Here are the writings of the man who was the great link between the early Christian mystics and the mystical awakening in medieval Europe. Richard (?-1173) was born in Scotland and joined the Abbey of St. Victor in Paris, where he became Superior and Prior.

Joseph Dan, the Gershom Scholem Professor of Kabbalah Emeritus at the Hebrew University and long-time Professor of Jewish Studies at the Freie Universitat Berlin, is one of the most influential figures in the fields of Jewish mystical thought, homiletical and ethical literature, modern Messianism and Hasidism, and contemporary 'belles-lettres'. His studies of the diverse aspects of Jewish creativity, with close attention to the dialectics of religious-cultural continuity versus historical innovation, provide a comprehensive overview of the complex history of Jewish thought and its multiple creative faces. It is precisely for this reason, to honor Joseph Dan's multifaceted research, that his many colleagues, students, and friends, scattered among universities around the world, have decided to focus their contributions in this Festschrift on the continuing process of creation and re-creation in Jewish thought throughout the centuries. Contributors: Philip Alexander, Dan Ben-Amos, Peter Schafer, Margarete Schluter, Bernard McGinn, Klaus Herrmann, Herbert Davidson, Annelies Kuyt, Haym Soloveitchik, Eli Yassif, Gerold Necker, Marc Saperstein, Giuseppe Veltri, Aviezer Ravitzky, Avinoam Rosenak, Kimmy Caplan, Saverio Campanini, Eric Jacobson, Yair Zakovitch, Rachel Elior, David Weiss Halivni, Avigdor Shinan, Avraham Grossman, Giulio Busi, Moshe Hallamish, Chava Turniansky, Jacob Elbaum, Hagit Matras, Joseph Hacker, Raya Haran, Arnold J. Band, Hamutal Bar Yosef, Miri Kubovy, Naama ben Shahar.

Arranged alphabetically, with a brief introduction that clearly defines the scope and purpose of the book. Illustrations include maps, B/W photographs, genealogical tables, and lists of architectural terms.

This sweeping study of mysticism by Jess Hollenback considers the writings and experiences of a broad range of traditional religious mystics, including Teresa of Avila, Black Elk, and Gopi Krishna. It also makes use of a new category of sources that more traditional scholars have almost entirely ignored, namely, the autobiographies and writings of contemporary clairvoyants, mediums, and out-of-body travelers. This study contributes to the current debate about the contextuality of mysticism by presenting evidence that not only are the mystic's interpretations of and responses to experiences culturally and historically conditioned, but historical context and cultural environment decisively shape both the perceptual and affective content of the mystic's experience as well. Hollenback also explores the linkage between the mystic's practice of recollection and the onset of other unusual or supernormal manifestations such as photisms, the ability to see auras, telepathic sensitivity, clairvoyance, and out-of-body experiences. He demonstrates that these extraordinary phenomena can actually deepen our understanding of mysticism in unexpected ways. A unique feature of this book is its in-depth analysis of &"empowerment,&" an important phenomenon ignored by most scholars of mysticism. Empowerment is a peculiar enhancement of the imagination, thoughts, and desires that frequently accompanies mystical states of consciousness. Hollenback shows its cross-cultural persistence, its role in constructing the perceptual and existential environments within which the mystic dwells, and its linkage to the fundamental contextuality of mystical experience.

In contrast to studies which portray Marie de l'Incarnation as a stellar representative of Catholic tradition, and against the scholarly trend in mysticism studies which assumes that mystical writing follows typical patterns, this book focuses on the mystic's fascinating encounter with the natives of New France and its enormous impact on her spiritual self-image.

The Mystical Science of the Soul explores the unexamined influence of medieval discourses of science and spirituality on recogimiento, the unique Spanish genre of recollection mysticism that served as the driving force behind the principal developments in Golden Age mysticism. Building on recent research in medieval optics, physiology, and memory in relation to the devotional practices of the late Middle Ages, Jessica A. Boon probes the implications of an ‘embodied soul’ for the intellectual history of Spanish mysticism. Boon proposes a fundamental rereading of the key recogimiento text Subida del Monte Sión (1535/1538), which melds the traditionally distinct spiritual techniques of moral self-examination, Passion meditation, and negative theology into one cognitively adept path towards mystical union. She is also the first English-language scholar to treat the author of this influential work – the Renaissance physician Bernardino de Laredo, a pivotal figure in the transition from medieval to early modern spirituality on the Iberian peninsula and a source for Teresa of Avila’s mystical language.

Mystics who have spoken of their union with God have come under suspicion in all three major religious traditions, sometimes to the point of condemnation and execution in the case of Christianity and Islam. Nevertheless, in all three religions the tradition of unio mystica is deep and long. Many of the spiritual giants of these three faiths have seen the attainment of mystical union as the heart of their beliefs and practices. Despite its importance, mystical union has rarely been investigated in itself, apart from the wider study of mysticism, and even more rarely from the aspect of comparative studies, especially those based upon broad and expert knowledge of the inner life of the three related monotheistic faiths. This text brings together essays that equally explore the broader idea of unio mystica as well as the mystic traditions within each religion.