Snapshots Of Church History
- Contending for the Faith: Augustine of Hippo (354-430) (1)
- Who is Jesus? (2)
- Julian of Norwich (3)
- Rebecca Protten (5)
- Valiant For Truth (6)
The Later Medieval Church
The second half of the Medieval Catholic church is often characterised as a period of decline, but this is not entirely fair. A case can of course be made for the moral and theological decline of the later Medieval church. There was corruption, nepotism and a disregard for the spiritual health of the average congregant in some areas with overzealousness in others. The practice of indulgences is perhaps the most famous example of this decline as it encapsulates all of the above. However, this is not the entire story. Christ remains faithful to his bride throughout history, including the later Medieval church.
One area in which the Medieval church saw a huge amount of growth was the participation of women in theology. The growth of monasteries in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries gave women the opportunity to devote more of their lives to learning and writing than was acceptable in other parts of society. Although there were limitations on how much these female theologians were allowed to say and in what capacity, their influence extends to us today.
When King Charles was crowned last year, at the time of his anointing, a screen was placed around him to shield this private moment from the eyes of the world. The screen featured an embroidered tree representing the commonwealth and at the bottom of the screen were these words:
All shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
These words were popularised during the pandemic as they seemed to encapsulate the hope we had that eventually all would indeed be well again. While they continue to seem incredibly relevant for the turbulent times we live in, they are actually over 600 years old, authored by the mystic and anchorite Julian of Norwich.
From death to life
We know very little of Julian’s life beyond what is contained in her writings. Julian was born in 1342 or 1343 and raised in the city of Norwich where she lived her entire life. Her childhood would have been dominated by uncertainty, fear and grief, as the Black Death devastated the city with outbreaks continuing until Julian’s mid-forties. She grew up immersed in the Christian faith. Norwich was one of the most religious cities in England at the time. With grief and faith dominating so much of her early life, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Julian’s testimony begins at the expected moment of her death.
Julian records that when she was thirty, she fell seriously ill. Lying on her deathbed, surrounded by her family with the curate reading her last rites and her body growing numb, Julian had a religious experience before making a miraculous recovery. While she kept the details of what happened in those moments a secret until much later in her life, when Julian recovered fully from her illness, her life had changed.
A devoted life of faith
Julian became an anchorite in the church of St Julian, Norwich. She was housed in a walled-up cell attached to the church with one window facing the outside community and another facing the altar of the church. Here Julian devoted her life to prayer, learning and service, all from the seclusion of her cell.
It was during this period of relative isolation that Julian dedicated time to understanding from a theological viewpoint what had happened to her on what should have been her deathbed. It is clear from the writings she later produced that Julian consulted a wide variety of theological texts in order to grow her understanding. As we read her work, we see her understanding of the theological debates of her time, as well as her interest in the theological works being produced by other women across Europe. Julian records this time briefly in her later work, saying, ‘I desired many times to know our Lord’s meaning. And fifteen years after and more, I was answered in spiritual understanding.’
Julian continued this private study for decades until she felt called by God to share her understanding with the wider world. Julian did not undertake this decision lightly, however. After all, she would have been aware of the Lollards who were burnt at the stake in Lollards Pit just outside of Norwich because of their commitment to writing religious texts in the vernacular. Despite her initial wariness, Julian was convicted in the soundness of her theology and the calling from God for her to share it. As she would later write, ‘I would to God it were known, and my fellow Christians helped on to loathing of sin and loving of God. This sight was shown for all the world.’
Therefore, at the dawn of the fifteenth century, Julian began writing about what happened to her and all she had learnt from it in the decades since. This book is known to us today as The Revelations of Divine Love.
In this text, Julian details sixteen visions she reports to have received during that serious illness and throughout her recovery. As we read, we see how theologically capable Julian was to interpret these visions and explain them using a theological framework based on the love of God and God as love. Julian takes time to consider the main ideas of Christian theology, all within her wider framework which is heavily influenced by the unique feminine spirituality of her time. For example, Julian draws heavily upon maternal imagery to understand the love of God, combining her own human experience with her understanding of complex theological questions.
Timeless relevance
Julian’s public recognition during her lifetime was based upon her service as an anchorite rather than what she taught in Revelations of Divine Love. In fact, after her death both she and her writings came dangerously close to being forgotten. It wasn’t until Grace Warrack’s 1901 modernised edition that interest in Julian was revived. Scholars quickly recognised the importance of Julian’s Revelations as a theological work in its own right, as well as relevant to the growing interest in the writings of Medieval religious women. Today, with multiple editions and translations of her work available, we are able to enjoy her teaching.
The world in which Julian lived seems so far removed from ours and yet her words remain relevant. Like Julian, we can look out at a world filled with pain and confusion. News reels bring the suffering of many across the world into our homes; outside, society can seem polarised and fractured; and in our own lives, we know what it is to struggle and grieve. All of this can leave us wondering where God is and does he care? Here, we can listen to Julian. Focus on God’s character, his steadfast love and his faithfulness. When we fix our eyes on him and trust our lives to his hands, we can reflect as Julian did, ‘all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.’
