Ruling the Spirit

CJ Jones is William Payden Associate Professor of German at the University of Notre Dame and author of Fixing the Liturgy: Friars, Sisters, and the Dominican Rite, 1256-1516, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.

"In this erudite and original study, CJ Jones shows convincingly the changing and often surprisingly imaginative role of the Office in the spiritual and institutional lives of Dominican nuns. . . . The archive on which Ruling the Spirit draws is a remarkable testament in itself to Jones's achievement in this book, which blazes new ground in the study of the liturgical cultures of the medieval West." (The Medieval Review) "[A] very impressive achievement that will demand to be taken into consideration in further studies of the region and women's religious life within it." (Reviews in History) "At the focus of CJ Jones's Ruling the Spirit are not works written by German Dominican nuns but rather texts for these women penned primarily by friars from the early fourteenth to late fifteenth centuries . . . [B]y assuredly emphasising the uniformity of message which underlined these writings, the author shows their vital importance for understanding women's spirituality and notions of reform in the later Middle Ages." (German History) "This important study of medieval liturgical culture focuses on a particular setting but has broad implications for our understanding of liturgy and mysticism, connections between those phenomena, relations between religious women and the men charged with their service and oversight, and pre-Reformation conceptions of reform. It makes a powerful revisionist argument that should lead to discussion in and beyond the study of medieval religion." (The Journal of Religion) "Jones has accomplished a comprehensive and exciting account of women's devotional life under the Dominican rule in late medieval Germany. The book is delightfully written; not despite but because of its intensity, it is a pleasure to read, and it is worthwhile for the expert and layperson alike." (Seminar) "Jones approaches her texts throughout with analytic rigour and sensitivity. Ruling the Spirit makes a valuable contribution to recent scholarship on late medieval religious reform, challenging assumptions about spiritual decline to argue instead for a continuous tradition of devotion to the liturgy as a deep source of spiritual inspiration. Her insights have wider implications for our understanding of the complex negotiations between the friars and the sisters, and enlarge our knowledge of the rich and expressive creativity of late medieval liturgical cultures." (Journal of Religious History) "CJ Jones has written a sure-footed, authoritative account of the Divine Office and its importance in Dominican spirituality, especially for German Observant women. Anyone interested in the history of medieval liturgy, the Dominican Order, Observant reform, or more broadly, women's spirituality and mysticism, should read her book." (Barbara Newman, Northwestern University)

• List of AbbreviationsIntroductionChapter 1. The Office in Dominican Legislation, 1216-1303Chapter 2. Detachment, Order, and Observance in Johannes Tauler and Heinrich SeuseChapter 3. Liturgical Devotion and Visionary Order in the Fourteenth-Century SisterbooksChapter 4. The Office in Dominican Legislation, 1388-1475Chapter 5. Contemplative Visualization Versus Liturgical Piety in Johannes NiderChapter 6. Liturgical Community and Observant Spirituality in the Work of Johannes MeyerNotesBibliographyIndexAcknowledgments