H
HADEWIJCH
(fl. first half of the 13th c.). Only sparse information about Hadewijch’s life is known to
us today, although her works greatly influenced Carthusian spirituality and the Devotio
moderna movement, in particular Ruusbroec (1293–1381) and Jan van Leeuwen (1314–
1378). Hadewijch might have been active in either Brussels or Antwerp as a béguine,
living together with other women who became her students or, as documented in her
moving letters, her enemies. Her writings, all composed in the dialect of Brabant, were
produced probably between 1220 and 1240. Hadewijch’s work, now considered one of
the most remarkable medieval mystical texts in the vernacular, consists of thirty-one
letters, forty-five stanzaic poems, fourteen visions, and sixteen poems in rhyming
couplets.
All texts focus on minnemystiek, or bridal mysticism. They are characterized by the
rhetoric of courtly love poetry and a sophisticated understanding of Christian teachings,
which testify to Hadewijch’s extraordinary education. The key force in Hadewijch’s
teachings on mystical transformation is minne, or Love, allegorized as a fickle and
impatient female teacher. According to N. de Paepe, she represents the human capacity to
love God. In focusing on minne in a sustained and rigorous fashion, the human soul can
achieve a state that facilitates the enjoyment of mystical union with Christ in this life.
Ulrike Wiethaus
[See also: MYSTICISM; WOMEN, RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE OF]
Hadewijch. Hadewijch: Brieven; Mengeldichten; Strophische Gedichten; Visioenen. 6 vols.
Antwerp: Staandard-Boekhandel. 1924–52.
——. Hadewijch: The Complete Works, trans. Columba Hart. New York: Paulist, 1980.
——. Hadewijch: Strofische Gedichten, ed. and trans. E. Rombauts and N.de Paepe. Zwolle:
Tjeenk Willink, 1961.
Guest, Tanis N. Some Aspects of Hadewijch’s Poetic Form in the “Strofische Gedichten.” The
Hague: Nijhoff, 1975.
Milhaven, John G. Hadewijch and Her Sisters. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993.
Weevers, Theodoor. Poetry of the Netherlands in Its European Context: 1170–1930. London:
Athlone, 1960.
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