Born into an important family in Strasbourg, at the time a free city of the Holy Roman Empire, Rulman Merswin became a banker and amassed a large fortune.
Embarking on his new spiritual life, Merswin was moved to keep his money “to use for God,” a decision which precipitated an experience of ecstasy; he felt himself float off the ground and fly around the garden.
Johannes Tauler brought Merswin into the Friends of God, a lay religious society with a mystical focus.
The Friends of God, as led by Tauler and Henry Suso, sought a mystical path in line with established Catholic doctrine, following Thomas Aquinas.
This stress on reform brought The Friends of God into conflict with the Church and not long after Merswin's death in 1382, they were condemned.