Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net A MEDIÆVAL MYSTIC A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF BLESSED JOHN RUYSBROECK, CANON REGULAR OF GROENENDAEL A.D. 1293-1381 BY DOM VINCENT SCULLY, C.R.L. (_Permissu Superiorum_) LONDON THOMAS BAKER MCMX PRINTED BY HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD., LONDON AND AYLESBURY. TO THE RIGHT REV. AUGUSTIN H. WHITE, C.R.L. LORD ABBOT OF WALTHAM CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ix I. EARLY YEARS AND EDUCATION 1 II. AS A SECULAR PRIEST IN BRUSSELS 6 III. FALSE MYSTICS 10 IV. THE HERMITAGE OF GROENENDAEL 17 V. THE CANONS REGULAR OF GROENENDAEL 25 VI. PRIOR OF GROENENDAEL 33 VII. RUYSBROECK'S TREE 43 VIII. A DIRECTOR OF SOULS 47 IX. RUYSBROECK AND GERARD GROOTE 50 X. RUYSBROECK AND WINDESHEIM 58 XI. THE WRITINGS OF RUYSBROECK 67 XII. THE TEACHING OF RUYSBROECK 93 XIII. SOME APPRECIATIONS 105 XIV. LAST DAYS 118 XV. THE CULTUS OF BLESSED JOHN RUYSBROECK 124 INTRODUCTION