Ludolph of Saxony
Encyclopedia
Ludolph of Saxony also known as Ludolphus de Saxonia and Ludolph the Carthusian
, was a German
Roman Catholic theologian of the fourteenth century.
His principle work, Vita Christi
(Life of Christ) was written in 1374. It had significant influence on the development of techniques for Christian meditation
by introducing the concept of immersing and projecting oneself into a Biblical scene about the life of Jesus which became popular among the Devotio Moderna
community, and later influenced Ignatius of Loyola
.
", he may well, as Jacques Échard
remarks, have been born either in the Diocese of Cologne or in the Diocese of Mainz, which then belonged to the Province of Saxony. He first joined the Dominicans
, passed through an excellent course of literary and theological studies, and may have learnt the science of the spiritual life at the school of Johannes Tauler
and Henry Suso
, his contemporaries and companions in religion.
After about thirty years spent in the active life, he entered the Charterhouse
(Carthusian monastery) of Strasburg
towards the year 1340. Three years later he was called upon to govern the newly founded (1331) Charterhouse of Koblenz
; but scruples of conscience led him to resign his office of prior
in 1348. Having again become a simple monk, first at Mainz and afterwards at Strasburg, he spent the last thirty years of his life in retreat and prayer, and died on 13 April 1378 almost an octogenarian, universally esteemed for his sanctity, although he never seems to have been honoured with any public cult.
has been assigned; and if history protests against this, it must nevertheless acknowledge that the true author of that book has manifestly borrowed from the Carthusian. He is also considered a leading candidate for authorship of the Speculum Humanae Salvationis
.
Other treatises and sermons now either lost or very doubtful have also been attributed to him. Two books commend him to posterity:
(1) A Commentary upon the Psalms
, concise but excellent for its method, clearness and solidity. He especially developed the spiritual sense, according to the interpretations of St. Jerome, St. Augustine
, Cassiodorus
and Peter Lombard
. This commentary, which was very popular in Germany in the Middle Ages, has passed through numerous editions, of which the first dates from 1491, and that of Montreuil-sur-Mer is from 1891.
(2) The Vita Christi
, his principal work, is not a simple biography as we understand such to-day, but at once a history, a commentary on the Gospels with large texts borrowed from the Fathers
, a series of dogmatic and moral dissertations, of spiritual instructions, meditations and prayers, in relation to the life of Christ, from birth to His Ascension. It has been called a summa evangelica, so popular at that time, in which the author has condensed and resumed all that over sixty writers had said before him upon spiritual matters.
Sr Mary Immaculate Bodenstedt mentions Ludolph's particular debt to Pseudo-Bonaventure
's Meditationes Vitae Christi
: some believe that Pseudo-Bonaventure is really Thomas a Kempis
. Bodenstedt argues that Ludolph also follows Ps.-Bonaventure in his visual method of meditation.
The great popularity of the Vita Christi is demonstrated by the numerous manuscript copies preserved in libraries and the manifold editions of it which have been published, from the first two editions of Strasbourg and Cologne, in 1474, to the last editions of Paris: folio, 1865, published by Victor Palme (heavily criticised by Father Henry James Coleridge
, SJ; see below), and 8vo, 1878. It has also been translated into Catalonian (Valencia, 1495, folio, Gothic), Castilian (Alcala, folio, Gothic), Portuguese (1495, 4 vols., folio), Italian (1570), French, "by Guillaume Lernenand, of the Order of Monseigneur St. François", under the title of the "Great Life of Christ" (Lyons, 1487, folio, many times reprinted), by D. Marie-Prosper Augustine (Paris, 1864), and by D. Florent Broquin, Carthusian (Paris, 1883). St Teresa
and St Francis de Sales
frequently quote from it.
Ludolph's Vita Christi is mentioned in almost every biography of St Ignatius of Loyola
. St Ignatius read it whilst recovering from the cannon-ball wound after the siege of Pamplona in a Castilian translation.. Ludolph proposes a method of prayer which asks the reader to visualise the events of Christ's life (known as simple contemplation
). In his commentary on the Gospel for the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalen, the story where Mary the sister of Lazarus, comes into the house of the Pharisee where Jesus is eating, and washes his feet with her tears and then dries his feet with her hair, Ludolph repeatedly urges the reader to see (that is, visualise) the scene of the washing, and so on. He also has beautiful insights into the humanity and attractiveness of Jesus. He explains why Mary the public sinner overcame her shame and entered the house of the Pharisee by noting that the Pharisee was a leper and disfigured from the disease. St Mary Magdalen could see that since Jesus was prepared to eat with a leper, he would not reject her.
This simple method of contemplation outlined by Ludolph and set out in Vita Christi, in many of his commentaries on the gospel stories that he chooses it can be argued influenced the Spiritual Exercises
of St Ignatius of Loyola. Indeed, it is said that St Ignatius had desired to become a Carthusian after his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but was dissuaded by a Carthusian Prior. To this day members of the Society of Jesus may enter a Charterhouse
, and if a vocation
there does not work out, they may return to the Society of Jesus without penalty. This closeness between the Carthusians and Jesuits is arguably due to the great influence of Ludolph of Saxony's De Vita Christi on the future founder of the Society of Jesus.
Michael Foss is dismissive of the influence of Ludolph on the Exercises of St Ignatius, saying "The Exercises show a bit of Ludolph." Then, writing of St Ignatius, recovering from the cannon-ball wound at the Castle of Loyola, Foss says, "Bored, as only a man of action can be when driven to bed, he was driven by desperation to a few unappetising volumes that the Castle of Loyola offered. He found a Castilian translation of the long, worthy and popular Life of Christ by a certain Ludolph of Saxony, a 14th Century writer."
Father Henry James Coleridge, SJ, a grand-nephew of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
, in his article of 1872, in the "Review of Famous Books" section of The Month
, urges future translators of the Vita Christi to be cautious with the Folio edition published by Palme in 1865 since it is marred by poor punctuation, and based on a poor manuscript.
Carthusian
The Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
, was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Roman Catholic theologian of the fourteenth century.
His principle work, Vita Christi
Vita Christi
The Vita Christi, i.e. Life of Christ is the principal work of Ludolph of Saxony, completed in 1374.The book is not just a biography of Jesus, but a history, a commentary borrowed from the Church Fathers, a series of dogmatic and moral dissertations, of spiritual instructions, meditations, and...
(Life of Christ) was written in 1374. It had significant influence on the development of techniques for Christian meditation
Christian meditation
Christian meditation is a form of prayer in which a structured attempt is made to get in touch with and deliberately reflect upon the revelations of God. The word meditation comes from the Latin word meditārī, which has a range of meanings including to reflect on, to study and to practice...
by introducing the concept of immersing and projecting oneself into a Biblical scene about the life of Jesus which became popular among the Devotio Moderna
Devotio Moderna
Devotio Moderna, or Modern Devotion, was a 14th century new religious movement, with Gerard Groote as a key founder. Other well known members included Thomas à Kempis who was the likely author of the book The Imitation of Christ which proved to be highly influential for centuries.Groote's initial...
community, and later influenced Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...
.
Biography
His life is as little known as his works are celebrated. His date of birth is unknown. We have no certain knowledge of his native country; for in spite of his surname, "of SaxonySaxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
", he may well, as Jacques Échard
Jacques Échard
Jacques Échard was a French Dominican and historian of the order.As the son of a wealthy official of the king he received a thorough classical and secular education. He entered the Dominican Order at Paris and distinguished himself for his assiduity in study...
remarks, have been born either in the Diocese of Cologne or in the Diocese of Mainz, which then belonged to the Province of Saxony. He first joined the Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
, passed through an excellent course of literary and theological studies, and may have learnt the science of the spiritual life at the school of Johannes Tauler
Johannes Tauler
Johannes Tauler was a German mystic theologian.- Life :He was born about the year 1300 in Strasbourg, and was educated at the Dominican convent in that city, where Meister Eckhart, who greatly influenced him, was professor of theology in the monastery school...
and Henry Suso
Henry Suso
Henry Suso was a German mystic, born at Überlingen on Lake Constance on March 21, c. 1300; he died at Ulm, January 25, 1366; declared Blessed in 1831 by Gregory XVI, who assigned his feast in the Dominican Order to March 2...
, his contemporaries and companions in religion.
After about thirty years spent in the active life, he entered the Charterhouse
Charterhouse
A Charterhouse is a Carthusian monastery. The word is derived from Chartreuse, the first monastery of the order having been established in a valley of the Chartreuse Mountains.It can refer to numerous monasteries:It can also refer to:...
(Carthusian monastery) of Strasburg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
towards the year 1340. Three years later he was called upon to govern the newly founded (1331) Charterhouse of Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
; but scruples of conscience led him to resign his office of prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
in 1348. Having again become a simple monk, first at Mainz and afterwards at Strasburg, he spent the last thirty years of his life in retreat and prayer, and died on 13 April 1378 almost an octogenarian, universally esteemed for his sanctity, although he never seems to have been honoured with any public cult.
Works
Ludolph is one of the many writers to whom the authorship of The Imitation of ChristImitation of Christ
In Christian theology, the Imitation of Christ is the practice of following the example of Jesus. In Eastern Christianity the term Life in Christ is sometimes used for the same concept....
has been assigned; and if history protests against this, it must nevertheless acknowledge that the true author of that book has manifestly borrowed from the Carthusian. He is also considered a leading candidate for authorship of the Speculum Humanae Salvationis
Speculum Humanae Salvationis
The Speculum Humanae Salvationis or Mirror of Human Salvation was a bestselling anonymous illustrated work of popular theology in the late Middle Ages, part of the genre of encyclopedic speculum literature, in this case concentrating on the medieval theory of typology, whereby the events of the Old...
.
Other treatises and sermons now either lost or very doubtful have also been attributed to him. Two books commend him to posterity:
(1) A Commentary upon the Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
, concise but excellent for its method, clearness and solidity. He especially developed the spiritual sense, according to the interpretations of St. Jerome, St. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
, Cassiodorus
Cassiodorus
Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator , commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Senator was part of his surname, not his rank.- Life :Cassiodorus was born at Scylletium, near Catanzaro in...
and Peter Lombard
Peter Lombard
Peter Lombard was a scholastic theologian and bishop and author of Four Books of Sentences, which became the standard textbook of theology, for which he is also known as Magister Sententiarum-Biography:Peter Lombard was born in Lumellogno , in...
. This commentary, which was very popular in Germany in the Middle Ages, has passed through numerous editions, of which the first dates from 1491, and that of Montreuil-sur-Mer is from 1891.
(2) The Vita Christi
Vita Christi
The Vita Christi, i.e. Life of Christ is the principal work of Ludolph of Saxony, completed in 1374.The book is not just a biography of Jesus, but a history, a commentary borrowed from the Church Fathers, a series of dogmatic and moral dissertations, of spiritual instructions, meditations, and...
, his principal work, is not a simple biography as we understand such to-day, but at once a history, a commentary on the Gospels with large texts borrowed from the Fathers
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were early and influential theologians, eminent Christian teachers and great bishops. Their scholarly works were used as a precedent for centuries to come...
, a series of dogmatic and moral dissertations, of spiritual instructions, meditations and prayers, in relation to the life of Christ, from birth to His Ascension. It has been called a summa evangelica, so popular at that time, in which the author has condensed and resumed all that over sixty writers had said before him upon spiritual matters.
Sr Mary Immaculate Bodenstedt mentions Ludolph's particular debt to Pseudo-Bonaventure
Pseudo-Bonaventura
The Pseudo-Bonaventura, or Pseudo-Bonaventure is the name given to the authors of a number of medieval devotional works which were believed at the time to be the work of Saint Bonaventure: "It would almost seem as if 'Bonaventura' came to be regarded as a convenient label for a certain type of...
's Meditationes Vitae Christi
The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ
The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ is an adaptation/translation of Pseudo-Bonaventura's Meditationes Vitae Christi into English by Nicholas Love, OCart, the Carthusian prior of Mount Grace Priory, written ca...
: some believe that Pseudo-Bonaventure is really Thomas a Kempis
Thomas à Kempis
Thomas à Kempis was a late Medieval Catholic monk and the probable author of The Imitation of Christ, which is one of the best known Christian books on devotion. His name means, "Thomas of Kempen", his home town and in German he is known as Thomas von Kempen...
. Bodenstedt argues that Ludolph also follows Ps.-Bonaventure in his visual method of meditation.
The great popularity of the Vita Christi is demonstrated by the numerous manuscript copies preserved in libraries and the manifold editions of it which have been published, from the first two editions of Strasbourg and Cologne, in 1474, to the last editions of Paris: folio, 1865, published by Victor Palme (heavily criticised by Father Henry James Coleridge
Henry James Coleridge
Henry James Coleridge was a writer on religious affairs and preacher. He was the son of Sir John Taylor Coleridge, a Judge of the King's Bench, and brother of John Coleridge, 1st Baron Coleridge, Chief Justice of England...
, SJ; see below), and 8vo, 1878. It has also been translated into Catalonian (Valencia, 1495, folio, Gothic), Castilian (Alcala, folio, Gothic), Portuguese (1495, 4 vols., folio), Italian (1570), French, "by Guillaume Lernenand, of the Order of Monseigneur St. François", under the title of the "Great Life of Christ" (Lyons, 1487, folio, many times reprinted), by D. Marie-Prosper Augustine (Paris, 1864), and by D. Florent Broquin, Carthusian (Paris, 1883). St Teresa
Teresa of Ávila
Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer...
and St Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales was Bishop of Geneva and is a Roman Catholic saint. He worked to convert Protestants back to Catholicism, and was an accomplished preacher...
frequently quote from it.
Ludolph's Vita Christi is mentioned in almost every biography of St Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...
. St Ignatius read it whilst recovering from the cannon-ball wound after the siege of Pamplona in a Castilian translation.. Ludolph proposes a method of prayer which asks the reader to visualise the events of Christ's life (known as simple contemplation
Contemplation
The word contemplation comes from the Latin word contemplatio. Its root is also that of the Latin word templum, a piece of ground consecrated for the taking of auspices, or a building for worship, derived either from Proto-Indo-European base *tem- "to cut", and so a "place reserved or cut out" or...
). In his commentary on the Gospel for the Feast of Saint Mary Magdalen, the story where Mary the sister of Lazarus, comes into the house of the Pharisee where Jesus is eating, and washes his feet with her tears and then dries his feet with her hair, Ludolph repeatedly urges the reader to see (that is, visualise) the scene of the washing, and so on. He also has beautiful insights into the humanity and attractiveness of Jesus. He explains why Mary the public sinner overcame her shame and entered the house of the Pharisee by noting that the Pharisee was a leper and disfigured from the disease. St Mary Magdalen could see that since Jesus was prepared to eat with a leper, he would not reject her.
This simple method of contemplation outlined by Ludolph and set out in Vita Christi, in many of his commentaries on the gospel stories that he chooses it can be argued influenced the Spiritual Exercises
Spiritual Exercises
Spiritual exercises may refer to:* Any spiritual practice dedicated towards increasing one's personal spirituality* Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, a book of spiritual practices of the Roman Catholic Jesuit order...
of St Ignatius of Loyola. Indeed, it is said that St Ignatius had desired to become a Carthusian after his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but was dissuaded by a Carthusian Prior. To this day members of the Society of Jesus may enter a Charterhouse
Charterhouse
A Charterhouse is a Carthusian monastery. The word is derived from Chartreuse, the first monastery of the order having been established in a valley of the Chartreuse Mountains.It can refer to numerous monasteries:It can also refer to:...
, and if a vocation
Vocation
A vocation , is a term for an occupation to which a person is specially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. Though now often used in non-religious contexts, the meanings of the term originated in Christianity.-Senses:...
there does not work out, they may return to the Society of Jesus without penalty. This closeness between the Carthusians and Jesuits is arguably due to the great influence of Ludolph of Saxony's De Vita Christi on the future founder of the Society of Jesus.
Michael Foss is dismissive of the influence of Ludolph on the Exercises of St Ignatius, saying "The Exercises show a bit of Ludolph." Then, writing of St Ignatius, recovering from the cannon-ball wound at the Castle of Loyola, Foss says, "Bored, as only a man of action can be when driven to bed, he was driven by desperation to a few unappetising volumes that the Castle of Loyola offered. He found a Castilian translation of the long, worthy and popular Life of Christ by a certain Ludolph of Saxony, a 14th Century writer."
Father Henry James Coleridge, SJ, a grand-nephew of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
, in his article of 1872, in the "Review of Famous Books" section of The Month
The Month
The Month was a monthly review, published from 1864 to 2001, which for almost all of its history was owned by the English Province of the Society of Jesus and edited by its members.-History:...
, urges future translators of the Vita Christi to be cautious with the Folio edition published by Palme in 1865 since it is marred by poor punctuation, and based on a poor manuscript.