Julian of
Norwich
born 1342, probably Norwich, Norfolk,
Eng.
died after 1416
celebrated mystic whose Revelations of Divine
Love (or Showings) is generally considered one
of the most remarkable documents of medieval
religious experience. She spent the latter part
of her life as a recluse at St. Julian’s Church,
Norwich.
On May 13, 1373, Julian was healed of a
serious illness after experiencing a series of
visions of Christ’s suffering and of the Blessed
Virgin, about which she wrote two accounts; the
second, longer version was composed 20 or 30
years after the first. Unparalleled in English
religious literature, Revelations spans the most
profound mysteries of the Christian faith—such
as the problems of predestination, the
foreknowledge of God, and the existence of evil.
The clarity and depth of her perception, the
precision and accuracy of her theological
presentation, and the sincerity and beauty of
her expression reveal a mind and personality of
exceptional strength and charm. Never beatified,
Julian is honoured on the unofficial feast day
of May 13. A modern chapel in the Church of St.
Julian has been dedicated to her memory. A
critical edition in Middle English of both the
short and long versions of her account is A Book
of Showings to the Anchoress Julian of Norwich,
ed. by Edmund Colledge and James Walsh in 2 vol.
(1978); Colledge and Walsh also published an
English translation, Showings, in the same year.
