The Unknown Deed of the Last Day and Julian of Norwich’s Eschatological Hermeneutic in the Showings
Julian of Norwich’s deference to the teachings of ‘holy church’ – despite the divergence of these teachings from her own revelations – is a well-known stumbling block for scholars. Some accept her stated obedience as sincere, while others dismiss it as insincere, a rhetorical ploy for disseminating...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2023
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| In: |
Medieval mystical theology
Year: 2023, Volume: 32, Issue: 1, Pages: 46-57 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality KAF Church history 1300-1500; late Middle Ages NBQ Eschatology |
| Further subjects: | B
Last Day
B Julian of Norwich B Hermeneutics B Exegesis B Eschatology B visionary writing |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Julian of Norwich’s deference to the teachings of ‘holy church’ – despite the divergence of these teachings from her own revelations – is a well-known stumbling block for scholars. Some accept her stated obedience as sincere, while others dismiss it as insincere, a rhetorical ploy for disseminating her theological beliefs without alarming the religious authorities of her day. This article proposes a new way of understanding Julian’s deference. I argue that Julian presumed an unknown eschatological event – ‘a deed the whych the blessydfulle trynyte shalle do in the last day … vnknowen of alle creaturys’ – that would precipitate a reinterpretation of the teachings of holy church, just as the coming of Christ was understood by medieval Christians to have precipitated a reinterpretation of the Old Testament. This eschatological reinterpretation would reconcile seemingly intractable tensions between Julian’s revelations and the teachings of ‘holy church.’ |
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| ISSN: | 2046-5734 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Medieval mystical theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/20465726.2023.2198377 |