Marguerite Porete | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13th century |
| Died | (1310-06-01)1 June 1310 Place de Grève, Paris,Kingdom of France |
| Cause of death | Burned at the stake |
| Notable work | The Mirror of Simple Souls |
| Era | Medieval philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Christian mysticism |
Main interests | Agape |
Marguerite Porete (French:[maʁɡ(ə)ʁitpɔʁɛt]; 13th century – 1 June 1310) was aBeguine, a French-speakingmystic and the author ofThe Mirror of Simple Souls, a work ofChristian mysticism dealing with the workings ofagape (divine love). She was burnt at the stake forheresy inParis in 1310 after a lengthy trial for refusing to remove her book from circulation or to recant her views.
Today, Porete's work has been of interest to a diverse number of scholars. Those interested inmedieval mysticism, more specificallyBeguine mystical writing,[5][6] citeThe Mirror of Simple Souls in their studies.[7] The book is also seen as a primary text regarding the medievalHeresy of the Free Spirit.[8] Study ofEckhart has shown a similarity between his and Porete's ideas about union with God.[9][10][b] Porete has also been of interest to those studying medievalwomen's writing.[7]
Porete's life is recorded only in the accounts of herInquisition trial for heresy at which she was condemned to be burnt at the stake.[12] The information about Porete is probably biased and certainly incomplete. She was said to have come from theCounty of Hainaut, aFrench-speaking principality in theHoly Roman Empire, but that is uncertain. Her high level of education means that she likely had upper-class origins. She was associated with theBeguine movement and could therefore travel fairly freely.[13]
Porete appears to have written the first version of her book in the 1290s. Sometime between 1296 and 1306, it was deemed heretical, and theBishop of Cambrai condemned it to be publicly burned in her presence at Valenciennes. One of the taboos that Porete had broken was writing the book inOld French, rather than inLatin, and she was ordered not to circulate her ideas or the book again though she continued to do so.
It has recently been suggested that she was arrested inChâlons-en-Champagne in 1308 after she had given her book to the local bishop.[14] She was then handed to the Inquisitor of France, the DominicanWilliam of Paris, also known as William of Humbert, on the grounds of heresy in spite of her assertion in the book that she had consulted three church authorities about her writings, including the highly-respected Master of TheologyGodfrey of Fontaines and had gained their approval.
Porete had been arrested with a Beghard, Guiard de Cressonessart, who was also put on trial for heresy. Guiard declared himself to be Porete's defender. After being held in prison in Paris for a year and a half, their trial began.
Porete refused to speak to William of Paris or any of her other inquisitors during her imprisonment and trial. In 1310, a commission of twenty-one theologians investigated a series of fifteen propositions drawn from the book (only three of which are securely identifiable today) and judged them to be heretical.[15] Among those who condemned the book were the ecclesiastical textual scholarNicholas of Lyra.[8]
Guiard, under tremendous pressure, eventually confessed and was found guilty. Porete, on the other hand, refused to recant her ideas, withdraw her book or cooperate with the authorities and refused to take the oath that was required by the Inquisitor to proceed with the trial. Guiard was imprisoned because he had confessed, but Porete's refusal to confess led the tribunal to pronounce her guilty and sentence her to be burnt at the stake as a relapsed heretic. Three bishops passed final judgement upon her. Porete died on 1 June 1310 in Paris at thePlace de Grève.[7]
The Inquisitor spoke of her as apseudo-mulier and "fake woman" and described theMirror as "filled with errors and heresies".[16] A record of the trial was appended to the chronicle begun byGuillaume de Nangis. Despite the negative view taken towards Marguerite by Nangis, the chronicle reports that the crowd was moved to tears by the calmness with which she faced her death.[17]
After her death, extracts from the book were cited in the decreeAd Nostrum, which was issued by theCouncil of Vienne in 1311 to condemn theBrethren of the Free Spirit as heretical.
The title of Porete's book refers to the simple soul which is united withGod, who gives only will. Some of the language, as well as the format of a dialogue between characters such as Love, Virtue and the Soul, reflects a familiarity with the style ofcourtly love, which was popular at the time, and attests to Porete's high level of education and sophistication.[18][19]
Much of the book resembles a rationalBoethian style argument between several parties and is written similarly to themedieval French poemThe Romance of the Rose.[20] Porete says that the Soul must give up Reason, whose logical conventional grasp of reality cannot fully comprehend God and the presence ofDivine Love. The "Annihilated Soul" is one that has given up everything except God through Love. According to Porete, when the Soul is truly filled with God's love, it is united with God and thus in a state of union which causes it to transcend the contradictions of this world.
In such a beatific state, it cannot sin because it is wholly united with God'sWill of God and thus incapable of acting in such a way, a phenomenon that standard theology describes as the effect ofDivine Grace, which suppresses a person's sinful nature. In fact, one of the main targets of her book is to teach to readers or listeners how to get to the simple state through device like images.[21] It is in that vision of Man being united with God through Love, thus returning to its source, and the presence of God in everything that she connects in thought with the ideas ofMeister Eckhart. Porete and Eckhart had acquaintances in common, and there is much speculation as to whether they ever met or had access to each other's work.
Porete references the words ofJohn the Evangelist in her own writing:
I am God, says Love, for Love is God and God is Love,[c] and this Soul is God by the condition of Love. I am God by divine nature and this Soul is God by righteousness of Love.[d] Thus this precious beloved of mine is taught and guided by me, without herself, for she is transformed into me, and such a perfect one, says Love, takes my nourishment.[23] (Chapter 21:Love answers the argument of Reason for the sake of this book which says that such Souls take leaves of the Virtues)
Porete's vision of the Soul in ecstatic union with God, moving in a state of perpetual joy and peace, is a repetition of the Catholic doctrine of theBeatific Vision albeit experienced in this life, not in the next. Where Porete ran into trouble with some authorities was in her description of the Soul in this state being above the worldly dialectic of conventional morality and the teachings and control of the earthly church. Porete argues that the Soul in such a sublime state is above the demands of ordinary Virtue, not because virtue is not needed but because in its state of union with God virtue becomes automatic. As God can do no evil and cannot sin, the exalted and annihilated Soul, in perfect union with Him, no longer is capable of evil or sin. The church authorities viewed the concept that someone was above the demands of ordinary Virtue as amoral.
After Porete's death, however, theMirror was circulated as an anonymous work. Originally written inOld French, it was translated intoLatin, Italian, and Middle English and circulated widely.[24] In spite of its reputation as a heretical work, it remained popular in medieval times. At one point, it was thought thatJohn of Ruusbroec had written it.
Only in 1946 was the authorship of theMirror recognised again, whenRomana Guarnieri identified Latin manuscripts of theMirror in theVatican as Porete's supposedly-lost book.[25] TheMiddle French manuscript of the text, probably made after 1370, was published for the first time in 1965.[26]
There has been some speculation as to why Porete was considered controversial. Growing hostility to the Beguine movement amongFranciscans andDominicans, the political machinations ofPhilip IV of France, who was also busy suppressing theKnights Templar, and ecclesiastical fear at the spread of the anti-hierarchical Free Spirit movement have all been suggested.[citation needed]
Some also associated her with theBrethren of the Free Spirit, a group that was considered heretical for itsantinomian views. The connection between Porete and the movement is somewhat tenuous, though, as further scholarship has determined that it was less closely related than some church authorities believed.[27]
Porete's status as a medieval mystic has grown in recent decades and placed her alongsideMechthild of Magdeburg andHadewijch in expressing the Love Mysticism of Beguine spirituality.[citation needed]
In 2006, the poetAnne Carson wrote a poeticlibretto entitledDecreation, the second part of which takes as its subject Porete and her work,The Mirror of Simple Souls as part of an exploration of how women (Sappho,Simone Weil and Porete) "tell God",[28]
