What sets the mystical authors apart from other medieval Christians?
Humanities
Please respond to the following questions in a structured, thesis-driven essay in which you give a general description of mysticism, using at least five figures as examples of similarities and differences among mystics. You may choose your emphasis, but you should touch on all aspects of the questions below.
What sets the mystical authors apart from other medieval Christians? How do they describe their extraordinary experiences/states of mind, and what do they sacrifice or renounce in order to reach these states of “unknowing” as a higher form of “knowledge”? How do mystics speak of desire—what metaphors do they use, and what is desire’s “ultimate object”? How do symbols shared by medieval women mystics of the 13th-14thcenturies reflect their mystical theology? Finally, from what ancient resources do they draw in order to give structure and legitimacy to the mystical quest?
