Blessed Henry Suso | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religious, priest and mystic | |
| Born | 21 March 1295 Free Imperial City ofÜberlingen,Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 25 January 1366(1366-01-25) (aged 70) Free Imperial City of Ulm, Holy Roman Empire |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 22 April 1831,Saint Peter's Basilica,Papal States byPope Gregory XVI |
| Feast | 25 January (previously 2 March) |
| Influences | Meister Eckhart |
Henry Suso, OP (also calledAmandus, a name adopted in his writings, andHeinrich Seuse orHeinrich von Berg inGerman; 21 March 1295 – 25 January 1366) was aGermanDominican friar and the most popular vernacular writer of the fourteenth century (when considering the number of surviving manuscripts). An important author in both Latin and Middle High German, he is also notable for defendingMeister Eckhart's legacy after Eckhart was posthumously condemned for heresy in 1329.[1] He died inUlm on 25 January 1366, and wasbeatified by the Catholic Church in 1831.
Suso was bornHeinrich von Berg, a member of the ruling family ofBerg. He was born in either thefree imperial city ofÜberlingen onLake Constance or nearbyConstance, on 21 March 1295 (or perhaps on that date up to 1297–99).[2] Later, out of humility and devotion to his mother, he took her family name, which was Sus (or Süs, meaning "sweet"). At 13 years of age he was admitted to thenovitiate of the Dominican Order at theirpriory inConstance. After completing that year of probation, he advanced to do his preparatory, philosophical, andtheological studies there.
In the prologue to hisLife, Suso recounts how, after about five years in the monastery (in other words, when he was about 18 years old), he experienced a conversion to a deeper form ofreligious life through the intervention of Divine Wisdom. He made himself "the Servant of Eternal Wisdom", which he identified with the divine essence and, in more specific terms, with divine Eternal Wisdom made man in Christ. From this point forward in his account of his spiritual life, a burning love for Eternal Wisdom dominated his thoughts and controlled his actions; his spiritual journey culminated in amystical marriage to Christ in the form of theEternal Wisdom,[3] an allegorical Goddess in the Hebrew Bible associated with Christ in medieval devotion.[4][5]
Suso was then sent on for further studies in philosophy and theology, probably first at the Dominican monastery inStrasbourg, perhaps between 1319 and 1321, and then from 1324 to 1327 he took a supplementary course in theology in the DominicanStudium Generale inCologne, where he would have come into contact withMeister Eckhart, and probably alsoJohannes Tauler, both celebrated mystics.[6]
Returning to his home priory at Constance in about 1327, Suso was appointed to the office oflector (lecturer). His teaching, however, aroused criticism – most likely because of his connection with Eckhart in the wake of the latter's trial and condemnation in 1326–29. Suso'sLittle Book of Truth, a short defence of Eckhart's teaching, probably dates from this time, perhaps 1329. In 1330 this treatise, and another, were denounced as heretical by enemies in the Order. Suso traveled to the DominicanGeneral Chapter held atMaastricht in 1330 to defend himself. The outcome is not entirely clear. At some point between 1329 and 1334 he was removed from his lectorship in Constance, though he was not personally condemned.[6]
Knowledge of Suso's activities in subsequent years is somewhat sketchy. It is known that he served as prior of the Constance convent – most likely between 1330 and 1334, though possibly in the 1340s.[6] It is also known that he had various devoted disciples, a group including both men and women, especially those connected to theFriends of God movement. His influence was especially strong in many religious communities of women, particularly in the Dominican Monastery ofSt. Katharinental in theThurgau, a famous nursery of mysticism in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the mid-1330s, during his visits to various communities of Dominicannuns andBeguines, Suso became acquainted withElsbeth Stagel,prioress of the monastery of Dominican nuns inTöss. The two became close friends. She translated some of his Latin writings into German, collected and preserved most of his extant letters, and at some point began gathering the materials that Suso eventually put together into hisLife of the Servant.
Suso shared the exile of the Dominican community from Constance between 1339 and 1346, during the most heated years of the quarrel that began betweenPope John XXII andLouis IV, Holy Roman Emperor which was continued byPope Benedict XII. Suso was transferred to the monastery at Ulm in about 1348. He seems to have remained there for the rest of his life. Here, during his final years (possibly 1361–63), he edited his four vernacular works intoThe Exemplar.
Suso died in Ulm on 25 January 1366.
Early in his life, Suso subjected himself to extreme forms of mortifications; later on he reported that God told him they were no longer necessary. During this period, Suso devised for himself several painful devices. Some of these were: an undergarment studded with a hundred and fifty brass nails, a very uncomfortable door to sleep on, and a cross with thirty protruding needles and nails under his body as he slept. In the autobiographical text in which he reports these, however, he ultimately concludes that they are unnecessary distractions from the love of God.[7]
Suso's first work was theBüchlein der Wahrheit (Little Book of Truth) written between 1328 and 1334 inConstance. This was a short defence of the teaching of Meister Eckhart, who had been tried for heresy and condemned in 1328–29. In 1330 this treatise and another (possibly theLittle Book of Eternal Wisdom) were denounced as heretical by Dominican opponents, leading Suso to travel to the Dominican General Chapter held at Maastricht in 1330 to defend himself.[6]
Suso's next book,Das Büchlein der ewigen Weisheit (The Little Book of Eternal Wisdom), written around 1328–1330,[6] is less speculative and more practical. At some point between 1334 and 1337 Suso translated this work into Latin, but in doing so added considerably to its contents, and made of it an almost entirely new book, which he called theHorologium Sapientiae (Clock of Wisdom). This book was dedicated to the new DominicanMaster General,Hugh of Vaucemain, who appears to have been a supporter of his.[6]
At some point in the following decades, Stagel formed a collection of 28 of Suso's letters in theGrosses Briefbuch (Great Book of Letters), which survives. Suso also wrote a long text purporting to tell the story of his spiritual life and ascetic practices (variously referred to as theLife of the Servant,Life,Vita, orLeben Seuses), and revised theBüchlein der Wahrheit and theBüchlein der ewigen Weisheit. At some point in his later years, perhaps 1361–63, he collected these works, together with 11 of his letters (theBriefbüchlein, orLittle Book of Letters, a selection of letters from theGrosses Briefbuch), and wrote a prologue, to form one book he referred to asThe Exemplar.[8]
There are also various sermons attributed to Suso, although only two appear to be authentic.[8] A treatise known as theMinnebüchlein (Little Book of Love) is sometimes, but probably incorrectly, attributed to Suso.[8]
Suso was very widely read in the later Middle Ages. There are 232 extant manuscripts of theMiddle High GermanLittle Book of Eternal Wisdom.[9] The LatinClock of Wisdom was even more popular: over four hundred manuscripts inLatin, and over two hundred manuscripts in various medieval translations (it was translated into eight languages, including Dutch, French, Italian, Swedish, Czech, and English).[10] Many early printings survive as well. TheClock was therefore second only to theImitation of Christ in popularity among spiritual writings of the later Middle Ages.[11] Among his many readers and admirers wereThomas à Kempis andJohn Fisher.[12]
Wolfgang Wackernagel and others have called Suso a "Minnesinger in prose and in the spiritual order" or a "Minnesinger of the Love of God" both for his use of images and themes from secular, courtly, romantic poetry and for his rich musical vocabulary.[13] The mutual love of God and man which is his principal theme gives warmth and color to his style. He used the full and flexibleAlemannic idiom with rare skill, and contributed much to the formation of good German prose, especially by giving new shades of meaning to words employed to describe inner sensations.[14]
In the world Suso was esteemed as a preacher, and was heard in the cities and towns ofSwabia, Switzerland,Alsace, and the Netherlands. His apostolate, however, was not with the masses, but rather with individuals of all classes who were drawn to him by his singularly attractive personality, and to whom he became a personal director in the spiritual life.
Suso was reported to have established among the Friends of God a society which he called the Brotherhood of the Eternal Wisdom. The so-calledRule of the Brotherhood of the Eternal Wisdom is but a free translation of a chapter of hisHorologium Sapientiae and did not make its appearance until the fifteenth century.
Suso wasbeatified in 1831 byPope Gregory XVI, who assigned 2 March as hisfeast day, celebrated within theDominican Order. The Dominicans now celebrate his feast on 23 January, theferia, or "free" day, nearest the day of his death.
The words of the Christmas song "In dulci jubilo" are attributed to Suso.[15]
The Exemplar (Middle High German):
(translated by Frank Tobin, inThe Exemplar, with Two German Sermons, New York: Paulist Press, 1989, pp. 61–204)
(trans. in F. Tobin, ibid., pp. 204–304)
(trans. in F. Tobin, ibid., pp. 305–332)
(trans. in F. Tobin, ibid., pp. 333–360)
(translated from the German by Sister M. Ann Edward (Sister Mary of the Immaculate Heart). 2 v. (c) Priory Press; 15 Apr 1962)[16]
(translated from the Middle High German by Peter Freens; with illustrations by Anna Ruiters).
Preaching and Letters (Middle High German):
(trans. F. Tobin, (New York: Paulist Press, 1989), pp. 361–376)
Latin:
(translated by Edmund Colledge,Wisdom's Watch upon the Hours,Catholic University of America Press [1994])
Croatian writerSida Košutić wrote novel in a form ofhagiography devoted to him,Sluga Vječne Mudrosti ("Servant of Eternal Wisdom", 1930), in which she depicts him as a Servant, Poet and the Sufferer.[17]
Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: McMahon, Arthur Lawrence (1913). "Bl. Henry Suso". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company.English:
German:
Italian:
Quotations related toHenry Suso at Wikiquote
Media related toHenry Suso at Wikimedia Commons| History Timeline Ecclesiastical Legal |
| ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Theology Bible Tradition Catechism |
| ||||||||||||
| Philosophy | |||||||||||||
| Saints | |||||||||||||
| Organisation Hierarchy Canon law Laity Precedence By country |
| ||||||||||||
| Culture | |||||||||||||
| Media | |||||||||||||
| Religious orders, institutes,societies |
| ||||||||||||
| Associations of the faithful | |||||||||||||
| Charities | |||||||||||||
History of theCatholic Church | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | |||||||||
| Early Church (30–325/476) |
| ||||||||
| Early Middle Ages | |||||||||
| High Middle Ages |
| ||||||||
| Late Middle Ages | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| 19th century | |||||||||
| 20th century |
| ||||||||
| 21st century | |||||||||
| General | |
|---|---|
| Early Church | |
| |
| Early Middle Ages | |
| High Middle Ages |
|
| Mysticism and reforms |
|
| |
| |
| 19th century |
|
| 20th century |
|
| 21st century | |
A list of all the congregations, notable members, priories, churches, and convents of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Virgin Mary | |
|---|---|
| Apostles | |
| Archangels | |
| Confessors |
|
| Disciples | |
| Doctors of the Church |
|
| Evangelists | |
| Church Fathers |
|
| Martyrs |
|
| Missionaries | |
| Patriarchs | |
| Popes |
|
| Prophets | |
| Virgins |
|
| See also | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
