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Library | Material Type | Shelf Number | Child Count | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Science | Book | BV5077 .E85 F87 1996 | 1 | Stacks | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Science | Book | 248.22 V825V 1996 | 1 | Stacks | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
The women mystics of medieval Europe represent the very first femine voices heard in a realm where women were virtually silent. The eleven women represented here were housewives, visionaries, abbesses, Beguines, recluses, and nuns who wrote between the 11th and 14th centuries. Among the more well known: Heloise, Hildegard of Bingen, Clare of Assisi, Catherine of Siena, Julian of Norwich, and Margery Kemp.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
For readers who might avoid the complete, sometimes daunting works of the 11 women mystics included here, Furlong provides an excellent sampler. The cultural and physical conditions surrounding all these women are difficult for the modern mind to grasp; so also is the courage each employed in her rebellion against the prevailing social views of women and their proper status. From Heloise to the astonishingly clear and modern views of Julian of Norwich, we follow these women from the 11th through the 14th centuries. Being the first in medieval times to give voice to women, whose assigned role was that of silence, these mystics are noteworthy for the intellectual gifts they bring to their religious insights. The physical consequences, often manifesting as illness, of their actions is nowhere discounted by Furlong; nor does she evade the possibility that some of them suffered from conditions that modern medicine would label as mental disorders. These circumstances do not minimize the impact of the women's ideas, but rather-at least in Furlong's presentation-allow us to see the humanity as well as the ecstasy in 11 remarkable women. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Furlong's anthology is distinguished by the range of material--from Heloise to Julian, from the eleventh century through the fourteenth--that she gathers in one volume. These are not new translations, but readers--particularly those who are coming to some or all of these writings for the first time--will find it useful to have them gathered together with Furlong's introductions and biographical notes. The collection is a window into a medieval European world that is not widely known or understood. It will alert new readers to the important contributions of extraordinary women, and, through their eyes, to the extraordinary experience of divinity in the middle of an ordinary world. Particularly welcome is Furlong's decision to stretch the "mystic" category far enough to include Heloise, who is all too often read in Abelard's shadow though her vision penetrated the divine dimensions of human love more deeply than his. Reading Heloise alongside the Beguines and Margery Kempe not only sharpens our understanding of medieval mysticism but also enhances our vision in a world where mysticism and longing remain intimately intertwined. --Steve Schroeder
Choice Review
Furlong, author of a biography of Thomas Merton (Merton: A Biography, 1980) has assembled an anthology of the works of six women, primarily mystics, of the European Middle Ages. Her book includes two letters of Heloise, who, although not a mystic, is included as a "counterpoint" to the celibate ardor of the other women. Furlong's introduction speaks to both the danger and the need to confront such strange voices from a distant time in an age such as ours. With brief biographies and excerpts from the writings of Hildegard of Bingen, Clare of Assisi, the Beguines, Catherine of Siena, Julian of Norwich, and others, Furlong's "Introduction" draws on studies such as Elizabeth Petroff's Medieval Women's Visionary Literature (CH, Nov'86) and Body and Soul (1994) and Peter Dronke's Women Writers of the Middle Ages (CH, May'85), adding some valuable insights of her own. While highlighting the misogyny of the ecclesial culture that stigmatized these women, Furlong also provides insight into the psychological impact of mystical experience on the personality of the mystic. With few notes and no bibliography, this compilation seems clearly designed for a more general readership and as an introduction to the mystics for undergraduate readers. M. Lichtmann Valparaiso University
Library Journal Review
Furlong (Merton: A Biography, LJ 12/80) gathers the writings of several prominent Christian women mystics in her introduction to female spirituality in the Middle Ages. She also includes writings of Heloise (the lover of Abelard) and the life of Christina of Markyate, although these are not properly mystics. Throughout, Furlong emphasizes the extraordinariness of these women in becoming as intellectually accomplished as they were in the face of the extreme restrictions on women's lives. Furlong's introduction is spiritually and psychologically perceptive. A chapter on each woman (or on the group of Beguines) briefly outlines her career and thinking. One could have asked for more varied and lengthier selections, but the limits of a small popularizing text prevent this. Furlong only whets our appetites. Fortunately, Flanagan (Univ. of Adelaide and the Australian National Univ.) remedies the lack of breadth in Furlong's chapter on Hildegard of Bingen with an ample selection of writings. Hildegard's brilliant mind ranged everywhere: she wrote on theology, spirituality, and philosophy as well as on medicine and natural science. She composed lyric poetry, songs, and hymns for the liturgy. To boot, she administered religious houses and at the age of 60 began preaching tours, a thing unheard of for a woman. While Furlong's book, suitable for public and academic libraries, will reward casual readers, Flanagan's will attract specialists and is suitable for libraries specializing in religion and women's studies.James F. DeRoche Alexandria, Va. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.