Her spirituality is strongly Trinitarian and basically Neoplatonic. Julian of Norwich was the most important English mystic of the 14th century. An introduction, notes and appendices help to place the works in context for modern readers. This edition of the Revelations contains both the short text, which is mainly an account of the 'showings' themselves and Julian's initial interpretation of their meaning, and the long text, completed some twenty years later, which moves from vision to a daringly speculative theology.Įlizabeth Spearing's translation preserves Julian's directness of expression and the rich complexity of her thought. Written in a vigorous English vernacular, the Revelations are one of the most original works of medieval mysticism and have had a lasting influence on Christian thought. Through these 'showings', Christ's sufferings were revealed to her with extraordinary intensity, but she also received assurance of God's unwavering love for man and his infinite capacity for forgiveness. Her work encompasses her descriptions and explanations of the spiritual insight gained through a series of spiritual visions and visitations she experienced during her severe illness.One of the first woman authors, Julian of Norwich produced in Revelations of Divine Love a remarkable work of revelatory insight, that stands alongside The Cloud of Unknowing and Piers Plowman as a classic of Medieval religious literatureĪfter fervently praying for a greater understanding of Christ's passion, Julian of Norwich, a fourteenth-century anchorite and mystic, experienced a series of divine revelations. Showings of Love (also known as Revelations of Divine Love)Īlthough her work bears various titles, Julian chose the word showing, a word used in the Middle Ages to describe a manifestation, a revelation, a dream, or a vision, usually of a religious nature. Deciding to become an anchoress, over the next several years she wrote two versions of her Showings of Love. As she recovered she experienced a series of visions.
\): Lady Julian’s cell and the window opening into the church.Īccording to her own account, when Julian was thirty years old, she suffered a nearly fatal illness.
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