Medieval
Writings on Female Spirituality edited by Elizabeth Spearing is an
interesting compilation of writings by and about individual medieval women and
their spirituality. Written for the layperson, this collection is variable in
readability.

Medieval
Writings on Female Spirituality is a collection of writings by and about eleven
medieval women and their spirituality. “It includes the visions of an
aristocratic prophet, those of a narrow-minded and malicious nun, and a
profoundly original exploration of the nature of God.” The texts used in Medieval Writings on Female Spirituality
were selected based upon their availability to the editor in the English
language. Further she notes that “access to the women in this volume is through
men; even the texts that are certainly written by the woman herself owe their
continued existence to a male scribe, and some exist because of a succession of
men.” These factors while sadly true, greatly limit the selection of text in
this collection. That having been stated, the texts that are included are a
nice cross-section of the most famous text by women available. These are:
Hildegard of Bingen (Extracts – from her Vita, from a “Letter to Guibert
de Gembloux”, and from Scivias); Extracts from The Life of Christina of
Markyate; Hadewijch (Extracts – from the Letters, from the Poems in Stanzas, and
from the Visions); The Life of St. Christine the Astonishing; Extracts from The
Life of St. Mary of Oignies; The Life of St. Elizabeth of Spaalbeek; Marguerite
Porete (Extracts from The Mirror of Simple Souls); Bridgit of Sweden (Extracts
from the Liber Celestis); Julian of Norwich (Extracts – from Revelations of
Divine Love (Short Text) and from Revelations of Divine Love (Long Text));
Anonymous (A Revelation of Purgatory); and Margery Kempe (Extracts from Book
I). Personally, I would have also included a few of the letters of Heloise to
Abelard in the collection. They fit the criteria of being written by a medieval
woman, about her spiritual life, are available in English, and also well-known.

The readability of the text may be
“tough going” for beginners to the field of spirituality. While some of the
texts of a more biographical nature are easy to read, some of the mystical
writings may seem completely incomprehensible. In this regard, let me offer the
following recommendations for maximizing the comprehension of the text in Medieval Writings on Female Spirituality.
Before reading any selection, find and read the biographical material related
to the individual woman located in the “Introduction.” For readers who would
like to start out with a few of the easier texts and work up to the theological
or mystical writings, let me recommend starting with the (auto-) biographical
selections. These include: Christian of Markyate, Christine the Astonishing,
Elizabeth of Spaalbeekm, and Bridgit of Sweden. Next try the letters of
Hildegard of Bingen and Hadewijch and then try the visions of Margery Kempe.
For those that wish to read more by or about an individual woman, the
bibliography list English language works that are in-print and by easily access
publishers.

Elizabeth Spearing holds a D.Phil.
from the University of York. Her previous publications include articles on the
Amadis cycle and “Aphra Behn: the politics of translation” in Aphra Behn Studies (1996). She edited
with Janet Todd Counterfeit Ladies: The
Life and Death of Mary Frith, the Case of Mary Carleton (1994) and she
translated Julian of Norwich’s Revelations
of Divine Love (Penguin Classics, 1999). Medieval Writings on Female Spirituality is her most recent work.

Medieval Writings on Female Spirituality
by Elizabeth Spearing is a wonderful introduction to the spiritual writings of
medieval women. Readability levels for a novice to the field range from easy to
challenging. Still it is one of the better introductions to the field for
English language beginners. I recommend this book for college and public
libraries.

© 2003 Su Terry

Su Terry: Education:
B.A. in History from Sacred Heart University, M.L.S. in Library Science from
Southern Connecticut State College, M.R.S. in Religious Studies/Pastoral
Counseling from Fairfield University, a M.Div. in Professional Ministry from
New Brunswick Theological Seminary, a Certificate in Spirituality/Spiritual
Direction from Sacred Heart University. She is a Licensed Minister of the
United Church of Christ and an Assistant Professor in Library Science at
Dowling College, Long Island, NY. Interests in Mental Health: She is interested
in the interplay between psychology, biology, and mysticism. Her current area
of research is in the impact of hormonal fluctuation in female Christian mystics.

Categories: General