Meister Eckhart was a German theologian, preacher, and mystic whose sermons and spiritual writings left a lasting mark on Christian thought. Works such as Sermons and The Book of Divine Consolation explore detachment, the soul’s inner life, and the possibility of union with God.
If Eckhart’s blend of depth, paradox, and contemplative insight speaks to you, these authors are well worth exploring next:
Johannes Tauler was a German mystic and preacher strongly shaped by Meister Eckhart’s ideas. His writing centers on inwardness, humility, and learning to recognize God’s presence in ordinary life.
In Sermons of Johannes Tauler, he urges readers toward surrender and spiritual maturity, offering practical guidance for anyone drawn to contemplation and inner transformation.
Henry Suso, another important figure influenced by Eckhart, combines mystical devotion with disciplined spiritual practice. His work is emotionally vivid while still grounded in the everyday work of prayer and self-examination.
In The Little Book of Eternal Wisdom, Suso describes a deeply personal relationship with Christ and invites readers to seek divine union through prayer, purity of heart, and sustained contemplation.
Jan van Ruusbroec was a Flemish mystic whose writings bring together contemplation, love, and active charity. He explores the soul’s movement toward God with unusual clarity, often pairing profound theology with memorable imagery.
His best-known work, The Spiritual Espousals, offers a rich account of growing into intimacy with God while remaining engaged in a life of loving action.
Julian of Norwich, an English anchoress and mystic, presents a warm and hopeful vision of Christian spirituality rooted in divine love.
Her classic Revelations of Divine Love shares her visions in language that is tender, reflective, and reassuring, especially in its emphasis on mercy and God’s enduring care.
For readers who admire Eckhart’s spiritual depth but want a gentler tone, Julian offers a moving sense of God’s nearness, patience, and compassion.
Margery Kempe was an English mystic known for a vivid, deeply personal account of devotion, struggle, and religious experience.
Her autobiographical The Book of Margery Kempe follows her spiritual journey through visions, pilgrimages, emotional upheaval, and social conflict.
What makes her compelling is her candor. Her writing reveals how messy, intense, and human the search for closeness with God can be.
Hadewijch was a 13th-century Flemish mystic and poet who wrote passionately about spiritual love and the soul’s longing for God. Her work is intense, lyrical, and full of yearning.
That longing comes alive in Poems in Stanzas, a striking introduction to her vision of mystical love, inner struggle, and the soul’s desire for complete union with the divine.
Mechthild of Magdeburg was a 13th-century German mystic celebrated for her visionary imagination and intensely personal voice. Her writing often feels immediate, intimate, and emotionally charged.
In The Flowing Light of the Godhead, she describes God’s love as something living and overflowing, capable of illuminating and transforming the human soul.
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite was an enormously influential theologian and mystic whose identity remains unknown. His writings shaped medieval spirituality by stressing God’s mystery and the limits of human language.
Readers drawn to Eckhart’s more apophatic side will find much to appreciate here, especially the emphasis on divine hiddenness and transcendence.
The Mystical Theology captures this vision beautifully, arguing that the deepest knowledge of God begins where words and concepts fall away.
Plotinus, the 3rd-century founder of Neoplatonism, explores the soul’s ascent toward ultimate reality. His thought revolves around “the One,” a divine source beyond ordinary understanding yet approachable through contemplation and inner purification.
If Eckhart’s language of unity appeals to you, Plotinus’s Enneads offers a philosophical counterpart, tracing the soul’s return to its highest origin.
Augustine of Hippo was one of the most influential theologians in Christian history. His writing is searching and deeply personal, focused on grace, desire, memory, and the restless human longing for God.
Confessions remains one of the great spiritual classics, blending autobiography, prayer, and theology into a moving account of conversion and the inward life.
Thomas Aquinas writes with precision, clarity, and intellectual confidence. His theology brings reason and faith into conversation, drawing heavily on Aristotle while addressing central Christian questions.
If you value the depth of Eckhart’s spiritual insights, Aquinas’ Summa Theologica offers a more systematic exploration of God, virtue, the soul, and the structure of Christian belief.
Bonaventure approaches theology with warmth and devotional intensity. His writing joins reflection and prayer, making him a natural choice for readers who enjoy mystical thought that remains grounded in love and worship.
In The Soul's Journey into God, he describes the stages by which the soul moves toward divine illumination and deeper union with God.
Hildegard of Bingen is known for her radiant visionary style, symbolic imagination, and sweeping sense of creation as charged with divine meaning. Her work often feels both poetic and prophetic.
Readers who admire Eckhart’s mystical intensity may find Scivias especially rewarding, with its rich spiritual visions and meditations on divine wisdom.
John of the Cross is best known for his poetic and penetrating reflections on the spiritual path, especially the painful but transformative experience of darkness on the way to union with God.
His focus on detachment, surrender, and interior renewal will resonate with many Eckhart readers. Dark Night of the Soul is his most famous exploration of how apparent emptiness can become the doorway to awakening.
Marguerite Porete writes with boldness and spiritual daring, focusing on the soul’s freedom in divine love and its complete abandonment to God.
Those interested in Eckhart’s more unconventional and radical themes should look to The Mirror of Simple Souls, a striking account of the soul’s release from self-will and its absorption in the divine.
