Mechthild of Magdeburg (ca. 1207-1282) came from a noble family of the diocese of Magdeburg. He had his first mystical experience at the age of twelve. Towards the twenty he left his family to go to the city of Magdeburg, where he joined a group of beguines, communities laywomen who lived a life of prayer and service to the poor and sick. From 1250, commissioned by her confessor Heinrich von Halle, he began to write down his visions, work that would occupy the rest of his life. By 1280 the persecution beguines Matilde forced to seek refuge in the Cistercian convent of Helfta, home also of other women writers like Gertrude the Great and Mechtilde, who recognized her as a teacher.