born 0441; 1300, Thornton, Yorkshire, Eng.
died Sept. 29, 1394, Hampole, Yorkshire
English mystic.
He left the University of Oxford without a degree, dissatisfied with the subjects of study, and became a hermit. Writing in the vernacular for the sake of women readers, he exalted the contemplative life and emphasized a rapturous mystical union with God. He may have been spiritual adviser to the nuns of Hampole in his late years.