Julian of Norwich: Mystic or Visionary?

ISBN-13: 9780415360531 / Angielski / Twarda / 2005 / 192 str.

Kevin J. Magill

Opis

"Julian of Norwich" was a fourteenth-century woman who at the age of thirty had a series of vivid visions centered on the crucified Christ, twenty years later while living as an anchoress in a church she is believed to have set out her visions in a text called the Showing of Love. The trend in modern scholarship is to place Julian in the category of mystic rather than visionary, a classification which defines her visions as deeply private, psychological events. This book instead sets Julian's thinking in the context of a visionary project which she used to instruct the Christian community.
Drawing on recent developments in philosophy which debate the objectivity and rationality of vision and perception, Kevin J. Magill gives full attention to the depth and richness of the visual language and modes of perception in the Showing of Love, doing justice to the major themes in Julian's teaching. In particular the book focuses on the ways in which Julian presented her vision to the Christian society around her, demonstrating the educative potential of interaction between the "isolated" anchoress and the wider community. Challenging Julian's identification as a mystic and solitary female writer this book argues that Julian engaged in a variety of educative methods - oral, visual, conversational, mnemonic, alliterative - that extend the usefulness of her text.

Recenzje

'McGill's book is a serious contribution to the study of Julian's Showing of Love.' - Tarmo Toom, The John Leland Center for Theological Studies

Spis treści

1. Understanding Julian’s Showing of Love as Visionary Theology  2. The Anchoress and Her Community  3. Imagery, Literacy and Audience  4. The Redemption of the Body and the Redemption of Vision.  Conclusion.  Bibliography

O autorze

Kevin Magill is an internationally recognized expert on Julian of Norwich.