Common Life, Brothers and Sisters of the

Followers of the Christian mystic Gerard Groote (1340-1384), a widely travelled Carthusian monk based in Holland. The Brethren of the Common Life were a semi-monastic order of laymen and clergy dedicated to the cultivation of inner spirituality and good works. The spirituality they practised was known as the devotio moderna.

The brethren's emphasis on inner spirituality greatly influenced Christian humanists and some of the reformers. Both Erasmus and Luther were educated by members of the movement, which was at its peak during the second half of the 15th century.

The classic statement of their belief is the Imitatio Christi/The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis, which became the most widely read work of Christian mysticism.