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Document Details : Title: Mending a Mirror with a Stone? Subtitle: On Marguerite Porete's Mirror of Simple Souls and John of Ruusbroec's Sparkling Stone Author(s): ARBLASTER, John Journal: Studies in Spirituality Volume: 34 Date: 2025 Pages: 51-73 DOI: 10.2143/SIS.34.0.3294888 Abstract : The works of John of Ruusbroec (1293-1381) are generally thought to be antagonistic towards Marguerite Porete’s (†1310) Mirror of Simple Souls. The scholarly consensus is that if Ruusbroec knew and read the Mirror, he condemned it. Nevertheless, in the history of their reception, the two authors were aligned so closely with one another that the Mirror was actually attributed to Ruusbroec in the fifteenth century. This contribution examines the textual evidence to establish the possible convergences of thought and expression between Marguerite’s Mirror and Ruusbroec’s Sparkling Stone, particularly concerning their mystical itineraries, the place and role of the virtues, and their respective doctrines of deification and the ‘common’ soul. Setting aside the question of direct influence or condemnation, this comparative analysis seeks to establish what Marguerite and Ruusbroec shared and thus to nuance the prevailing view and offer some suggestions as to why her book might erroneously have been attributed to him. |
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