Heresy of the Free Spirit in the Later Middle Ages, The

by Robert E. Lerner

The Heresy of the Free Spirit in the Later Middle Ages has been widely recognized as the standard work on the subject in any language. Robert E. Lerner examines this fourteenth-century European heresy as it appeared in its own age. He concludes that the Free-Spirit movement was not a tightly organized sect of anarchistic deviants, but rather a spectrum of belief that emphasized voluntary poverty and quietist mysticism.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Christianity, Medieval

274 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Walter Polashenski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well documented and explained. The whole idea of sect that never really existed except in the minds of its enemies is amusing. And so apropos of present times.

[Ankh156 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. I didn't know about the Beguines. I had read Eckhardt, but I hadn't placed him historically.