______________________________________________

Visions of God

The basis of this study is Karen Armstrong's Visions of God. She has researched four English mystics: Richard Rolle, The Cloud of Unknowing (author unknown), Walter Hilton and Julian of Norwich. They all wrote in the mid to late 14th century and reflect the different steps towards locating a spiritual authority within personal experience.

Richard Rolle was a hermit who lived from 1290 to 1349 and probably died in the Black Death plague. He attended Oxford, but left abruptly at age 19 for unknown reasons, a few years before graduation. This could have been the cause of the row between him and his father that caused Richard to leave home permanently to become a hermit. (more)

The Cloud of Unknowing (written between 1350 and 1390) sees contemplation as removing yourself from all you know or think you know about God or yourself. The reality of God is so beyond our language, it is better not to use words, images or ideas to describe him. This allows the seeker to trust in God. (more)

Walter Hilton was one of the most influential English medival mystics. Manuscripts of his treatise The Ladder of Perfection were passed from monastery to monastery. As the most popular spiritual English classic, it helped to form the religious outlook of Catholics in England up to the Reformation. (more)

Julian of Norwich had an entirely different religious experience from the above writers. She lived from 1342 to around 1416, and was more like a prophet who brings a message to mankind than a mystic. Julian was an anchoress in the village of Norwich. (more)

________________________________________________

Back to Spirituality Page