Mechthild von Magdeburg and the Mystical Poetry of The Flowing Light of the Godhead

This chapter examines The Flowing Light of the Godhead (Das fließende Licht der Gottheit) by Mechthild von Magdeburg at the intersection of its various modes of circulation (translation, copying, and anthologization) in the centuries following Mechthild's death (c. 1282). This examination reveals a situation in which the transmission beyond the cultural boundaries in which the book was produced resulted not in world literature status, but rather in obscurity. Second, the chapter focuses on close readings of two chapters from the book in order to demonstrate how its literary qualities relate to its subsequent path back into the world literature sphere in more recent times.