About John of Ruusbroec
John of Ruusbroec (1293 – 1381) was born in the tiny village of Ruusbroec, not far from Brussels, and is now known as one of the ‘Flemish mystics.’ Of his early life we know little other than that he was brought up by his mother. According to one chronicler, he was strong-willed, adventurous and insubordinate. He wrote in the Dutch vernacular, the language of the common people of the Low Countries, rather than in Latin, the language of the Church liturgy and official texts, in order to reach a wider audience. He died at Groenendaal at the ripe old age of 82, on December 1381.
