Fray Pedro Malón de Chaide was known as the metaphysician of love among other Spanish writers of his time. He was born in 1530 and died in 1592. During his later life, Fray Pedro entered the Augustinian order and, while considered a contemporary of St. Teresa, became one among the few Spaniards of the time not directly influenced by authors and works of foreign mysticism. Fray Pedro’s written works showed insight on human value through recurring critiques on religious presentation during the Inquisition. Fray Pedro wrote often on God’s central being in the universe and he typically wrote dialogues to explore human nature. One of Fray Pedro’s works, Conquest, reveals a discussion of penitence between a spiritual director and his disciple as a duty all Christians should endure. While his ideas of Union pale in comparison to those of St. Teresa and Juan de la Cruz, he speaks highly of “The Soul’s …show more content…
Reminiscent of St. Teresa’s Mansions, he focuses on the power of love as the single form of union with God. This concept of love as a powerful way to unite with another becomes another of Fray Pedro’s central themes. Fray Pedro’s written works, especially those centered around the unifying characteristic of love, inspires Spanish mystics after him such as Juan de los Ángeles. However, Fray Juan focuses more on the nature of love’s duality while Fray Pedro focuses on the power of love to unite and its many levels from friendship to sin and carnal desires. Fray Pedro Malón de Chaide uses his written works to discuss that the highest form of spirituality in mystic Spain comes from accepting God as the central being of the universe and providing love for His work to ultimately unify with Him, making Fray Pedro a pioneer in mystic Spain’s concept of God and love that inspired the works of later mystics such as Fray Juan de los