Sign in
Mysticism

The Beguine Mystics

Lay religious women who lived outside convents and wrote ecstatic poetry.

6 booksGerman
Opera nuper in lucem prodeuntia

Start here

Opera nuper in lucem prodeuntia

Mechthild, 1522

Mechthild of Magdeburg is explicitly named as one of the key Beguine mystics central to the collection's narrative.

Illustrations

Browse all

1 images extracted

Gold-stamped heraldic emblem on the book cover featuring a cross, a globus cruciger, and two hands in a gesture of prayer or reception.

This gold-stamped emblem on the cover of Marguerite Porete's 'The Mirror of Simple Souls' features a central cross and a globus cruciger, flanked by two hands reaching upward. The imagery reflects the book's mystical exploration of the soul's annihilation in God and the pursuit of divine love. The shield-like frame suggests the protective and sacred nature of the spiritual journey described within.

emblem

In 13th-century Flanders and the Rhineland, communities of women called Beguines lived religious lives without taking permanent vows. Among them were some of the most radical mystics in Christian history — Mechthild of Magdeburg, Hadewijch of Brabant, and Marguerite Porete, whose Mirror of Simple Souls cost her her life.

Essential Reading

The foundational texts of this tradition

The Flowing Light of the Godhead

The Flowing Light of the Godhead

Mechthild of Magdeburg, 1869

This is the primary work of Mechthild of Magdeburg, a key Beguine mystic explicitly named in the collection's description.

The mirror of simple souls

The mirror of simple souls

Marguerite Porete, 1927

This is the primary work of Marguerite Porete, a key Beguine mystic explicitly named in the collection's description, whose work is central to its narrative.

Important Works

Significant texts that deepen understanding

Sermons of Johannes Tauler, Volume 1

Sermons of Johannes Tauler, Volume 1

Johannes Tauler, 1568

Johannes Tauler was a prominent Rhineland mystic who preached to and advised Beguine communities, providing crucial context for their mystical tradition.

Spiritual Exercises

Spiritual Exercises

Tauler, Johannes, 1607First Translation

Johannes Tauler was a prominent Rhineland mystic who preached to and advised Beguine communities, providing crucial context for their mystical tradition.

Sermons of Johannes Tauler, Volume 2

Sermons of Johannes Tauler, Volume 2

Johannes Tauler, 1568

Johannes Tauler was a prominent Rhineland mystic who preached to and advised Beguine communities, providing crucial context for their mystical tradition.

This library is built in the open.

If you spot an error, have a suggestion, or just want to say hello — we’d love to hear from you.