The Mystical Presence of Christ: The Exceptional and the Ordinary in Late Medieval Religion

The Mystical Presence of Christ explores the connections between exceptional experiences of Christ's presence and ordinary devotion to Christ in the late medieval West. It reconsiders the who and how of Christ's mystical presence, examining various contexts of Christ manifestations and the relationship between saintly individuals and their hagiographers.

Format: Hardback
Length: 382 pages
Publication date: 05 August 2022
Publisher: Cornell University Press

The Mystical Presence of Christ delves into the intricate connections between extraordinary experiences of Christ's presence and ordinary devotion to Christ in the late medieval West. Richard Kieckhefer challenges the notion that such experiences, such as encountering Christ's figure or hearing his voice, are mere exceptional occurrences that happen at specific moments. Instead, he reveals the interconnectedness between these extraordinary experiences and those that arise through the imagery, language, and rituals of everyday devotional culture.

Kieckhefer begins his book by reevaluating the who and how of Christ's mystical presence. He argues that Christ's humanity and divinity were equally essential preconditions for encounters, both exceptional and ordinary, which he proposes exist on a spectrum of experience that spans from presupposition to intuition and ultimately to perception. Kieckhefer then explores various contexts of Christ manifestations, such as during prayer, meditation, and liturgy, paying close attention to gender dynamics and the relationship between saintly individuals and their hagiographers. Through comprehensive discussions of a diverse range of texts and figures from the long fourteenth century (including Angela of Foligno, the nuns of Helfta, Margery Kempe, Dorothea of Montau, Meister Eckhart, Henry Suso, and Walter Hilton), Kieckhefer demonstrates that seemingly exceptional manifestations of Christ were deeply embedded within ordinary religious experiences.

In scope and methodology, The Mystical Presence of Christ is a groundbreaking work that reimagines the interplay between the extraordinary and the ordinary in the workings of late medieval religion. It offers a fresh perspective on the relationship between faith and the senses, illuminating how the mystical experiences of the faithful were intertwined with the broader cultural and religious context of the late medieval West. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of medieval history, religious studies, and the history of spirituality.

Weight: 28g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501765117