Sisters and Brothers of the Common Life: The Devotio Moderna and the World of the Later Middle Ages (review)

The Devotio Moderna belongs to the great religious movements of the Middle Ages—on a par, for example, with the mendicant orders. Founded in the northern Netherlands and shaped by the preaching of Geert Grote and others, the movement extended its influence during the fifteenth century over all of northwestern Europe. Study of the Modern Devotion at the international level has always lagged behind in terms of its recognition of the movement’s significance, most likely because of the movement’s origins in the Netherlands. Much of the existing scholarship was published in Dutch and to a lesser extent in German, and as a result has been less accessible to the rest of the world. This is not to say, however, that no scholarship of significance dealing with the Modern Devotion has been published in English. American Albert Hyma, in The Brethren of the Common Life (Grand Rapids, MI, 1950) and The Christian Renaissance (Hamden, CT, 1965), defended the position that the Modern Devotion was in fact a precursor to the Reformation. In response, R. R. Post, the foremost Dutch authority on the subject at the time, published his own study in English, The Modern Devotion (Leiden, 1968). Post argued that the Devotio Moderna was an orthodox movement, one that had always taken sides with the pope, even in times of difficulty.

It would be another forty years before the next great English-language study of the Modern Devotion would appear. John Van Engen sidesteps the debate between Hyma and Post and chooses a different objective: to understand this religious movement in the historical context of the late-medieval Low Countries. In the process he focuses more on the Brothers and Sisters of the Common Life, and less on the monastic branches of the Modern Devotion. It was especially the brothers and sisters who, from a canonical perspective, constituted a clear innovation, and thus they offer the most profound insights into the essence of the Modern Devotion. The communities of brothers and sisters appeared most exclusively in an urban context, and Van Engen demonstrates convincingly how well the appearance of their foundations fits into the context of the late-medieval city, marked as it was by private initiatives, entrepreneurship, and orderly regulation.

Van Engen’s most important source is Gerard Zerbolt of Zutphen, who may well be considered to be the ideologue of the young movement. Zerbolt, who died before his time, did his utmost best to formulate a canonical basis for the brothers and sisters, who wished to live a pious life in fellowship and community of property. Their biggest obstacle, however, was the papal embargo against the foundation of new (monastic) orders. Consequently, the opponents of the modern devout attempted to thwart them by means of this very strong argument. Nonetheless, Zerbolt and his followers secured a foothold for themselves, thanks in part to the aid of some of the greatest lawyers of their time. They saw themselves most certainly not as representatives of a new religious order, but rather as a community of people who had formed a mutual agreement to follow a strict religious ideal.

Van Engen has written a very important book that presents a new vision of the Modern Devotion. It will no doubt draw the attention of a large number of readers, if only because it is the first study in English to have appeared in decades. In that light, this book has perhaps the disadvantage of a great many penetrating analyses and detailed arguments, with ample attention devoted to fine legal points, which may well prove to be heavy going for the reader unfamiliar with such areas. A short introduction in English to the history of the Modern Devotion, in which recent research has been incorporated, therefore remains very much a desideratum.