WRITER

Marguerite Porete

1250 - 1310

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Marguerite Porete (French: [maʁɡ(ə)ʁit pɔʁɛt]; 13th century – 1 June 1310) was a French-speaking mystic and the author of The Mirror of Simple Souls, a work of Christian mysticism dealing with the workings of agape (divine love). She was burnt at the stake for heresy in Paris in 1310 after a lengthy trial, refusing to remove her book from circulation or recant her views. Today, Porete's work has been of interest to a diverse number of scholars. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Marguerite Porete has received more than 254,004 page views. Her biography is available in 22 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 21 in 2019). Marguerite Porete is the 1,026th most popular writer (down from 979th in 2019), the 128th most popular biography from Belgium (down from 125th in 2019) and the 6th most popular Belgian Writer.

Marguerite Porete was a French mystic who wrote a book called The Mirror of Simple Souls. She was most famous for being burned at the stake for heresy in 1310.

Memorability Metrics

  • 250k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 61.52

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 22

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 6.90

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 1.94

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Margareta Porete, Speculum simplicium animarum
1986
The Mirror of Simple Souls
Body, Mind & Spirit
This edition of The Mirror of the Simple Soul was originally published in 1927. At that time the author of the manuscript was unknown. It has since been attributed to Marguerite Porete, a French mystic. She was burnt at the stake for heresy in Paris in 1310 after a lengthy trial, after refusing to remove her book from circulation or recant her views. The book is cited as one the primary texts of the medieval Heresy of the Free Spirit. Porete's life is recorded only in accounts of her trial for heresy, at which she was condemned to be burnt at the stake. She is associated with the Beguine movement, and was therefore able to travel fairly freely. Until 1946, it was not even known that she was the writer of the Mirror, which had been published anonymously since her death. The title of Porete's book refers to the simple soul which is united with God and has no will other than His. Porete's vision of the Soul is of ecstatic union with God, moving in a state of perpetual joy and peace. Porete argues that the Soul in such a sublime state is above the demands of ordinary virtue, not because virtue is not needed but because in its state of union with God virtue becomes automatic. As God can do no evil and cannot sin, the exalted/Annihilated soul, in perfect union with Him, no longer is capable of evil or sin.
2012
Le Miroir des âmes simples et anéanties et qui seulement demeurent en vouloir et désir d'amour
1997
Le miroir des simples âmes anéanties - XIIIe siècle
2001
Speculum simplicium animarum
1986
The mirror of simple souls
Biography & Autobiography
The most in-depth and scholarly panorama of Western spirituality ever attempted!In one series, the original writings of the universally acknowledged teachers of the Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish, Islamic and Native American traditions have been critically selected, translated and introduced by internationally recognized scholars and spiritual leaders.The texts are first-rate, and the introductions are informative and reliable. The books will be a welcome addition to the bookshelf of every literate religious persons". -- The Christian Century
19935 / 5

Page views of Marguerite Poretes by language

Over the past year Marguerite Porete has had the most page views in the with 41,133 views, followed by French (14,255), and Spanish (9,864). In terms of yearly growth of page views the top 3 wikpedia editions are Esperanto (64.66%), Basque (56.42%), and Pashto (44.76%)

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Marguerite Porete ranks 1,026 out of 7,302. Before her are Shūsaku Endō, Egill Skallagrímsson, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, Guido Cavalcanti, Persius, and Hrotsvitha. After her are Benito Pérez Galdós, Jean-Claude Carrière, P. D. James, Charles De Coster, B. H. Liddell Hart, and Johanna Schopenhauer.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1250, Marguerite Porete ranks 8. Before her are Manco Cápac, Arghun, Halime Hatun, Kitbuqa, John IV Laskaris, and Fra Dolcino. After her are Robert II, Count of Artois, Al-Muazzam Turanshah, John Tristan, Count of Valois, Oghul Qaimish, Pietro d'Abano, and Moses de León. Among people deceased in 1310, Marguerite Porete ranks 1. After her are George Pachymeres, Blanche of Anjou, Beatrice of Burgundy, Lady of Bourbon, Stephen I, Duke of Bavaria, Otto III, Duke of Carinthia, Amalric, Lord of Tyre, Theodoric of Freiberg, Gottfried von Hohenlohe, Athanasius I of Constantinople, Baibars II, and Shlomo ibn Aderet.

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Others Deceased in 1310

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In Belgium

Among people born in Belgium, Marguerite Porete ranks 128 out of 1,190. Before her are Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1502), Princess Louise of Belgium (1858), Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz (1787), Ambiorix (-100), Jacob Le Maire (1585), and Chantal Mouffe (1943). After her are Siger of Brabant (1240), Louis, Prince Napoléon (1914), Louis II, Count of Flanders (1330), Princess Clémentine of Belgium (1872), David Teniers the Younger (1610), and Auguste Perret (1874).

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Among WRITERS In Belgium

Among writers born in Belgium, Marguerite Porete ranks 6. Before her are Maurice Maeterlinck (1862), Georges Simenon (1903), Marguerite Yourcenar (1903), Julio Cortázar (1914), and Émile Verhaeren (1855). After her are Pierre Louÿs (1870), Henri Michaux (1899), Laura Marx (1845), Victor Serge (1890), Georges Rodenbach (1855), and Hugo Claus (1929).

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