The Medieval Muse of the Modern Mind: Albertus Magnus, Liturgical Fiction and the Magister Ludi

This article illuminates hitherto overlooked aspects of the writings and worldview of Hermann Hesse by examining a number of references in his later works to the thirteenth-century Dominican monk and philosopher Albertus Magnus. Through the lens of Albertus’s life and work, the article analyses points of reference and correspondence to Albertus in Hesse’s two final major works: Die Morgenlandfahrt (1932) and Das Glasperlenspiel (1943). It identifies parity between the life of Albertus and Hesse’s fictional protagonists, and it posits Albertus as a source of intellectual and spiritual inspiration for Hesse. Departing from existing Hessean scholarship and research, it argues that the influence of Albertus offers new insights into Hesse’s spiritual response to his upbringing in Swabian Pietism and to the development of his Weltanschauung.