Abstract This essay compares how John Scottus Eriugena and thinkers associated with what has been called the ‘Medieval Dionysian Affective Tradition’ interpret the role of love in mystical union according to the works of Dionysius the Areopagite. At stake are two issues that challenge commonly held assumptions about Eriugena’s work. First, Eriugena is generally regarded as an intellectualist...
In this excellent and very readable introduction to the mystics, the author has adopted a case-study approach to the subject instead of the usual historical or systematic approaches (though he does draw on these to some extent). His approach is reminiscent of the one adopted by William James in his famous Varieties of Religious Experience, though it is crucially and deliberately different. For...
In this book, Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, Professor of Western Esotericism at the University of Exeter, offers a historical introduction to Western esoteric traditions which ranges from the ancient Hellenistic sources through the Renaissance to the present day. Following an introduction which discusses the historiography of esotericism, the work is made up of 12 chapters which cover a wide range...