The second volume of Kurt Ruh's "History of Western Mysticism" presents the mysticism of women in the 12th and 13th centuries, as well as Franciscan mysticism in the first century of the Order of Friars Minor. In these areas, mysticism becomes predominantly vernacular due to changed social structures and new forms of piety. The personal love of Christ and following Christ, which had developed in the monastic spirituality of the 12th century, now reaches broad segments of the laity embarking on an "evangelical" life characterized by poverty, humility, and the assurance of God's love. Both women's mysticism and Franciscan mysticism are based on this newly experienced form of Christian life.