Abstract
In medieval and early modern times, female visionary writers used the mode of prophecy to voice their concerns and ideas, against the backdrop of cultural restrictions and negative stereotypes. In this book, Deborah Frick analyses medieval visionary writings by Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe in comparison to seventeenth-century visionary writings by authors such as Anna Trapnel, Mary Carey, Anne Wentworth and Katherine Chidley, in order to investigate how these women authorised themselves in their writings and what topoi they use to find a voice and place of their own. This comparison, furthermore, and the strikingly similar topoi that are used by the female visionaries not only allows to question and examine topics such as authority, authorship, images of voice and body; it also breaks down preconceived and artificial boundaries and definitions.
Highlights
The above quotation perfectly describes the female visionary writers discussed in this study, namely women who when confronted with cultural restrictions and negative stereotypes, found a voice of their own against all odds
The focus of the following investigation revolves around two English visionary writers from the Middle Ages Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe as well as several female prophets such as Anna Trapnel, Anne Wentworth and Katherine Chidley from the seventeenth century
This study will show that the female prophets in the Middle Ages, Julian and Margery, use methods similar to those of the seventeenth-century female visionary writers in order to legitimise their writings as women
Summary
“ I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, am I strong” 2 Corinthians 12:10. This preoccupation with individuality in contrast to contemporary political laws led some to fear the Quakers, as Bradstock maintains: “Their rapid numerical growth, their socially subversive behaviour and their concerted opposition to the church and the tithe made them a source of fear for many” [113] Even though this is only a short summary of some of the groups that flourished in and around the twenty years between the 1640s and the 1660s, all such political and religious movements informed the writings of the female prophets in the present study. This study will show that the female prophets in the Middle Ages, Julian and Margery, use methods similar to those of the seventeenth-century female visionary writers in order to legitimise their writings as women. Chapter 1: Weakness and Illness – The Female Body “Tu es diaboli ianua, tu es arboris illius resignatix, tu es divinae legis prima desertrix; tu es quae eum suasisti, quem diabolus aggredi non valuit; tu imaginem dei, hominem adam, facile elisisti; propter tuum meritum, id est mortem, etiam filius dei mori habuit” Tertullian
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
