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The Female Mystic: Great Women Thinkers of the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages saw a flourishing of mysticism that was astonishing for its richness and distinctiveness. The medieval period was unlike any other period of Christianity in producing people who frequently claimed visions of Christ and Mary, uttered prophecies, gave voice to ecstatic experiences, recited poems and songs said to emanate directly from God and changed their ways of life as a result of these special revelations. Many recipients of these alleged divine gifts were women. Yet the female contribution to western Europe's intellectual and religious development is still not well understood. Popular or lay religion has been overshadowed by academic theology, which was predominantly the theology of men. This timely book rectifies the neglect by examining a number of women whose lives exemplify traditions which were central to medieval theology but whose contributions have tended to be dismissed as "merely spiritual" by today's scholars. In their different ways, visionaries like Richeldis de Faverches (founder of the Holy House at Walsingham, or "England's Nazareth"), the learned Hildegard of Bingen, Hadewijch of Brabant (exemplary voice of the Beguine tradition of love mysticism), charismatic traveller and pilgrim Margery Kempe and anchoress Julian of Norwich all challenged traditional male scholastic theology. Designed for the use of undergraduate student and general reader alike, this attractive survey provides an introduction to thirteen remarkable women and sets their ideas in context.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 19, 2021
Mystics are coooool
I think it was a great idea to compile 15-page summaries of each mystic, but I do wish the book were more committed to critiquing them. Dickens even defends one woman who “rejoiced” when her family all died because she could be freed from her ties to them and pursue God more fully. Otherwise, the book did a great job providing a general overview to Medieval Mystics.
I wasn’t expecting so much erotic language in Medieval theology. The interesting thing is that the explicit imagery of the soul and Christ wasn’t even what got these women burned—it was usually because they didn’t fit into the gender expectations of the time. The men were cool with sex with God, for the most part
I think it was a great idea to compile 15-page summaries of each mystic, but I do wish the book were more committed to critiquing them. Dickens even defends one woman who “rejoiced” when her family all died because she could be freed from her ties to them and pursue God more fully. Otherwise, the book did a great job providing a general overview to Medieval Mystics.
I wasn’t expecting so much erotic language in Medieval theology. The interesting thing is that the explicit imagery of the soul and Christ wasn’t even what got these women burned—it was usually because they didn’t fit into the gender expectations of the time. The men were cool with sex with God, for the most part
October 27, 2022
Yep. I’m probably one of the few to read this for fun. An academic rendering of these women was really fascinating for how these women stood out in their time, not necessarily against men (as most study focuses on). I thought it was well balanced and respectful for the women. Unless reading for research, this is best absorbed a chapter at a time. I did 1-2 per weekend and that was perfect.
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January 25, 2024Rating: TBD / 5
In setting up this book, first I'd like to give due credit to the introduction. True, it reads exactly like a thesis--which is definitely is, in printed form, and to be used as a reference textbook, no doubt--but for those who have a personal interest in this topic as I do, it's a great starting point towards several considerations, including but not limited to:
1) the access to education (or lack thereof) that women had in medieval times, including in religious studies, which led to their writings in the vernacular rather than the traditional religious Latin
2) how women themselves were often depicted by men through hagiographies and held up as exemplary based on certain virtues (perceived or real)
3) how women were considered in terms of their own "genres" and "literatures", that were seen to be as based more in emotion rather than intellect
With all these setting up the background, it's an interesting perspective (or a variety of perspectives, really) that make up what women "mystics" are really thought of and recorded as. For the purposes of my own reference and for this review, I shall we considering each section of the book on the 12 women mystics individually.
Richeldis of Faverches
The first mystic to be discussed here is identified as being one of the less-researched women in this topic, and for good reason: she's also the first one in the lineup time-wise from this collection, in the late 11th century (circa 1061, in England just five years before the Norman conquest). I think the end conclusion of this chapter sums it up best, in saying:
"Unlike many women after her, Richeldis is not important for having deep or unique theological thoughts, nor for the beauty of her poetic expressions, nor the number of mystical visions. Rather, she is important for simply saying yes and following through on Mary's request for a shrine."
Because, ultimately, that's all Richeldis is known for: building a shrine in Walsingham, at the request of Mother Mary. The shrine itself was likely destroyed in Henry VIII's tyranny against Catholicism in the 1500s, and it's noted that the first mention of Richeldis in written form was over 400 years after her vision and building the shrine. That's...a very vague reference, to be sure, and even today, the Wikipedia page or other references on her are vague.
It's a simple way to start off a book on women mystics, but kind of interesting in that there isn't a lot of complexity really needed behind mysticism for women--not in practice, and certainly not in the way that it was considered at the time, either. For my purposes, I'm not really all that interested in Richeldis and nor do I really connect with her, but going through just to learn something new about the nature of mysticism this way, I can see the value in starting off simply.
Hildegard of Bingen
Next up is Hildegard of Bingen whom, unlike Richeldis, is very well-documented for a woman of her time.
I'll admit that not too much really drew me to learning about this mystic, apart from, of course, the mentions of her Scivias, and other written works. The Scivias in particular are quite interesting and lovely, as they were illustrated by Hildegard herself and make up a unique legacy among medieval female writers. The visuals themselves can be found online via Google and are beautiful to look at.
Otherwise though, Hildegard's path is fairly straightforward as a saint, and I can only claim a passing interest with it.
Christina Mirabilis
This mystic woman was...odd. She is considered to be a saint (Christina the Astonishing), and in many ways it's hard to see how she could be anything else, and well deserves the classification.
However, whether it's the way in which she's described here or just that any connection to "demoniacs" is offputting to me, I was unsure just how to judge this except as "weird". Part of what I didn't like was the continued importance of the body or physicality in this woman's mystic narrative, since for me mysticism has less (and almost nothing) to do with physicality, but rather the spiritual realm, which is far removed from it and doesn't need levitations or anything like that to be applied to it. Additionally, the allusions to "the stench of people because of their sins" also has something off-putting about it--perhaps the truth to it, but also the negative connotations of judgement, rather than of offering hope.
To be fair in her connection to mysticism, Christina is definitely different, but different in a way that makes sense that she is a patron saint of those with mental disabilities. Of the three women I've read about so far, so far I'm connecting to this one the least.
Hadewijch of Brabant
When first reading the title of this chapter assigned to Hadewijch, in which she's called a "Jouster for Love", I associated her with the crusades and a rather war-like figure in terms of how she developed and sought a relationship with God. Kind of like Joan of Arc, in other words.
But, moving past the author's decision to label Hadewijch as a "jouster", it would have been better to identify her as someone who does indeed fight for love, but through suffering and the tradition of courtly love, rather than a "joust" as you would think of a battle. It's the setup of Stella and Astrophel, combined with the idea of "The Lover and the Beloved". Now, that later tradition is one that I deeply associate with, having a deep connection to Ramon Lull's The Book of the Lover and the Beloved; and so, misnomer aside, I actually really was quite interested in this mystic, as the chapter went on.
Like Richeldis, not much is known about her life; only, in the case of Hadewijch, she did leave behind writings that give historians insight into what her theology and mysticism encompassed. As a beguine, she was a laywoman deeply devoted to religious life and focuses, and it's presumed that she came from a well-off background, her writings hinting that she may have had access to other theological texts of her day and from centuries past (most notably, St. Augustine's works). Since she shares this background as a beguine with Mechthild of Magdeburg (my personal favourite and the next mystic that is focused on in a chapter of this book), I likewise made the comparisons between the two and therefore established an interest and connection in these shared characteristics.
At this stage, I can't be sure whether I'm interested in reading any of her works; but, suffice to say, this is an interesting "jouster" for love, with quite a few points that I myself agree with in describing the relationship of the Soul with God.
In setting up this book, first I'd like to give due credit to the introduction. True, it reads exactly like a thesis--which is definitely is, in printed form, and to be used as a reference textbook, no doubt--but for those who have a personal interest in this topic as I do, it's a great starting point towards several considerations, including but not limited to:
1) the access to education (or lack thereof) that women had in medieval times, including in religious studies, which led to their writings in the vernacular rather than the traditional religious Latin
2) how women themselves were often depicted by men through hagiographies and held up as exemplary based on certain virtues (perceived or real)
3) how women were considered in terms of their own "genres" and "literatures", that were seen to be as based more in emotion rather than intellect
With all these setting up the background, it's an interesting perspective (or a variety of perspectives, really) that make up what women "mystics" are really thought of and recorded as. For the purposes of my own reference and for this review, I shall we considering each section of the book on the 12 women mystics individually.
Richeldis of Faverches
The first mystic to be discussed here is identified as being one of the less-researched women in this topic, and for good reason: she's also the first one in the lineup time-wise from this collection, in the late 11th century (circa 1061, in England just five years before the Norman conquest). I think the end conclusion of this chapter sums it up best, in saying:
"Unlike many women after her, Richeldis is not important for having deep or unique theological thoughts, nor for the beauty of her poetic expressions, nor the number of mystical visions. Rather, she is important for simply saying yes and following through on Mary's request for a shrine."
Because, ultimately, that's all Richeldis is known for: building a shrine in Walsingham, at the request of Mother Mary. The shrine itself was likely destroyed in Henry VIII's tyranny against Catholicism in the 1500s, and it's noted that the first mention of Richeldis in written form was over 400 years after her vision and building the shrine. That's...a very vague reference, to be sure, and even today, the Wikipedia page or other references on her are vague.
It's a simple way to start off a book on women mystics, but kind of interesting in that there isn't a lot of complexity really needed behind mysticism for women--not in practice, and certainly not in the way that it was considered at the time, either. For my purposes, I'm not really all that interested in Richeldis and nor do I really connect with her, but going through just to learn something new about the nature of mysticism this way, I can see the value in starting off simply.
Hildegard of Bingen
Next up is Hildegard of Bingen whom, unlike Richeldis, is very well-documented for a woman of her time.
I'll admit that not too much really drew me to learning about this mystic, apart from, of course, the mentions of her Scivias, and other written works. The Scivias in particular are quite interesting and lovely, as they were illustrated by Hildegard herself and make up a unique legacy among medieval female writers. The visuals themselves can be found online via Google and are beautiful to look at.
Otherwise though, Hildegard's path is fairly straightforward as a saint, and I can only claim a passing interest with it.
Christina Mirabilis
This mystic woman was...odd. She is considered to be a saint (Christina the Astonishing), and in many ways it's hard to see how she could be anything else, and well deserves the classification.
However, whether it's the way in which she's described here or just that any connection to "demoniacs" is offputting to me, I was unsure just how to judge this except as "weird". Part of what I didn't like was the continued importance of the body or physicality in this woman's mystic narrative, since for me mysticism has less (and almost nothing) to do with physicality, but rather the spiritual realm, which is far removed from it and doesn't need levitations or anything like that to be applied to it. Additionally, the allusions to "the stench of people because of their sins" also has something off-putting about it--perhaps the truth to it, but also the negative connotations of judgement, rather than of offering hope.
To be fair in her connection to mysticism, Christina is definitely different, but different in a way that makes sense that she is a patron saint of those with mental disabilities. Of the three women I've read about so far, so far I'm connecting to this one the least.
Hadewijch of Brabant
When first reading the title of this chapter assigned to Hadewijch, in which she's called a "Jouster for Love", I associated her with the crusades and a rather war-like figure in terms of how she developed and sought a relationship with God. Kind of like Joan of Arc, in other words.
But, moving past the author's decision to label Hadewijch as a "jouster", it would have been better to identify her as someone who does indeed fight for love, but through suffering and the tradition of courtly love, rather than a "joust" as you would think of a battle. It's the setup of Stella and Astrophel, combined with the idea of "The Lover and the Beloved". Now, that later tradition is one that I deeply associate with, having a deep connection to Ramon Lull's The Book of the Lover and the Beloved; and so, misnomer aside, I actually really was quite interested in this mystic, as the chapter went on.
Like Richeldis, not much is known about her life; only, in the case of Hadewijch, she did leave behind writings that give historians insight into what her theology and mysticism encompassed. As a beguine, she was a laywoman deeply devoted to religious life and focuses, and it's presumed that she came from a well-off background, her writings hinting that she may have had access to other theological texts of her day and from centuries past (most notably, St. Augustine's works). Since she shares this background as a beguine with Mechthild of Magdeburg (my personal favourite and the next mystic that is focused on in a chapter of this book), I likewise made the comparisons between the two and therefore established an interest and connection in these shared characteristics.
At this stage, I can't be sure whether I'm interested in reading any of her works; but, suffice to say, this is an interesting "jouster" for love, with quite a few points that I myself agree with in describing the relationship of the Soul with God.
October 17, 2025
TikTok made me read it. Accounts of 12 Christian mystics from the 1000s to the 1500s. A few really stood out and it was interesting to think about the social contexts that might have given rise to these thinkers. Also a lot of highly entertaining accounts of extreme ascetic practices like fasting and endless pilgrimages. Women standing on water wheels for days at a time, preaching from the tops of tall posts, weeping and wailing for hours on end, hopping into bread ovens. And writing!! They all had hypergraphia. Also mostly all laywomen.
April 26, 2019
The book offers profiles of 13 women thinkers including their background and summary of their work. Not only does it present the person itself, but also pictures very vividly charakteristic features important for the work of each one, so it brings view into the spiritual life of the society of wide range of mediavel times. Concise and precise. And it is available on the ebrary for students or readers of various libraries around the world. I can only recommend.
April 19, 2022
Very interesting book : it really is about women in the Middle Ages, their writings, their theological perspective (sometimes on specific subjects) their life, and the impact they had on their contemporary world.
July 8, 2017
Great introduction to this topic!
December 28, 2020
This is an excellent reference text. It provides clear, nuanced introductions to the work of 12 medieval female thinkers. I found the chapter on Julian of Norwich especially helpful.
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November 5, 2021Read for Primary Tutorial: Medieval Female Mystics.
March 25, 2025
only read for hildegard
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews