The Complete Julian of Norwich

by John Julian OJN

Overview

The most engaging and complete collection available of this 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, the 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 served parishes in Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Connecticut, was the founding Dean of the Seminary of the Streets in New York, has taught on the adjunct faculty of the University of Rhode Island and Hampshire College, and served as Director of the Social Service Institute which trained social workers for the State of Connecticut. In 1985 he founded 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. He has studied Julian of Norwich each day for over a quarter century. The Complete Julian is the product of over six years of prayerful study and research.

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