Introduction INTRODUCTION I)Dying in Norwich-—in May 1373-—a thirty-year-old woman is gazing at a crucifix held before her eyes Suddenly, blood trickles down from under the of thorns, and the painted artefact of the crucifix dissolves, filmlike, into moving image. This vision initiates a series of fifteen revelations that day, concluded by a sixteenth the following night. Duly recovered, the woman compiles two versions of a book— one much longer than the other—devoted to exploring and interpreting what had been shown in her visions. Her revelations bring her both joyous serenity and some anguishing bafflement: she can hardly doubt them, in their exaltation they seem to promise more than orthodox Church teaching. The outcome— self-effacing, yet implicit with spiritual autobiography—is a unique fusion of revelation with a searching theological enquiry into what has been revealed. From this experience derives the work of Julian of Norwich, the earliest woman whose writing in English can be identified. A profound and radical thinker, Julian understands the divine redeeming of mankind from sin as a manifestation of Christ as mother of all humanity, whom he will bring through salvation to new birth and new life. Julian comes to see that it was needful that there should be sin in this world, yet the joy of humanity's redemption far outweighs the harm in mankind's fall, For Julian, despite our sinfulness, the human will remains fundamentally good, our bodily nature is nothing to regret, and our repented sins will be to our glory in heaven. In his love for us, which has no beginning as well as no end, God has always willed the salvation of the noblest thing he
