Mechthild von Magdeburg

Albrecht Classen (University of Arizona)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

Born c. 1208
Died 1282
Activity 1227-1282

Places

Born in Germany
Active in

Activities

Primary

Mystic

Resources

Mechthild von Magdeburg was one of the most influential late-medieval German mystical authors. As her name itself indicates, Mechthild originated from Magdeburg in northeastern Germany and seems to have been the daughter of a low-ranking noble family. She was born c. 1208 and died c. 1282 or 1294. While she lived most of her life as a Beguine in the vicinity of Magdeburg, in her old age she moved to the Cistercian monastery of Helfta near Eisleben in Saxony-Anhalt, where c. 200 years later the famous future Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, was born in 1483. Although Mechthild wrote all of her texts in Middle Low German, and not in Latin, she enjoyed a high reputation both among her fellow-sisters in Helfta, and later all over Germany.…

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1380 words

Citation: Classen, Albrecht. "Mechthild von Magdeburg". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 December 2020 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5549, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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