Sh Revelations
Hayley Sweigard
Domini, refugium factus es nobis, a generatione in generationem.
Respice in servos tuos, et in opera tua: et dirige filios eorum.
Et sit splendor Domini Dei nostri super nos, et opera manuum
nostrarum dirige super nos: et opus manuum nostrarum dirige.
Chap. LI., Paris MS.: "The colour of his face was feyerbrown whygt with full semely countenaunce. his eyen wereblakke most feyer and semely shewyng full of lovely pytte andwithin hym an heyward long and brode all full of endlessehevynlynes. And the lovely lokyng that he lokyd on hisservant contynually. And namely in his fallyng me thought itmyght melt oure hartys for love. and brek them on twoo for Joy."
Sloane: "The color of his face was faire browne, with fulsemely features, his eyen were blak most faire and semelyshewand ful of lovely pety and within him an heyward long andbrode all full of endles hevyns, and the lovely lokeing that heloked upon his servant continuly and namely in his fallyng methowte it myte molten our herts for love & bresten hem on tofor joy."
The Sloane MS. does not mention the writer of the book,but the copyist of the Paris version has, after the Deo Gratiaswith which it ends, added or transcribed these words: Explicitliber Revelationem Julyane anatorite [sic] Norwyche cujus animepropicietur Deus.
Tersteegen, who, in his Auserlesene Beschreibungen HeiligerSeelen, gives a long extract from Julian's book (vol. iii. p. 252,[Pg xiii]3rd ed. 1784), mentions in his preface that he had seen "inthe Library of the late Poiret" an old Manuscript of theseRevelations. Pierre Poiret, author of several works on mysticaltheology, died in 1719 near Leyden, but the Manuscripthas not found its way to the University there.
The earliest printed edition of Julian's book was prepared bythe Benedictine Serenus de Cressy, and published in 1670 bypermission of his ecclesiastical Superior, the Abbot of Lambspring,under the title of Sixteen Revelations of DivineLove. It agrees with the Manuscript now in Paris, but thereadings that differ from the Sloane Manuscript are very fewand are quite unimportant. This version of de Cressy's is inSeventeenth Century English with some archaic words, whichare explained on the side margins; it was re-printed in 1843.A modernised version taken from the Sloane MS. was published,with a preface, by Henry Collins in 1877 (T. Richardson &Sons).
For the following version, the editor having transcribed theSloane MS., divided its continuous lines into paragraphs,supplied to many words capital letters, and while following asfar as possible the significance of the commas and occasional fullstops of the original, endeavoured to make the meaning clearerby a more varied punctuation. As the book is designed forgeneral use, modern spelling has been adopted, and most wordsentirely obsolete in speech have been rendered in modernEnglish, though a few that seemed of special significance or[Pg xiv]charm have been retained. Archaic forms of construction havebeen almost invariably left as they are, without regard to moderngrammatical usage. Occasionally a word has been underlinedfor the sake of clearness or as a help in preserving the measureof the original language, which in a modern version must lose alittle in rhythm, by altered pronunciation and by the dropping ofthe termination "en" from verbs in the infinitive. Here andthere a clause has been put within parentheses. The very fewchanges made in words that might have any bearing on theologicalor philosophical questions, any historical or personalsignificance in the presentment of Julian's view, are noted on themargin and in the Glossary. Where prepositions are used in asense now obscure they have generally been left as they are(e.g., of for by or with), or have been added to rather thanaltered (e.g., for is rendered by the archaic but intelligible forthat, rather than by because, and of is amplified by words insquare brackets, as [by virtue] of, [out] of rather than changedinto through or from). The editor has desired to follow therule of never omitting a word from the Manuscript, and ofenclosing within square brackets the very few words added. Itmay be seen that these words do not alter the sense of thepassage, but are interpolated with a view to bringing it out moreclearly, in insignificant references (e.g. "in this [Shewing]"),and once or twice in a passage of special obscurity (seechap. xlv.).
From Blomefield's History of Norfolk, vol. iv. p. 524:"Carhoe or Carrow stands on a hill by the side of the river,about a furlong from Conisford or Southgates, and was alwaysin the liberty of the City [of Norwich].... Here was anancient Hospital or Nunnery, dedicated to Saint Mary and SaintJohn, to which King Stephen having given lands and meadowswithout the South-gate, Seyna and Lescelina, two of the sisters,in 1146 began the foundations of a new monastery called Kairo,Carrow, Car-hou, and sometimes Car-Dieu, which was dedicatedto the Virgin Mary and Saint John, and consisted of a prioress andnine (afterwards twelve) Benedictine black nuns.... Their churchwas founded by King Stephen and was dedicated to the BlessedVirgin, and had a chapel of St John Baptist joined to its southside, and another of St Catherine to its north; there was also ananchorage by it, and in 1428 Lady Julian Lampet was anchoressthere." ... "This nunnery for many years had been a schoolor place of education for the young ladies of the chief families ofthe diocese, who boarded with and were educated by the nuns."
From Dr Jessopp's Visitations of the Diocese of Norwich, 1492-1532,Introduction, p. xliv.: "The priory of Carrow had alwaysenjoyed a good reputation, and the house had for long been afavourite retreat for the daughters of the Norwich citizens whodesired to give themselves to a life of religious retirement."
It is in connection with the old Church of St Julianin the parish of Conisford, outlying Norwich, thatJulian is mentioned in Blomefield's History of Norfolk(vol. iv. p. 81): "In the east part of the churchyardstood an anchorage in which an ankeress or reclusedwelt till the Dissolution, when the house was demolished,though the foundations may still be seen(1768). In 1393 Lady Julian, the ankeress here wasa strict recluse, and had two servants to attend her inher old age. This woman was in these days esteemedone of the greatest holiness. In 1472 Dame Agneswas recluse here; in 1481, Dame Elizabeth Scott;in 1510, Lady Elizabeth; in 1524, Dame AgnesEdrygge."
The little Church of St Julian (in use at this day)still keeps from Norman times its dark round tower offlint rubble, and still there are traces about its foundationof the anchorage built against its south-easternwall. "This Church was founded," says the Historyof the County, "before the Conquest, and was givento the nuns of Carhoe (Carrow) by King Stephen, theirfounder; it hath a round tower and but one bell; thenorth porch and nave are tiled, and the chancel isthatched. There was an image of St Julian in a nicheof the wall of the Church, in the Churchyard." Citingthe record of a burial in "the churchyard of St Julian,the King and Confessor," Blomefield observes: "whichshews that it was not dedicated to St Julian, the Bishop,nor St Julian, the Virgin."
Moreover, this life to which Julian gave herself wasto be a life of "meek continuant prayers" "for enabling"of herself in her weakness, and for help toothers in all their needs. For thought and worshipcould only be held together by active prayer: thepitiful beholding of evil and pain and the joyful beholdingof Goodness and Love would be at war, asit were, with each other, unless they were set at peacefor the time by the prayer of intercession. And thatis the call of the loving soul, strong in its infantfeebleness to wake the answering Revelation of Loveto faith that "all shall be well," and that "all iswell" and that when all are come up above and thewhole is known, all shall be seen to be well, andto have been well through the time of tribulation andtravail.
"From that time that the Revelation was shewed Idesired oftentimes to learn what was our Lord's meaning.And fifteen years afterwards and more, I wasanswered in ghostly understanding, saying thus: Wouldstthou learn thy Lord's meaning in this thing? Learn it well:Love was His meaning. Who shewed it thee? Love. Whatshewed He thee? Love. Wherefore shewed it He? ForLove. Hold thee therein and thou shalt learn and know morein the same. But thou shalt never know nor learn other thingwithout end."
[4] S. de Cressy was probably the originator of the designation"Mother Juliana." The old name was Julian. The Virgin-Martyrof the Legend entitled "The Life of St Juliana" (Early English TextSociety) is called in the Manuscripts, Iulane, Juliene, and Juliane andJulian. So also Lady Julian Berners is a name in the history of FifteenthCentury books.
[10] See the chapter "How an Anchoress shall behave herself to themthat come to her," in "The Scale of Perfection," by Walter Hilton(died 1396), edition of 1659, p. 106. "Since it is so that thououghtest not to goe out of thy house to seek occasion how thoumightest profit thy Neighbour by deeds of Charity, because thouart enclosed; ... therefore who so will speake with thee ... bethou soon ready with a good will to aske what his will is ...for thou knowest not what he is, nor why he cometh, nor whatneed he hath of thee, or thou of him, till thou hast tryed. Andthough thou be at prayer, or at thy devotions, that thou thinkestloth to break off, for that thou thinkest that thou oughtest notleave God for to speake with any one, I think not so in this case,for if thou be wise, thou shalt not leave God, but thou shalt findhim, and have him, and see him in thy Neighbour as well as inprayer, onely in another manner. If thou canst love thy Neighbourwell, to speake with thy Neighbour with discretion shall be nohindrance to thee.... If he come to tell thee his disease [distress]or trouble, and to be comforted by thy speech, heare him gladly,and suffer him to say what he will for ease of his own heart; Andwhen he hath done, comfort him if thou canst, gladly, gently, andcharitably, and soon break off. And then, after that, if he will fallinto idle tales, or vanities of the World, or of other men's actions,answer him but little, and feed not his speech, and he will soon beweary, and quickly take his leave," etc.
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