Rulman Merswin

Rulman Merswin (* 1307 in Strasbourg, † June 18, 1382 ibid ) was a merchant and spiritual writer.

Merswin belonged to the " Friends of God ", an ecclesiastical religious movement in the environment of the mysticism of the 14th century. He was in contact with the Strasbourg mystic Johannes Tauler. How intense is this contact was, however, can not determine with certainty. He leased the dilapidated convent in 1367 Green Wörth in Strasbourg, where he founded a spiritual community and remained until his death.

Merswin wrote a number of religious tracts, including the " Nine Rock - Paper " and the " master book". The latter is about a highly educated and successful preacher, which is converted from a simple layman, the " friend of God ", the spiritual arrogance and converted to true humility. This work has been held since the 15th century for a biography of Johannes Tauler. The text of the "Master Code " itself but the preacher is not identified with Tauler. Already in the 19th century Friedrich Heinrich Suso Denifle OP has shown that the in the " master book" mentioned preacher has nothing to do with the historical Tauler; he is probably a purely literary figure. With high probability, this also applies to the laity, as the " Friend of God from the Oberland " occurs several times in Merswins writings. Nevertheless, it has been tried again and again to identify the " friend of God " with a historical person.

Works

• Merswins Nine Rock -book: ( the so-called autograph) / ed. by Philipp shrub. - Halle ( Saale): Niemeyer, 1929 Digitized edition of the University and State Library Dusseldorf.
• Merswins four incipient years. - Halle ( Saale): Niemeyer, 1927 Digitized edition of the University and State Library Dusseldorf.