reader's language if that is different....
es 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. - from 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
- Beguines
- Speculum literatureSpeculum literatureThe 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. The modern equivalent is a summary survey, in the sense of a survey article in a scholarly journal that summarizes...
- Brethren of the Free SpiritBrethren of the Free SpiritThe Brothers, or Brethren of the Free Spirit, was a lay Christian movement which flourished in northern Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries. Antinomian and individualist in outlook, it came into conflict with the Catholic Church and was declared heretical by Pope Clement V at the Council of...
- Christian mysticismChristian mysticismChristian mysticism refers to the development of mystical practices and theory within Christianity. It has often been connected to mystical theology, especially in the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions...
- Heresy of the Free SpiritHeresy of the Free SpiritThe Free Spirit heresy consisted of small groups of Christian heretics living mostly in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic, during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Their worship was not well organized and their doctrine was not well defined. Their beliefs were mostly spread in the form of...
- Meister EckhartMeister EckhartEckhart von Hochheim O.P. , commonly known as Meister Eckhart, was a German theologian, philosopher and mystic, born near Gotha, in the Landgraviate of Thuringia in the Holy Roman Empire. Meister is German for "Master", referring to the academic title Magister in theologia he obtained in Paris...
- Heilwige BloemardinneHeilwige BloemardinneHeilwige 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....