Julian of Norwich

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Julian of Norwich (1342-c 1416) was the most important English mystic of the 14th century. Her spirituality is strongly Trinitarian and basically Neoplatonic.

In her Revelations of Divine Love Julian relates that in May 1373, when she was 30 years old, she suffered a serious illness. After she had been administered extreme unction, she received 16 revelations within the span of a few hours. When she wrote her Revelations, she was a recluse at Norwich, supported by the Benedictine convent of Carrow. Anchorite seclusion was a rather common form of life in 14th-century England among Christians with high spiritual aspirations. A woman of little formal education - she calls herself "unlettered" - Julian writes in a beautifully simple style and shows a solid grasp of traditional theology.

Julian's revelations, a mixture of imaginary and intellectual visions, bear all the characteristics of true mysticism. According to her, her visions came in fulfillment of three petitions of her youth: to have in mind the Passion of Christ, to have a critical bodily sickness at 30 years of age, and to receive the wounds of "true contrition," "genuine compassion," and "sincere longing for God." The revelations consist mostly of visions of the crucified Christ occasioned by the sight of a crucifix which the priest had left at her bedside. But through the Passion, Julian is led to intellectual visions of the Trinity and of the universe as it exists in God. Thus she is confronted by the teachings of sin and damnation, which she finds hard to reconcile with God's grace in Christ. Nevertheless the accepts the traditional Church doctrine of the existence of an eternal rejection. Yet on the sinfulness of those who will be saved she hedges: "In every soul to be saved is a godly will that has never consented to sin, in the past or in the future. Just as there is an animal will in our lower nature that does not will what is good, so there is a godly will in our higher part, which by its basic goodness never wills what is evil, but only what is good." Obviously she finds herself unable to accept that divine goodness could ever allow the elect to be truly sinful. Her fundamental outlook is optimistic. The Lord tells her: "All shall be well," and "You will see for yourself that all manner of thing shall be well."

Little is known of Julian's later years, not even the date of her death. She is last referred to as a living person in a will dated 1416. Apparently even during her life she enjoyed a certain renown, for people came from afar to see and consult her.

Further Reading

There are two versions of the Revelations, one much longer than the other. It is not known whether the short one is merely an excerpt from the older one or whether it is the first authentic report on which Julian elaborated in the longer version. A critical edition is being prepared by Sister Anna Maria Reynolds and James Walsh. Meanwhile, a modernized edition of the short version is A Shewing of God's Love (1958) by Anna Maria Reynolds. Several modern translations of the longer version, under the title Revelations of Divine Love, are by Roger Hudleston (1927), James Walsh (1961), Anchoret Juliana (1966), and Clifton Wolters (1966). Important studies of Julian are Paul Molinari, Julian of Norwich: The Teaching of a 14th Century English Mystic (1958), and James Walsh, ed., Pre-Reformation English Spirituality (1966).

Julian of Norwich (1342-c. 1416). Anchoress and mystic, probably educated by Benedictine nuns. After nearly dying (1373) she had a series of sixteen religious experiences, ‘shewings’, and decided to become a recluse and spiritual counsellor in an anchorage attached to St Julian's church, from which she took her name. Twenty years later, she wrote The Revelations of Divine Love, meditations on her ‘shewings’, the first book known to have been written by a woman in English.

Quotes:

"Suddenly is the soul oned to God when it is truly peaced in itself: for in Him is found no wrath. And thus I saw when we are all in peace and in love, we find no contrariness, nor no manner of letting through that contrariness which is now in us."

Julian of Norwich
Born	November 8, 1342(1342-11-08)
Died	c. 1414
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Major shrine	Church of St Julian in Norwich
Feast	May 13 (Roman Catholic), May 8 (Anglican, Lutheran)

Julian of Norwich (c. November 8, 1342 – c. 1416) is thought of as one of the greatest English mystics. Little is known of her life aside from her writings. Even her name is uncertain, the name "Julian" coming from the Church of St Julian in Norwich, where she was an anchoress (a type of hermit living in a cell attached to the church, engaged in contemplative prayer). At the age of 30, suffering from a severe illness and believing she was on her deathbed, Julian had a series of intense visions of Jesus Christ. (They ended by the time she overcame her illness on May 13, 1373.^[1]) She recorded these visions soon after having them, and then again twenty years later in far more theological depth. They are the source of her major work, called Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love (circa 1393). This is believed to be the first book written by a woman in the English language.^[2] Julian became well known throughout England as a spiritual authority: Margery Kempe mentions going to Norwich to speak with Julian.^[3]

Contents 1 Philosophy 2 Works 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External links

Philosophy

A statue of St. Julian (in white) appears on the front of Norwich Cathedral, along with a statue of St. Benedict.

Although she lived in a time of turmoil, Julian's theology was optimistic, speaking of God's love in terms of joy and compassion as opposed to law and duty. For Julian, suffering was not a punishment that God inflicted, as was the common understanding. She believed that God loved and wanted to save everyone. Popular theology magnified by current events including the Black Death and a series of peasant revolts assumed that God was punishing the wicked. In response, Julian suggested a far more merciful theology, which some say leaned towards universal salvation. Because she believed that behind the reality of hell is yet a greater mystery of God's love, she has also been referred to in modern times as a proto-universalist, though she herself never actually claimed more than hope that all might be saved.^{[citation needed]} Even though her views were not typical, local authorities did not challenge either her theology or her authority to make such religious claims because of her status as an anchoress.

As part of her differing view of God as compassionate and loving, she wrote of the Trinity in domestic terms and compares Jesus to a mother who is wise, loving, and merciful. (See Jesus as Mother by Carolyn Walker Bynum.) Similarly, she connects God with motherhood in terms of 1) "the foundation of our nature's creation, 2) "the taking of our nature, where the motherhood of grace begins" and 3) "the motherhood at work" and speaks metaphorically of Jesus in connection with conception, nursing, labor, and upbringing. She asserts God to have the attributes of Fatherhood, Motherhood and Lordship.

Her great saying, "…All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well", reflects this theology. It is also one of the most individually famous lines in all of Catholic theological writing, and certainly one of the most well-known phrases of the literature of her era.

Works

• Showing of Love, ed. Sister Anna Maria Reynolds, C.P., and Julia Bolton Holloway. Florence: SISMEL, 2001.
• The Writings of Julian of Norwich, ed. Nicholas Watson and Jacqueline Jenkins. Brepols, 2006.
• Revelations of Divine Love

See also

Church of St Julian, Norwich

• Sydney Carter, author of 1981 song about Julian
• Visions of Jesus and Mary

References

1. ^ ""Julian of Norwich"". Encyclopedia Britannica Profiles. Encyclopedia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/women/article-9044118. Retrieved 2006-06-13. 
2. ^ "Julian of Norwich". Showings. Paulist Press. 1978. http://books.google.com/books?id=IPCwHOwX_BgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=julian+of+norwich+showings&sig=tPSlwPEUWfdxNMxYkWFSPRd43NQ. 
3. ^ "The Book of Margery Kempe, Book I, Part I". The Book of Margery Kempe. TEAMS Middle English Texts. 1996. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/kemp1frm.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-19. 

Further reading

• McAvoy, L. H., ed., A Companion to Julian of Norwich. Woodbridge, Suffolk, 2008.
• Petroff, E. .Body and soul : essays on medieval women and mysticism. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1994. ISBN 0195084543 ISBN 0195084551 (pbk.)
• Watt, D., Medieval Women's Writing. Cambridge, Polity, 2007.
• Dutton, Elisabeth. A Revelation of Love. (Introduced, Edited & Modernized). Rowman & Littlfield, 2008.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Julian of Norwich

This article's external links may not follow Wikipedia's content policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links. (October 2009)

• http://www.julianofnorwich.org The Julian Shrine in Norwich
• http://www.friendsofjulian.org.uk Friends of Julian of Norwich, carrying out educational initiatives and providing resources for visitors to The Julian Shrine
• http://www.orderofjulian.org The Order of Julian of Norwich
• The Julian Site
• Luminarium: Julian of NorwichLife, works, essays
• Revelations of Divine Love Text in various formats from ccel.org
• Mother Julian of Norwich - Selected prayers and poems
• Julian of Norwich: presented by Gloriana's Court Extensive essay on Julian's spirituality, quotations from her writings with footnote explanations.
• Article on Juliana of Norwich in the Catholic Encyclopedia.

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