Abstract
This paper explores the interconnected themes of wounds of love and the merits derived from the love of God and Christ in The Flowing Light of the Godhead, attributed to the Beguine mystic Mechthild of Magdeburg. Due to the loss of source materials in 1631 during the Thirty Years’ War and the complex editorial history of the text, a synoptic approach is necessary, focusing on key concepts: vulnerability, unio mystica (mystical union), and minne (divine love). Mechthild’s work is often described as a profound meditation on minne—the intimate, reciprocal love between the soul and God. The narrator portrays herself as a fragile woman wounded by Christ’s love, experienced through mystical union. These wounds, willingly embraced, are central to the narrator’s spiritual journey, forming the foundation of her relationship with Christ and God. The wounds, inflicted by God’s yearning for the soul, symbolize the mutual desire inherent in divine love. This longing is depicted as bilateral: Christ’s passion for the soul is so overwhelming that He must eventually stop inflicting these wounds to prevent fatal harm. The narrator, however, actively chooses to endure them as an act of devotion. In The Flowing Light of the Godhead, the wounds of divine love and the merits of the soul’s passion are uniquely emphasized. This surrender to God’s love and the pain it entails highlights the mystical union as both a transformative and deeply sacrificial process.
Presenters
Tabea BrixiusPhD Student, Protestant Theology, Department for Old Church History, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2025 Special Focus—Fragile Meanings: Vulnerability in the Study of Religions and Spirituality
KEYWORDS
MYSTICISM, BEGUINE, MIDDLE_AGES, UNIO_MYSTICA
