Henry Suso

Henry Suso, O.P. (also called Amandus, a name adopted in his writings, and
Blessed Henry Suso, O.P .
Heinrich Seuse in German), was a German Dominican friar and the most popular
vernacular writer of the fourteenth century (when considering the number of
surviving manuscripts). Suso is thought to have been born on March 21, 1295. An
important author in both Latin and Middle High German, he is also notable for
defending Meister Eckhart's legacy after Eckhart was posthumously condemned for
heresy in 1329.[1] He died in Ulm on 25 January 1366, and was beatified by the
Catholic Church in 1831.

Contents
Biography
Career
Mortifications
Servant of the Eternal Wisdom
Writings
Religious, priest and mystic
Legacy and veneration
Born 21 March 1295
Editions and translations
Free Imperial City of
References
Überlingen, Holy
Further reading
Roman Empire
External links
Died January 25, 1366
(aged 70)
Free Imperial City of
Biography Ulm,
Suso was born Heinrich von Berg, a member of the ruling family of Berg. He was Holy Roman Empire
born in either the Free imperial city of Überlingen on Lake Constance or nearby Venerated in Roman Catholic
Constance, on 21 March 1295 (or perhaps on that date up to 1297-9).[2] Later, out of Church
humility and devotion to his mother, he took her family name, which was Sus (or (Dominican Order)
Süs). At 13 years of age he was admitted to the novitiate of the Dominican Order at Beatified 1831 by Pope
their priory in Constance. After completing that year of probation, he advanced to do Gregory XVI
his preparatory, philosophical, and theological studies there.
Feast 23 January
In the prologue to his Life, Suso recounts how, after about five years in the (previously 2 March)
monastery (in other words, when he was about 18 years old), he experienced a
conversion to a deeper form of religious life through the intervention of Divine Wisdom. He made himself "the Servant of Eternal
Wisdom", which he identified with the divine essence and, in more specific terms, with divine Eternal Wisdom made woman in
Christ. From this point forward in his account of his spiritual life, a burning love for Eternal Wisdom dominated his thoughts and
controlled his actions; his spiritual journey culminated in amystical marriage to Christ in the form of theEternal Wisdom.[3]

Career
Suso was then sent on for further studies in philosophy and theology, probably first at the Dominican monastery in Strasbourg,
perhaps between 1319 and 1321, and then from 1324 to 1327 he took a supplementary course in theology in the Dominican Studium
Generale in Cologne, where he would have come into contact with Meister Eckhart, and probably also Johannes Tauler, both
celebrated mystics.[4]

Returning to his home priory at Constance in about 1327, Suso was appointed to the fice
of of lector (lecturer). His teaching, however,
aroused criticism - most likely because of his connection with Eckhart in the wake of the latter's trial and condemnation in 1326-9.
Suso's Little Book of Truth, a short defence of Eckhart's teaching, probably dates from this time, perhaps 1329. In 1330 this treatise,
and another, were denounced as heretical by enemies in the Order. Suso traveled to the Dominican General Chapter held at
Maastricht in 1330 to defend himself. The consequence is not entirely known - at some point between 1329 and 1334 he was
[4]
removed from his lectorship in Constance, though he was not personally condemned.

Knowledge of Suso's activities in subsequent years is somewhat sketchy. It is known that he served as prior of the Constance convent
- most likely between 1330 and 1334, though possibly in the 1340s.[4] It is also known that he had various devoted disciples, a group
including both men and women, especially those connected to the Friends of God movement. His influence was especially strong in
many religious communities of women, particularly in the Dominican Monastery of St. Katharinental in the Argau, a famous nursery
of mysticism in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the mid-1330s, during his visits to various communities of Dominican nuns and
Beguines, Suso became acquainted with Elsbeth Stagel, prioress of the monastery of Dominican nuns in Töss. The two became close
friends. She translated some of his Latin writings into German, collected and preserved most of his extant letters, and at some point
began gathering the materials that Suso eventually put together into hisLife of the Servant.

Suso shared in the exile of the Dominican community from Constance between 1339 and 1346, during the most heated years of the
quarrel between Pope John XXII and the Holy Roman Emperor. He was transferred to the monastery at Ulm in about 1348. He seems
to have remained there for the rest of his life. Here, during his final years (possibly 1361-3), he edited his four vernacular works into
The Exemplar.

Suso died in Ulm on 25 January 1366.

Mortifications
Early in his life, Suso subjected himself to extreme forms of mortifications; later on he reported that God told him they were
unnecessary. During this period, Suso devised for himself several painful devices. Some of these were: an undergarment studded with
a hundred and fifty brass nails, a very uncomfortable door to sleep on, and a cross with thirty protruding needles and nails under his
body as he slept. In the autobiographical text in which he reports these, however, he ultimately concludes that they are unnecessary
distractions from the love of God.[5]

Writings
Suso and Johannes Tauler were students of Meister Eckhart, forming the nucleus of the Rhineland school of mysticism. As a lyric
poet and "troubadour of divine wisdom," Suso explored with psychological intensity the spiritual truths of Eckhart’s mystical
philosophy.

Suso's first work was theBüchlein der Wahrheit (Little Book of Truth) written between 1328 and 1334 in Constance. This was a short
defence of the teaching of Meister Eckhart, who had been tried for heresy and condemned in 1328-9. In 1330 this treatise and another
(possibly the Little Book of Eternal Wisdom) were denounced as heretical by Dominican opponents, leading Suso to travel to the
Dominican General Chapter held at Maastricht in 1330 to defend himself.[4]

Suso's next book, Das Büchlein der ewigen Weisheit (The Little Book of Eternal Wisdom), written around 1328-1330,[4] is less
speculative and more practical. At some point between 1334 and 1337 Suso translated this work into Latin, but in doing so added
considerably to its contents, and made of it an almost entirely new book, which he called the Horologium Sapientiae (Clock of
Wisdom). This book was dedicated to the new DominicanMaster General, Hugh of Vaucemain, who appears to have been a supporter
of his.[4]
At some point in the following decades, Stagel formed a collection of 28 of Suso's letters in the Grosses Briefbuch (Great Book of
Letters), which survives. Suso also wrote a long text purporting to tell the story of his spiritual life and ascetic practices (variously
referred to as the Life of the Servant, Life, Vita, or Leben Seuses), and revised the Büchlein der Wahrheit, and the Büchlein der ewigen
Weisheit. At some point in his later years, perhaps 1361-3, he collected these works, together with 11 of his letters (the Briefbüchlein,
or Little Book of Letters, a selection of letters from the Grosses Briefbuch), and a prologue, to form one book he referred to as The
Exemplar.[6]

There are also various sermons attributed to Suso, although only two appear to be authentic.[6] A treatise known as the
Minnebüchlein (Little Book of Love) is sometimes, but probably incorrectly, attributed to Suso.[6]

Suso was very widely read in the later Middle Ages. There are 232 extant manuscripts of the Middle High German Little Book of
Eternal Wisdom.[7] The Latin Clock of Wisdom was even more popular: over four hundred manuscripts in Latin, and over two
hundred manuscripts in various medieval translations (it was translated into eight languages, including Dutch, French, Italian,
Swedish, Czech, and English). Many early printings survive as well. The Clock was therefore second only to the Imitation of Christ
[8] Among his many readers and admirers were Thomas à Kempis and
in popularity among spiritual writings of the later Middle Ages.
John Fisher.[9]

Wolfgang Wackernagel and others have called Suso a "Minnesinger in prose and in the spiritual order" or a "Minnesinger of the Love
of God" both for his use of images and themes from secular, courtly, romantic poetry and for his rich musical vocabulary.[10] The
mutual love of God and man which is his principal theme gives warmth and color to his style. He used the full and flexible
Alemannic idiom with rare skill, and contributed much to the formation of good German prose, especially by giving new shades of
[11]
meaning to words employed to describe inner sensations.

Legacy and veneration

In the world Suso was esteemed as a preacher, and was heard in the cities and towns of Swabia, Switzerland, Alsace, and the
Netherlands. His apostolate, however, was not with the masses, but rather with individuals of all classes who were drawn to him by
his singularly attractive personality, and to whom he became a personal director in the spiritual life.

Suso was reported to have established among the Friends of God a society which he called the Brotherhood of the Eternal Wisdom.
The so-called Rule of the Brotherhood of the Eternal Wisdom is but a free translation of a chapter of his Horologium Sapientiae, and
did not make its appearance until the fifteenth century
.

Suso was beatified in 1831 by Pope Gregory XVI, who assigned 2 March as his feast day, celebrated within the Dominican Order.
The Dominicans now celebrate his feast on 23 January
, the feria, or "free" day, nearest the day of his death.

The words of the Christmas songIn dulci jubilo are attributed to Suso.[12]

Editions and translations

The Exemplar (Middle High German):

Henry Suso, Das Buch von dem Diener (The Life of the Servant)
, ed. K. Bihlmeyer, Heinrich Seuse. Deutsche
Schriften, 1907
(translated by Frank Tobin, in The Exemplar, with Two German Sermons, New York: Paulist Press, 1989, pp. 61–204.)

Das Büchlein der ewigen Weisheit (The Little Book of Eternal Wisdom), ed. K. Bihlmeyer, ibid.
(trans. in F. Tobin, ibid., pp. 204–304.)

Das Büchlein der Wahrheit (The Little Book of Truth), ed. K. Bihlmeyer, ibid.
(trans. in F. Tobin, ibid., pp. 305–332.)

Das Briefbüchlein (The Little Book of Letters), ed. K. Bihlmeyer, ibid., pp. 360–393
(trans. in F. Tobin, ibid., pp. 333–360.)

Preaching and Letters (Middle High German):

Henry Suso, The Great Book of Letters, ed. K. Bihlmeyer, Heinrich Seuse. Deutsche Schriften, 1907, pp. 405–494.
Sermons 1 and 4 (those now recognized as authentic) are published in English translation in
The Exemplar, with
Two German Sermons, trans. F. Tobin, (New York: Paulist Press, 1989), pp. 361–376.
Latin:

Henry Suso, Horologium sapientiae (Clock of Wisdom), ed. P. Künzle, Heinrich Seuses Horologium sapientiae,
Freiburg: Universitatsverlag, 1977
(translated by Edmund Colledge,Wisdom's Watch upon the Hours, Catholic University of America Press[1994])

References
1. Retucci, Fiorella (2012). "On a Dangerous T
rail: Henry Suso and the Condemnations of Meister Eckhart". In Hackett,
Jeremiah. A Companion to Meister Eckhart(https://books.google.com/books?id=LvQY pn5OlvkC&printsec=frontcove
r&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false) . Brill. pp. 587–606. ISBN 9789004183476. Retrieved
22 October 2015.
2. Bernard McGinn, The Harvest of Mysticism, (2005), p. 197.
3. Barbara Newman, God and the Goddesses(2003), pp. 12-4
4. Bernard McGinn, The Harvest of Mysticism, (2005), p. 198.
5. http://www.philosophy, r. o. (2004). "Internal Suffering and Christianity." available from "Archived copy" (https://web.a
rchive.org/web/20070928014748/http://www .philosophy-religion.org/criticism/suffering.htm). Archived from the
original (http://www.philosophy-religion.org/criticism/suffering.htm) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
6. Bernard McGinn, The Harvest of Mysticism, (2005), p. 204.
7. "Gesamtverzeichnis Autoren/Werke Seuse, Heinrich: 'Büchlein der ewigen Weisheit' " (http://www.handschriftencens
us.de/werke/512). Handschriftencensus Eine Bestandsaufnahme der handschriftlichen Überlieferung
deutschsprachiger Texte des Mittelalters. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
8. Bernard McGinn, The Harvest of Mysticism, (2005), p. 199 and 201
9. Debongnie, Pierre (1940). "Henri Suso et l'Imitation de Jesus-Christ".Revue d'ascetique et de mystique. 21: 242–68.
10. Rozenski, Steven (2008), "The Visual, the Textual, and the Auditory in Henry Suso'sVita or Life of the Servant",
Mystics Quarterly, 34: 35–72, JSTOR 20722446 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/20722446)
11. McMahon 1913.
12. http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Notes_On_Carols/in_dulci_jubilo.htm

Attribution

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: McMahon, Arthur Lawrence (1910). B
" l.
Henry Suso". In Herbermann, Charles.Catholic Encyclopedia. 7. New York: Robert Appleton.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Suso, Heinrich". Encyclopædia Britannica. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University
Press.

Further reading
English:

van Aelst, José (2013). "Visualizing the Spiritual: Images in the Life and Teachings of Henry Suso (c. 1295-1366)". In
de Hemptinne, Thérèse; Fraeters, Veerle; Góngora, María Eugenia.Speaking to the Eye: Sight and Insight through
Text and Image (1150–1650). Brepols.
Haas, Alois (1994). "Reading Henry Suso".Listening. 29: 199–215.
Hamburger, Jeffrey (1998). The Visual and the Visionary: Art and Female Spirituality in Late Medieval Germany .
James, Sarah (2012). "Rereading Henry Suso and Eucharistic Theology in Fifteenth-Century England". The Review
of English Studies. 63 (262): 732–42. doi:10.1093/res/hgs053.
 Kieckhefer, Richard (1984). Unquiet Souls: Fourteenth-Century Saints and Their Religious Milieu , Chicago, IL:
University of Chicago Press.
McGinn, Bernard (2005).The Harvest of Mysticism, pp. 191–239.
Newman, Barbara (2003).God and the Goddesses: Vision, Poetry, and Belief in the Middle Ages. University of
Pennsylvania Press.
Rozenski, Steven (2010)."Henry Suso's Horologium Sapientiaein fifteenth-century France: images of reading and
writing in Brussels Royal Library MS IV 111". Word & Image. 26 (4): 364–80. doi:10.1080/02666281003603146.
Schultze, Dirk (2005). The Seven Points of True Love and Everlasting Wisdom: A Middle English Translation of
Henry Suso's Horologium Sapientiae, Edited from Aberystwyth, National Library of a Wles, Brogyntyn II.5.
Williams-Krapp, Werner (2004). "Henry Suso's Vita between Mystagogy and Hagiography". In Mulder-Bakker ,
Anneke. Seeing and Knowing: Women and Learning in Medieval Europe, 1200-1550 . Brepols. pp. 35–48.
German:

Filthaut, E.M., ed. (1966).Seuse-Studien: Heinrich Seuse. Studien zum 600. o Tdestag, 1366-1966, Cologne:
Albertus Magnus Verlag
Haas, Alois. (1971). Nim din selbes war. Studien zur Lehre von der Selbsterkenntnis bei Meister Eckhart, Johannes
Tauler und Heinrich Seuse, Freiburg: Universitatsverlag.
Keller, Hildegard Elisabeth and Hamburger, Jeffrey, eds. (2011). Die Stunde des Hundes– after Henry Suso's
Exemplar.
Largier, Niklaus (1999). "Der Körper der Schrift: Bild und Text am Beispiel einer Seuse-Handschrift des 15.
Jahrhunderts". Mittelalter. Neue Wege durch einen alten Kontinent: 241–71.
Italian:

Digitized manuscript (ca. 1500-25) of theHorologio di sapienza (an Italian translation of theHorologium Sapientiae):
Digitized codex at Somni.

External links
Quotations related to Henry Suso at Wikiquote
Media related to Henry Suso at Wikimedia Commons
Henry Suso at Patron Saints Index
Henry Suso at Christian Classics Ethereal Library
OPVS Research Group Summary of current work on Suso

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