RUUSBROEC, Jan van, Blessed. – Prince of Flemish mysticism, called *Admirabilis* and *Doctor admirabilis*, born at Ruisbroek (Brussels) in 1293, died at Groenendael on 2 December 1381. Ordained priest at the age of 24, Ruusbroec later obtained a position as vicar.
Possessing a sublime experience, for he had made his own the most solid and elevated achievements of his Flemish predecessors and the recent mystical speculation of the Rhine region, Ruusbroec felt called to become a guide and defender of orthodoxy among the masses, who were drawn to mystical movements tainted by errors such as that of Heilwig, known as Blomardine or Blommaerdine (d. c. 1336), a noble and influential Brussels woman, advocate of the Free Spirit.
Around 1330 Ruusbroec began writing in the vernacular. Of his eleven treatises, six were composed in Brussels: *Dat Rijcke der Ghelieven* (The Kingdom of Lovers); *Die gheestelike Brulocht* (The Spiritual Betrothal); *Vanden blinkenden Steen* (The Shining Stone); *Vanden vier Becoringen* (The Four Temptations); *Vanden sevenste Ghelove* (The Seventh Degree of Love); and *Vanden gheesteliken Tabernakel* (The Spiritual Tabernacle).
In 1343, to devote himself more fully to contemplative life and divine praise through the celebration of the Divine Office, Ruusbroec withdrew to the forest of Soignes with his relative J. Hinckaert and the canon Francon de Coudenberg, *magister artium*, occupying an ancient hermitage at Groenendael. In 1350 they adopted the Rule of the Canons of St Victor in Paris, though they did not place themselves under the authority of that motherhouse. Under Francon as provost, Ruusbroec became the first prior.
He wrote: *Vanden VII Sloten* (The Seven Enclosures); *Een Spiegel der eeuwigher Salicheit* (The Mirror of Eternal Salvation); *Vanden VII Trappen* (The Seven Steps); *Dat Boecsken der Verclaringhe* (The Little Book of Clarification); *Vanden XIII Beghinen* (The Thirteen Beguines); and *Die geestelike Tabernakel* (The Spiritual Tabernacle). Ruusbroec also left seven Letters revealing him as a prudent and insightful spiritual director; only part of these survive in the original language, the rest remaining in the Latin translation by L. Surius. Of the other writings attributed to him, only two can be considered authentic: a Gloss on the *Pater Noster*, excerpted from a lost treatise on prayer, and a discourse on the Eucharist. From the outset, Ruusbroec’s writings enjoyed wide diffusion throughout the Flemish regions. The sending of his masterpiece, *The Spiritual Betrothal* (1350), to the Friends of God in the Upper Rhine led to its translation into a Germanic dialect. Within a few years, a Latin translation by Jordans appeared, followed by a more literal one by Geert Groote (q.v.); of these two Latin translations, the first spread mainly in Romance-language countries, the second in Germanic ones.
Grounded in a vigorous synthesis, Ruusbroec’s writings are characterized by a didactic form and concentric exposition. In substance, his mysticism is distinctly Trinitarian and Christological, systematized with a Christian Platonizing rhythm of ebb and flow, which marvelously illuminates the natural and supernatural dynamism inherent in the soul as an image of the Most Holy Trinity.
Ruusbroec’s influence was and remains European, as attested by the approximately 250 known manuscripts of his works, the numerous editions and translations spread across all European nations, and the excerpts made by other writers. It is therefore not surprising to find Ruusbroec’s influence among notable mystics such as John of Saint Samson in France, John of the Angels, and St. John of the Cross in Spain. Renewed interest has been shown in our century: the Benedictines of Wisques produced a new French version, and partial translations have appeared in English, Italian, Polish, and Russian.
Feast: 2 December. His cult was confirmed by Bl. Pius X on 9 December 1908 (*AAS*, I [1909], pp. 104–67).