(Her original name has been lost to historical record.) She lived in a cell connected with the church, devoting her life to prayer and meditation, and acted as a spiritual adviser.

Julian's Church in Norwich, from which she adopted the name by which she is known to us today. Later in her life, Julian became an anchorite-a person who retires to a fixed place for a life of religious seclusion, similar to a hermit-at St. This guide reflects the Long Text, translated into modern English by Elizabeth Spearing for Penguin Classics. The passing of time had allowed her to understand more fully the meaning of the visions. At last, about 20 years later, she expanded her original account into the Long Text, including incidents and parables that were part of her original visions. Over many more years, Julian continued to ponder the meaning of the revelations. The Short Text was probably written not long after the revelations themselves. She wrote two different versions of Revelations of Divine Love, referred to by scholars as the Short Text and the Long Text. Julian recovered from her illness and proceeded to commit the revelations to writing. In May 1373, while seriously ill and at the point of death, she received a series of revelations, or “showings,” of the Passion of Christ and of the Virgin Mary-revelations which Julian believed to come directly from God and to be intended for all Christians. She was probably a laywoman living in the city of Norwich, a major cultural and religious center in late medieval England. Julian became well known throughout England as a spiritual authority.įor further information, including links to online text, reader information, RSS feeds, CD cover or other formats (if available), please go to the LibriVox catalog page for this recording.įor more free audiobooks, or to become a volunteer reader, please visit details are known about the author's life. This is believed to be the first book written by a woman in the English language. These visions would twenty years later be the source of her major work, called Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love (circa 1393).

(They ended by the time she overcame her illness on May 13, 1373). Even her name is uncertain, the name “Julian” coming from the Church of St Julian in Norwich, where she occupied a cell adjoining the church as an anchoress.Īt the age of thirty, suffering from a severe illness and believing she was on her deathbed, Julian had a series of intense visions. Little is known of her life aside from her writings. 1416) is considered to be one of the greatest English mystics. Librivox recording of Revelations of Divine Love, by Julian of Norwich, translated by Grace Warrack.

Revelations of divine love book