"...these translations thus supersede former ones...if the introductions, translations, and other apparatus of the rest of the series of the same high quality, the series will be indispensable for most libraries. Library Journal Mechthild of Magdeburg: The Flowing Light of the Godhead translated and introduced by Frank Tobin preface by Margot Schmidt "I was warned against writing this book. People said: If one did not watch out, It could be burned. So I did as I used to do as a child. When I was sad, I always had to pray... At once God revealed himself to my joyless soul, held this book in his right hand and said: 'My dear One, do not be overly troubled. No one can burn the truth.'" "I do not know how to write nor can I, unless I see with the eyes of my soul and hear with the ears of my eternal spirit and feel in all the parts of my body the power of the Holy Spirit." Mechthild of Magdeburg (c.1260-c.1282/94) These quotations taken from Mechthild's sole writing, The Flowing Light of the Godhead, written over several decades, reflect both the intensity of her consciousness of God and the tension under which she wrote. As a beguine with no authority to teach n a church in which women were being increasingly marginalized, Mechthild speaks out despite warnings, convinced of the validity of her divine mission. To accomplish the task of articulating her revelations and spiritual insights, Mechthild makes use of an astonishing multiplicity of literary and rhetorical means. The more mystical passages, often lyrical in expression, show her familiarity with bride mysticism and other Christian expressions found in Meister Eckhart, as well. This is the first English translation to be based on the new critical edition of Mechthild's book. The introduction and notes are intended to provide a theological, literary and historical context for capturing the spirituality of her remarkable and independent spirit.

Meister Eckhart was a thirteenth-century Dominican mystic who became famous as a teacher, thinker, and preacher. His brilliant career, which included a chair of theology at the University of Paris and several important posts within his order, ended tragically when he was tried and convicted of heresy. In Meister Eckhart Frank Tobin presents an overview of Eckhart's thought and language and of the relationship between the two. Tobin finds Eckhart's thinking unusual in its insistence that neither the division nor the union between God and creation had been expressed adequately. Moreover, Eckhart was radical in uncompromisingly applying metaphysics to a study of human spiritual progress and insisting that all ethical value derives from the "interior" work of the soul rather than its expression in "exterior" work. The originality of Eckhart's thought is nowhere more evident than in his interpretations of the Bible. His sermons and treatises are distinguished from others by his ability to uncover unexpected and intellectually stimulating, and at times breathtaking, meaning of a speculative or mystical nature in what often seemed to be straightforward and even drab biblical passages. Part of this originality stemmed from Eckhart's attitude toward exegesis and his theory of language, both of which centered on the difficulty of expressing speculation on the infinite through finite and limited language. As a result of this attitude, Eckhart became a master of the startling paradox. Through an analysis of Eckhart's linguistic strategies, Tobin shows that the Dominican's use of language follows with remarkable consistency from his view of language. He shows also that an understanding of Eckhart's style gives invaluable insight into his thought. Tobin compares Eckhart's ideas with those of Thomas Aquinas to help clarify both Eckhart's originality and his place in the scholastic tradition. Meister Eckhart: Thought and Language will be of value to scholars interested in medieval studies, church history, philosophy, intellectual history, and medieval German language and literature.