Often also she delights in aphoristic and abrupt sentences. It is sometimes difficult to ascertain just how far her narrations are faithful reproductions of her visions, and how far they are additions made by her own poetic fancy. This is especially true of her realistic description of the hereafter. Writing on hell , she says, "I saw a horrible and wretched place; its name is 'Eternal Hatred'.
She divides hell into three parts; the lowest and most horrible is filled with condemned Christians , the middle with Jews , and the highest with Pagans. Hell , purgatory and heaven are situated one immediately above the other. The lowest portion of purgatory is filled with devils, who torment the souls in the most horrible manner, while the highest portion of purgatory is identical with the lowest portion of heaven. Many a soul in the lowest Purgatory does not know whether it will ever be saved.
The last statement was condemned in the Bull "Exsurge Domine", 15 June, , as one of the errors of Luther : "Animae in purgatorio non sunt securae de earum salute, saltem omnes". Mechtild's conception of the hereafter is believed by some to be the basis of Dante's "Divine Comedy", and the poet's Matelda "Purgatory", Canto to be identical with our Mechtild see Preger, "Dante's Matelda", Munich, Whatever we may think of these and other statements in the work of Mechtild, much of it no doubt , has all the signs of a special inspiration from above.
That she did not seek the favour of man is evident from her fearless denunciation of the vices of the clergy in general and especially the clergy of Magdeburg. Some authors call her saint , though she has not been canonized and apparently has never received any public cult. Gottingen, Berlin, New York: de Gruyter.
Tobin, Frank Hg. Mahwah, NY: Paulist Press. Tobin, Frank J. A medieval mystic in modern eyes. Columbia, S. C: Camden House Studies in German literature, linguistics, and culture, literary criticism in perspective. On our webiste we make use of cookies. Some of which are essential while others help us to improve our services and generate revenue to cover our costs. You may change these settings at any given time by clicking the 'cookie-settings'-link located at the footer of the website.
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Mechthild von Magdeburg. Failure to protect creation will mean facing 'God's judgment,' Pope Francis says Nov 11, Pope urges European solidarity with migrants amid new crisis Nov 11, More than 4, allegations of clergy abuse reported, annual audit shows Nov 11, Blessed are those who mourn now — and do something to make it better Nov 11, Solidarity is not 'a dirty word': Cardinals, experts discuss 'Fratelli Tutti' at one year Nov 11, US bishops' Eucharist teaching draft neglects realities on the ground Nov 11, Berlin archbishop to name minister for gays, calls sidelining 'painful' Aug 10, Las Cruces lawmaker says politics led to denial of Communion Jul 20, Yet her writings dropped into obscurity after her death, many assume because of her gender.
Poor seeks to explain this fate by considering Mechthild's own view of female authorship, the significance of her choice to write in the vernacular, and the continued, if submerged, presence of her writings in a variety of contexts from the thirteenth through the nineteenth century. Rather than explaining Mechthild's absence from literary canons, Poor's close examination of medieval and early modern religious literature and of contemporary scholarly writing reveals her subject's shifting importance in a number of differently defined traditions, high and low, Latin and vernacular, male- and female-centered.
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