Tauler and Merswin: Friends in God?

Author: Webster, Helen

Source: Oxford German Studies, Volume 36, Number 2, 2007 , pp. 212-226(15)

Publisher: Maney Publishing

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Abstract:

This article examines the nature of spiritual friendship within the writings of the Dominican preacher Johannes Tauler and Rulman Merswin, the author of a number of works purporting to have been written by the fictitious 'Gottesfreund von Oberland'. The works associated with the 'Gottesfreund von Oberland' were previously thought to reflect the actual existence of a network of individuals who regarded themselves as 'Gottesfreunde'. In fact, neither Tauler nor Merswin promotes the model of multi-directional friendship binding together larger groups or communities of people. Instead, spiritual friendship is seen as a one-to-one mentoring relationship in which the more advanced individual helps his less experienced friend during a certain phase of the latter's spiritual development.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1179/174592107x254931

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