Mystical Theology and Platonism in the Time of Cusanus is an important book for all those interested in medieval mysticism and Platonism, especially in the thought of Nicholas of Cusa, the great fifteenth-century philosopher and theologian. The work is a festschrift published in honor of Donald Duclow, a leading scholar of mysticism and Platonism who has published extensively on Cusa, as well as Meister Eckhart and Johannes Scotus Eriugena. Skillfully edited by members of the American Cusanus Society, of which Duclow has been a leading member since its inception, the book certainly contains an impressive roll call of leading figures in the field. Yet while weighted towards established scholars, it also contains a number of newer voices – something reflective of Duclow’s widely acknowledged role as an encourager of younger scholars. A brief account of Duclow’s academic career in the foreword and a short history of the American Cusanus Society by Gerald Christianson in an afterword serves well to orient the reader unfamiliar with his contributions to the field.

The work has an admirable coherence, something not true of all festschrifts, and is neatly divided into three sections: “Cusanus and the Traditions of Medieval and Renaissance Platonism,” “The Themes of Cusanus’ Mystical Theology” and “Mystical Theology and Platonism in the Wake of Cusanus.” The first two especially closely relate to themes of Duclow’s career in investigating Cusanus and his forerunners, while the third speaks to growing interest in Cusanus’ legacy. Although it might be wished that some of the essays were more explicit in acknowledging their connection to Duclow, the implicit stamp of his influence is clear throughout. As befits the title the dominant focus of the volume is undoubtedly Cusa. While Eckhart plays an important role in a number of chapters, there are only scattered references to Eriguena and it is a pity that more was not said on his influence.

The first section focuses on the traditions of medieval and Renaissance Platonism, especially those that influenced Cusanus. Here we find both wide-ranging chapters, such as the fine essay by Robert Dobie exploring mystical suffering, as well as more focused treatments of texts and contexts, such as the detailed probing of fifteenth-century mystical theology and its sources by Samuel Dubbelman and Thomas Izbicki. Importantly the focus of the volume expands beyond Christian mysticism with Wendy Love Anderson and Joshua Hollmann discussing Cusanus’ engagement with Jewish and Islamic sources. Both will be valuable reference points for scholars in the field, with Hollmann’s intriguing reframing of the Cribratio Alkorani as a mystical text speaking directly to current debates on Cusanus’ attitude to Islam. For many Bernard McGinn’s chapter on Cusanus, Wenck, and Eckhart will be a definite highlight, although the concluding contrast between the Neo-Platonism of Cusa and the Aristotelianism of Wenck may appear a little overblown in light of recent scholarship on Wenck’s own Albertist Neo-Platonism.

The second section is the one in which Duclow’s own contributions to the field come into the sharpest focus. The chapters are rewarding but a number will certainly be challenging for those without expertise in Cusan philosophy. Here, many of the chapters pick up on Duclow’s well-known focus on Cusa’s intellectual mysticism, although chapters by Paula Pico Estrada and Il Kim also highlight the affective dimensions of Cusa. Thomas Leinkauf’s chapter is especially significant in proposing Cusa as a new, third way going beyond traditional oppositions between mirroring and naming in his focus on the intellect’s free creation of its own mental world. Almost equally ambitious is Wilhelm Dupré’s insightful exploration of Cusanus’ Neo-Platonic metaphysics of truth and its dynamic relation to the infinite truth of God, which ranges across a wealth of themes. A number of the chapters in this section focus on Cusanus’ celebrated mystical text De visione Dei, an important topic of Duclow’s own scholarship, with both Clyde Lee Miller and Pico Estrada honing in on the theme of pilgrimage and spiritual exercise to offer fresh investigations of well-trodden territory. Another theme resonating with Duclow’s scholarship is that of clocks, with both Sean Hannan and Elizabeth Brient pointing to Cusa’s innovative account of non-temporal time. Brient’s contrast between Cusa’s account of the perfection and abiding of time and Augustine’s understanding of the vanishing moment is particularly instructive. Il Kim’s discussion of vision in Renaissance theology is another gem of the volume, connecting Cusa’s mystical theology and his well-known account of vision and perspective to the bustling fifteenth-century world of artists and artisans. Tamara Albertini’s discussion of transumption is potentially very significant, especially in its engagement with mathematics and analogy, but the full implications of her claims still require some spelling out.

The third and final section offers a valuable tour of Cusanus’ influence from the fifteenth century right through to the twentieth. An important focus here is Renaissance Platonism and Valery Rees offers a valuable discussion of Cusanus’ relation to Marsilio Ficino, the leading Florentine Platonist. This answers a question that has long been on the minds of Renaissance scholars by concluding to rather modest direct influence but definite affinity. Likewise, Paul Richard Blum and Elisabeth Blum proffer an erudite and comprehensive treatment of the metaphor of mirroring in Cusa and Giordano Bruno, although the reader unfamiliar with the intimate relation between the two figures may need more help in drawing out some of these connections. Much less known than Ficino or Bruno is the controversial French Neo-Platonist Guillaume Postel, but Rita Geoge-Tvrtković gives a valuable comparison of his treatment of religious concord with that of Cusa, as well as attention to their contrasting relations to Islam. From here the volume leapfrogs to the twentieth century with Michael Edward Moore offering a fascinating account of Raymond Klibansky and his engagement with Neo-Platonism as an antidote to rising Fascism and Nationalism. For students of philosophy, David Albertson’s treatment of the Fold in Gilles Deleuze will be a particularly important chapter revealing Cusa’s (distorted) legacy in post-modernity and nicely rounding off a volume with a strong philosophical focus.

Overall, Mystical Theology and Platonism in the Time of Cusanus is a must read for those interested in the long tradition of Christian Platonism, breaking surprising new ground for a festschrift and serving as a fitting tribute to a leading scholar in the field.