The Inevitable Eckhart: The Critical Reception of Eckhartian Motives in the Work of Jan van Leeuwen

abstract:The influence of Meister Eckhart on European mystical culture is heavily debated. In recent scholarship there seems to be a growing resistance to recognize too easily Eckhart's mark on medieval mystical traditions outside Germany. This article will show how language and motives commonly associated with the work of Eckhart and his followers did leave its traces in Brabant mysticism, and especially in the work of the Groenendaal author Jan van Leeuwen, pupil of the famous Jan van Ruusbroec. Its findings suggest that controversial topics, e.g., the relation between the created and uncreated parts of the soul, the necessity of grace for salvation and the value of good works, were also for Brabant mysticism pivotal conundrums.