MESTRE ECKHART E AS BEGUINAS: UMA ESPIRITUALIDADE QUE CONTRARIOU O PODER CONSTITUÍDO.

Abstract

The purpose here is to argue about the historical context of medieval mysticism in the 13th century and the thought that surrounds the relationship between Master Eckhart and the so-called beguines. To this end, I intend to situate the Catholic Church as a medieval institution that sought to control religious manifestations and particular religiosities originating from Neoplatonic philosophies. Within this specific context, I highlight the introspective mysticism to which Master Eckhart dedicates himself, and which also receives the nomenclature of speculative mysticism, given its intellectualized characteristic. This introspective mystique was not an invention of the century of Master Eckhart and the beguines. However, it takes on a new “look” and, as a result, reaches a significant audience. It is precisely this point that worries the Catholic institution, which accuses Master Eckhart and the beguines of being heretics or suspected of corrupting people. The sources used by these come from Neoplatonism, of which their speculations involve concepts such as Union, return, One, One-Good; in addition, its mysticism is strictly related to the contemplative, blissful life, which could be seen as a mysticism that has political and, therefore, practical implications and positions. Thus, I take as an example for argumentation, Master Eckhart's spiritual daughter, Katrei, to cite the thought of the beguines who involved the 13th and 14th centuries of tension and concern in the Catholic Church with its inquisitorial courts. To do so, I will use the work Thinking in the Middle Ages (1999) by Alain de Libera, as well as Eckhartian works and studies: the translation of Eckhart's Condemnation by Guerizoli (2000) and Eckhart's German Sermons (2006 and 2008).