“The only ‘problem’ was that I was a woman…“ – Mary Daly
1.
Introduction
Many medieval
theologians repeat some of the main ideas on women found in the church fathers.
Thomas Aquinas, for example claimed that women were created as subordinate and
inferior to man. Not only was she second in the order of creation, but she was
endowed with less intellectual capability and consequently less ability to make
right moral decisions.[1]
Christianity during the medieval period went through different phases both in
the spiritual, political and development sphere. The church was instrumental in
lifting the people out of the cruelty of Roman paganism and the barbarism of
wild tribes. This was made possible through her missionary expansion in spite
of her many limitations. In this paper it’s an attempt to deal the Medieval
Christianity's Women Spirituality and women Saints and
Female
Mystics.
2.
Status of Woman
The images of women
that emerge in the medieval literature were shaped to a large extent by monks,
bishops, and noblemen who comprised that small percentage of the population
that was literate. Images of woman in both secular and church writings oscillate
between two extreme positions which historians have described as the pit and
the throne. On one hand women are denounced in strong terms as wicked and
inferior. This virulent misogynism reached its peak in the witch craze which
swept across Europe from the 15th to 18th centuries. Many medieval
theologians repeat some of the main ideas on woman found in the church fathers.
Thomas Aquinas, for example, claimed that women were created as subordinate and
inferior to man. Not only was she second in the order of creation but she was
endowed with less intellectual capability consequently, less ability to make
the right moral decisions.Aquinas and others also propagated the belief that
women were more sensual than men and
more oriented toward the iimctions and appetites of the human body.[2] A fear of women and their power to cause lust in men permeated not only theology but popular piety as well. Stories about adulterous wives far outnumbered those of unfaithful husbands. Books of wicked wives detailed all the women in the bible and in history who had led men astray. The widespread voices of women were constantly stressed as well as the need to keep women under control in church and society. A few positive attitudes toward women did find their way into medieval theology. Aquinas and others stressed that woman, although inferior, had been given the important task of procreation by God. Some theologians also insisted that men and women have rational souls and that in future kingdom of God, male and female would be equivalent. The institution of marriage itself was also given a slightly more positive character.[3]
more oriented toward the iimctions and appetites of the human body.[2] A fear of women and their power to cause lust in men permeated not only theology but popular piety as well. Stories about adulterous wives far outnumbered those of unfaithful husbands. Books of wicked wives detailed all the women in the bible and in history who had led men astray. The widespread voices of women were constantly stressed as well as the need to keep women under control in church and society. A few positive attitudes toward women did find their way into medieval theology. Aquinas and others stressed that woman, although inferior, had been given the important task of procreation by God. Some theologians also insisted that men and women have rational souls and that in future kingdom of God, male and female would be equivalent. The institution of marriage itself was also given a slightly more positive character.[3]
3.
Women Spirituality
It was the
institution of Monasticism that offered women the real opportunities for
professional ministry during the Middle Ages. Monasticism was an important
outlet for women who desired to commit their lives to fulltirne spiritual
endeavours, especially after the fifth century, when communal monasticism began
to flourish. Monasticism for women began in the west in AD 512 when bishop
Caesaruis of Aries established a convent that was ruled by his sister Caesaria.
Only widows and virgins were permitted to join the convent and they were
required to make lifetime commitment, renouncing all claims to material wealth.
The purpose of this convent seems to have been primarily focused on personal
spirituality for the women were admonished by Caesaria to dwell in their cells
seeking in earnest prayers the presence of the son of God that they might be of
the number of holy virgins devoted to God By the seventh century their numbers
were vastly increased. The Benedictines monasteries were the first to be
organised under the rule of Benedict on a wide scale strictly for men but
around the year AD. 530 with the help of his twin sister Scholastica, Benedict
of Nursia founded a convent for women.[4] In
the monasteries the actual lifestyle at a particular convent was determined to
large extent by abbess. In many instances, she had as much power as did her
male counterparts. Despite the church best efforts to place tight reins on
nunneries, the abbess often ruled her community according to her own prescribed
standards.
The position of the
abbess was the highest to which women could attain. The abbess not
only ruled a large community of nuns but also had jurisdiction over vast
territories that often included villages and towns. Whatever credentials an
abbess possessed the recognition depended initially on her social rank and to a
great extent depended on the local church and political authorities and of
course on her won charisma and assertiveness. No matter how high her social
rank was, it was common for an abbess to fight for her community.[5]
4.
Women Saints
The medieval
definition of sainthood was not humanly oriented by divine. It was said that
God elect a person to sainthood and that election began before birth and was
manifested by what god affected through that person. According to the teaching
of the church the saints reign together with Christ and offer their prayers to
God on behalf of humankind. During the eleventh and twelfth centuries CE the
phenomenon of women recluses developed in Western Europe.
Women from well to
do families renounced marriages and devoted to solitary religious life in
cities by living in a cell attached to the church. Medieval women were kept out
of the universities for they could not become scholastic theologians. But many
achieved distinction through becoming powerful writers on spirituality and
mysticism providing spiritual leadership and counsel to others. These were
women of greatest independence and power not so much in external terms but in
terms of moral authority and spiritual perfection. These women were strong
enough to resist the pressure of family, society and even the church at times,
out of deep commitment to a higher calling. Some of the women are cited below.[6]
4.1.
Saint Leoba (700-779)
Leoba was born in
Wessex, England and was sent as a child to Wimbome to study the sacred science
under Mother Tetta. Leoba was a diligent student and became known both for her
intellect and for her sanctity. She was a religious teacher of royalty and was
deeply respected throughout her life lime as a
person of depth. a
received her name from the place Wimboume which may be translated as an ancient name
meaning wine stream. Thus the received her name from the clearness and
sweetness of the water there, which was better that any other in that land
Leoba‘s father and mother were barren yet they were strict observers of Gods
commandment. Alter long years of barrenness one night her mother had a dream
that she would conceive a child. Shortly after she conceived and gave birth to
a daughter who named as Leoba. The mother consecrated the child to God.
Leoba grew up taking no pleasures in the aimless girlish romance but fired by
the love of Christ fixed her mind always on reading or hearing the word of God.
Leoba was appointed abbess of Bisch of sheim and from there she helped in the
establishment of new convent. As an abbess she found her life tilled with
richness and variety. Her position according to Edith deen was not merely as of
a ruler but of a teacher and expositor and she became so learned in the
scriptures and so wise in counsel that bishops often discussed church matters
with her. Yet with all her learning and scholarship she was a mystic who
believed that she was endowed with certain charismatic gifts. Her success as a
missionary abbess was viewed as a direct result of her holiness and evidence of
her ability to make direct contact with God in prayer.[7]
4.2.
Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)
Catherine was a
Dominican tertiary remaining at home in solitary life of prayer. Originally
named Caterina Benincasa she was born in Siena Italy on March 25, 1347. Her
mother was Lap-a and her father was Giacomo di Benincasa a dyer. From early
childhood, Catherine sensed that God had a special ministry for her. At the age
of seven she made a vow of virginity facing a strong family resistance.
Even as a child she claimed to have visions and lived ascetically. At the age
of 16 she joined the Third order of St Dominic in Siena, where she became noted
for her gift of contemplation and her devotion to the poor. She became increasingly
influential in the church, concerning herself with such issues as crusades,
civil war, the Avignon Papacy and ecclesiastical reforms.[8] In
1370 she experienced mystical death strengthening her resolve to be about the
business of God. After three years of celestial visitations and familiar
conversation with Christ, she underwent the mystical experience known as the
spiritual espousals. She now rejoined her family, and began to tend the sick.
She began to gather disciples round her, both men and women who formed a
spiritual fellowship. During the summer of 1370 she received a trance, a kind
of mystical death, in which she had a vision of hell, purgatory and heaven, and
heard a divine command to leave her cell and enter the public life of Italy.
She was consulted by the papal legates about the affairs of the church, and set
herself to heal the wounds of her native land by ministering during the fury of
civil war and the ravages of faction. In 1376 Catherine journeyed to Avignon
France to plead with Pope Gregory and she convinced the Pope to return to Rome
and end the Avignonese exile of popes. In 1376, Gregory left Avignon by water
for Rome. On the same day Catherine and her followers also began the same
journey by road. The two parties met in Genoa, but Catherine then went to
Florence. Catherine returned to contemplation and worked in Siena and
simultaneously tried to promote peace in Italy and crusaded to recover the Holy
Land.[9]
4.3.
Saint Joan of Arc (1412-1431):
Joan of Arc, in
French Jeanne d’Arc also called the Maid of Orleans, was a national heroine and
patron saint of France. She was instrumental in uniting the nation at a
critical time a decisively turned the Hundred years war in favour of France.
Joan was brought up during the Hundred Years war (1337-1453). After the death
of Charles VI of France, the English armies under the Duke of Bedford fought a
successful campaign and took numerous fortified towns. England had held a
territory for a long time in what is now France. However the French kings had
been constantly trying to extend their influence in the English territories,
and the two sides had fought several small battles over the issue The situation
became more complicated in 1327 with the succession of the English king Edward
III. Edward had a claim to the French throne through his mother’s side of the
family. But when Philip VI of France took possession of the last bit of
territory that Edward held on the continent, Edward declared himself the true
French king and invaded France.[10]
Joan was born of
peasant parentage in Domremy. When she was 13 years old she believed she heard
celestial voices. These she identified as belonging to St Michael and to the
early martyrs of St Catherine of Alexandria and St Margret. They told her to
save France. Early in l429 during the Hundred years war when English were about
to capture Orelans the vorces exhorted her to help the Dauphin later Charles
VII, King of France.[11]
4.4.
Christina of Markyate
Christina’s life
gives evidence of three ways in which sanctity was empowering for a twelfth
century women. It enabled her to defy family and social expectations, to
challenge the church and enjoy churchmen’s warm support, and to follow with
success and esteem a life she chose foe herself through which she shaped and
affected the lives of the small and the great. Christina, at the age of
thirteen made a vow to be the spouse of Christ and no other. Firm in her
resolution to remain a virgin and live for God only, Christian resisted the
intention of her family to see her married, fending off all her suitors,
especially the young and persistent Burthred. Christina escaped from the
family’s house on disguise as a boy and found refuge with anchoress Alfwen and
then with the Hermit Roger.Roger served initially as her spiritual director. It
was also said that Abbot Geoffrey of St.Albans a worldly, powerful feudal
ecclesiastic was converted under her influence. He became so changed a man from
what he once was. Her spirituality was rooted in an effective experience of
belonging to Christ; her holiness was grounded first in this unsparing obedience
to the vision of her life in Christ. The resistance of her family’s proposal of
marriage flowed out of an obedience to God which was a love affair, she
abandoned the world for this love affair with God and was in retum girded
against anything the world could inflict. To be a virgin and spouse of Christ
symbolised the enhancing, freeing, empowering love and touch of God in her life
which gave her strength to stand Victoriously against all who opposed her. In
the Spiritual life Christiana recognised herself and was recognised by men and
the society around her as a figure of authority, in every way equal, if not
holier and thus more powerful in the realm of the spirit than her male co
religious.”[12]
4.5.
Papess of Johanna:
The influence of
medieval church women was most evident in the convents where they rose to the
position of abbess and often wrelded substantial power political as well as
spiritual. One of the most fascinating footnotes of medieval history is the
story of the Papess Johanna, who wore the Triple Crown for more than two years
in the period between Pope Leo [V (847) and Benedict III (855). Because of her
sex she was forced to disguise herself while a student in Athens and later
while teaching theology in Rome. She went by name Johannes Anglicus, and took
the name John VIII when she was elevated to the papal dignity. But her reign as
pope came to an abrupt and tragic end. Her life was terminated suddenly in the
open street during a solemn procession from the Vatican to the Lateran. This
mysterious saga of the scholarly Papess Johanna apparently originated with the
Dominicans and was widely accepted as truth during the late medieval period, so
much so that a bust of this mythical female pope was actually displayed
alongside the bust of other popes during the early hfteenth century. The Roman
Catholic Church was deeply committed to a [position of male domination in
spiritual matters. Women had a place in the church but that place was clearly
defined as on that carried what with it no oiiicial authority. But by their own
leadership ability and charismatic influence, women on occasion overcame this
disability. However, whatever roles they attained almost always remained within
the confines of monasticism.[13]
4.6.
Julian of Norwich (1343-1413):
Julian was an
Englishwoman who lived outside the walls of what is now known as St Julian
church in Norwich. a town thriving with both ecclesial and intellectual
interests. She emerged as an outstanding theological writer who composed her
work in vernacular English It was after twenty revelations that Julian recorded
them and reflected them on their meaning. It was the struggle with the nature
of sin, its effects on human nature and on a person’s relationship with God.
She paid her attention to the Trinity and to Christ‘s role in mediating love
and compassion for a fallen humanity. Her writings combine the passion of
visionary literature with theological carefulness Julian tells of the judgement
of God and of the church and the presenring love that protect us.'8.lulian
claimed that Jesus had the character and performed the activities of an earthly
mother. Jesus sustained and loved the Christian and gave the Christian life. He
fed the Christian with his body just as a mother feed her child with milk.
Julian also believed that, like mothers love, the love of Jesus knew no
end."[14]
4.7.
Margery Kempe:
one of the few
spiritual autobiographies extant from the medieval period was written by an
English woman Margery Kempe. Kempe has Iett us an account of her answered
prayers, Visions, and prophetic insights which she believed to come from God in
The Book of Margery Kempe. As some others, her emotional outbursts and her
pointed condemnation of the monks and priests led the churchmen to accuse her
for heresy. She amused the anger of the clergy because of her flamboyant and
eccentric behaviour. Yet she was regarded with suspicion and hostility also
because she believed that her spiritual experiences gave her the right to teach
and advise questionable activities for medieval Christian wife.”[15]
4.8.
Birgitta of Sweden:
She is also known as
Bridget. She was born into one of the wealthiest families in Sweden. Her
revelations began after her husband’s death. Three years later she journeyed to
Rome. She felt called to help purify the church and return the papacy from
Avignon to Rome. She remained in Rome to pursue this work until her death,
gaining the ear of many powerful officials within the church and secular
Government. She had marked organising and administrative abilities. She founded
an order which at first associated with the ecclesiastical authorities of the
Augustinian Cannons. But eventually it became distinct known as the Bridget
-tines which was carried on by her daughter Katherine and expanded to other
land. She was held by the Roman people for working miracles and caring for the
poor. After her death an elaborate tradition quickly established itself, rich
with legends and miracles of Brigittas early life.[16]
5.
Female Mystics:
One of the
pilgrimages Margery Kempe made was to a nun who lived alone in room attached to
the side of a church in Norwich, England. This nun was Julian, who, together
with a number of other medieval women, made a significant contribution to the
church’s tradition of mystical theology which flourished in the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries. At the heart of the mystical tradition were the
experiences of people who had acquired a direct and intimate knowledge of God
in visions and at times of worship and meditation Women frequently had mystical
experiences which they then, on occasion, committed to writing. Julian of
Norwich, for example. describes a series of visions or revelations that she
received during an illness in her Revelations of Divine Love. Catherine of
Siena writes about a similar set of experiences in the Dialogue of St.
Catherine of Sierra.[17]
The content of
this mystical writing varies from woman to woman but there are certain common
features. There is considerable emphasis on the physical suffering of Jesus and
a free use of bridal imagery to describe the relationship between the Christian
and low. Both God and Jesus are also described in female and feminine
images in some of the writings. One of the nuns of Helfta frequently referred
to God as the mother of humanity to show that God’s justice was tempered by
love and comfort. Julian claimed that Jesus had the character and performed the
activities of an earthly mother.
6.
Conclusion
Medieval women were
different from that of the early centuries. It was because monasticism offered
them a place of prominence that could not be found elsewhere in the early
Christian history. Though women lost their place in the medieval church they
enjoyed full freedom and equality in the monasteries and in the mysticism.
Therefore it is undeniable that the medieval women’s religious order had a
greater impact on women of the period. The achievement or sacrifice which they made might have
shaken the history of Christianity like anything unless, As Mary Daly said, The only ‘problem’ was that they
were women’.
