MyStIcAL VISIonS AnD SpIrItuAL hEALth – MEDIEVAL MyStIcISM AS A pLAtForM For thE EXpLorAton oF huMAn SpIrItuALIty AnD hAppInESS

MyStIcAL VISIonS AnD SpIrItuAL hEALth – MEDIEVAL MyStIcISM AS A pLAtForM For thE EXpLorAton oF huMAn SpIrItuALIty AnD hAppInESS the transcendence of the Body in the Quest for the godhead – A Message for us today? SuMMAry – Medieval mysticism is often identified as a unique and most fascinating religious phenomenon of highest personal qualities prevalent in the late Middle Ages. But we still can derive many insights from the mystical authors for our own modern quest for happiness and physical well-being because they described in often startling and powerful language how they were graced with the inner power to overcome their own bodily limits and to gain access to a new level of inner fulfillment in a spiritual manner, forming a mystical union with the godhead. this can be observed in light of many medieval writers, three of whom are the focus of the present study, Mechthild of Magdeburg, Marguerite porète, and Birgitta of Sweden. 1. The human QuesT FoR haPPiness in The miDDle ages All human beings desire to be healthy and happy. this constitutes life by and in itself and provides meaning, since we all want to have a good, enjoyable life and hope to depend on that, although the definitions regarding both values range widely from culture to culture, from group to group, from period to period, and even from individual to individual. What is the relationship between material goods and spirituality, for instance? By what measure can we claim to be happy, and what measures were used in the Middle Ages, or during other periods to determine happiness achieved by an individual? When hope disappears, by contrast, the human light goes out, so to speak.1 consequently, 1 Bernard n. Schumacher, A philosophy of hope: Josef Pieper and the contemporary debate on hope (trans. D.c. Schindler), new york 2003 (Moral philosophy and Moral theology 5); Eric Severson, Levinas’s philosophy of time: Gift, responsibility, diachrony, hope, pittsburgh (pA) 2013. For an intriguing argument why medieval romance and modern science fiction literature appeal so much to us today, see Flo Keyes, The literature of hope in the Middle Ages and 118 albReChT Classen the desire to achieve happiness, in its myriad of facets and meanings, is deeply rooted in human existence, if not in all beings and even objects in this world. St. Augustine was fully aware of this profound concern, insightfully observing: ‘when I seek you, my god, I seek the happy life’, following with the question: ‘how then do I seek the happy life? For I do not possess it until I can say, “Enough! It is there!”’.2 happiness is possible only when the faithful turn toward god: ‘this is the happy life, to rejoice over you, to you, and because of you’.3 And finally, concluding his ruminations, Augustine states: ‘happy, therefore, will it be, when no obstacle stands between and it shall find joy in that sole truth by which all things are true’.4 In a slightly different way, that is, approaching the topic from a philosophical perspective, Boethius explored in his famous Consolatio philosophiae (ca. 525 c.E.) similar concerns, recognizing, ultimately, the meaning of divine goodness as the source of all happiness. But the concept of happiness, and even of health, prove to be highly challenging and have been discussed from many different perspectives throughout the ages, commonly associated with a discussion about the true nature of god and the relationship between the human individual and god.5 hedonists, or materialists, focus on their physical existence only, while ascetics and spiritualists endeavor to free their spirit from the body and to allow it to ascend toward the other world (heaven, paradise, etc.). however, life always comes to an end, death awaits everyone, and the question regarding happiness has been predominantly answered throughout time from a spiritual perspective, the ultimate justification for all religions. physical health enjoys prime prominence, of course, and bodily illness tends to affect deeply our sense of today: Connections in medieval romance, modern fantasy, and science fiction, Jefferson (nc)- London 2006. he relies heavily on the teachings of c.g. Jung. I would disagree with his view that the Middle Ages were equally in distress as the modern world is right now; one could claim the same for the world of the reformation and the Baroque, etc. 2 The Confessions of St. Augustine (trans. & ed. John K. ryan), new york et al. 1960, Book 10, ch. 20, 248. 3 The Confessions, Book 10, ch. 22, 251. 4 The Confessions, Book 10, ch. 23, 253. See now ryan n.S. topping, Happiness and wisdom: Augustine’s early theology of education, Washington (Dc) 2012. 5 peter Augustine Lawler, ‘the pursuit of happiness and the discontent of the West’, in: Orbis: A Journal of World Affairs 51 (2007) no.3, 543-556; Albrecht classen, ‘Boethius’ “De consolatione philosophiae”: Eine “explication du texte”’, in: Jahrbuch für Internationale Germanistik 32 (2000) no.2, 44-61. For a good English translation, see Boethius, Consolation of philosophy (trans. & ed. Joel c. relihan), Indianapolis (In)-cambridge 2001. For an excellent discussion of the various position by medieval philosophers, see Kurt Flasch, Das philosophische Denken im Mit telalter: Von Augustin bis Macchiavelli. unter Mitarbeit von Fiorella retucci und olaf pluta. 3rd rev. ed., Stuttgart 2013 (orig. publ. 1986), 46, 48-50, 79, 81-82, 191, 276, et passim. mysTiCal visions anD sPiRiTual healTh 119 spiritual happiness. nevertheless, as this paper will endeavor to show, the phenomenon of medieval mysticism was one major gateway through and away from the physical perception of human existence and a strong movement toward the establishment of happiness in a spiritual sense, transcending, above all, the material limitations and defining health in a mystical fashion. Mysticism proves to be, no doubt, a highly individual, personal, experience, and there is no way of recognizing this type of spiritual experience as a model for modern quests regarding happiness, or even health because we have no objective access to it or cannot simply reproduce it for ourselves. nevertheless, as all the evidence from many different medieval mystical writers indicates, the visions that they reflect upon consistently convey a profound sense of wholeness, fulfillment, satisfaction, and well-being because of an inner transformation. the mystical revelations has consistently meant for the individual graced by it a new level of self-realization in the spiritual sense of the word. Little wonder, hence, that mystics have always provoked either deep admiration or abject condemnation, so it behooves us to study their messages even today, trying to comprehend what constituted happiness and spiritual enlightenment for those medieval mystical authors and to grasp what their insights implied for themselves and for all their posterity. 2. meDieval mysTiCs go TheiR oWn Way During the European Middle Ages, mystics gained great respect and enjoyed, if they did not clash with suspicious, envious authorities, wide-spread support and admiration, whether we think of such luminaries as hildegard of Bingen, catherine of Siena, or Bridget of Sweden. others were victimized and died in the flames, such as Marguerite porète or Joan of Arc. research on medieval mysticism is legion by now, and it would be difficult to think of a mystical writer who would not yet have been recognized as a noteworthy spokesperson of and for this enigmatic but fascinating religious quest and experience. Mysticism has, in a way, actually continued until today, both in the christian world and among other religious groups, so the focus on medieval texts is only a pragmatic decision allowing us to isolate particularly famous cases and to study them in light of our critical question.6 6 gertrud Jaron Lewis, Frank Willaert & Marie-José govers, Bibliographie zur deutschen Frauenmystik des Mittelalters, Berlin 1989 (Bibliographien zur deutschen Literatur des Mittelalters 10); Bernard Mcginn, The flowering of mysticism: Men and women in the new mysticism (). Vol. 3, new york 1998; otto Langer, Christliche Mystik im Mittelalter: Mystik und Rationalisierung – Stationen eines Konflikts, Darmstadt 2004. the list of other very solid introductions and overviews of medieval mysticism is very long. 120 albReChT Class