What Julian Saw: The Embodied Showings and the Items for Private Devotion

Abstract

The article traces potential visual sources of Julian of Norwich’s (1343–after 1416) Revelations or Showings, suggesting that many of them come from familiar everyday devotional objects such as Psalters, Books of Hours, or rosary beads. It attempts to approach Julian’s text from the perspective of neuromedievalism, combining more familiar textual analysis with some recent findings in clinical psychology and neuroscience. By doing so, the essay emphasizes the embodied nature of Julian’s visions and devotions as opposed to the more apophatic approach expected from a mystic.

Keywords

• revelations
• mysticism
• ekphrasis
• neuromedievalism
• neuroarthistory
• psychohistory
• Julian of Norwich
• visions
• sleep paralysis
• psalters
• books of hours
• rosary beads