An Introduction from the Editor of Medieval Mystical Theology

Abstract

Welcome to another issue ofMedieval Mystical Theology. On behalf of The Eckhart Society, I would like to dedicate this issue of the journal to the memory of Anthony Finnerty, who sadly passed away in March. Anthony was a widely respected and long-time member of The Eckhart Society, who had most recently been serving as the Society’s Chairman. The latter is a demanding role that Anthony characteristically performed with total devotion and expertise. His leadership and presence at the annual Eckhart Society Conferences will be especially missed, while his kindness, wisdom, dignity, humour, and warmth will be irreplaceable. 2020 marked the 10th anniversary of the journal in its new form as Medieval Mystical Theology, after having previously been known as the Eckhart Review. Having broadened its editorial remit, the journal is now peer-reviewed by scholars to ensure academic quality, and enjoys an increasing global reach in terms of both authorship and readership. To celebrate this anniversary, we have a special essay by the esteemed, Bernard McGinn, on Meister Eckhart, which will appear in two parts across both issues. The journal has not published an essay in this way before, and I am excited to see how this formula is received. We also have an essay on Bonaventure by Joseph Milne, who is among those authors (including Rebecca Stephens and Richard Woods) whose work has most regularly appeared in the journal. We thank him for his loyalty and the consistent quality and range of his essays dating back to 1993. And I am delighted to introduce two new authors who have not appeared in the journal before, namely, Eliza Parsons and Daniel Soars, who have each produced extremely rich essays exploring complex and subtle topics. Finally, I would like to introduce Luke Penkett, who is the journal’s new book reviews editor. You will see that Luke has already made a significant mark in this role by providing three of the four book reviews for this issue. His enthusiasm and professionalism is most impressive, and on behalf of the Society I would like to welcome and thank him for taking on this important role. If any of you would like to contact Luke to review a book, you can do so at: lukepenkett@outlook.com