Marguerite Porete
Marguerite Porete
1250 — 1310
royaume de France
A 14th-century Beguine mystic, Marguerite Porete is the author of The Mirror of Simple Souls, a mystical treatise written in the vernacular. Condemned for heresy by the Inquisition, she was burned alive in Paris in 1310, refusing to recant.
Famous Quotes
« The annihilated Soul has neither will nor desire, except what God wills within her. »
Key Facts
- Around 1296: composition of The Mirror of Simple Souls in Old French
- 1306: her book is condemned and publicly burned in Valenciennes by Bishop Guy of Colmieu
- 1308–1310: arrested and tried by the Inquisition in Paris under Guillaume de Paris
- June 1, 1310: burned alive at the Place de Grève in Paris for obstinate heresy
- 19th–20th centuries: rediscovery and attribution of The Mirror to Marguerite Porete after centuries of anonymity
Works & Achievements
A mystical treatise written in Old French, presented as an allegorical dialogue between Love, the Soul, and Reason. It is the only known work by Marguerite Porete and one of the earliest major texts of Christian mysticism written in a European vernacular language.
Anecdotes
Marguerite Porete wrote her Mirror of Simple Souls in Old French, the language of the people, rather than in Latin reserved for the clergy. This bold choice allowed laywomen — often excluded from scholarly education — to read and meditate on her mystical teachings.
Condemned for the first time around 1306, her book was publicly burned in Valenciennes in her presence, and she was forbidden from distributing new copies. Despite this warning, Marguerite continued to circulate her work, which led to her second arrest.
Imprisoned in Paris for nearly eighteen months, Marguerite Porete refused to take an oath before the inquisitors and maintained absolute silence throughout her trial. This deliberate silence — an act of spiritual resistance — was interpreted as an admission of contempt and hastened her death sentence.
On June 1, 1310, at the Place de Grève in Paris, Marguerite was burned alive. Chroniclers report that the onlookers were deeply moved by the serenity and dignity with which she faced the pyre, with some of them shedding tears.
For centuries, the Mirror of Simple Souls was wrongly attributed to other authors, including Ruusbroec. It was not until 1946 that scholar Romana Guarnieri formally identified Marguerite Porete as the author of the work, restoring this woman's rightful place in the history of medieval mysticism.
Primary Sources
The annihilated Soul wants nothing, and wills not to will, for she no longer has a will of her own. She is free from all things, for she desires nothing that is beneath God.
In that same year, a certain beguine, an obstinate heretic, refusing to recant her errors, was burned in Paris before a great crowd of assembled people.
Margareta dicta Porete de Hannonia, quaedam beguina, combusta est Parisius pro haeresi, cum libro suo, quem ipsa composuerat.
The said Marguerite, convicted of heresy, having refused to swear and to answer the inquisitor's questions, is declared a relapsed heretic and handed over to the secular arm.
Key Places
Presumed birthplace of Marguerite Porete, then part of the County of Hainaut. It was here that her book was burned for the first time around 1306, following her initial condemnation.
The site of Marguerite Porete's execution on June 1, 1310. Located on the Right Bank of the Seine, this square was the main place of public punishment in medieval Paris.
The theologians of this institution condemned the theses of the Mirror in 1309, providing the doctrinal basis for the inquisitorial trial against Marguerite.
The beguine community in which Marguerite likely lived. Flemish and Picard beguinages were active centers of independent female spirituality during the 13th and 14th centuries.
Although Marguerite was from Picardy, her work belongs to the tradition of Rhenish mysticism, centered in Strasbourg and Cologne. Theologians such as Meister Eckhart were possibly familiar with her writings.
Gallery
Transfiguration of Christ
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Unknown Icon Painter, Cretan (active around 1550)
Beguine 1489
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Unknown authorUnknown author
Villevêque (Maine-et-Loire) (30469364651)
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 — Daniel Jolivet
Place Marguerite Porete - Paris IV (FR75) - 2025-09-23 - 2
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Chabe01
Plaque Place Marguerite Porete - Paris IV (FR75) - 2025-09-23 - 1
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Chabe01
Plaque Place Marguerite Porete - Paris IV (FR75) - 2025-09-23 - 2
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Chabe01
"Le mirouer des simples âmes qui en vouloir et en desir demourent" (folio 19v, line 10-11) or "Le mirouer des simples âmes anienties et qui seulement demourent en vouloir et desir d’amour" (Folio 1r.
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Unknown French copyist copying Marguerite Porete (Romana Guarnieri established the authorship in 1946).
"Le mirouer des simples âmes qui en vouloir et en desir demourent" (folio 19v, line 10-11) or "Le mirouer des simples âmes anienties et qui seulement demourent en vouloir et desir d’amour" (Folio 1r.
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Unknown French copyist copying Marguerite Porete (Romana Guarnieri established the authorship in 1946).
"Le mirouer des simples âmes qui en vouloir et en desir demourent" (folio 19v, line 10-11) or "Le mirouer des simples âmes anienties et qui seulement demourent en vouloir et desir d’amour" (Folio 1r.
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Unknown French copyist copying Marguerite Porete (Romana Guarnieri established the authorship in 1946).
"Le mirouer des simples âmes qui en vouloir et en desir demourent" (folio 19v, line 10-11) or "Le mirouer des simples âmes anienties et qui seulement demourent en vouloir et desir d’amour" (Folio 1r.
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Unknown French copyist copying Marguerite Porete (Romana Guarnieri established the authorship in 1946).