Heinrich von Nördlingen

Albrecht Classen (University of Arizona)

A-A A+

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

Born c. 1310
Died 1387
Activity c. 1332-1351

Places

Born in Germany
Active in Germany

Activities

Primary

Letter-writer/ Diarist
Priest

Resources

Nördlingen's Works

Save to Bookshelf

Although we do not know much about this secular priest, Heinrich von Nördlingen (ca. 1310–ca. 1387) played a significant role in the life of the highly respected mystical author and nun Margareta Ebner (ca. 1291–1351), whose confessor he was and to whom he addressed a large number of letters (56 have survived). She responded to him, but we have available only one of her letters to him. Without his influence, she would not have begun to record her mystical visions in 1344, but we can also recognize him as a significant epistolary author in his own terms, a role which we acknowledge today as particularly important for medieval literature beyond the traditional canon.

Heinrich was in close contact with Margareta Ebner during the long period from October 29, 1332 to her death in 1351,

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

861 words

Citation: Classen, Albrecht. "Heinrich von Nördlingen". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 March 2025 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=15388, accessed 27 March 2025.]