Johannes Tauler

Statue of Johannes Tauler on the outside of the church Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune protestant in Strasbourg

Johannes Tauler (* around 1300 in Strasbourg; † 16 June 1361 in Strasbourg) was a Dominican German theologian and preacher who belonged to the neo-platonic movement. Alongside Meister Eckhart and Heinrich Seuse, he is one of the most important representatives of German mysticism.

Life and work

Tauler came from a wealthy family, as his own words indicate. The name of the family, which had been living in Strasbourg for decades, is mentioned several times in contemporary documents. A Klaus Tauler, presumably Johannes Tauler's father, was a councillor.

Tauler entered the Dominican convent in his home town. He underwent the usual training for priests of the Dominican Order, i.e. a course of study lasting six to eight years, which imparted extensive philosophical and theological knowledge. This probably did not take place in Strasbourg, but in another monastery of the Dominican province of Teutonia in southern Germany. It was probably in the Strasbourg Dominican convent that he met Meister Eckhart, who is documented as having visited the city several times between 1314 and 1322/1324. After his training, Tauler was mainly active in the pastoral care of spiritual women (Dominican nuns and Beguines). For them he wrote his approximately 80 German-language sermons, which were early compiled into collections; the handwritten tradition begins during his lifetime. Apart from a personal letter, these sermons are his only surviving authentic work.

During the conflict between Emperor Louis the Bavarian and Pope John XXII, Strasbourg decided to support the Emperor and was given an interdict by the Pope. Since the Strasbourg Dominicans obeyed the Pope's instruction and refused to continue celebrating mass for the citizens, they were expelled from the city in 1339. Tauler had probably already left Strasbourg in 1338. Like most of his confreres affected by the expulsion, he went to Basel. He remained there at least until the Dominican convent returned to Strasbourg (1342/43).

Tauler spent the last part of his life, weakened by illness, in the garden house of the Dominican convent of St. Nikolaus am Gießen (St. Nicolaus in undis) in Strasbourg. After his death on 16 June 1361, he was buried in the Dominican monastery; the grave slab showing a drawing of his figure has been preserved.

Rudolf Steiner on Johannes Tauler

„Christian esotericism has a powerful foundation, of which only a faint ray penetrates into the outer world through the works of the Christian mystics, Meister Eckhart, [Johannes] Tauler and Jakob Böhme. Tauler and his work "The Layman and the Unknown from the Oberland" give only a faint semblance of the secret doctrine of Christian esotericism.“ (Lit.:GA 111, p. 117f)

„At the time of Johannes Tauler there lived a personality who is called "The Unknown from the Oberland". This personality taught Johannes Tauler, who afterwards preached so powerfully that some of the listeners remained as if dead. The individuality which appeared in this personality was the individuality of the Master Jesus, who had always guided the development of the West, even if in secret. Together with this individuality, the other Master individuality worked in the West: Christian Rosenkreutz. They are also now the Masters of the West who are guiding the development in Central Europe.“ (Lit.:GA 264, p. 330)

Literature

• Rudolf Steiner, J. Wood (translator): Mysticism at the Dawn of the Modern Age. Translated by Karl E. Zimmer. SteinerBooks 1980, CW 7. ISBN 0-8334-0758-8 rsarchive.org
• Rudolf Steiner: From the History and Contents of the First Section of the Esoteric School 1904-1914: Letters, Documents and Lectures. CW 264. Anthroposophic Press 2010. ISBN 978-0880106405

German

• Rudolf Steiner: Die Mystik im Aufgange des neuzeitlichen Geisteslebens und ihr Verhältnis zur modernen Weltanschauung, GA 7 (1990), ISBN 3-7274-0070-6 English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
• Rudolf Steiner: Über Philosophie, Geschichte und Literatur, GA 51 (1983), ISBN 3-7274-0510-4 English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org
• Rudolf Steiner: Einführung in die Grundlagen der Theosophie, GA 111 (2018), ISBN 978-3727411106
• Rudolf Steiner: Zur Geschichte und aus den Inhalten der ersten Abteilung der Esoterischen Schule 1904 bis 1914, GA 264 (1987), ISBN 3-7274-2650-0 English: rsarchive.org German: pdf pdf(2) html mobi epub archive.org

References to the work of Rudolf Steiner follow Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works (CW or GA), Rudolf Steiner Verlag, Dornach/Switzerland, unless otherwise stated. Email: verlag@steinerverlag.com URL: www.steinerverlag.com. Index to the Complete Works of Rudolf Steiner - Aelzina Books A complete list by Volume Number and a full list of known English translations you may also find at Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works Rudolf Steiner Archive - The largest online collection of Rudolf Steiner's books, lectures and articles in English. Rudolf Steiner Audio - Recorded and Read by Dale Brunsvold steinerbooks.org - Anthroposophic Press Inc. (USA) Rudolf Steiner Handbook - Christian Karl's proven standard work for orientation in Rudolf Steiner's Collected Works for free download as PDF.