Kirchenakte Documented events from judgments, reports and church documents
Person 1260-1327 · about 67 years old · show in timeline

Meister Eckhart (c. 1260 to c. 1327): Dominican and mystic, pursued by the archbishop and the Inquisition in Cologne; in 1329, after his death, John XXII condemns 28 propositions from his works

Johann Eckhart was a Dominican, a teacher in Paris and provincial in Saxony. After complaints in 1325 of dangerous teachings by German Dominicans, Archbishop Heinrich of Cologne opened an inquiry in January 1327. Eckhart appealed to Rome and in February publicly retracted all possible errors. On 27 March 1329 John XXII, in the bull "Dolentes referimus", condemned 17 propositions as heretical and 11 as suspect. Eckhart was by then dead.

Life dates
1260-1327 (about 67 years old)
Country
Germany
Institutions
Dominican Order
Archdiocese of Cologne
Holy See
Category
Heresy trials
Level of evidence
B two independent scholarly sources · what does this mean?

What happened to the people

How were they charged and sentenced?

  1. At the general chapter in Venice in 1325 it was charged that German brethren were spreading dangerous doctrine. Nicholas of Strasburg, commissioned by John XXII, declared Eckhart's works orthodox in 1326. In January 1327 Archbishop Heinrich of Cologne nevertheless opened his own inquiry, whereupon Eckhart and Nicholas appealed to Rome. The Britannica reports that Eckhart was summoned before the Inquisition at Cologne.
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Johann, Meister Eckhart
    „the charge was made at a general chapter of his order, held at Venice in 1325“
    Johann, Meister Eckhart, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Bd. 5, Artikel Johann, Meister Eckhart. Original
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Johann, Meister Eckhart
    „declared in the following year that the works of Eckhart were orthodox“
    Johann, Meister Eckhart, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Bd. 5, Artikel Johann, Meister Eckhart. Original
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Johann, Meister Eckhart
    „In January, 1327, Archbishop Heinrich of Cologne undertook an independent inquiry“
    Johann, Meister Eckhart, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Bd. 5, Artikel Johann, Meister Eckhart. Original
    Evidence: Cambridge University Press (Wikisource), Artikel Eckhart, Johannes
    „he was summoned before the Inquisition at Cologne“
    Eckhart, Johannes, in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 8, Artikel Eckhart, Johannes. Original
  2. The following month, from the pulpit of the Dominican church in Cologne, Eckhart repudiated any unorthodox sense of his words and submitted to the Holy See. The Britannica calls this a conditional recantation: he disavowed whatever could be shown to be erroneous.
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Johann, Meister Eckhart
    „retracted all possible errors, and submitted to the Holy See“
    Johann, Meister Eckhart, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Bd. 5, Artikel Johann, Meister Eckhart. Original
    Evidence: Cambridge University Press (Wikisource), Artikel Eckhart, Johannes
    „Eckhart appears, however, to have made a conditional recantation“
    Eckhart, Johannes, in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 8, Artikel Eckhart, Johannes. Original

What happened to those affected?

  1. In the bull "Dolentes referimus" of 27 March 1329 John XXII condemned 17 of Eckhart's propositions as heretical and 11 as ill-sounding, rash and suspected of heresy. The bull appeared only after his death.
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Johann, Meister Eckhart
    „condemned seventeen of Eckhart's propositions as heretical, and eleven as ill-sounding, rash, and suspected of heresy“
    Johann, Meister Eckhart, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Bd. 5, Artikel Johann, Meister Eckhart. Original
    Evidence: Cambridge University Press (Wikisource), Artikel Eckhart, Johannes
    „But before its publication Eckhart was dead.“
    Eckhart, Johannes, in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 8, Artikel Eckhart, Johannes. Original

Background

Course of events

  1. Eckhart was born about 1260 and died about 1327. The Britannica considers the year of birth probably earlier and the exact date of death unknown; the Catholic Encyclopedia gives Hochheim near Gotha as his birthplace and Cologne as the place of death. In 1302 he became Master of Theology in Paris.
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Johann, Meister Eckhart
    „b. about 1260 at Hochheim, near Gotha; d. in 1327 at Cologne“
    Johann, Meister Eckhart, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Bd. 5, Artikel Johann, Meister Eckhart. Original
    Evidence: Cambridge University Press (Wikisource), Artikel Eckhart, Johannes
    „The exact date of his death is unknown.“
    Eckhart, Johannes, in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 8, Artikel Eckhart, Johannes. Original
    Evidence: Cambridge University Press (Wikisource), Artikel Eckhart, Johannes
    „it was in all probability some years earlier“
    Eckhart, Johannes, in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 8, Artikel Eckhart, Johannes. Original
    Evidence: Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource), Artikel Johann, Meister Eckhart
    „in 1302 his order gave him the degree of Master of Sacred Theology“
    Johann, Meister Eckhart, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Bd. 5, Artikel Johann, Meister Eckhart. Original

See also

Scholarly literature and reference works

  1. Reference work
    Robert Appleton Company / The Encyclopedia Press (Wikisource): Johann, Meister Eckhart, in: Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Bd. 5, 1 January 1913. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
  2. Reference work
    Cambridge University Press (Wikisource): Eckhart, Johannes, in: Encyclopædia Britannica (1911), Bd. 8, 1 January 1911. Original (retrieved 31 Oct 2026)
Change log (1)

The change log is kept in German only.

  • : Aufgenommen

Last changed on 31 October 2026. Is something missing or wrong? Suggest an addition or correction.