Page numbers refer to the print edition but are hyperlinked to the appropriate location in the e-book.
action, deeds, works, 10, 20–22; Augustine and, 36, 39, 51–56, 91; beguines and, 25, 92, 162; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 56, 92; Christ’s life as, 202n15; and contemplation, 91; as garments, 137–39; Gregory the Great and, 201n6; Hadewijch’s Liederen and, 135–39; Hadewijch’s two categories of work, 136–39; and imago Dei, 91; and meditation, 19; and monastic spirituality, 20–21, 78, 91, 92; and outer conforming to the inner, 39, 43; Paul and, 25; as rote 56, 170; and psalms, 150; and singing, 150–51; and textuality, 61, 160; and women’s spirituality, 55–56, 92; see also imitatio Christi; performance; werke
affect: as affectie, 107, 114, 125; affective imitatio, 126; affective life, 17; affective literacy, 7–8, 121, 195n34; affective memory, 81; affective nature of poetry, 124; affective spirituality, 92, 121, 182n19; affective truth, 117; and community, 129; contemporary readings of mystics’ affective states, 101–2; and Hadewijch’s Liederen, 124, 126; interpretation and 75, 170; and ways of loving, 97, 99, 101, 107
agency: and annihilation of self, 95; and the body, 5; of the divine, 5, 14–15, 24, 175n24; and inner senses, 17; and mysticism, 24; and prophecy, 14–15, 175n24; and visionary activity, 102, 191n1; and werke, 95
Augustine, 27–61, 181n14; and action/deeds, 36, 39, 51–56, 91; and the body, 29–44; Christ and, 31–32, 49, 91; The City of God, 27, 43; Confessions, 27, 28, 80–81, 183n34; and double destination of human beings, 44–45; and flesh, 180n6; and God’s speech, 43–44; Hadewijch’s List of the Perfect and, 95–96; Hadewijch’s visions and, 95, 193n14; and human limitations, 27–28, 33, 90; influence on Hadewijch, 20, 21, 28, 67; Julian of Norwich and, 160–61, 165; and language, 28, 31–33, 38, 40, 42, 47–50; and memory, 35, 37–38, 80–81, 183n34, 198n62; and the mind, 15–16, 30, 33–39, 42, 183n34; and Neoplatonism, 57, 180n10, 208n82; On the Trinity, 27–28, 30–32, 34, 36, 38–40, 48, 56, 181n14, 183n34, 184n36, 185n47; overview of works, 27–28; Paul and, 29–30, 31, 180n2; regio dissimilitudinis, 98; relation between image and likeness, 184n39; and relation of humans to the divine, 28–29, 31–32; and the senses, 29–30, 33–38; and “sight of thought,” 36–38, 183n36; and the soul, 29, 35, 56; and temporality, 24, 34, 39–40; and unity with the divine, 29–34, 36, 38–40, 181n14; and visionary activity, 40, 65, 191n4; and will, 35–36; see also body, Augustinian conception of; faith; imago Dei; inner and outer persons/bodies, Augustinian conception of; love; mens; Trinity, Augustinian conception of
Beatrice of Nazareth, 4, 90, 132
Beatrice of Ornacieux, 84
beguines, 22, 25, 46, 125, 226n26; and anchorites, 164–65; and Augustinian canon James of Vitry, 225n25; contrast to monastic orders, 135; emphasis on an active life, 25, 92, 135, 162; Hadewijch and, 21–22, 26, 127, 129, 135, 162; lack of vows, 21–22, 135; and self-teaching, 152; and song, 211n9
Bernard of Clairvaux: and action/deeds, 56, 92; and the body, 59; and cultivation of virtue, 21; and contemplation, 92; and Hadewijch’s List of the Perfect, 20, 205n48; and imitatio Christi, 52; influence on Hadewijch, 20; instrumentality of the body, 17, 18; liber experientiae, 23, 75; and love, 39, 52, 129, 202n11; and the mind, 179n60; On the Song of Songs, 46, 59; and the soul, 19, 45–46, 52, 59; and the Word, 52
body, 1–26; and affective literacy, 7–8, 195n34; Ancrene Wisse and, 195n34; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 59; body as text, 7, 8, 23, 50, 51, 59; of Christ, 31–32, 49, 51, 70, 76, 118; distinction from soul, 2–3; and the feminine, 2, 8–9; in Hellenistic tradition, 8, 10–11, 18–19; as host, 12–15, 28, 29, 40, 45, 47, 48, 50, 56, 72, 79, 83, 85, 90, 102, 109, 111, 150; and imitatio Christi, 2; interrelation of body and language, 10, 42–43; Julian of Norwich and, 161; in literature, 9; modern views of, 9, 16; Pauline conceptualization of, 180n9, 188n74; and performance, 9; and resurrection, 45; scholarship on, 2–5; signifying capacity of, 5, 42, 51, 74, 111; spiritual body, 8, 10, 29, 70, 72, 77, 102, 104, 113, 115–17, 158, 163, 174n22; and suffering, 83, 110, 111; as twofold entity, 2, 5, 7, 10; and the Word, 7, 10; see also action, body, Augustinian conception of; deeds, works; inner and outer persons/bodies, Augustinian conception of; inner and outer persons/bodies, Hadewijch’s conception of; inner and outer persons/bodies, Pauline conception of; performance; werke
body, Augustinian conception of, 29–44, 180n6, 180n10; and alienation, 36; body as human and divine, 188n69; body as image, 38; language and the interrelation of imago and body, 47–48; limited nature of bodily perception, 33–34; and promise of transformation, 29, 31, 39–40, 45; and the “thinking gaze,” 34; and unity with the divine, 29–34, 38–40; see also inner and outer persons/bodies, Augustinian conception of; Trinity, Augustinian conception of
bridal/marriage imagery, 16–17, 41, 46, 58, 103, 105–6, 140, 173n3, 198n58, 212n14, 216n37, 219n56; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 45–46, 52; Hadewijch and, 105–6, 137–45; Julian of Norwich and, 162; marriage of appearance and essence, 137–45; and Song of Songs, 58, 128, 162, 190n92; in women’s mystical texts, 41
Christina the Astonishing, 5
Christology: as focus of medieval mysticism, 52–53; Hadewijch and, 52–53; Paul and, 13
Cistercians, 50, 78, 187n62, 195n35; contrast to beguines, 135; Hadewijch and, 20, 21, 25, 26, 67, 95, 199n67; see also Bernard of Clairvaux; William of Saint Thierry
community: and afterlife, 176n35, 206n63; and beguine spirituality, 162; ecclesia or corpus mysticum, 13–14, 17, 160, 175n26; Hadewijch and, 26, 71, 104, 117, 129–30, 132; Hugh of Saint Victor and, 54; and inner body, 17; the inner and group formation, 187n62; Paul and, 13–14, 175n26; and pedagogical function of visions, 68–69, 76, 191n3; and singing, 150–51
contemplation, 191n1; Augustine and, 33, 43, 91, 183–84n36; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 59, 92, 202n11; Hadewijch and, 67, 91, 92, 107–9, 120, 121, 193n18; Hugh of Saint Victor and, 53–54; Julian of Norwich and, 162; Marguerite d’Oingt and, 77–79; meditation on the Word leading to action, 19; and prayer, 17; and reading or embodied life, 21, 23, 106; and stages of mystical ascent, 51, 53–54, 78, 108, 195n35; Victorines and, 53–54, 92; William of Saint Thierry and, 58
courtly, the, 111, 112, 124–25, 138, 140, 149, 154, 162, 184–85n41, 209n95, 210–11n3, 211n6, 218n50
crucifixion: Christ’s body as book, 76; Julian of Norwich and, 162, 167, 169; and outer person, 12, 52; and Paul, 14
Curtius, Ernst Robert, 121
death, 31, 32, 52, 100, 103, 118; Augustine and, 96; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 59; body, soul, and, 10, 13, 29; Hadewijch and, 116–17, 204n34; Julian of Norwich and, 159, 167; living death, 13; Minne and, 99, 100, 103, 220n69; mystical love and, 208n95, Paul and, 12–13, 180n9, 194n24; Richard of St. Victor and, 141
desire, 1, 3, 21, 54, 59, 77, 81, 102, 113, 125, 127, 170; as begherte (human desire), 22, 98, 100, 101, 107, 114, 119, 124, 130, 134, 146, 148, 190n92, 202n14, 208n87; and Bernard of Clairvaux, 19, 52; desired materiality of body, 60; as futural, 41; heavenly desire, 16–17; and Julian, 168; and lack of particularity, 94; and Origen, 16, 175n32; and Richard of St. Victor, 213n19
divine, encounters with: and body of Christ, 32; “face-to-face” encounter, 12, 13, 31–32, 77, 81, 107–8, 146, 170, 181n14; implied futurity of encounter, 31–32, 146, 170; “tasting” the divine, 68, 108, 110, 182n19; “touch” of the divine, 67–68, 74, 114; in visions, 31, 69–70, 77, 103–5, 107–8, 116–19; see also divine, unity with
divine, human perception of: Augustine and, 27–28, 31, 33–34, 56, 90, 191n4; and understanding, 90; and hierarchy of vision, 191n4; limited nature of perception, 33–34; and love, 56; and the Word, 49
divine, relation of human beings to: as dissymmetrical, 13; and double destination of human beings, 44–45; gift s to humans, 17, 128, 204n34; and grace, 2, 14, 18, 24, 28, 40, 45, 58, 64, 67, 68, 91, 99, 150, 165, 169, 212n12; and God’s speech, 43–44; humans grasped by the divine, 13, 18; and limitations of human, 13, 27–28, 33–34, 67, 216n42; as memory, 24, 79–82, 184n37, 198n62; as relation of hospitality, 28–29; and third birth (resurrection), 45; see also body as host; imago Dei; Jesus; Trinity, the; visions
divine, unity with: Augustine and, 29–34, 36, 38–40, 181n14; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 39, 45–46, 52; as future event, 41, 115–21; Hadewijch’s visions and, 25, 65, 69, 72, 75, 107; inner person as host of unity, 12, 28–29, 40–41, 48, 59, 72; Julian of Norwich and, 165, 167, 169; and love; and the mind, 33–34; performative union in the Liederen, 154–56; and (re)birth, 45–46, 186n56; and redemption, 165; and sensual language, 1–3, 25, 41, 70, 78, 124–25; separation from the divine, in the Liederen, 126–32, 146; and suffering/pain, 110–12; and textuality, 160; and unlived experience, 24, 79–82, 110; and women’s spirituality, 8, 23–24; see also action, deeds, works; divine, encounters with; temporality; love and Minne; werke
divine truths: and (a)temporality, 80; Augustine and, 28, 38, 40, 56–57, 185n52; and language, 28, 40; and love, 56–57; Paul and, 15; and Platonism, 57; and suffering, 111; and visionary activity, 64; and werke, 102
embodiment: embodied poetics, 34, 60, 61, 66, 90; and exegesis, 8, 50, 55–56, 66, 76–79, 135; and experience as a sign of the divine, 48; and lessons of visions, 64; mystical writing and, 71–76; and textuality, 25, 160, 169–70; and theological methodology of women’s mystical texts, 158; tied to literary form, 5–9, 25, 158; as a transformational process, 5; see also body; inner and outer persons/bodies
exegesis: and embodiment, 8, 50, 55–56, 76–79, 135; Hadewijch’s letters and, 134; Hadewijch’s Liederen and, 127, 135; and liturgical practices, 66; and prohibition against women, 76, 191nn1, 3, 197n47; scriptural exegesis, 8, 23, 197n47; and Song of Songs, 52; and visionary activity, 58, 64, 75–79; see also reading and interpretation
experience: book of experience, 23, 75; Hadewijch’s Liederen and, 126; Marguerite d’Oingt and, 77–79; nonexperience, 198n61; unlived experience, 24, 79–83, 110; and women’s mystical texts, 1–3, 6, 7, 22, 25, 63, 67, 72, 78, 124–25; and women’s spirituality, 23, 158; see also Bernard of Clairvaux
faith: Augustine and, 28, 31; Christ’s back and “walking by faith,” 31–32; Hadewijch’s Liederen and, 126; Julian of Norwich and, 161; life as ultimate test of, 95; and love, 57; Paul and, 13, 31–32; William of Saint Thierry and, 196n44
garments/clothing metaphor, 123–27, 217n46, 219n56; Augustine and, 11, 51; Hadewijch and, 11, 66, 127, 137–45; as integumentum, 218n46; Paul and, 11, 13
gender: Augustine and, 180n3; the gendered body, 2, 8–9, 72; Hadewijch and, 112–14, 208n94, 209n96; and literacy, 76, 192n9; and love, 209n98; male-authored writings on women, 4–5; and Minne, 112, 140, 142, 144, 184n41; Paul and, 180n3; and prohibition against women preaching, 76, 191nn1, 3, 197n47; rapprochement of (female) soul and (male) Word, 52, 140–41; and reading, 76; and scholarship on women’s spirituality, 4–5; and sexual difference, 113, 208n94; the soul as feminine, 141; the soul as masculine, 2, 141; and women’s mystical texts, 9, 26, 60–61
Gertrude of Helft a, 58, 72
Gottfried of Saint Disiboden, 73
Gregory the Great, 127, 138, 140, 147, 201n6, 206n60, 211n8; Moralia in Job, 127, 131, 135, 196n38, 206n60, 211n8
Hadewijch II (pseudo-Hadewijch), 20, 177n43
Hadewijch of Brabant, 19–24, 90, 158, 164, 199n68; Augustinian influences, 20, 21, 28, 67, 95, 193n14; as beguine, 21–22, 26, 70, 135, 162; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 20, 129; Christological emphasis, 52, 135, 149, 152; Cistercian influences, 20, 21, 25, 26, 67, 95, 199n67; and community, 26, 71, 104, 117, 129–30, 132; comparison to other mystics’ writings, 26, 158–71; and conscience, 190n92; and contemplation, 67, 91, 92, 107–9, 120, 121, 193n18; disdain for exterior rule, 21–22, 153, 164; diversity of genres, 25, 161; first poet of Dutch language, 19; and gender, 112–14, 208n94, 209n96; Gregory the Great and, 201n6; Hildegard von Bingen and, 73; and imago Dei, 70; and imitatio Christi, 20, 141; and inner and outer knowledge, 84; and inner and outer senses, 64, 66–68, 192n9; lack of biographical information, 19; and literacy, 76; and love, 53, 68, 69, 129–30, 193n18, 204–5n46, 209n98, 216n41, 217n43; materie and lichame, 69–71, 83, 86, 90, 91, 102–3, 109–11, 116–20; and memory, 81–83, 111; musical works, 150–51; native language, 20; and Neoplatonism, 18, 90, 107, 207n69, 209n98; overview of works and manuscripts, 19–20, 25, 177n43, 194n21, 214n24; Pauline influence, 21, 66, 69, 86, 89, 98, 112, 116, 123, 192n10; and psalms, 126, 211n9; and reason, 68, 100–1, 107, 111, 131, 205n48; refusal of miracles, 93; scholarship on, 2–3, 210n1; sense of her own limitations, 28, 67, 216n42; and the senses, 213n21; and the soul, 22, 67, 70, 128; spirituality of, 20–22, 26, 66, 90, 117, 145; and suffering/privation (derven), 26, 69, 73, 83, 99–100, 107, 110–12, 115, 125–32, 208n95; and taste, 67–68, 82, 192–93n13; and temporal delays in unity with the divine, 41, 115–21; and textuality, 160, 170; theological and cultural context, 20–21, 91, 93, 95, 125; and touch, 67, 192–93n13; transition from childishness to wisdom, 220n70; and the Trinity, 20, 35, 68, 134–36, 160, 199n67; and unlived experience, 81–83, 110; Victorine influences, 20, 21, 26, 67; and virtue, 207n69; and the will, 111; William of Saint Thierry and, 100, 199n67; see also inner and outer persons/bodies, Hadewijch’s conception of; letters of Hadewijch; Liederen of Hadewijch; List of the Perfect; Minne; visions of Hadewijch; werke
heaven (afterlife, eternal life): Augustine and, 29, 39–40, 56; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 59; and community, 176n35, 206n63; and Hadewijch’s ways of loving, 97; and memory, 80; Paul and, 12, 15, 47, 52; promise of immortal body, 39–40, 105, 116; see also divine, unity with
hell: Augustine and, 96; and ways of Minne, 97, 99, 106
Hildegard von Bingen, 13, 14, 16, 25, 26, 72, 223n85; and agency of the divine, 14; delay in writing visions, 83, 84; and Hadewijch’s List of the Perfect, 64; and inner and outer persons/bodies, 74, 86, 179n56; and literacy, 76; Scivias, 73; and visions, 73–74; visions as a form of textuality, 75; Vita, 73
Hugh of Saint Victor, 53–55, 64; and book of life, 197n48; Didascalicon, 53, 64; and language of debt (arrha), 91–92; and medieval education, 21; On Contemplation and Its Forms, 53–54; and relation between reading and living, 19, 53–55, 189n80
“imaginative theology” (Newman’s term), 78, 197n55
imago Dei, 10, 59, 160; Augustine and, 28–30, 34, 35, 38, 47–48, 185n47; enacting the imago, 10; Hadewijch’s visions and, 70, 103–4; Julian of Norwich and, 165; language and the interrelation of imago and body, 47–48; and lichame (Hadewijch’s term), 70; and memory of the divine, 80, 81, 184n37; and promise of face-to-face encounter, 170; relation between image and likeness, 184n39; and relation between reading and living, 19; trace of the divine in inner and outer persons, 30, 32; and visionary activity, 64, 86; William of Saint Thierry and, 17–18; and women’s spirituality, 23; and works/actions, 91, 92; see also divine, encounters with; werke
imitatio Christi, 51–56, 130, 141, 170; Augustine and, 51; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 52; body associated with, 2; and Christ’s dying, 13; Hadewijch and, 20; and Hadewijch’s Liederen, 26; and humility, 13, 90, 94–95, 97, 105, 139; and memory, 81; Paul and, 13; taking on Christ as a garment, 137–39; and textuality, 160; and women’s spirituality, 173n3; see also werke
immediacy, and women’s mystical texts, 1–3, 6, 7, 25, 63, 67, 72, 78, 124–25, 127
inner and outer persons/bodies, 2, 7, 8, 10; and active life, 10, 25; and anchoritic spirituality, 163–65; and beguine spirituality, 22, 165; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 45–46; and community, 17; Dante and, 41–42; and development of “the individual,” 187n62; Gregory the Great and, 201n6; and hierarchy of vision, 191n4; Hildegard von Bingen and, 73–74, 86, 179n56; inner as host of unity, 59; Julian of Norwich and, 86, 161, 163, 165–66; Marguerite d’Oingt and, 77; and medieval education, 21; and Neoplatonism, 8, 18–19, 90, 107; Origen and, 15–17, 175nn28, 32; outer as a text, 5, 42, 51, 74, 111; outer body as instrument, 17, 176n39; outer conforming to the inner, 39, 43, 51–52, 64–65, 70, 72, 82; outer conforming to the Word, 79; and reading, 22, 151; and reflection of the divine, 10; and shedding the outer person, 41–42; and spiritual transformation, 7, 8, 10, 11; and textuality, 74, 160; and unlived experience, 24; and visionary activity, 63–64, 78–79, 86; William of Saint Thierry and, 17–18; see also action, deeds, works; werke
inner and outer persons/bodies, Augustinian conception of, 15, 29–30, 32, 34–47, 181n15; corpus and caro, 29; inner and outer senses, 29–30, 33–38; interior and exterior homo, 29; and language, 40; and promise of transformation, 29, 31; and reading, 39–40; and “sight of thought,” 36–38; and trace of the divine, 30, 32; and trinities, 35–42; and the Trinity, 29–30; and unity with the divine, 29–30, 38–40; and visions, 40; and the Word, 49; see also body, Augustinian conception of
inner and outer persons/bodies, Hadewijch’s conception of, 113, 116–17; and desire for Minne, 114; inner and outer senses, 64, 66–68, 105, 107, 142, 192n9, 205n49, 213n21; and Liederen, 126–29, 137–45; and List of the Perfect, 102–3; and marriage of appearance and essence, 137–45; materie and lichame, 69–71, 83, 86, 90, 91, 102–3, 109–11, 116, 120; outer as vessel for imitatio, 90; outer as vessel for the inner, 71; and perfection in Minne, 103–9; and transformation, 66, 104, 106, 139–40; and suffering, 110–12; and “tasting” the divine, 67–68; and temporal delays in unity, 116–21; and visions, 25, 63–75, 103–9; and ways of loving, 97–101; and werke, 92, 104; see also werke
inner and outer persons/bodies, Pauline conception of, 11–15, 46–47, 174n22, 206n63; Augustine and, 29–30; and clothing, 11; and conformity with the inner, 51–52, and crucifixion, 12–13, 180n9; dynamic tension of, 11; exo anthropos and eso anthropos, 11, 29–30, 46, 166, 174n22; and heaven, 12; Julian of Norwich and, 166; and law, 12; nondualistic nature, 11, 18–19, 207n63; and nous, 11, 12, 14, 174n22; and renewal, 11, 29–30, 47; and temporality, 11, 13–15; soma and sarx, 12, 174n22; spirit/flesh distinction as moral, 188n74
inner and outer senses: and Ancrene Wisse, 165; Augustine and, 29–30, 33–38; and Benedictine rule, 20–21; “doubling” of the senses, 105, 128, 130, 212n11, 213n19; Hadewijch and, 64, 66–68, 105, 107, 142, 192n9, 205n49, 213n21; inner ear hearing God’s speech, 44; Julian of Norwich and, 165; Largier and, 17; and love, 56; Origen and, 16–17, 175n28; and prayer and contemplation, 17; “thinking gaze,” 34, 36–37; and the Trinity, 30; and visionary activity, 64; William of Saint Thierry and, 18, 35, 182n23, 205n48, 206n62; see also divine, human perception of
Jesus: agency of, 14; Augustinian understanding of “Christ’s back,” 31–32; Augustinian understanding of Christ’s divinity, 49; body of, 31–32, 49, 51, 70, 76, 118; Christ’s life as work, 202n15; double birth of, 44–45, 167; dual nature of, 219n57; and Eucharist, 118–20; Hadewijch’s expressions of unity with, 1–3, 69, 70; humanity of, 10, 50, 118, 137; and incarnation, 51; inner and outer persons/bodies as potential manifestations of, 7; and lichame, 70, 118; taking on Christ as a garment, 11, 12, 137–39; visionary images of, 32, 40, 69, 77, 84, 103–5, 107, 118–19, 217n42; as the Word made flesh, 7, 10, 55; see also crucifixion; imitatio Christi; Trinity, the
Julian of Norwich, 13, 26, 64, 73, 79, 140, 158, 160–70, 203n29, 224nn5, 8, 226nn33, 39, 227n41; biographical information, 225n13; and Christ’s passion and resurrection, 162, 167; pedagogical function of visions, 161; A Revelation of Love, 73, 160–62, 166, 169; and sin, 162, 167–69; and the soul, 86, 161, 165–69, 227n47; substance and sensualite, 86, 161, 165–68; and temporality and embodiment, 72; vows of, 163; writing of visions delayed, 83–84, 200n85
language: Augustine and, 28, 31–33, 38, 40, 42, 47–50; Hildegard von Bingen and, 73; and inhabiting or hosting mystery, 130–37; interrelation of body and, 10, 25, 40, 42–44, 47–50; Julian of Norwich and, 169; Paul and, 12, 14, 47; sensual language of mystical texts, 1–3, 6, 7, 22, 25, 40–41, 63, 67, 72, 78, 124–25; and truth, 28, 40; and the Word, 47–49
lectio–meditatio–oratio–operatio And contemplatio (or other order) progression, 51, 53–54, 74, 78, 108, 195n35
letters of Hadewijch, 19; commentary on poetry in, 132–34; and inhabiting and hosting mystery, 132–34; and marriage of appearance and essence, 137–38; and the Trinity, 20
letters of Hadewijch, list of: Letter 1, 94, 102; Letter 2, 94, 115, 131, 201n7; Letter 4, 22, 111, 153, 199n68; Letter 6, 100, 106; Letter 8, 111–12; Letter 10, 190n92; Letter 15, 20, 129; Letter 17, 132–37, 199n67, 214n29, 215n30, 216nn41, 42; Letter 18, 115, 131, 132; Letter 19, 132; Letter 20, 83, 153; Letter 22, 28, 35, 66, 67, 68, 86, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 106, 192n9, 204nn31, 42, 46; Letter 28, 74, 81; Letter 30, 91, 137–38, 140, 211–12n10, 212n12
Liederen of Hadewijch, 19–20, 123–56, 177n43; aesthetic framework of, 127; and being or becoming Minne, 135–39, 146–47; and community, 129–30, 132; and contrafacture, 149–50; contrast to Hadewijch’s musical works, 150–51; contrast to visions, 126, 127, 128, 140; diverse voices in, 151–54; emphasis on absence, 126–32, 140, 146; and figures of the young and old, 146–48, 152–53; garments/clothing metaphor, 11, 123–27; and gender reversal, 113–14; and imitatio Christi, 26; inhabiting and hosting mystery, 130–37, 154; intended singers, 148; and marriage of appearance and essence, 137–45; misleading approaches to, 140; and newness, 141–42; operating from the outside in, 25, 127, 164; pedagogical function of, 127, 132–36, 148–49, 152–54, 220n59; and performative unions, 154–56; poetic form, 128, 130, 135; and psalms, 25–26, 126, 148–50; and purgatory, 102; purpose of, 148–49; and reading and interpretation, 130–34, 213–14n23; relation to letters, 132–34; scholarship on, 126, 154; and temporality, 147–49, 164; themes and content of, 126, 128–32, 137–45; and the Trinity, 134–36; and works/actions, 135–39
Liederen of Hadewijch, list of: Lied 1, 142; Lied 4, 115; Lied 5, 82, 218n49; Lied 7, 146; Lied 8 (= Poem 9), 3, 137–39, 152, 220n69; Lied 11 (= CW Poem 12), 131–32; Lied 13 (= CW Poem 14), 220n69, 223n95; Lied 18 (= CW Poem 19), 148, 151, 152; Lied 19 (= CW Poem 20), 141–42; Lied 21, 219n59; Lied 22, 223n95; Lied 23, 136, 221n75, 223n93; Lied 24, 223n97; Lied 27, 132, 146–47, 219n56; Lied 28, 219n53; Lied 29, 142–43, 149, 214n23, 217n44; Lied 30, 128, 130, 212n11; Lied 31, 215–16n36; Lied 32, 223n95; Lied 34, 151; Lied 35, 110, 145, 223n93; Lied 39, 152; Lied 40, 124, 153, 207n78, 223n95; 214n23; Lied 43, 152; Lied 45, 144, 153, 222n80
List of the Perfect (Hadewijch of Brabant), 25, 92–96, 202n16; Augustine in, 95–96; Bernard of Clairvaux in, 20, 205n48; Hildegard von Bingen in, 64; Mary in, 94, 116; Mary Magdalene in, 129; names listed, 94, 203n24; Paul in, 102; Sara (convert) in, 102
liturgy: and exegesis, 66; Hadewijch’s visions and, 81, 82, 83, 199n75; liturgical song, 149, 211n9; liturgical time, 55, 83; and psalms, 25–26, 149, 211n9; and women’s spirituality, 8–9, 23
love, 52–53, 181n15; amor, 56, 57, 184n40; Augustine and, 33, 35, 38–39, 56, 57, 96, 102; becoming and being Minne, 136–39, 146–47, 153; and beguine spirituality, 129; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 39, 52, 129, 202n11; caritas, 17, 56, 57, 184n40; dilectio, 17, 56, 57; and faith, 57; and gender, 209n98; gratia, 184n40; Hadewijch and, 53, 68, 69, 129–30, 193n18, 209n98, 216n41, 217n43; Hadewijch’s five ways of loving, 69, 106–7, 110, 204–5n46, 206n54; Hadewijch’s Liederen and, 129–32, 136–45; and inner vision, 56; Julian of Norwich and, 162; love lyric (Minnesang), 149–50, 222n82; love of form, 56–57; loving love itself, 33, 193n18; loving what one cannot know, 33, 182n19; Origen and, 17; pleasure, charity, and love of the good, 57; relation between reason and love, 68, 100, 101, 107, 205n48; Richard of Saint Victor’s four stages of violent love (or passionate charity), 69, 92, 140–41; and suffering, 112; and trinities in human beings, 35; trinity of love, lover, and beloved, 38–39, 57–58, 129, 155; and the will, 93; William of Saint Thierry and, 18, 53, 198n56, 199n67; see also bridal/marriage imagery; Minne
Lyotard, Jean-François, 198n63
Marguerite d’Oingt, 26, 54, 64, 72, 84, 151, 149, 162; content of visions, 77–79; and embodied exegesis, 76–79; and inner and outer persons/bodies, 77, 78; and reading, 77, and scriptio divina/lectio divina, 197n50
Mary, 128, 202n11, 214n23, 217n44, 220n60; Hadewijch’s Liederen and, 142–43; Hadewijch’s List of the Perfect and, 94, 116; Hadewijch’s visions of, 116–17; Julian of Norwich and, 162
McGinn, Bernard, 40, 53, 66, 104, 175n33, 179n60, 192n13, 204n34, 210n105
memory: Augustine and, 35, 37–38, 183n34, 198n62; and confession, 198n62; Hadewijch and, 81–82, 111, 126, 216n39; memory of the divine, 24, 79–82, 184n37, 198n62; memoryless memory, 223n99; “postmemory,” 198n63; and sight of thought, 37–38; temporal complexity of, 64, 80; and trinities associated with human beings, 35; and unlived experience, 79–82; William of Saint Thierry and, 81–82
Mengeldichten, 66, 99, 130, 132, 155, 177n43, 192n10, 209n99, 215n32, 223n94
mens, as mind, 15, 30, 37, 165; and etymology of Minne, 39
mind: Augustine and, 15–16, 30, 33–39, 42, 183n34; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 179n60; Origen and, 15–16; Paul and, 174n22; William of Saint Thierry and, 182n23; see also inner and outer senses; memory; mens, reason; soul; understanding
Minne (personification of love), 207n73; and absence, 126–30; being and becoming, 136–39, 146–47, 153; and Community, 129–30; and counsel (rade), 152–53, 223nn93, 97; definition, 39, 184n40; as feminine term, 113, 154, 184n41; Hadewijch’s letters and, 133–34; and inhabiting and hosting mystery, 130–31; Mary and, 143–44; and materie, 69–70; perfection in, 103–9; and performative union, 155; praise for vanquishing, 116; and the senses, 213n21; stages of, 146–48; and temporality, 81–82, 103; and the Trinity, 129–30, 143, 145, 212n13; and understanding, 84; ways of loving, 96–103, 106–7, 110, 125, 206n54; and works/actions, 93–109, 136–39; see also love
monasticism: and abbots, 21; spirituality, 195n35; and action and contemplation, 91; living a text, 20–21, 55, 215n35; and mysticism, 175n33; and relation between reading and living, 19, 21, 215n35
Neoplatonism, 8, 18–19, 20, 57, 90, 107, 180n10, 207n69, 208n82, 209n98
orality, 43, 75, 132, 134, 149, 151–52, 185n50, 214n23; oral nature of visions, 65; and word, 48, 115, 131
Origen, 7, 15–16, 45, 64, 67, 175n28, 175n32, 204n34; Commentary on the Song of Songs, 16, 105; inner and outer persons/bodies/senses, 15–17; and love, 17; Paul and, 16–17; and soul, 15–17; and temporality, 16, 204n34
pattern/patterning, 53, 55, 56, 96, 105, 127, 136, 151, 174n12: and the body, 51; bringing to life, 53; 127 and Christ, 53; circular pattern in Marguerite, 197n50; and group formation, 187n62; and Julian, 166; and Hadewijch’s Liederen, 126, 127, 148, 154; and love, 58; and order, 53; and poetics, 55, 72, 90, 126, 186n55; and union, 41, 86, 154; and vision, 81, 86
Paul, 9–15; and action/deeds, 25; Augustine and, 29–32, 180n2, 181n14; and the body, 180n9, 188n74; Christological emphasis, 13; Colossians, 30, 175n23; and community, 13–14, 175n26; 1 Corinthians, 13, 14, 16–17, 30, 31, 66, 67, 68, 77, 86, 97, 98, 175n32, 181n14; 2 Corinthians, 11, 12, 30, 31, 47, 51, 56, 103; crucifixion of, 14; and double destination of human beings, 44; Ephesians, 16, 47; and “face-to-face” encounter with the divine, 12, 13; Galatians, 11, 14; and gender, 180n3; Hadewijch and, 66; Hadewijch’s List of the Perfect and, 102; Julian of Norwich and, 160–61; and language, 12, 14, 47; and Neoplatonism, 18; Origen and, 16–17; and prophetic voice, 14–15, 47; and resurrection 31, 51, 180n9, 199n74; Romans, 11, 12, 15, 18, 47, 59, 69, 95, 103, 226n36; and the soul, 12, 174n22; and spiritual law, 11–12; and temporality, 11, 13–15, 24, 46–47; William of Saint Thierry and, 18; and women’s visionary practices, 65; see also divine, encounters with; inner and outer persons/bodies, Pauline conception of
perfection, 25, 53, 59, 78, 82, 90–92, 94, 102–9, 113, 127–29, 137, 153, 160, 203; Ancrene Wisse and, 164; Gregory the Great and, 201n6; Hildegard and, 151; Julian of Norwich and, 165, 167, 169; Marguerite d’Oingt and, 77; and Minne, 103, 129, 133–34, 143, 213n21; and Minnesang, 222n82; and Mary 128, 142, 143, 217n44; and operatio, 78; Paul and, 47, 167; reflection in songs, 127, 154; and Trinity, 136–37, 212n12; visions and, 68–69, 92, 95, 104, 109, 116, 121, 195n35
performance, 9; acting out divinity, 5, 17, 20–21, 51, 93, 108; and the body, 5; Hadewijch’s Liederen and, 126, 154–56; Julian of Norwich and, 166, 169; memory and confession, 198n62; and mystical ascent, 54; Paul and, 13–14; and psalms, 214n26; and visions, 64, 86; women’s writing, 159; see also action, deeds, works; imitatio Christi; Liederen of Hadewijch; werke; women’s mystical texts
Petroff, Elizabeth Alvida, 209n99
Porete, Marguerite, 8, 41, 132
purgatory, and ways of Minne, 97, 100–1
reading and interpretation, 50, 51; and affect, 170; and affective literacy, 7–8, 195n34; Augustine and, 32–33, 50; and book of life (liber vitae), 18–19; and Carthusians, 25, 76–79; and gender, 113–14; Hadewijch and, 126; Hugh of Saint Victor and, 19, 53–55, 189n80; and illumination of the heart, 10; and inner senses, 17; and love, 56; and monastic rule, 21; and mystical ascent, 54; Origen and, 16–17; reading the body, 8, 23, 50, 51, 59; reading a life, 10, 106; reading Minne, 130–32, 214n23; reading the outer, 8, 10, 39, 170–71, 151; and relation to body, 25, 47–51; and relation to living, 19, 21, 189n80; “self-reading,” 107; and suffering, 111; and temporality, 22; and visions, 32, 63, 74, 75–76, 84, 107; women reading, 75–76, 196n42; see also textuality; women’s mystical texts
reason: Hadewijch and, 67, 68, 100–1, 107, 111, 131, 193n18, 205n48; Hugh of Saint Victor and, 193n18; Richard of Saint Victor and, 213n19; and the spiritual senses, 213n19; and trinities associated with human beings, 35; and ways of loving, 100–1; William of Saint Thierry and, 100, 196n44, 205n48; see also mind; reading and interpretation; understanding
Robertson, Elizabeth, 192n9
rule of life, 4, 46, 163; and Ancrene Wisse, 163–64; and becoming scripture, 20–21; and beguine spirituality, 22, 46; Benedictine rule, 214n26; Hadewijch’s disdain for exterior rule, 21–22, 153, 164, 199n68; and reason, 223n94; and ways of loving, 96–103; William of Saint Thierry and, 199n68
scripture: becoming scripture, 17, 20–21; Christ and, 50; prohibition against interpretation by women, 76, 159, 191nn1, 3, 197n47; and relation between reading and living, 21, 69; and visionary activity, 63, 64, 69, 76; see also action, deeds, works; performance; reading and interpretation
Song of Songs, 19, 39, 45–46, 212n14, 220n60; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 52, 54; Hadewijch and, 93–94, 102, 106, 124, 190n92, 212n14; Origen and, 16
soul: Augustine and, 15, 29, 35, 56; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 19, 45–46, 52, 59; blurred distinction between body and soul, 2–3; and charity, 18–19; and divine gift s, 128, 204n34; and Hellenistic tradition, 10–11; Hadewijch and, 22, 67, 70, 128; and hierarchy of visions, 191n4; inner beauty of, 22, 164, 199n68; and inner senses, 17; Julian of Norwich and, 86, 161, 165–69, 227n47; and lichame, 70; love and reason as two eyes of, 205n48; Marguerite d’Oingt and, 77; masculinity associated with, 2; and Neoplatonism, 8, 18–19, 90, 107; Origen and, 15–17; Paul and, 12, 174n22; rapprochement of (female) soul and (male) Word, 52–53, 140–41; and reading and interpreting scripture, 16; Richard of Saint Victor and, 140–41; touch of God in, 67; William of Saint Thierry and, 18, 58, 196n44, 205n48, 206n62; and the Word, 19; see also mind
suffering, 211n9; Hadewijch and, 26, 69, 73, 83, 99–100, 110–12, 115, 125–26, 208n95; Hadewijch’s Liederen and, 127–32; Hildegard von Bingen and, 73; and imitatio Christi, 13; Julian of Norwich and, 161, 162, 169; as message, 116; and ways of loving, 99–100
taste, 82, 182n19, 192–93n13; Hadewijch and, 40, 67–68, 104, 105, 108, 110, 120, 142; William of Saint Thierry and, 58
teaching: and Hadewijch’s Liederen, 127, 132–36, 148–49, 152–54, 220n59; and mistress or master of love, 153; and prohibition against women, 191nn1, 3; and visions, 68–69, 74, 76, 86–87, 90, 160, 161; see also werke
temporality: Augustine and, 24, 34, 39–40, 44–45; and delay, 64, 84–85, 200n85, 201n86; and double birth of Christ, 44–45; and double destination of human beings, 44–45; as gift to humans, 204n34; Hadewijch’s Liederen and, 147–49, 164; Hadewijch’s visions and, 71–72, 81–85, 107; Hadewijch’s ways of loving and, 97–101; historical time and atemporal moment, 22, 24, 31, 33–34, 44–45, 55, 71–73, 77, 79–80, 82–84; Julian of Norwich and, 169–70; liturgical time, 55, 83; and memory, 79–82; Nachträglichkeit (belatedness), 84–85; Origen and, 16, 204n34; Paul and, 11, 13–15, 24, 46–47; and reading and women’s mystical texts, 22, 23; and somatic archive, 82–85, 110; and spiritual vision, 34; and stages of Minne, 147–48; and transformation, 2, 13–15, 24, 29, 31–32, 39–41, 45, 105, 115–21, 170; and unlived experience, 24, 79–82; and writing, 71–76
textuality: and action/deeds, 61, 160; and the body, 22–23, 59; and bridging function, 15, 27–28, 31, 71–76, 118, 155; Hadewijch and, 160, 170; Hadewijch’s Liederen and, 125, 127; Hadewijch’s visions and, 94; Hildegard von Bingen and, 75; and imitatio Christi, 160; inner person linked to the Word, 7, 160; Julian of Norwich and, 169–70; Marguerite d’Oingt and, 76–79; mediated nature of, 5; and women’s mystical texts, 6–9; see also language
Theoderic of Echternach, 73
Theophilus of Antioch, 24
touch, 34, 42, 68, 78, 155, 192–93n13, 213n19; and Hadewijch (as gherinen), 67, 82, 103, 114, 192n10, 193n17; Hildegard von Bingen and, 74; and visionary activity, 35, 67, 68, 73, 74
Trinity, the, 10; and divinity and humanity of Christ, 118; and double birth, 45; Hadewijch and, 3, 20, 35, 68, 94, 98–100, 107, 108, 112, 134–36, 143, 160, 199n67, 211n10, 212n12; Julian of Norwich and, 159, 161, 162, 167, 169; and language of debt, 211n10, 212n12; and Minne, 129–30, 143, 145, 212n13; and werke, 94
Trinity, Augustinian conception of, 24, 28–47, 107; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 52; imago Trinitatis, 38, 185n47; and inner and outer persons, 32; trinities identified as memory, understanding, love, 33–45
understanding: and action/deeds, 20, 21, 56, 93, 132, 145; combined with love, 56; delay in understanding visions, 16, 84–85; fleeting nature, 90; and human trinities, 35; inner and outer knowledge, 84–85; and Hadewijch’s Liederen, 142; love and reason as two eyes of the soul, 205n48; loving what one cannot know, 33, 182n19; spiritual/inner understanding, 16, 17, 18, 58, 83, 133, 139; and stages of mystical ascent, 53–54; and touch of God, 67–68; and visionary activity, 75, 90, 93, 108, 120; see also mind; reading and interpretation; reason; will
Victorines, 50, 78, 191n4; and balance of action and contemplation, 91, 92; and beguines, 225n25; and education, 19, 125; emphasis on community, 54, 92, 129, 219n53; Hadewijch and, 20, 21, 26, 67; and singing, 150–51, 189n86; and spiritual ascent 51, 53–54; see also Godfrey of Saint Victor; Hugh of Saint Victor; Richard of Saint Victor
virtue: Hadewijch and, 92, 93, 105, 137–38, 202n14, 207n69; life as ultimate test of, 95; Mary and, 144; and medieval education, 21; Richard of Saint Victor and, 213n19; and visionary activity, 64, 75
visions, 63–87; and agency of the divine, 14, 175n24; and agency of the visionary, 102, 191n1; Augustine and, 40, 191n4; as bridging mechanism, 71–76; and community, 71, 104, 117; delay in understanding/writing, 64, 83–85, 200n85, 201n86; and exegesis, 58, 64, 74, 76–79, 191nn1, 3; experience of, 69–70, 73, 82–84, 110, 158; as event, 82, 85; as “face-to-face” encounters with the divine, 31; hierarchy of, 191n4; and humans grasped by the divine, 13; images of Christ in, 32; and “imaginative theology,” 78; and inner and outer persons/bodies, 63–64, 78–79, 86; and inner senses, 16; lessons applied to life, 64; and mediated nature of textuality, 5, 32; and memory, 79–82; operating from inside out, 25; pedagogical function of, 68–69, 74, 76, 86–87, 90, 160, 161; and prohibition against women preaching, 191nn1, 3, 197n47; and temporality, 65, 71–76; and trauma, 84–85, 201n87; and unlived experience, 79–83, 110; visionaries’ knowledge of scripture and other texts, 200n77; William of Saint Thierry and, 75, 196n44; see also Hildegard von Bingen; Julian of Norwich; Marguerite d’Oingt; visions of Hadewijch; women’s mystical texts; werke
visions of Hadewijch, 19, 63, 89, 109, 116, 194n21, 197n47; beginnings and endings of, 69–70, 110, 195–96n37; and being grasped “by” the divine, 13; commands given in, 69, 71, 89, 91, 104, 105, 107–8; and community, 71, 104, 117; content of,
67–69, 74–75, 81, 84, 93, 106–9; contrast to Liederen, 126, 127, 128, 140; delay in writing of, 83–84; experience of, 69–70, 82–84, 110; as experiential exegesis, 75; image of Augustine in, 95, 193n14; image of Christ in, 69, 70, 103–5, 107, 118–19; image of Mary in, 116–17; and inner and outer persons/bodies, 25, 63–75; and liturgy, 81, 82, 149, 199n75; and materie and lichame, 69–70, 83, 109–11, 116–20; and memory, 81–83; progression of, 92–96; purpose of, 95, 120–21; and reading/contemplation, 76–78, 84, 109; and somatic archive, 82–85; and temporality, 81–85; and textuality, 75, 94; tripartite understanding of, 191n4; and unlived experience, 81–83, 110; virtues listed in, 202n14; and ways of loving, 96–103; see also werke
visions of Hadewijch, list of: Vision 1, 67, 74–75, 93–94; Vision 3, 67; Vision 4, 67, 103–5, 107, 110, 199n71; Vision 5, 110; Vision 6, 69, 110, 191n4; Vision 7, Vision 8, Vision 9, 68, 97, 101, 102, 138; Vision 10, 81; Vision 11, 84, 95, 193n14; Vision 12, 82, 90, 92, 102, 198n58, 202n14; Vision 13, 94, 108–9, 116–17, 202n7; Vision 14, 67–68, 109, 196n37
——Vision 7, 1–3, 24–25, 65, 69–70, 73, 75, 103, 108, 118–20, 194n24, 197n47; and Eucharist, 69, 118–120, 173n3; and immediacy, 1–2, 25, 40; and promised unity with the divine, 25; text of, 1; and union with Christ, 69, 70; Visions 7 and 8 as one vision, 69, 202n16
——Vision 8, 103, 106–8, 110, 141, 192n11, 193n18, 202n7; commands given in, 107–8; figure of the champion (kimpe), 69–70, 106, 194n24; and five ways of loving, 69, 106–7; Visions 7 and 8 as one vision, 69, 202n16
von Baest, Marieke, 211n8
Watson, Nicholas, 5, 6, 65, 159, 162, 163, 167, 168, 200n85, 203n29, 224n5, 226n33
werke, 21, 25, 70, 89–109; as command in visions, 69, 71, 91, 104, 105, 107–8; definitions, 91, 201n7; didactic purpose of, 90, 92; and garments, 137–40; Hadewijch’s Liederen and, 135–39; two categories of, 136–39; and humility/selflessness, 90, 94–95, 97, 105, 139; and joining of appearance and essence, 137–45; and List of the Perfect, 94–96; and Minne (personification of love), 93–109, 136–39; and poetry, 126; and progression of visions, 92–96; theological context, 91; and the Trinity, 94; see also Minne
will: Augustine and, 35–36; Hadewijch and, 93, 111, 212n12; and imitatio Christi, 52; Julian of Norwich and, 167–69; and love, 93; and trinities, 35; William of Saint Thierry and, 198n56; see also werke
William of Saint Thierry, 17–18, 58, 190n92; and agency of the divine, 24; Exposition on the Song of Songs, 190n92; Hadewijch and, 100, 199n67; and love, 18, 53, 198n56, 199n67; and memory, 81–82; and the mind, 182n23; The Nature and Dignity of Love, 17–18, 100, 198n56, 205n48, 206n62; and Neoplatonism, 18; and reason, 100, 196n44, 205n48; and rule of life, 199n68; and the senses, 18, 35, 182n23, 205n48, 206n62; and the soul, 58, 196n44, 206n62; Speculum fidei, 198n56, 205n48; and visionary activity, 75, 196n44; and works/actions, 202n15
women’s mystical texts, 63–87, 158–71; approaches to, 6, 22, 60, 72, 121, 124–25; as bridging mechanism, 71–76; embodied experience as a sign of the divine, 48; embodiment and exegesis, 8, 50, 55–56, 60, 66, 76–79, 135; experience, and corporeality in, 1–3, 6, 7, 22, 25, 40–41, 63, 67, 72, 78, 124–25; and “face-to-face” encounter, 13; and gender, 26, 60–61; and incarnation, 52; and interrelation of body and language, 25, 43, 48, 50; and literary form, 5–9, 25, 158; and love, 52–53; marginalization of, 6, 7, 8, 61; and Neoplatonism, 8; and orality, 65, 75; popularity in the Middle Ages, 65, 121; relation to literature, 6, 7, 60, 124–25, 174n12, 195–96n37; scholarship on, 2–6, 65–66, 124–25, 210nn1, 105, 211nn6, 7; see also Hadewijch of Brabant; Hildegard von Bingen; Julian of Norwich; Marguerite d’Oingt; temporality; textuality; visions
women’s spirituality: anchoritic spirituality, 163–65; and Christ’s body, 76; and devotional reading, 75–76, 196n42; and imitatio Christi, 173n3; and knowledge of scripture, 200n77; and literacy, 75–76, 192n9; and the liturgy, 8–9, 23; material body, 10, 55–56, 159; and memory, 24; and physicality, 2–3, 55–56; and prohibition against preaching, 76, 159, 191nn1, 3, 197n47; and scriptural exegesis, 8, 23; and textuality, 65; see also beguine spirituality; exegesis; Hadewijch of Brabant; Hildegard von Bingen; Julian of Norwich; Marguerite d’Oingt; visions; women’s mystical texts
Word, the, 208n82; Augustine and, 47–49, 208n82; Bernard of Clairvaux and, 52; Christ identified with, 7, 10, 55; humans becoming like the Word-made-flesh, 52, 79, 169; and inner person, 7, 10, 41, 160; Marguerite d’Oingt and, 77; and singing, 150; soul’s identification with, 19; see also imitatio Christi
