Heinrich Seuse

The plague brought fear as well as deep suspicion, as the people of Europe searched for the culprits who they believed had brought the disease in their midst. Oftentimes, traveling strangers were accused of poisoning wells or food supplies, and in these dangerous moments they had some fast explaining to do in order to save their own lives.

Just such a dangerous moment occurred to the German mystic Heinrich Seuse (Henry Suso). While traveling with a companion in the Rhineland, Seuse found himself the target of a lynch mob—inspired by an accusation made by his own companion. In the following autobiographical account, in which Seuse refers to himself in the third person as the "Servant," only the intercession of a kindly priest saves him from being run through with a pike.

Once, when...