Marguerite Porete in the Context of Female Religiosity and the Heresy of the Free Spirit
Humanities
His 190Y: Saints and Holiness
This paper examines the context of The Mirror of Simple Souls, the only surviving work of the 13th century heretic Marguerite Porete. Four major themes are examined through her book: the life of Marguerite Porete, the Flemish beguine movement, female mysticism, and the Heresy of the Free Spirit. It examines how each of these features was formative in Marguerite Porete's life and religious experience, and further discusses the social factors common to all four. Specifically it examines how the Beguine movement, and female mysticism both reflect religious traditions that challenged clerical authority and presented alternative avenues of religious encounters for women. Similarly, it addresses the ways in which the Heresy of the Free Spirit, although relatively isolated, reflected a wider receptivity and consideration of views that fell far outside the orthodoxy. Finally, the elements of Marguerite Porete's doctrine that inquisitors objected or accepted are used to recreate a sense of the orthodox religious landscape in her time.
