ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the particular challenge provided by its overall form to interpretation, specifically the ambiguity of its authorship. For the writings of medieval mystics like Mechthild provide an unusual case, since essentially they are not supposed to be the authors of their works; rather they are simply reporting their experiences of God, or God is speaking through them. Thus while their contemporaries allowed these works—even though they were written by women—to have authority, apparently spontaneous outpourings and unanalyzed reports of divine visions are unlikely to be the subject of modern philosophy. The power of the work of Mechthild of Magdeburg is her portrayal of God as the lover of her soul. The ideal of the normative subject as an independent, autonomous individual requires an identifiable author of a work, while—in contrast—the ideal of divine love of The Flowing Light requires that it is written from or through this love.
