Prior to the Reformation, there were some who quietly walked with God in greater light than most around them. Frances Bevan has winnowed the pages of history to bring us clarifying and illuminating records of the lives of three true medieval saints: John Tauler, Nicholas of Basle, and Henry Suso.
THE short account given in the following pages of three of the “Friends of God†of the fourteenth century is but a small fragment of a history which would form in itself a voluminous library, the History of the “Brethren†of the Middle Ages, known to us under many names, but in England chiefly as the Lollards or Boni Homines. Whilst men are ready to believe in spiritualism or in any delusions of the evil one, or of the mind of man, they are utterly blind to the fact that the real, true, and supernatural intercourse with God is the privilege and experience of all those who have believed in Jesus. We who believe may well humble ourselves that we know so little of it, but that it is the standing fulfillment of the great promises of John XIV, XV, and XVI we know well, unless indeed we are so wanting in the faith which appropriates those glorious promises, that we have yet to learn what it is to hear the voice of God. In order to give a true and vivid account of the simple, childlike communication with God, granted to these saints of old, care has been taken to keep as closely as possible to their actual words and expressions, even when such expressions betray the ignorance which marks medieval Christianity.
The Friends of God were a group of Catholic mystics having their origins in Germany and Switzerland in the early 14th Century. This was a period of major turmoil in society due to the Black Plague, the collapse of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, the moral decay of the clergy, the struggle for authority between Bavarian Emperor Louis IV and the pope, earthquakes and floods leading to famine, the exile of the papacy to Avignon from Rome, and generalized economic instability. The response of Christians seeking comfort from God was to renew emphasis on developing a closer communion with God by withdrawing from the world in order to cultivate their inner spirituality through meditation and prayer without forsaking the sacraments of the Catholic Church.
*THE SERMON OF DR. TAULER *ANOTHER SERMON OF DR. TAULER *NICHOLAS TELLS THE MASTER WHOLESOME TRUTHS *WHO WAS NICHOLAS? *THE BELIEF OF THE BRETHREN *THE LOVE OF THE BRETHREN *THE PREACHING OF THE BRETHREN *NICHOLAS TELLS HIS STORY TO DR. TAULER *THE MASTER OWNS HIMSELF A SINNER *THE MASTER LEARNS HIS A. B. C. *HOW IT FARED FURTHER WITH THE MASTER *JESUS OF NAZARETH PASSETH BY *THE SERMON TO THE NUNS *THE GREAT POWER OF GOD *THE SERPENT LIFTED UP *THE MERCHANTMEN IN THE TEMPLE *"THE HERITAGE OF THE HEATHEN" *THE FREIGHTED SHIP *THE APPLE TREES *WORK *THE RELIGION OF MAN *REST *THE SUMMER FIELDS *THE CAUSE AND THE EFFECT *THE FULL MEASURE *THE HEART OF GOD *THE UNVEILED FACE *THE VINEYARDS *THE WATER-SPRINGS *OUT OF EGYPT *THE WILDERNESS *THE MASS *THE MYSTICS *THE MASTER's FRIENDS *THE VENGEANCE OF ROME *THE FAREWELL *THE CLOUD *NICHOLAS OF BASLE *A NIGHT TO BE REMEMBERED *FOUR SAD YEARS *LIGHT AND DARKNESS *THE SECT EVERYWHERE SPOKEN AGAINST *THE MOUNTAIN HOME *THE HOUSE OF THE GREEN MEADOW *NICHOLAS AT ROME *THE CHARIOT OF FIRE *THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS OF 1352 *MORE LIGHT AND LESS LOVE *ANOTHER FRIEND OF GOD *"THE GLORY OF THAT LIGHT" *THE DARK SHADOW *THE KNIGHT OF GOD *GOD'S CUP OF MYRRH *"YE SHALL BE HATED OF ALL MEN" *A NEW SONG *THE TABLET OF WAX *THE PREACHER AND THE ENEMY *FROM THE WORLD TO GOD *THE GOSPEL OF THE FRIENDS OF GOD *THE LABOUR ENDED, THE REST BEGUN