Complete Julian of Norwich

by John Julian

Overview

The most engaging and complete collection available of this beloved 14th century English mystic

The Revelations of Julian of Norwich is the first book written in English by a woman – in this case, by a 14th century recluse who recounts the poignant, subtle, and radical insights granted to her in sixteen visions of the crucified Christ as she lay on what was believed to be her deathbed. Julian’s miraculous recovery from that illness then led to twenty more years of reflection and contemplation on those revelations and finally to her writing a detailed account of her mystical experience.

Her work – in the same Middle English as her contemporary Geoffrey Chaucer – is dense, deeply intuitive, and theologically complex. The Complete Julian is the first book to offer a modern translation of all of Julian’s writings (including her complete Revelations), a complete analysis of her work, as well as original historical, religious, and personal background material that helps the reader comprehend the depth and profundity of her life and work.

“[Julian’s Revelations] may well be the most important work of Christian reflection in the English language.” — Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781557256393
Publisher:	Paraclete Press
Publication date:	06/01/2009
Series:	Paraclete Giants
Pages:	450
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Father John-Julian, OJN, is an Episcopal priest and monk. He has been an actor, a professor (University of Rhode Island and Hampshire College), a parish priest (Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Connecticut), a TV commentator, a camp director, a bookseller, the Dean of a seminary (Seminary of the Streets in New York), a contemplative monk, a director of Social Worker training (Social Service Institute in Connecticut), an organizational consultant, an author of fifteen books, a founder of a religious order (the contemplative, semi-enclosed monastic Order of Julian of Norwich in Wisconsin which incorporates both monks and nuns with equal status under the same traditional vows), a waiter, a human relations trainer, a carpenter, a founder of a theater, a psychotherapist, a spiritual director, a hermit, a builder of three churches, an anti-war activist, a member of NAACP—all of this perfect background for a contemplative! Fr. John-Julian has tasted virtually everything the world has to offer and, finally, has chosen to live a life directly contrary to all that, a life constituted of the silence and solitude of contemplative monasticism. He has studied Julian of Norwich each day for over a quarter century. 

Table of Contents

Illustration: The Medieval Parishes of the City of Norwich

Part 1 Introduction and Major Themes

1 Optimism 5

2 Transcendence of History 6

3 No Wrath in God 8

4 Sin Has No Substance 8

5 God Will Work His Will 10

6 Mysticism Without Histrionics 10

7 Blindness 11

8 Prayer 12

9 Julian's Aims, Compared to Those of Her Contemporaries 13

10 Texts and Abbreviations 17

11 Surviving Manuscripts 17

12 Abbreviations Used in This Book 18

Part 2 All About Julian

1 Julian's Identity 21

2 Julian's Education 27

3 Testimonial Evidence of Julian's Existence 30

4 Julian and Margery Kempe 32

5 Date and Time of Julian's Visions 35

6 Julian's Cell and Domestic Habits 38

7 Julian's Church 45

8 Julian's Papacy 49

9 Julian's Bible 52

Part 3 The Revelations, with Annotations

Chapter 1 Through 86

Part 4 Appendices

1 Julian's Crucifix 379

2 The Floods in Norwich 381

3 The Pestilence ("The Black Death") 384

4 The Holy Year and The Vernicle 386

5 Saint John of Beverley 388

6 God in a Point 392

7 Pilate and Dionysius the Areopagite 394

8 The Wounds of Christ 398

9 Pellets, Eaves, and Herring 402

10 Predestination and Salvation in Julian 403

11 God as Mother 406

12 Behovabil 408

13 The Stabat Mater 409

14 The Holy Trinity 411

Notes 413

Sources and Recommended Reading

1 Julian Texts and Translations 435

2 Background on Julian of Norwich 436

3 Julian of Norwich 439

4 Julian's Cell and Monastic Habits 442

5 Julian and Margery Kempe 442

6 History of Julian's Religious Era 443

7 The Religious Milieu of the Fourteenth Century 444

8 Julian's Bible 444

9 The Papacy in Julian's Time 445

10 Julian's Church Building 446

11The Norwich Floods 447

12 The Pestilence ("The Black Death") 447

13 About Pilate 447

14 About Denis of France 448

15 Devotional Reading Based on Julian 448

16 Novels and Plays about Julian 450

17 Dictionaries and Linguistic References 453

Editorial Reviews

"The Complete Julian of Norwich is the latest volume in Paraclete’s Giants series, which collects the works of major writers in the Christian tradition. This volume contains rich background material on Julian of Norwich, an excellent translation of the long text of Julian’s 14th-century Revelations of Divine Love and extensive and readable notes. John-Julian is an Episcopal priest and monk who in 1985 founded the Episcopal contemplative Order of Julian of Norwich. His interpretation of Julian’s life is perhaps too speculative to be taken as authoritative, but the translation, notes and extensive appendices add greatly to the available literature on Julian for the lay reader." The Christian Century

From the Publisher