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Within the discipline of theology, this thesis examines the soteriology presented in the Revelations of Divine Love, composed by Julian of Norwich (1343 - ca. 1420). Through an exegesis of the Paris copy of the Middle English manuscript, the research analyzes the understanding of salvation implicit in the text. This study builds on and expands previous theological inquiry into Juiian’s texts. A hermeneutic for interpreting the theology expressed in this mystical literature creates guiding principles for interpretation. After demonstrating how in essence all Julian I s theology is a trinitarian theology of love, the investigation addresses each aspect of Julian's soteriology within the framework of her Trinitarian formula. The formula encapsulates the human journey summarized as: in the first we have our being, in the second we have our increasing, and in the third we have our fulfilling. The theological precis reveals that for Julian, salvation is a process of oneing from God to God.

This thesis explores a long-neglected area of Julian’s work, namely her devotional and pastoral understanding of the nature of sin and the sacrament of penance. Her two texts reveal a deep concern, set within the context of a rise in lay penitential piety, for those devout who continued to experience a sense of shame and dread of sin, even after confession to a priest. By means of a close comparative reading of Julian's short and long texts of A Revelation of Divine Love, and an examination of a wide range of Middle English devotional texts and manuals, as well as a breadth of Julian scholarship to date, I argue that Julian addresses the devotional and ecclesiastical concerns of late fourteenth-century England in the problem of sin and confession for the ordinary believer. By articulating her revelation in the penitential terms of the manuals of the Church, Julian reveals the extent to which the daily devotional life of 'holy moder church' is the means by which the saving love of Christ is realised and made accessible to the penitent. Within her writing Julian seeks to reassure her reader that God has dealt with sin and triumphed over the devil but in order to do this she must alter their understanding of a contrition-centred sacrament. For this reason Julian sets up a crisis of understanding within her long text between the 'common teaching of holy church' and her revelation of love. This conflict is deliberately left unresolved in order that, in scholastic terms, two opposing arguments in opposition may jointly illuminate the necessity of sin and penance in bringing the soul to the proper state of humility and the mercy and grace of the loving Lord in forgiveness. In so doing it is argued that, within Julian’s writing, the pastoral process of penance is integral to those who desire a more intimate relationship with God. The thesis consists of four chapters which first, locates Julian's short and long versions of A Revelation of Divine Love within the climate of the late-fourteenth century; secondly, it charts the rise of the significance of the role of the penitent within the history of penance which led to an increasing lack of confidence within the late fourteenth century in the ability of the confessional encounter to alleviate the sense of sin experienced by some devout souls; thirdly, I analyse the extent to which Julian's short and long version of a Revelation of Divine Love reflect and address this catechetical and penitential climate in her theology of sin and penance; and finally the thesis poses the question of the extent to which Julian's work can be considered as a penitential text which seeks to bring ease and comfort of the assurance of sins forgiven through the everyday practices of the Church. It is concluded that Julian's writing reveals a fascinating and significant contribution to late fourteenth-century thought on penance and brings a fresh reading of Julian's texts.

The soteriology of the English 14th century mystic Julian of Norwich moves in the direction of a hope for universal salvation. The ground for this hope is established through Julian’s appropriation of the doctrine of the soul’s creation in the image of God, the imago dei. Previous studies have primarily focussed on Augustine’s influence on Julian’s use of the imago dei doctrine. While this has been fruitful, in order to better grasp the nuances of Julian’s anthropology and soteriology, it is essential to also attend to Cistercian influences. In particular, William of St. Thierry’s notion of the will that remains godly in spite of sin and Aelred of Rievaulx’s writing on friendship provide important background to the development of Julian’s soteriology. Interestingly, Julian very rarely explicitly mentions the term image of God. However, in her use of the Middle English word kynd, Julian clearly invokes the doctrine of the imago dei. Further, the doctrine of the imago dei powerfully informs her imagination such that the trope of image may be seen behind important theological developments such as the correspondence between the human and the divine and her notions of what is potentially occurring in the process of contemplation. Close attention to the image tropes that structure Julian’s contemplation and her various usages of the word kynd reveals the complexity of Julian’s adaptation of the doctrine of the imago dei and elucidates the ground of her soteriology.

The soteriology of the English 14th century mystic Julian of Norwich moves in the direction of a hope for universal salvation. The ground for this hope is established through Julian’s appropriation of the doctrine of the soul’s creation in the image of God, the imago dei. Previous studies have primarily focussed on Augustine’s influence on Julian’s use of the imago dei doctrine. While this has been fruitful, in order to better grasp the nuances of Julian’s anthropology and soteriology, it is essential to also attend to Cistercian influences. In particular, William of St. Thierry’s notion of the will that remains godly in spite of sin and Aelred of Rievaulx’s writing on friendship provide important background to the development of Julian’s soteriology. Interestingly, Julian very rarely explicitly mentions the term image of God. However, in her use of the Middle English word kynd, Julian clearly invokes the doctrine of the imago dei. Further, the doctrine of the imago dei powerfully informs her imagination such that the trope of image may be seen behind important theological developments such as the correspondence between the human and the divine and her notions of what is potentially occurring in the process of contemplation. Close attention to the image tropes that structure Julian’s contemplation and her various usages of the word kynd reveals the complexity of Julian’s adaptation of the doctrine of the imago dei and elucidates the ground of her soteriology.

<p>This dissertation explores the complex vocabularies of service and servitude in the Age of Chaucer. Working with three major Middle English texts--William Langland's <i>Piers Plowman</i> (chaps. 1 and 3), Julian of Norwich's <i>Revelation of Love</i> (chap. 2), and Geoffrey Chaucer's <i>Troilus and Criseyde</i> (chap. 4)--my thesis argues that the languages of service available to these writers provided them with a rich set of metaphorical tools for expressing the relation between metaphysics and social practice. For late medieval English culture, the word "service" was an all-encompassing marker used to describe relations between individuals and their loved ones, their neighbors, their church, their God, and their institutions of government. In the field of Middle English studies, these categories have too often been held apart from one another and the language of service has too often been understood as drawing its meanings solely from legal and economic discourses, the purview of social historians. <i>Love, Labor, Liturgy</i> sets out to correct this underanalysis by pointing to a diverse tradition of theological and philosophical thought concerning the possibilities and paradoxes of Christian service, a tradition ranging from Saint Augustine to Martin Luther and beyond.</p> / Dissertation

This dissertation explores theologies of suffering through engagement with five theologians from across fifteen centuries of the Christian tradition: Gregory the Great, Julian of Norwich, Jeremy Taylor, C.S. Lewis and Ivone Gebara. It uses a typological method to examine the types of responses that are advocated by each theologian, and the relation of their responses to five theological touchstones: Humanity, Sin and Evil; God’s Providence; Salvation; Christ; and Eternal Life. The Introductory Chapter provides an exploration of the definitions and etymologies of suffering and grief; a description of the typological method; an examination of notable relevant literature; and an introduction to the five thinkers. Chapter One is an examination of the life and writings of the 6th century pope Gregory the Great, with particular focus on The Book of the Pastoral Rule and Moralia. Gregory understands suffering to be a discipline sent by God to the faithful. Chapter Two is an examination of the life and Revelations text of the 13th century English mystic Julian of Norwich, who focuses on the reward God desires to give those who suffer. Chapter Three is an examination of the life and writings of 17th century Anglican bishop Jeremy Taylor, with particular focus on Holy Living and Holy Dying. Taylor places an emphasis on the lifelong practice of faithfulness in preparation for death. Chapter Four is an examination of the life and writings of 20th century Anglican theologian and author C. S. Lewis, with particular attention to The Problem of Pain, The Chronicles of Narnia, A Grief Observed, and Letters to Malcom. Lewis offers the example of one who is willing to engage with the depth of his grief and to question God on his road to acceptance. Chapter Five is an examination of the life and writings of contemporary Brazilian, feminist and liberation theologian Ivone Gebara, with particular focus on her book Out of the Depths and her engagement with Latin American author Isabel Allende. Gebara questions traditional understandings of suffering, as well as when suffering is to be accepted and when suffering is unjust and should be combated. The Concluding Chapter constructs a contemporary theology of suffering drawing on the insights and wrestling with the challenges raised by the varying perspectives of the five theologians. The goal is to provide a hopeful and nuanced way of thinking theologically about suffering for contemporary Christians. The contemporary theology affirms the importance of the call, found in Gebara, to combat unjust suffering through acts of love and mercy, while also affirming that acceptance of the reality of endemic suffering, found in all five theologians, can provide one with opportunities to grow spiritually, live more faithfully and to experience the blessings in the midst of suffering that are a foretaste of heavenly bliss.

This study offers a narrative comparison of A Vision Showed to a Devout Woman and A Revelation of Love, the two texts created by the first known English woman writer, Julian of Norwich (c. 1343 – c. 1416). It focuses Julian as a storyteller rather than as a theologian, mystic or visionary, concentrating particular on her narrative strategies, that is, on the strategic use of formal narrative features and the changes in these between Vision and Revelation. This dissertation therefore examines Vision and Revelation in terms of three narrative features: plot, characterization and perspective or point of view (termed ‘focalization’ here). These three narrative features are brought into dialogue with Julian’s theology. Three analytical angles help shed more light on Julian’s innovative use of these structures in her works: modern narratology, Middle English literary theory and practice, and the texts’ own literary concepts and self-referential comments. Two central narratological methods are used throughout. The first is to make a distinction between narrator Julian, who tells about the events, and character Julian, who experiences the events. The second is distinguishing several hermeneutic layers or levels of signification in a narrative. Following narratologist Mieke Bal, this discussion distinguishes between fabula (the raw material), story (the content of the text) and text (the linguistic construct). On the basis of this exploration, this study argues that Revelation includes, expands and transforms the narrative structures of Vision, and thereby consciously draws more attention to the structures themselves. At the same time, however, within Revelation a similar narrative reshaping can be seen as between Vision and Revelation. That is, Revelation reshapes its own new narrative structures, in order to hint at God’s greater structure and envelop its own in His. This greatest structure, however, is only glimpsed. As regards these narrative structures, this study argues that linear finite narrative desire driving the plot of Vision is taken up into an endless, greater narrative desire in Revelation, creating a circular plot. At the same time, narrator Julian constructs an omnitemporal, non-sequential plot. Moreover, this analysis shows that the focalization already found in Vision is made more demonstrative in Revelation, while the narrator directs this gaze more towards the apophatic and what is always hidden. Finally, this study explores how many of the characters from Vision are made twofold in Revelation, while Revelation at the same time foreshadows the union this doubleness will achieve at the end of time. Revelation, in short, utilizes Vision’s structures and its own to implode structure.  Julian’s poetics thus is one of continuous developing and enveloping, which allows her to depict God, herself and the reader as characters in each other’s narratives and as participating in each other’s storytelling: she authorizes her own story by making it God’s and the reader’s as well. This more conscious structuring and simultaneous reshaping of the new structure in Revelation forms Julian’s most innovative narrative strategy and the most striking interaction between her art and theology: narrator Julian depicts her own storytelling as simultaneously participating in that of God and foreshadowing God’s ultimate storytelling at the end of time.

Performativity” is employed in this study as a methodological approach to an understanding of patriarchy and its effects. As the materialized effect of the use of language and symbolization (speech acts, larger discourses, rituals) it fits within the broad frame of rhetorics, where the last highlights the creational or shaping force of language. Specifically the study focuses on an adapted version of Judith Butler’s notion of “performativity” in an analysis of the lives of various women. The term “performativity” is used in two fundamentally different senses. In the first, it refers to the prescriptions and expectations of patriarchy in regard to the identity and behaviour of its subjects, presented to them through master narratives. This sense of the word is pejorative in that “performativity” is a means of oppression and control. In the other sense of the word, “performatives” are those alternative ways of behaving and responding, chosen by women in their attempts to free themselves from the stifling effects of patriarchy and the master-narrative that it dictates. In this sense, the term actually refers to contra-performatives. Any study focusing on patriarchy necessarily requires an understanding of the origins and workings, as well as the effects, of that phenomenon. The study traces the development of the patriarchal system from pre-history, through Antiquity, into the Middle Ages and the Modern Era. This examination reveals the universality of patriarchy around the world and throughout history. The phenomenon is defined as an oppressive system of male domination within the family and society. As the study focuses particularly on the lives of two fourteenth century English women, Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich, an examination of English society of that period as a strongly gendered culture, is undertaken. The very limited options available to women are delineated: the choice confronting them was either marriage and procreation, or church and chastity. Margery Kempe initially chose the former, while Julian of Norwich chose the latter. How did these choices impact on their lives, and in what ways may they be regarded as “performative”? Through various speech acts and rituals, as well as their writing, these women confronted patriarchy, sometimes directly and overtly, and at other times subtly and covertly, in their endeavours to create for themselves an alternative to patriarchal oppression. Alternative discourses informed alternative “performances”. In order to demonstrate the universality over time and place of patriarchy and the universal, “performative” response of women to it, the focus then shifts to nineteenth and twentieth century South Africa, where the life-worlds of a diverse group of women are studied. Again, “performativity” as a tool of liberation in the hands of women such as James Barry, Olive Schreiner, Johanna Brandt and Ellen Kuzwayo, is examined. The value of “performativity” is then, emphasised in this study, particularly as a means for those who have for whatever reason – gender, sexual orientation, race, etcetera – been “othered”, to overcome the regime under which they suffer. Regimes which have existed throughout history. This study in a sense serves as a springboard for further research into the why and how of liberation from patriarchal and other oppression. / Prof. H. Viviers

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