The Medieval mystics

This course will explore the great female visionaries of the high and late Middle Ages (c1100-1500): Hildegard of Bingen, Christina of Markyate, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, and Catherine of Siena. We’ll discover how these women, from all across Europe, shook up traditional theological methods and literary forms, what inspired and enabled them to do so, what kinds of lives they led, and how their works shaped the lives of others in the Middle Ages. Along the way, we will explore contemporary literary responses - our own, and others’ - to these mystics today.