Bevan, Frances (1827-1909)

Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

Description: This collection contains English translations of some of the best-known German Pietist poems and hymns throughout the centuries. Characteristic of their Pietist authors, the hymns' contents are deeply personal and sometimes mystical. Fortunately, little beauty and meaning is lost in Bevan's fine translations. The works of Gerhard Tersteegen (1697- 1769) and Heinrich Seuse, also known as Henry Suso (1300-1366), among others, are included. With this second volume, Bevan expands his collection of translations with English renderings of Mechthild of Magdeburg’s lyrical poetry. The medieval Catholic nun, whom some consider an “evangelical witness” of her time, influenced many of the German hymnists that followed her with The Flowing Light of Divinity, her single written work.

Kathleen O’Bannon
CCEL Staff

Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

Description: This collection contains English translations of some of the best-known German Pietist poems and hymns throughout the centuries. Characteristic of their Pietist authors, the hymns' contents are deeply personal and sometimes mystical. Fortunately, little beauty and meaning is lost in Bevan's fine translations. The works of Gerhard Tersteegen (1697- 1769) and Heinrich Seuse, also known as Henry Suso (1300-1366), among others, are included.

Kathleen O'Bannon
CCEL Staff

Matelda and the Cloister of Hellfde

Description: Mechthild von Magdeburg, a German mystic of the 13th century, recorded descriptions of her visions of God in her book The Flowing Light of Divinity. More often than not, Mechthild recounted her visions in poetry rather than in prose. Passionately and exuberantly, she wrote of Heaven, Hell, and her unique and powerful love of Christ. Some scholars conjecture that Dante alluded to the German nun in his Divine Comedy with the character of Matelda. Frances Bevan, translator of German hymns by Gerhard Tersteegen and others, offers here an English translation of selections from Mechthild’s work.

Kathleen O’Bannon
CCEL Staff

Three Friends of God: Records from the Lives of John Tauler, Nicholas of Basle, Henry Suso

Description: The Friends of God are an informal group of Catholic mystics who organized themselves in Germany and Switzerland in the early 14th century. These Friends strove to deepen both their communal relationships as well as their inner spirituality. Tauler was a master of combining the mystical with the concrete, the spiritual with the practical. He taught that each human has a desire for God which is satisfied through detachment from earthly things. Suso also believed that to achieve perfect, soul-level union with God, a person had to die to himself and become detached from the world. History provides a "very imperfect sketch" of Nicholas Basle according to Bevan. For many years, Basle was thought to be the mysterious "Master" described in many of the Friends' documents, but it was later discovered that the Master was a fictional character. Bevan's book is a biographical narrative of these three Friends' lives complete with dialogue. They discuss numerous facets of Catholicism and mysticism, and readers interested in these subjects will enjoy the work.

Abby Zwart
CCEL Staff Writer