Ruysbroeck, Jan van (1293–1381)

Dutch mystic. He was educated in Brussels, and became priest in the church of St Gudule in 1317. In 1343 he retired to the forest of Soignies, and six years later built a monastery there. His works, written in Flemish, were translated into Latin by Surius in c. 1545. They include The Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage, The Sparkling Stone, The Book of Supreme Truth, and The Kingdom of the Lovers of God. Though severely criticized by the French theologian, Jean le Charlier de Gerson, they had a profound influence upon all later mystical writers. Ruysbroeck was born in Ruysbroek, near Brussels, Belgium.