Nicolaus Cusanus

The son of a Mosel shipper and merchant from Bernkastel-Kues, known as Cusanus (1401-1464), has risen to become one of the prominent and intellectually influential figures at the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Era: as a jurist, theologian, philosopher, mathematician, and diplomat. Inspired by the mysticism of Meister Eckhart and the enduring influence of Dionysius Areopagita, he created a philosophical work focused on the unity and wholeness to be achieved through the overcoming of opposites (coincitentia oppositorum). He became a cardinal and bishop of Brixen and was a diplomat of epochal significance. Cusanus is among the first to have contemplated a reconciliation between religions in the 15th century and to have sought an understanding of the Quran and Islam. From this perspective, the selection of writings introduced and commented on by Gerhard Wehr can be seen as significant.