Eckhart von Hochheim O.P.

(c. 1260 – c. 1328), commonly known as Meister Eckhart, is a German theologian, philosopher and mystic, born near Gotha, in the Landgraviate of Thuringia in the Holy Roman Empire.

Eckhart comes into prominence during the Avignon Papacy, at a time of increased tensions between the Franciscan Order and Eckhart's Dominican Order of Preachers.

In later life he is accused of heresy and brought up before the local Franciscan-led Inquisition, and tried as a heretic by Pope John XXII.

He is well known for his work with pious lay groups such as the Friends of God.

Since the nineteenth century, he has received renewed attention.

Within popular spirituality he has acquired a status as a great mystic, though contemporary scholarship places him properly within the mediaeval scholastic and philosophical tradition.

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