Eckhart

Eckhart von Hochheim O.P. (c. 1260 – c. 1327), commonly known as Meister Eckhart [ˈmaɪ̯stɐ ˈɛkʰaʀt], was a German theologian, philosopher and mystic, born near Gotha, in the Landgraviate of Thuringia in the Holy Roman Empire.

Eckhart came into prominence during the Avignon Papacy, at a time of increased tensions between the Franciscans and Eckhart's Dominican Order of Friars Preachers. In later life he was charged of herecy and brought up before the local Franciscan-led Inquisition, and tried as a heretic by Pope John XXII. He probably died before his verdict was received.^{[citation needed]}

He was well known for his work with pious lay groups such as the Friends of God and succeeded by his more circumspect disciples of John Tauler and Henry Suso.^{[citation needed]} Since the 19th century, he has received renewed attention. Within popular spirituality he has acquired a status as a great mystic, though contemporary scholarship places him properly within the mediaeval scholastic and philosophical tardition.