Professor John Arblaster

Bio:

John Arblaster is Associate Professor and Director at the Ruusbroec Institute, a research centre for the study of the history of Christian spirituality at Antwerp University.

He is also part-time visiting assistant professor at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven. He is specialized in the mystical tradition of the medieval Low Countries, and primarily conducts research on the works of William of Saint-Thierry, Beatrice of Nazareth, (Pseudo-)Hadewijch, Jan van Ruusbroec, Jan van Leeuwen, and Willem Jordaens, among others.

In addition to his various journal articles and book chapters, he has co-edited A Companion to John of Ruusbroec (Brill, 2014), Mystical Doctrines of Deification: Case Studies in the Christian Tradition (Routledge, 2018), Medieval Mystical Women in the West (Routledge, 2024), and Spiritual Literature in the Late Medieval Low Countries: Essays by Thom Mertens (Brepols, 2024).

With Louise Nelstrop (PThU, NL) and Simon Podmore (Liverpool Hope University), he coordinates the Mystical Theology Network, an extensive international network of scholars who work on mysticism.