Issue 127 Medieval Lay Mystics

What's inside

A spiritual awakening for the laity

For 300 years, renewal swept Europe.

Glenn E. Myers

Like and unlike God

Much medieval mysticism had an unlikely source: the writings of an anonymous monk.

Edwin Woodruff Tait

Imitating Christ

Thomas à Kempis and the Brothers and Sisters of the Common Life 

Greg Peters

A medieval mystic untimely born?

In Brother Lawrence the desires that had motivated medieval mystics found fresh expression.

Kathleen Mulhern

The fires of love

From the highest nobility to the lowest working class, medievals heard the call of God over four centuries.

Matt Forster

Medieval Mystics, Did you know?

In the twelfth century, renewal winds began to blow.

the editors

Letters to the editor, CH 127

Readers respond to Christian History.

Our readers and editors

Editor's note: Medieval lay mystics

Scholars agree that around the twelfth century, a variety of forces led to a renewal of lay faith.

Jennifer Woodruff-Tait

Everyone a bride of Christ

Medieval's developed "bridal mysticism."

Glenn E. Myers

Mystic women’s voices in the Middle Ages

Women outnumbered men in medieval mysticism.

Elizabeth Alvilda Petroff

Seeing Christ crucified in her soul

Margery Kempe’s story gives us a window into the daily lives of many devout medieval people.

Joseph Lynch

Paths of influence

The spirituality of medieval mystics inspired Christians for centuries

The editors

Christian History Timeline: Four Vivid Centuries of Medieval Lay Mystics

The world in which medieval mystics worshiped and wrote

Daniel Bornstein, Thomas O. Kay, and the editors.

The agony and the ecstasy

catherine of siena invited others into a passionate, physical devotion

F. Tyler Sergent

"A little thing like a nut"

We know her only as “Lady Julian of Norwich.”

Edwin Woodruff Tait

Medieval mystics: Recommended resources

Here are some recommendations from CH editorial staff and this issue’s authors to help you understand medieval mystics and their world.

The issues authors and editors
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