Nobility and annihilation in Marguerite Porete's Mirror of simple souls / Joanne Maguire Robinson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Robinson, Joanne Maguire, 1966-

Series:

SUNY series in Western esoteric traditions

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Porete, Marguerite, approximately 1250-1310. Miroir des simples âmes.

Porete, Marguerite.

Contemplation--History of doctrines--Middle Ages, 600-1500.

Contemplation.

Mysticism--France--History--Middle Ages, 600-1500.

Mysticism.

Women mystics--France--History.

Women mystics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvi, 178 pages)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This first book-length study of Marguerite Porete's important mystical text, The Mirror of Simple Souls, examines Porete's esoteric and optimistic doctrine of annihilation—the complete transformative union of the soul into God—in its philosophical and historical contexts. Porete was burned at the stake as a relapsed heretic in 1310. Her theological treatise survived the flames, but it circulated anonymously or under male pseudonyms until 1946, and her message endures as testament to a distinctive form of medieval spirituality.Robinson begins by focusing on traditional speculations regarding the origin, nature, limitations, and destiny of humankind. She then examines Porete's work in its more immediate historical and literary contexts, focusing on the ways in which Porete conceptualizes and expresses her radical doctrine of annihilation through contemporary metaphors of lineage and nobility.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Nobility as Historical Reality and Theological Motif

The “Beguine Clergeresse” and Her Mirror

God, the Soul, and No-thingness

Nobility and Annihilation

Conclusion

Appendix

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 161-174) and index.

ISBN:

9780791490693

0791490696

OCLC:

49852717