The Cambridge Companion to Christian Mysticism

The Cambridge Companion to Christian Mysticism is a multi-authored interdisciplinary guide to the study of Christian mysticism, with an emphasis on the third through the seventeenth centuries. The book is thematically organized in terms of the central contexts, practices and concepts associated with the mystical life in early, medieval and early modern Christianity. This book looks beyond the term 'mysticism', which was an early modern invention, to explore the ways in which the ancient terms 'mystic' and 'mystical' were used in the Christian tradition: what kinds of practices, modes of life and experiences were described as 'mystical'? What understanding of Christianity and of the life of Christian perfection is articulated through mystical interpretations of scripture, mystical contemplation, mystical vision, mystical theology or mystical union? This volume both provides a clear introduction to the Christian mystical life and articulates a bold new approach to the study of mysticism.

Multi-authored by leading scholars
Interdisciplinary - includes work by scholars in religious studies, theological studies, history, English literature, comparative literature, Spanish literature, German studies and art history
The organization of the material is different to any other introduction to the study of Christian mysticism, focusing on key terms derived from early, medieval and early modern Christian texts

Product details

Published: November 2012
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780521682275
Length: 404 pages
Dimensions: 226 × 152 × 25 mm
Weight: 0.54kg
Contains: 5 b/w illus.
Availability: Available

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Contents

Introduction Amy Hollywood and Patricia Z. Beckman
Part I. Contexts:
1. Early monasticism Douglas Burton-Christie
2. Song, experience, and the book in Benedictine monasticism Amy Hollywood
3. New religious movements in medieval western Europe Walter Simons
4. Early modern reformations Edward Howells
Part II. Key Terms:
5. Apophatic and cataphatic theology Andrew Louth
6. Lectio divina E. Ann Matter
7. Meditatio/meditation Thomas Bestul
8. Oratio/prayer Rachel Fulton Brown
9. Visio/vision Veerle Fraeters
10. Raptus/rapture Dyan Elliott
11. Unio mystica/mystical union Bernard McGinn
12. Actio et contemplatio/action and contemplation Charlotte Radler
Part III. Contemporary Questions:
13. Latin and the vernaculars Barbara Newman
14. Transmission Sara S. Poor
15. Writing Charles M. Stang
16. The body and its senses Patricia Dailey
17. Mysticism and visuality Jeffrey Hamburger
18. Emotions Fiona Somerset
19. Authority Mary Frohlich
20. Gender Alison Weber
21. Sexuality Constance Furey
22. Time and memory Patricia Dailey.

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Contributors

Amy Hollywood, Patricia Z. Beckman, Douglas Burton-Christie, Walter Simons, Edward Howells, Andrew Louth, E. Ann Matter, Thomas Bestul, Rachel Fulton Brown, Veerle Fraeters, Dyan Elliott, Bernard McGinn, Charlotte Radler, Barbara Newman, Sara S. Poor, Charles M. Stang, Patricia Dailey, Jeffrey Hamburger, Fiona Somerset, Mary Frohlich, Alison Weber, Constance Furey

Editors

Amy Hollywood , Harvard Divinity School
Amy Hollywood is Elizabeth H. Monrad Professor of Christian Studies at Harvard Divinity School. She is the author of The Soul as Virgin Wife: Mechthild of Magdeburg, Marguerite Porete, and Meister Eckhart (1995); Sensible Ecstasy: Mysticism, Sexual Difference, and the Demands of History (2002) and Acute Melancholia and Other Essays (forthcoming). She has written widely on topics medieval and modern and is currently engaged in a historical, philosophical and theological exploration of enthusiasm in the modern West. She is also the editor of the Gender, Theory and Religions series for Columbia University Press and on the editorial board for the University of Chicago Press's Religion and Postmodernity series.
Patricia Z. Beckman , St Olaf College, Minnesota
Patricia Z. Beckman teaches in the Department of Religion and the Great Conversation program at St Olaf College. Her research and writing explore medieval women's mystical teaching and practice, especially Mechthild of Magdeburg's. She serves on the Council of the American Society of Church History and has worked as senior fellow for the Ford Foundation Difficult Dialogues project. She is an advocate for the public understanding, discussion and debate of all things religious and historical.

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