Abstract

In the last forty years late medieval mystical literature, which had been marginalized in the academic tradition, has established itself as a strategic field in the analysis of religious language. This renewed interest has been prompted by various other types of research, for example, the renewal of hagiographic studies, women's studies, the new attention to spiritual movements and outsiders and the relationships between charismatic and institutional powers. In this field, the anthology of the "Scrittrici mistiche italiane" (1988) was very important and innovative, stimulating new studies and editions of texts. After reconsidering the hermeneutic proposals of Giovanni Pozzi and Claudio Leonardi, who edited the results of that innovative project, here we point out three possible paths to access the mystical texts, examining the relationships of the new spiritual language with literature, theology and history.