在14到16世纪，低地国家范围内出现了一个宗教社会团体。由于他们最重要的原则是“共同生活”，因此被称为共同生活兄弟会（The Brethren of Common Life）。这个组织的创始人吉尔特·格鲁特主张通过共同生活、共享财产、共同劳作来达成效仿基督生活的目的。

本文第一章梳理了格鲁特思想诞生的时代背景与神学基础，介绍了格鲁特的生平与其思想的主要内容。在中世纪晚期，基督教神秘主义复兴，尤其在低地国家有很大的影响力。格鲁特受其影响，主张个人与上帝之间存在神秘联系，信徒应当效法基督的生活方式，以事奉上帝为己任。

第二章理清了共同生活兄弟会的建立、发展与规章制度等内容，同时涉及两个与共同生活兄弟会有着密切联系的组织——共同生活姐妹会与温德斯海姆修道院。共同生活兄弟会在格鲁特生前萌芽，在他去世之后正式成立，最重要的两个据点是代芬特尔与兹沃勒。他们的组织有着严格的规章制度，保障他们运动的纯洁性。而同属“新献身运动”的共同生活姐妹会和温德斯海姆修道院与他们有一定相似性，能够为兄弟会研究带来不同的视野。

第三章则是展现了共同生活兄弟会思想传播的两个主要途径，一是共同生活兄弟会开办的学校，二是其成员所写的、能较好代表共同生活兄弟会思想的著作。他们的学校在格鲁特指导思想下创办，主要目的是为了通过教育改变教会，培养更多真正的基督徒。在这种努力下，他们取得了不菲成就，许多重要人物都是他们的学生。兄弟会成员同样致力于通过写作来传播思想，例如坎贝斯的托马斯所写的《效法基督》就成为了风靡全世界的灵修指南。

本文对共同生活兄弟会的研究主要以他们的思想与组织结构为对象，了解这个组织在中世纪晚期的背景下，有哪些改革性的观点和举措，以此来探究兄弟会与之后一系列宗教改革运动之间的关联。

From the 14th to 16th centuries, a religious social group emerged within the Low Countries. Because their most important principle was “common life”, they were called the Brethren of Common Life. The organization's founder, Geert Groote, advocated achieving the goal of imitating Christ's life through common life, shared property, and work together.

The first chapter of this paper organizes the context and theological foundations of the era in which Groote’s thought was born, and introduces Groote’s life and the main elements of his thought. In the late Middle Ages, there was a revival of Christian mysticism, which was particularly influential in the Low Countries. Influenced by it, Groote advocated the existence of a mystical connection between the individual and God, and that believers should follow Christ's way of life and make it their duty to serve God.

The second chapter clarifies the establishment, development, and regulations of the Brethren of Common Life, as well as the two organizations closely related to it - the Sisters of Common Life and the congregations of Windesheim. The Brethren of Common Life emerged during Groote's lifetime and was officially established after his death, with its two most important bases in Deventer and Zwolle. Their organization had strict regulations to ensure the purity of their movement. And the Sisters of Common Life and the congregations of Windesheim, both part of the “Devotio Moderna” shared certain similarities with them, which can bring a different perspective to the study of the Brethren.

The third Chapter shows the two main ways in which the ideas of the Brethren of Common Life were spread: the schools they established, and the writings of their members that best represented their ideas. Their schools were founded under the guidance of the Groote’s idea, with the main goal of changing the Church through education and training more true Christians. In this effort, they achieved considerable success, with many important figures being their students. The members of the Brethren were also committed to spreading their ideas through writing, for example, Thomas à Kempis' “The Imitation of Christ” became a popular spiritual guide throughout the world.

This study of the Brethren of Common Life focuses primarily on their ideas and organizational structure, to understand what reformist views and initiatives they had in the late Middle Ages, in order to explore the connection between the Brethren and the subsequent series of religious reform movements.