A picture of Christendom: The creation of an interpretive community in Julian of Norwich's A Revelation of Love

Abstract

In order to avoid suspicion, opposition, and even inquisition, visionaries of the late Middle Ages did well to deny their capacities as either readers or writers. In A Revelation of Love, Julian of Norwich nullifies her role in uncovering the meaning of the divine 'text' she receives by demonstrating that the interpretation, and the processes by which it was achieved, are the responsibility of an interpretive community. The legitimacy of the interpretation is established by the authority of this community which, as a union between God, Church, and Christian souls, is a picture of Christendom itself.