Spiritual Literature in the Late Medieval Low Countries

By (author) Thom Mertens Edited by John Arblaster Edited by Patricia Stoop Edited by Daniel Ermens Edited by Veerle Fraeters Edited by Kees Schepers

Book cover: Spiritual Literature in the Late Medieval Low Countries

Extent: 472, 472 pages

Publisher: Brepols Publishers

Subjects: Medieval Studies, Religious Studies

Series: Brepols Collected Essays in European Culture

Series volume number: 7

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(May 2024)

ISBN: 9782503581002

Price: $150.00

In stock

This volume brings together fifteen seminal essays by Thom Mertens, a professor at the Ruusbroec Institute (Ruusbroecgenootschap) at Antwerp University since 1985, and a pioneer in the study of the late medieval spiritual literature of the Low Countries, a field that had previously been neglected in favour of the study of belle lettres. This volume is therefore also a celebration of the paradigm shift that Mertens led, as he demonstrated that most of the late medieval texts produced in the Low Countries actually qualify as spiritual literature, and that these understudied literary works are of prime importance within late medieval textual culture. Of the essays gathered here, nine have been translated into English for the first time, while six have been re-edited, forming a collection that bears witness to the importance of Dutch literature as a broader part of the vernacular literatures of Western Europe, and of the societies that gave rise to these works. It is in large part thanks to Mertens’ efforts that serious scholarly engagement with these spiritual texts, their characteristics, and their function has become a field of research in its own right that continues to flourish.

  • By (author) Thom Mertens
  • Edited by John Arblaster
  • Edited by Patricia Stoop
  • Edited by Daniel Ermens
  • Edited by Veerle Fraeters
  • Edited by Kees Schepers