Approaching Medieval English Anchoritic and Mystical Texts

Approaching Medieval English Anchoritic and Mystical Texts
Author: Dee Dyas
Publisher: DS Brewer
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2005
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781843840497

Essays suggesting new ways of studying the crucial but sometimes difficult range of medieval mystical material. This volume seeks to explore the origins, context and content of the anchoritic and mystical texts produced in England during the Middle Ages and to examine the ways in which these texts may be studied and taught today. It foregrounds issues of context and interaction, seeking both to position medieval spiritual writings against a surprisingly wide range of contemporary contexts and to face the challenge of making these texts accessible to a wider readership. The contributions, by leading scholars in the field, incorporate historical, literary and theological perspectives and offer critical approaches and background material which will inform both research and teaching. The approaches to Middle English anchoritic and mystical texts suggested in this volume are many and varied. In this they reflect the richness and complexity of the contexts from which these writings emerged. These essays are offered aspart of an ongoing exploration of aspects of medieval spirituality which, while posing a considerable challenge to modern readers, also offer invaluable insights into the interaction between medieval culture and belief. Contributors: E.A. Jones, Dee Dyas, Valerie Edden, Santha Bhattachariji, Denis Renevey, A.C. Spearing, Thomas Bestul, Liz Herbert McAvoy, Barry A. Windeatt, Alexandra Barratt, R.S. Allen, Roger Ellis, Ann M. Hutchison, Marion Glasscoe, Catherine Innes-Parker

The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Mysticism

The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Mysticism
Author: Samuel Fanous
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 343
Release: 2011-05-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 0521853435

This book is an excellent introduction to the individuals, events and currents which shaped medieval English mystical texts.

To One Shut in From One Shut Out: Anchoritic Rules in England From The Eleventh To The Fourteenth Century

To One Shut in From One Shut Out: Anchoritic Rules in England From The Eleventh To The Fourteenth Century
Author: Seda Erkoç Yeni
Publisher: Sentez Yayıncılık
Total Pages: 143
Release:
Genre: Art
ISBN: 6257906474

This study analyses anchoritic guides written in England from eleventh to fourteenth centuries to observe the changes in the attitudes of the authors towards their primary audiences and by this way concerns itself with the life in the anchorhold and the possible changes in the meaning and basic elements of the solitary religious pursuit for both the authors and the primary audience of the anchoritic rules. After a close analysis of the Images, motifs and some highly Important themes of the texts such as enclosure and virginity, the present study points out certain shifts in the discourses of the authors and comments on the possible reasons for these changes. The author in the end reaches the conclusion that the regulations for the life of an anchoress were shaped around the general tendencies and contemplative trends of the period, as well as the personal inclinations of the advisors.

Christian Mysticism

Christian Mysticism
Author: Dr Kevin Magill
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2013-06-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1409480496

This book introduces students to Christian mysticism and modern critical responses to it. Christianity has a rich tradition of mystical theology that first emerged in the writings of the early church fathers, and flourished during the Middle Ages. Today Christian mysticism is increasingly recognised as an important Christian heritage relevant to today's spiritual seekers. The book sets out to provide students and other interested readers with access to the main theoretical approaches to Christian mysticism – including those propounded by William James, Steven Katz, Bernard McGinn, Michael Sells, Denys Turner and Caroline Walker-Bynum. It also explores postmodern re-readings of Christian mysticism by authors such as Jacques Derrida, Jean-Luc Marion and Jean-François Lyotard. The book first introduces students to the main themes that underpin Christian mysticism. It then reflects on how modern critics have understood each of them, demonstrating that stark delineation between the different theoretical approaches eventually collapses under the weight of the complex interaction between experience and knowledge that lies at the heart of Christian mysticism. In doing so, the book presents a deliberate challenge to a strictly perennialist reading of Christian mysticism. Anyone even remotely familiar with Christian mysticism will know that renewed interest in Christian mystical writers has created a huge array of scholarship with which students of mysticism need to familiarise themselves. This book outlines the various modern theoretical approaches in a manner easily accessible to a reader with little or no previous knowledge of this area, and offers a philosophical/theological introduction to Christian mystical writers beyond the patristic period important for the Latin Western Tradition.

Female Devotion and Textile Imagery in Medieval English Literature

Female Devotion and Textile Imagery in Medieval English Literature
Author: Anna McKay
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2024-03-05
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1843847132

Uncovers the female voices, lived experiences, and spiritual insights encoded by the imagery of textiles in the Middle Ages.For millennia, women have spoken and read through cloth. The literature and art of the Middle Ages are replete with images of women working cloth, wielding spindles, distaffs, and needles, or sitting at their looms. Yet they have been little explored. Drawing upon the burgeoning field of medieval textile studies, as well as contemporary theories of gender, materiality, and eco-criticism, this study illustrates how textiles provide a hermeneutical alternative to the patriarchally-dominated written word. It puts forward the argument that women's devotion during this period was a "fabricated" phenomenon, a mode of spirituality and religious exegesis expressed, devised, and practised through cloth. Centred on four icons of female devotion (Eve, Mary, St Veronica, and - of course - Christ), the book explores a broad range of narratives from across the rich tapestry of medieval English literature, from the fields of Piers Plowman to the late medieval Morte D'arthur; the devotions of Margery Kempe to the visionary experiences of Julian of Norwich; Gervase of Tilbury's fabulous Otia Imperialia to the anchoritic guidance literature of the Middle Ages; and the innumerable (and oft-forgotten) lives of Christ, prayers, legends, and miracle tales in between.ture, from the fields of Piers Plowman to the late medieval Morte D'arthur; the devotions of Margery Kempe to the visionary experiences of Julian of Norwich; Gervase of Tilbury's fabulous Otia Imperialia to the anchoritic guidance literature of the Middle Ages; and the innumerable (and oft-forgotten) lives of Christ, prayers, legends, and miracle tales in between.ture, from the fields of Piers Plowman to the late medieval Morte D'arthur; the devotions of Margery Kempe to the visionary experiences of Julian of Norwich; Gervase of Tilbury's fabulous Otia Imperialia to the anchoritic guidance literature of the Middle Ages; and the innumerable (and oft-forgotten) lives of Christ, prayers, legends, and miracle tales in between.ture, from the fields of Piers Plowman to the late medieval Morte D'arthur; the devotions of Margery Kempe to the visionary experiences of Julian of Norwich; Gervase of Tilbury's fabulous Otia Imperialia to the anchoritic guidance literature of the Middle Ages; and the innumerable (and oft-forgotten) lives of Christ, prayers, legends, and miracle tales in between.

The Cambridge Companion to Christian Mysticism

The Cambridge Companion to Christian Mysticism
Author: Amy Hollywood
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 403
Release: 2012-09-17
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0521863651

The Cambridge Companion to Christian Mysticism is a multi-authored interdisciplinary guide to the study of Christian mysticism, with an emphasis on the 3rd through the 17th centuries. Written by leading authorities and younger scholars from a range of disciplines, the volume both provides a clear introduction to the Christian mystical life and articulates a bold new approach to the study of mysticism.

Anchoritic Traditions of Medieval Europe

Anchoritic Traditions of Medieval Europe
Author: Liz Herbert McAvoy
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2010
Genre: History
ISBN: 1843835207

An examination of the growth and different varieties of anchoritism throughout medieval Europe.

Medieval English Literature

Medieval English Literature
Author: Beatrice Fannon
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2015-12-01
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1350310077

This volume brings together a wide range of original, scholarly essays on key figures and topics in medieval literature by leading academics. The volume examines the major authors such as Chaucer, Langland and the Gawain Poet, and covers key topics in medieval literature, including gender, class, courtly and popular culture, and religion. The volume seeks to provide a fresh and stimulating guide to medieval literature.

Language as the Site of Revolt in Medieval and Early Modern England

Language as the Site of Revolt in Medieval and Early Modern England
Author: M. C. Bodden
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 402
Release: 2011-08-14
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0230337651

Despite attempts to suppress early women's speech, this study demonstrates that women were still actively engaged in cultural practices and speech strategies that were both complicit with the patriarchal ideology whilst also undermining it.