First published in 1395, Julian of Norwich’s “Revelations of Divine Love” is a classic and important work of Christian mysticism, and the first book in English written by a woman. It is an account of her sixteen divine and mystical visions and her meditations on them, which she experienced after being struck by a serious illness at age 30 in 1373. Notable also for being written in plain Middle English, rather than the more common Latin for religious texts of the time, Julian of Norwich puts forth her ideas for divine love and beauty. Reflecting upon her illness and the visions she experienced, she believes she received three gifts from God: an understanding of the passion and love of Christ, an understanding of the importance of her own suffering, and the gift of greater piety and reverence as a result of her illness. Julian of Norwich found indescribable beauty even in the smallest of objects and insisted that God loved and cared for each of His creations. Written at a time of immeasurable loss and upheaval as a result of the Black Plague, “Revelations of Divine Love” is an important and beautiful historical work of Christian theology.
