All Shall Be Well

In the blog post All Shall Be Well, we were introduced to Julian of Norwich, a Christian mystic and writer from 14th century England.

Intrigued by her story, that she was likely the first woman to write in English, we launched a search into this remarkable woman. Various books about Julian are available, especially books that present her writings, but to delve into the person behind the mystic, here’s a book of historical fiction:

Julian's Cell

Like a master weaver, author Joseph Milton spins fiction with the threads of factual events to create a colorful tapestry of story-telling.

Set in the late 1300s of England, Milton brings together the smells, sights and emotions of medieval life such as the pungent stench of urine from the tannery shop and the heavy smell of wet wool in the woolen shop.

The author presents the daily struggle to stay alive in a time far-removed from our own. War, pestilence, famine and plague weighed heavy in the air and people breathed it in with every step they took.

Milton displays a kaleidoscope of colors of medieval life in the 1300s. He conveys powerful emotions of that era and makes medieval situations recognizable and understandable. Although daily life details vary from today, our human fears, tears and joy remain quite the same.

Without access to formal education as a child, Julian was considered to be an unlettered laywoman. Milton offers an idea of how she taught herself to read and write: a painstaking, letter-by-letter process pouring over books in both Latin and English.

Finding God’s Love

Death took no holidays in medieval life. The specter of death lurked around every corner and strolled with calm insolence in the village square. Infant and child mortality ravaged everyone, from the lowest peasant to the highest monarch. The plague wiped out entire families. (Forty to 50% of the European population died.) No one was left untouched by mortal suffering.

People of that era looked around and believed the world was coming to an end. 600 years later, we marvel at Julian's writings of mysticism and wonder that she had the realization that love is at the center of all that is.

In spite of all she witnessed in the world, Julian would go on to write her brave words:

Touching Lives In History

For students of The Radiance Technique® (TRT®), we can get in touch with people of history through use of TRT®.

Students of The First Degree and The Second Degree of TRT® can apply TRT® hands-on while reading her writings, or a book about her, and experience her story with more light. They can also have a meditation focusing on Julian of Norwich herself, or a specific passage from her writings.

Students of The Second Degree of TRT® can direct radiant energy to Julian, or the time period she lived in. It helps us to expand our awareness and understanding.

If you like historical fiction, Julian's Cell will educate and delight.

Introduction To Julian Of Norwich

Julian of Norwich is recognized as one of England's most important mystics.

Let's jump back in time to meet this remarkable woman.

“But all shall be well,
and all shall be well,
and all manner of thing
shall be well !”

— Julian of Norwich

A baby girl was born ln England in 1342. Because little was recorded for average folks during that time in history, we don't even know her given birth name.

Julian's name is taken from the Church of St. Julian in Norwich where she lived as an anchoress for most of her life.

Julian of Norwich is well known for her phrase: All shall be well.

Life In The 14th Century

Julian lived in England in the 14th century during the turbulent Middle Ages, a time fraught with plague, famine and war.

In 1337, England and France started the Hundred Year's War for supremacy over Europe.
In 1347, the Black Death swept across all of Europe, including England, and wiped out nearly 40% to 50% of the entire population.
In 1399, Richard II became the new King of England.

Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich. Written in the 14th century.

A Book In English Written By A Woman

Many people write books today. They plop themselves down in front of a computer and start typing away. Books pop out with hardcovers and as paperbacks or, now-a-days, in a digital format. There is a plethora of books written in English.

But, how would you go about writing a book in the 14th century?

Julian of Norwich managed to do just that.

Her text is believed to be the earliest surviving book in the English language written by a woman. Known as Revelations of Divine Love, it's a combination of The Short Text and The Long Text and consists of 86 chapters and about 63,500 words.

During this time in English history, laywomen were usually not educated. They didn't read, much less write anything, and they certainly didn't write in the spoken language of the day. Written documents of the Church were predominatly in Latin.

Equally astonishing, it's possible that in the beginning, Julian taught herself to read and write in both Latin and English.

An anchorhold attached to a church that would house an anchorite. A person who committed to a religious life limited to that small space.

Life As An Anchoress

An anchorite, or anchoress (female), is "one who retires from the world."

A person withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic life. They would have a permanent enclosure in a cell attached to church.

This goes beyond the tiny-house phenomena of today. These cells (called an anchorhold) were often no more than 12 to 15 ft square and once the anchorite entered the minuscule space, the only way they could leave would be upon their death. They were attended by a maid who would bring them food and dispose of their bodily waste by means of a chamber pot.

The anchoritic life became widespread during the early and high Middle Ages and a large number of them were in England.

In the post Locked up forever in the wall of a church, we read:

“By Julian’s day, the retirement of an anchoress into her cell had become a formal rite in the church. An anchorhold was attached to a church, it had no doors and the inhabitant was formally enclosed by the bishop.

The rite actually involved receiving the sacraments of the dying and reading of the Office of the Dead over her as she was bricked up in her cell.

Some anchoresses were enclosed with open graves in their cells, so that they might meditate upon their mortality. When they died, the windows to their cells were simply closed and sealed.”

Anchorites would spend their days in prayer, viewing the altar, hearing Mass and receiving the Eucharist through a small, shuttered window in their cell. They would also provide spiritual advice and counsel to visitors through the window.

Julian of Norwich became an anchoress around the age of 30, after the loss of her family and following a severe illness wherein she experienced spiritual visions.

Her writings created a lasting impression on Christian spirituality. Her mystic expression continues to touch people's lives, even 600 years later.

Julian of Norwich is credited with being the first woman to write a book in English in the 1300s.

God Is Love And Love Is God

The prominent theme in Julian's writings was her experience that God is Love.

That she could write of a loving God was no small feat in this rough time of history. As a young child, Julian witnessed the death of numerous villagers and members of her natal family. Later, she would lose her own two children and her husband to the plague.

Even the Church tended to view God as a stern and implacable task master. God was easily displeased and only accessed through the intermediary person of a priest. God was viewed as being aloof as he sat on high peering down on us.

To say God is Love, given her personal circumstances as well as the prevailing thought of her time is noteworthy. For Julian, God expressed in spirit as both our mother and father and she spoke of experiencing a deep and profound love, personally, without the need of an intermediary. She wrote of God's love in terms of joy and compassion.

“Would you know our Lord’s meaning in all this?
Learn it well.
Love was the meaning.
Who showed it you? Love.
What did God show you? Love.
Why did God show it to you? For love.
Hold fast to this and you shall learn and know more about love,
but you shall never learn anything except love from God.
So I was taught that love was our Lord’s meaning.
And I saw full surely that before ever God made us,
God loved us.”

For part of the time she resided in her cell, Julian had a cat as a companion and is often depicted in drawings with her feline friend.

In the Anglican and Lutheran churches, Julian's Feast Day is celebrated on May 8.

The Roman Catholic Church honors her on May 13.

And all of us can celebrate her life any day.

Hearts in the Wind