Eckhart, Meister

views updated

Eckhart, Meister (c. 1260–1327). German Christian mystic. Accused of heresy in 1326, he died during the proceedings. In the 14th cent., his insistence on the reality of God's gift to humanity of himself in his son, a gift which deifies the human, sounded pantheistic; conversely, his development of seelenfünklein, the spark of the soul, achieving union with God, sounded as though the two are merged.

Despite his condemnation, his influence, largely mediated by Tauler and Henry Suso, was considerable.

More From encyclopedia.com