The Sweetness of Divine Revelation as it was recorded by Julian of Norwich Asistent Monica Oanca Abstract In this paper I intend

to discuss a few characteristics of spiritual revelations as they are presented by Julian of Norwich in her work The Revelations of Divine Love. I will discuss the fact that her perception of divinity is repeatedly described with the word sweet, which bestows a certain gentleness on her message. Although the most original part of her theology is the insistence on the motherhood of Jesus Christ, identifying the second person of the Holy Trinity with a mother, I have not insisted on it. What I specifically want to point out, is her optimistic approach to the future of the world and to life in general and how her work still has the power to encourage us to go forward and to hope for the best, because God with His love protects and guides us. Very little is known about Julian of Norwich, the 14 th century mystic who lived in Norwich and who appropriated the name of the patron of the church in whose vicinity she lived as an anchoress, namely Saint Julian1. We find out from her work that she was born in 1342 (probably in November) and she received her visions in 1373 ( ch. 2). By that time Edward III (1327-1377), had successfully finished the first phase of the One Hundred Year Wars with the victories from Crecy (1346) and Poitiers (1356) and in 1347 he subdued Calais. Yet this political victory, which brought a certain degree of economic prosperity in England, was soon followed by a great disaster which hit the whole continent, the Plague. Starting from Italy the Black Death soon spread all over Europe and it affected England in 1348-1349, it seemed to have stopped but it started again even more fearsome in 1361, and later on in 1369 and 1375 (King, 156). The horrid presence of death all over the kingdom had increased the popular devotion, and must have influenced Julian of Norwich as well. There are studies which discuss the possibility of her being a nun before retiring to her anchorite cell; her rich religious culture and the specific language she used are as arguments to support this theory (Labarge, 129) Julian of Norwich paid no attention to the political events that took place in her time, and she does not mention any of them in her work. Although Norwich was one of the centres of the Peasants Revolt lead by Watt Tyler (1381) ( Gilbert, 33) during the time when Julian was already an anchoress there she does not refer to it, nor to other tensioned moments that marked Richard IIs reign (1377-1399). Julian of Norwich was not deprived of human contact, she could listen to the mass from one of the windows of her room, and she could talk to different visitors who asked for different advice. About 1413 she received the visit of Margery Kempe, event which is recorded in the latters work, The Book of Margery Kempe , the first English-language autobiography. It is also very probable that she was in good relations with Bishop Adam Easton, who was not only bishop of the place for some time during her anchorage, but also a well-known scholar. Apparently he was well acquainted with the works of Brigitt of Suedia (1303-1372) and of Catherine of Sienna (1347-1380) and when he came back in England he brought The Dialogues, Catherines most important work with him. It was translated into English at Syon Abbey and it was given the name Orchard of Syon. It is thus possible that one copy could have reached Julian through Bishop Adam Eaton. Unlike these two female mystics, who seem close to her in time, she paid no attention to the national or international interests of the Catholic Church and she did not get involved in any local conflicts or theological debates.2
1

He can be either Julian the Hospitaller, a medieval saint or Saint Julian the Martyr, who died during Domitians pagan persecutions. The two saints are sometimes mistaken one for other. 2 We refer to the fact that although she must have been familiar with the works and the lives of Bridget of Sweden and Catherine of Sienna she did not follow their example of engaging in either social

We must place Julian of Norwich at the threshold of the European tradition of the above mentioned female mystic writers, and of the English mystic tradition which was predominantly masculine, which consisted of theologians like Richard Rolle of Hampole (1300-1347) (who wrote The Fire of Love), Walter Hamilton (d. 1396) (author of The Ladder of Perfection), as well as the anonynous writer of The Cloud of Unknowing. While all these male works focus on teaching and guiding the young Christian belivers, Julians work concentrates on the personal visions she had received from God and the starting point was the revelation (or a series of consecutive revelations) which portrayed the crucifixion and the death of Jesus Christ. We must point out that she is very attentive to specify that in spite of her receiving these revelations, by no means does she consider herself superior to any other Christian. On the other hand she regards it as a duty to tell her fellow Christians about her visions in order to draw them closer to God. In chapter IX of her work Saint Julian gives details about how she received her visions3, namely in three ways: by bodily sight, by words formed in her understanding and by spiritual sight . Of these three the third one is obviously the most difficult to put into words, and the people will understand it according to their devotion to God. She even prays that the people would take the spiritual sight, which is so difficult to put into words, more sweetly and more spiritually than she can present it. We can see that the word sweetly is directly connected with the meaning of the revelation; it defines a better understanding of the vision. In other words, in this context, sweetly has correctly or maybe personally as possible synonyms. Julian insists on the fact that the relationship between God and man is not only one of closeness or servitude, but it is rather organic, the human soul is in constant need of divine support. Either fighting to achieve something, or trying to enjoy a peaceful existence, it is unable to exist properly, without the divine intervention. God is nearer to us than our own Soul: for He is [the] Ground in whom our Soul standeth, and He is [the] Mean that keepeth the Substance and the Sense-nature together so that they shall never dispart. For our soul sitteth in God in very rest, and our soul standeth in God in very strength, and our Soul is kindly rooted in God in endless love. (ch. LVI) The strong connection that can be built between God and man is proven by the intensity of the divine revelations which are experienced by the devout Christians, with Gods grace and His help (ch.VII). The first revelations that Julian received show Jesus bleeding, but they seem to be just an introduction to the really powerful vision that is presented in the fourth revelation (ch. XII). We can see here an emphasis on the plenteous blood which flows from Jesus Christs sweet body. The image is associated with the abundant waters that have a cleansing role. Thus the soteriological significance of the blood and of the body in pain (after scourging) is pointed out. The body is sweet because it is blessed, since it is the source of our salvation. The insistence is on the abundance of blood because it symbolises the ample effect it had on humanity. The dearworthy blood of our Lord Jesus Christ as verily as it is most precious, so verily it is most plenteous The precious plenty of His dearworthy blood overfloweth all Earth, and is ready to wash all creatures of sin. The great amount of blood is therefore more than enough to wash our sins, i.e. to save us. The purpose of this image is not to emphasise the pain Jesus Christ suffered, but rather to point out the abundance of His sacrifice. This is the way we can interpret the image of the body covered with blood so that no part of it could be seen. So plenteously the hot blood ran out that there was neither seen skin nor wound. It is therefore an encouragement for the Christians, not to despair, they can be forgiven because of the abundance of the blood spilled for them. The next revelations deal with the image of the defeated fiend (ch. XIII), in other words the outcome of Gods sacrifice is presented with respect to its supernatural
projects to help the poor or the sick or in any debates supporting the position of the Catholic Church. 3 She starts this chapter by saying that she addresses her words not to the wise, but to those that are simple, and she insists that the vision is important for those that love God, the more one loves God the more profound can one understand the vision.

significance. In chapter XIV we are shown a very beautiful image of Heavens, as the place of spiritual happiness, and almost as a counterpart we are told about the feeling of despair and uncertainty when the Christian is left without Gods constant support and care (ch. XV), an image traditionally associated with Hell. What I want to underline is the unity and the structural continuity of these visions, which, although may seem separated, are part of a system, with an inner coherence. The next revelation insists on the actual death on the cross and it has remarkable emotional power. It is in this image that pain and sufferance are emphasised. The revelation presents us a totally different aspect of the passions. If in the previous description Jesuss body was almost unseen, in this vision we witness an insistence on the body. Not only is it visibly and painfully wounded, but also its parts (hands, face, hair, skin, etc.) are mentioned. We can notice that this image is not only a chronological continuation of Christs passions (crucifixion after scourging) but rather it is complementary; the pain which is not visible in the previous revelation (ch.XII) is emphasised and vividly described here (ch.XVI). The abundance of fluid (in the 4th revelation) is now contrasted with a lack of moisture (in the 8 th); the blood, which was spilled to save us and to give us life (eternal life), is now missing from Jesuss dry body, and this is a sign of death. The starting point of Julians revelations is her desire to be better acquainted with the bodily pains suffered by Jesus Christ at His crucifixion. 4 Even more than through a detailed image of the Crucifixion of Christ, the understanding of the passion of Jesus Christ can only be granted by compassion, in its literal meaning, i.e., that she actually feels the passions of Christ (I would that His pains were my pains, with compassion ). Her wish of actually watching the passion and death of our Lord is granted and she records her visions of the dying body of Christ both with accuracy and emotion. A very important theological observation regards the fact that Jesus Christ suffered more than any other human being because His divine nature increased the resistance of his human nature (and implicitly of His body) to death.5 One of the most impressive details of the revelation is the change of colours; the presence of the blood made the image dramatic and gave evidence for the cruelty of the scourging, while the following fading of the natural colour of the skin, which turns blue and than brown, gives evidence for the lack of moisture in the body, and accounts for the painful thirst and dryness which preceded His death. The detailed description of the succession of colours is very artistic and its purpose is to bring evidence for the reality of the vision (not only of the painfulness of the sacrifice). I saw His sweet face as it were dry and bloodless with pale dying. And later, more pale, dead, languoring; and then turned more dead unto blue; and then more brown-blue, as the flesh turned more deeply dead (ch. XVI). It is clear that Julian uses these colours to enhance the emotional response of the reader, since the image was so important for the medieval Christian. Her words try to paint an image as close as possible to the paintings she had probably seen. Her need to have such a pictorial account was probably related with the importance of the visual representations, which were at the core of medieval sensibility. The medieval artistic rendering of a certain event (especially the religious ones) had a specific means of touching and motivating the looker-on, since the purpose of medieval representation was not mainly aesthetic, but essentially pious. Even later on, in the early 20th century, the artists recognised in the medieval tradition of painting the power to stir the emotions, especially because of its preoccupation with spiritual communication.6 The importance of the sufferance (which is brought close to a mutilation) of Christs body is interpreted by Stephen Greenblatt as a way of writing the divine laws on the human body. Gods flesh was itself a text written upon with universal characters, inscribed with a
4

I desired a bodily sight wherein I might have more knowledge of the bodily pains of our Saviour, ch. II. 5 I saw our Lord Jesus languoring long time. For the oneing with the Godhead gave strength to the manhood for love to suffer more than all men might suffer, ch. XX 6 Acton, Mary, Learning to look at paintings, London, Routledge, 1997, p. 112-113

language that all men could understand since it was a language in and of the body itself. 7 His wounds are therefore a universal language which addresses everyone and its significance transgresses time as well as space. These signs make us sensitive to the story of salvation, yet we recognise that the ones that better (if not fully) understand the language of the signs inscribed on Christs body (those who can read the most sacred of all books, the crucified body of Christ) are the saints, who experience those passions, and even more those who (like Francis of Assisi) have the stigmata on their own flesh. 8 The beauty of this vision stays precisely in the way pain is projected in the minds of the Christians. The word that defines the parts of the body that are in pain is sweet, and it contrasts with the feeling of awe that is felt while watching the passions of Christ. So on the one hand we feel the sublime power of God which is perceptible in His unusual resistance to pain, which was due to His divine nature being united with the human one, and on the other hand we witness an almost maternal reaction, a feeling of pity and devotion revealed by the use of the word sweet. I saw His sweet face as it were dry and bloodless with pale dying and the sweet body was brown and black, all turned out of fair, life-like colour of itself, unto dry dying I understood that for tenderness of the sweet hands and of the sweet feet, by the greatness, hardness, and grievousness of the nails the wounds waxed wide and the body sagged, for weight by long time hanging. And [therewith was] piercing and pressing of the head, and binding of the Crown all baked with dry blood, with the sweet hair clinging And furthermore I saw that the sweet skin and the tender flesh were rent in many pieces, as a cloth that was sagging. (ch. XVI) So the suffering parts of the body are sweet (or dear, cherished), and thus pain is revaluated. Apparently in medieval times the patiently bearing of illness (in other words of pain) was a major factor in female reputation for sanctityand disease was considered to be useful for self-discipline9. Another example of an association of pain with sweet (which makes pain at least positive, if not really wanted) is given in a medieval account of Heinrich Seuses experience of self-inflicted pain. Blood gushed out of the jagged wounds and saturated his clothing. The bliss he experienced made the very pain seem like a sweet delight . 10 This comment proves that in the Christian faith pain suffered in the name of God does not have a negative connotation, quite the opposite. In other words the same as Jesus Christs pain is valorised, the pain suffered in the name of God or because the Christian wanted to imitate Jesus carries a spiritual power which transforms pain into ecstasy. It is this experience that explains Julian of Norwichs insight into divine love. It is through this exercise of pain (her initial sickness, doubled by her wish to feel Jesus Christs passions) that she acquires her special understanding about divine grace and mercy. This initial revelation opens her eyes to understand the meaning of the suffering body of Christ and of its universal language, according to Greenblatts reading. One original element is the insistence on maternal love. Firstly she mentions several times the importance of Saint Virgin Marys love as well as her intercessions for us. Actually we can say that the first time the word sweet is used it refers to the maternal love: we pray Him for His sweet mothers love. In other words we pray to God for (because of) all the sacrifices He made for us, and we pray to the Mother of God, who loves Him (and us) sweetly, and all the help we have of her is of His goodness, since she is thus an intercessor for us (ch.VI). And for the high, marvellous, singular love that He hath to this sweet Maiden, His blessed Mother, our Lady Saint Mary, He shewed her highly rejoicing, as by the meaning
7

Stephen Greenblatt, Mutilation and Meaning, in The Body in Parts, edited by David Hillman and Carla Mazzio, Routledge, New York, London, 1997, p.223 8 Stephen Greenblatt, Mutilation and Meaning, in The Body in Parts, edited by David Hillman and Carla Mazzio, Routledge, New York, London, 1997, p.223 9 Bynum, Caroline Walker, Fragmentation and Redemption, Zone Books, New York, 1992, p.173-174 10 a 14ht century Dominican monk, 1295-1366, who wanted to engrave the name of Jesus (IHS) over his heart; according to Stephen Greenblatt, Mutilation and Meaning, in The Body in Parts, edited by David Hillman and Carla Mazzio, Routledge, New York, London, 1997, p.224

of these sweet words; as if He said: Wilt thou see how I love her, that thou mightest joy with me in the love that I have in her and she in me? (ch. XXV) We are thus literally told how strong the love connection between mother and son is, and there is nothing new or unusual about it. The instances when Virgin Marys tenderness and Gods generosity are characterised as sweet (namely kind and familiar to humans) are very abundant. In some chapters, which mention Gods sweet mercy and grace, Julian tries to awaken our awareness at the constant and generous love given to us by God. For instance in chapters XLVI-XLIX we are told about the peace and the comfort which God brings in our hearts. Mercy is a sweet gracious working in love, mingled with plenteous pity: for mercy worketh in keeping us, and mercy worketh turning to us all things to good... And so far forth, that when we come up and receive the sweet reward which grace hath wrought for us, then we shall thank and bless our Lord, endlessly rejoicing The meaning of sweet in all these instances is not simply kind or gentle but rather deep and profound. The feeling induced in the Christian by the divine grace and mercy is intense and powerful, not transitory or superficial. It is maybe an unusual meaning for sweet, which is generally perceived as synonym with cuddly or nice. What we witness is a transition from the ordinary meaning of the word to the almost opposite, a more refined and also more severe connotation. What I noticed is not a chronological movement in the meaning of the word from the beginning of the book to the end, but rather a coexistence of such nuances with an increased preponderance of the word as deep or intense in certain chapters that discuss the way Christians should understand divine love. Thus it is not only the way we should understand the divine revelation that is sweet, namely with increased attention, but the very object of the revelation: namely the divine love and its working should also be received with consideration and awareness. The importance and ubiquitousness of Gods love (which is the core of this work) is repeatedly mentioned in many theological works. The unusual aspect is the straightforward association of the Son of God (the second person in the Holy Trinity) and the Mother of humanity, our mother: Jesus Christ is our mother is Julians unequivocal assertion. Our high Father, God Almighty, which is Being, He knew and loved us from afore any time: of which knowing, in His marvellous deep charity and the foreseeing counsel of all the blessed Trinity, He willed that the Second Person should become our MotherAnd thus is Jesus our Very Mother in Nature [by virtue] of our first making; and He is our Very Mother in Grace, by taking our nature made. All the fair working, and all the sweet natural office of dearworthy Motherhood is impropriated to the Second Person (ch. XLIX). 11 It is not simply an emotional statement, but rather one with deep theological connotations, since it implies the very creation of the human being and not only the sacrifice which is required by the work of salvation. According to previous theologians, Jesus Christ was given maternal features because He was our Saviour and the blood that saved us was associated with the nurture a mother gives to her children. Caroline Walker Bynum points out that it was not unheard of to talk about Jesus Christ as a mother, but women writers simply projected themselves into the role of child vis--vis mother Jesusthe idea of Christs motherhood becomes either a way of referring to the fact that Christians eat and drink Jesus or a metaphor for Christs suffering on the cross, which gives birth to the world 12. Julian of Norwich takes this association much further. Not only is motherhood a complement to fatherhood, but it is related with the recreation of humanity, since the original sin was washed away by Christs sacrifice, we are pure as the man was before the Fall. Firstly Jesus Christ as a person of the Holy Trinity took part in the creation of man at the beginning of time. Secondly He took human nature in order to save man from the original sin (in other words to recreate his human nature by cleansing it). These two theological arguments give an original insight into Julians images describing Christs motherhood.
11

Actually the idea is debated and discussed over several chapters, with the same intensity, and no doubt. Ch. LVIII-LXI 12 Walker Bynum, Caroline, Fragmentation and Redemption, Zone Books, New York, 1992, p.161-162

Caroline Walker Bynum notices that what is new in Julian is the idea that Gods
motherhood, expressed in Christ, is not merely love and mercy, not merely redemption through the sacrifice of the cross, but also a taking on of our physical humanity in the Incarnation, a kind of creation of us, as a mother gives herself to the foetus she bears .13 Because her visions are strongly physical, I think that for Julian of Norwich the maternity of Christ does not have only a spiritual, but also a material significance, because of Christs incarnation and his acceptance of human body, he is closer to us and we can feel that He understands us better because He understands the human weakness, although He was sinless. Therefore, because of this shared physicality, there is a stronger connection between us and Him than between us and any of the other two divine persons. Another important aspect of Gods love is His interest in the way human beings perceive Him and His actions ( workings). This is the reason for His divine Incarnation as a human being, to better explain to us the truth about His divinity. From Julians whole work transpires a celebration of femininity through contemplation of Christs feminine attributes.14 The simple style Julian uses, although she had thorough theological training, can only be fully understood if we realise that she addressed ordinary people with little religious learning and she considers that Jesuss message is meant for them. Other unexpected occurrences of the word sweet are several instances when it refers to the way words are spoken by God. Generally His words are spoken sweetly and they are always meant to bring comfort. Maybe the best example is the reference to Lords words: All shall be well (ch. XXVII and LXIII). The words of God are important because they the very ground of our belief. One of the most tragic dilemmas refers to the meaning of sin. It is this subject that troubles Julian and thus she inquires and wonders until the answer she receives is in accordance with her previous religious knowledge, but also with a very keen logic. In her wondering Julian is inspired both by humility and by curiosity Our faith is founded on Gods word, and it belongs to our faith that we believe that Gods word will be preserved in all things 15 so the final argument is given by the very clear words of God, formed in her understanding: for the tender love that our good Lord hath to all that shall be saved, He comforteth readily and sweetly, signifying thus: Sin is cause of all this pain; but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner [of] thing shall be well. (ch. XXVII) and later on the same assurance is repeated: shall it verily be known to us His meaning in those sweet words where He saith: All shall be well: and thou shalt see, thyself, that all manner of things shall be well . (ch. LXIII) In most of the instances when Gods words are recorded by Julian, the message wants to be comforting, and encouraging. It is a real attempt to show compassion to peoples fears and misfortunes. He repeatedly says that He is close to any sinner, that He does not want to abandon anyone who is distressed. All over the work there are instances when His words seem to reassert His authority and His position: thus will our good Lord be prayed to, as by the understanding that I took of all His own meaning and of the sweet words where He saith full merrily: I am the Ground of thy beseeching. This statement made in the last chapter, LXXXVI, is often repeated and is explained at length in ch.XLI as well as in ch.XLIV, when he talks about prayer. The scope of this emphasis is mainly to strengthen a persons confidence in oneself. In other words he should not worry, because the source of his salvation is Christ Himself. The way to escape ones weaknesses and afflictions is to preserve the connection with Him. For in that time He shewed our frailty and our fallings, our afflictings and our settings at nought, our despites and our outcastings, and all our woe so far forth as methought it might befall in this life. And therewith He shewed His blessed Might, His blessed
13

Walker Bynum, Caroline, Holy Feast and Holy Fast, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1987, p.266 14 Long, Thomas L., Julian of Norwichs Christ as mother and Medieval construction of Gender , presented at the Madison Conference on English Studies. James Madison University, March 18, 1995, http:/users.visi.net/-longt/julian.htm 15 Noffsinger, John, Julian of Norwich and the Enigma of Divine Revelation, in Spirituality Today, Vol. 44, No.1, 1992, p.37-47

Wisdom, His blessed Love: that He keepeth us in this time as tenderly and as sweetly to His worship. (ch. LXII) For Julian prayer is the essential means to create and preserve the relationship with God, which is the ground of our very existence. According to Andrew Louth, Julian emphasises the fact that it is in prayer that we realise the ultimate message of her revelation that all will be well, for in prayer we turn to God in trust and beseech His help and mercy.16 She mentions also the fact that the prayer is not something we do alone, but rather it is God Himself that encourages us, helps us to pray, as He is the ground of thy beseeching (ch.XLI). Talking about prayer in the next chapters, she elaborates explaining that prayer means firstly trust (and thus it implies an effort), but it is also a reward in itself, since the profound feeling of trust and love also generates the sensation of joy. Having our mind in relation with God can only induce sentiments of serenity and safety, which are secured by the trust we feel in God. For prayer is a right understanding of that fullness of joy that is to come, with welllonging and sure trust...true understanding and love, with sweet mind in our Saviour, graciously maketh us to trust. (ch. XLII) When the mind is united with God it shares the epithet which was attributed to divinity, sweet, meaning both profound, since the mind has a holy mission of sustaining the communion with God and it is also something dear to us, since it is the source of our actions. It is not unimportant to point out the presence of the mind, rather than the heart, in this context, which is proof once again of the importance Julian places on logic and understanding. We have started the debate from the fact that Julian of Norwich often uses sweet to describe her visions or spiritual sights. When she talks about her first visions, she notices that: This Shewing was quick and life-like, and horrifying and dreadful, sweet and lovely. (ch. VII) But she also mentions that the showing was given in time, it was meant to last for ever in the consciousness of the believer, because of his faith and the grace of the Holy Ghost (ch.VII). The words she uses to describe her first reactions to receiving such a vision contradict each other, and thus in a paradoxical way they can render quite accurately the contradictory feelings she must have experienced. Incertitude and surprise are absent from the later revelations and thus she is more serene and ready to accept the divine gift, she does not feel horror or dread anymore, just peace and certainty and sweetness This sight was full sweet and marvellous to behold, peaceable, restful, sure, and delectable . (ch. LV) The same feelings are confessed in the next chapters. Sensations of peace and of confidence are not only mentioned later on, but they are explained by the organic unity which was realized between God and us. Plenteously and fully and sweetly was this shewed, and it is spoken of in the First, where it saith: We are all in Him enclosed and He is enclosed in us. And that [enclosing of Him in us] is spoken of in the Sixteenth Shewing where it saith: He sitteth in our soul. (ch.57) Julian of Norwich lived a secluded life, and her work, although meant for the benefits of the others, was not very well known in her days. Even though her personality was known (and Margery of Kempes visit can prove this) the very few manuscripts of her work prove that her revelations were little known by her contemporaries, for whom she wrote them. On the other hand the growing popularity of her Revelations in various editions and selections in this century shows that .her message has spoken to the hearts of many of this century, more than 500 years later.17 Analysing the different instances when the word sweet is used, I have noticed that when used for the body of Christ it acquires the meaning of blessed and its using proves a certain feminine gentleness in Julians approach. The pain Christ felt gives salvation to us all, and by characterizing it as sweet, Julian succeeds in emphasising its positive connotations. More than this, even our pain becomes sweet since through it we can feel Gods grace and we can be comforted. God speaks sweetly to us, strengthening us, when we ask Him for help. It is through this process that pain is revaluated and is given the power to bring us closer
16 17

Louth, Andrew, The Wilderness of God, London, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd., 2003, p. 79 Louth Andrew, The Wilderness of God, London, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd., 2003, p.66

to God. An unusual instance of using sweet is when it characterises our understanding of Gods words. Thus we have to sweetly understand the divine message, i.e. profoundly and intensely. She differs greatly from the patriarchal English tradition, by adopting a very intimate and friendly style that contrasts with the authoritative one present in English male mystics works, which were meant to be helping guides for the initiated pupils, who dedicated their lives to achieve a mystical union with God. But her work equality differs from the feminine mystics. The connection of Christs motherhood with the very act of creation, describing Him maternal because of his (her) participation in the creation of man (and of the world), as well as her optimistic approach to life, especially in the end of her work, are just two of many such instances when her original ideas differ from the established opinions which are present in the works of her female mystic contemporaries, and bring her closer to our times. Her statement regarding the motherhood of Jesus Christ is not only important from a theological point of view, but it was often underlined by the feminist criticism as a specific dimension that differentiates Julian from other mystic writers. But perhaps the most important aspect, which is mentioned by modern theologians, like Andrew Louth, is the perspective she has on sin which is regarded as something that has not a real existence, and which can be surely forgiven by God, because of the abundant sacrifice on the cross. Her profound optimism, that all will be well in the end, is not only unusual, but quite out of her time in the gloomy period of the late medieval times, yet it does appeal to our contemporary mentality.

Bibliography Primary Sources 1.Julian of Norwich, Revelation of Divine Love 2.Margery Kempe, The Book of Margery Kempe 3. Ancrene Riwle, or The Nuns Rule, modernised by James Morton, Cambridge, 2000 Seconday sources 1. Acton, Mary, Learning to look at paintings, London, Routledge, 1997 2. Bynum, Caroline Walker, Fragmentation and Redemption, Zone Books, New York, 1992 3. Bynum, Caroline Walker, Holy Feast and Holy Fast, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1987, p.266 4. Cook, William & Herzman, Ronald, The Medieval World View, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1983. 5. Gilbert Martin, Atlas of British History, Oxford, OUP, 1993 6. Greenblatt Stephen, Mutilation and Meaning, in The Body in Parts, edited by David Hillman and Carla Mazzio, Routledge, New York, London, 1997 7. Huizinga, Johan, Amurgul Evului Mediu, Bucureti, Humanitas, 2002 8. King, Edmund, Medieval England, Tempus Publishing Ltd., 2001 9. Labarge, Margaret Wade, Women in Medieval Life, London, Penguin Books, 2001 10. Long, Thomas L., Julian of Norwichs Christ as mother and Medieval construction of Gender, presented at the Madison Conference on English Studies. James Madison University, March 18, 1995, http:/users.visi.net/longt/julian.htm 11. Louth Andrew, The Wilderness of God, London, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd., 2003 12. Noffsinger, John, Julian of Norwich and the Enigma of Divine Revelation, in Spirituality Today, Vol. 44, No.1, 1992, p.37-47 13. Vauchez, Andre, Spiritualitatea Evului Mediu Occidental , Bucureti Meridiane, 1994, p.151