Mechthild of Magdeburg

Mystic, Writer & Author

(1207 – Unknown) · Western Europe

German mystic and Beguine writer born around 1207, author of The Flowing Light of the Godhead, the first major mystical work written in the German vernacular rather than Latin. She wrote with startling emotional directness about her visions and spiritual experiences. She spent her later years at the Helfta monastery under Gertrude the Great.