Light, Life, and Love: Selections from the German Mystics of the Middle Ages

In this thoughtful collection, listeners are guided back to the vibrant spiritual currents of medieval Germany, a time when faith intertwined with the fevered energy of chivalry, reform, and social upheaval. The introduction sketches the era’s key players—Eckhart’s groundbreaking theology, the passionate Beguines and Beghards, and the daring voice of Mechthild of Magdeburg—showing how their inner‑looking devotion challenged the comforts of church hierarchy and sparked both admiration and persecution.

The selections themselves offer a kaleidoscope of mystic meditations, prayers, and lyrical reflections that reveal a yearning for direct encounter with the divine. As the pieces unfold, listeners hear the tension between lofty philosophical wonder and the stark realities of famine, crusades, and the struggle of the marginalized. The anthology invites a fresh appreciation of how these medieval seekers wove light, life, and love into a lasting spiritual legacy that still whispers across the centuries.