biography
| name: |
Seuse, Heinrich
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also known as Henry Suso, originally Heinrich von Berg
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pronunciation:
[soysuh]
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (c.1295–1366)
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| biography:
| Writer, born near Konstanz (Lake Constance), Swabia. Of noble birth, he entered the Dominican order at the age of 13, and in the mid-1320s was a pupil of Meister Eckhart in Cologne, going on to undertake academic and pastoral duties in Switzerland and the upper Rhine. A mystic writer in the tradition of Eckhart, his works, couched in delicate but vivid lyricism, include Das Büchlein der Wahrheit (c.1326) and the popular Büchlein der ewigen Weisheit (1327–34). The latter portrays a dialogue between man as ‘Minnediener’ of the spirit (Seuse spoke of ‘geistlicher Ritterschaft’ - spiritual chivalry) and eternal wisdom as his beloved. He is also credited with the first German-language autobiography, Der Seuse (c.1362), concerned particularly with advice for the convents under his care. |
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