Kas Atšķir Svēto No Herētiķes? Dažādās Attieksmes Pret Sievietēm-Mistiķēm Viduslaiku Eiropā: What makes the difference between a saint and a heretic? Various attitudes towards female mystics in medieval Europe.
In this article, a method of analysing several case-studies is employed with the aim to discern the various factors that impacted the attitudes of Church and society towards women attempting to partake in public religious life in the European Middle Ages. The cases of St. Bridget of Sweden (1303-137...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | Latvian |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
LU Akadēmiskais apgāds
2021
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| In: |
Cel̜š
Year: 2021, Issue: 72, Pages: 117-132 |
| Further subjects: | B
Public Sphere
B Religious Life B Middle Ages B CAPITAL punishment sentencing B CHURCH & state B Women clergy B Prejudices |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | In this article, a method of analysing several case-studies is employed with the aim to discern the various factors that impacted the attitudes of Church and society towards women attempting to partake in public religious life in the European Middle Ages. The cases of St. Bridget of Sweden (1303-1374), Margery Kempe (c. 1373-c.1438) and Marguerite Porete (d. 1310) are studied as examples of the different fates that could befall a woman trying to publicly express her religious views in medieval Europe. Drawing upon their experiences, the article seeks to answer why some female mystics in medieval Europe were accepted and eventually revered as saints, while others were shunned by society and even sentenced to death for their public activity. By studying the lives of these women, it becomes clear that political, social and religious factors all influenced how a mystic would be viewed by Church and society. Female mystics had to carefully construct their public image in accordance with a certain set of behavioural rules in order to be accepted by society as authoritative mediators of God’s Word. A woman had to present herself as pious, submissive, and had to prove that her mystical visions unquestionably come from God. Failure to do so was more likely to result in the shunning of the mystic by society. The help of respected male theologians and confessors has also been identified as a vital aspect to a female mystic’s success: the approval of a confessor legitimised a mystic’s visions as given by God. The cases of St. Bridget of Sweden and Margery Kempe reveal the struggles of women attempting to break out of the roles of wives and mothers in their quest to lead a life dedicated entirely to God. The Book of Margery Kempe especially demonstrates the deep-seated prejudice in society towards women attempting to preach or act in the public sphere in other ways: on several occasions, people express lack of understanding as to why Margery is not content with performing tasks that are traditionally viewed as meant for women. In turn, Marguerite Porete’s case proves that the political climate and a need of either the Church or the State to make a political statement could often play a great role in determining the public reaction towards a person who could be viewed as a religious dissenter. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Cel̜š
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.22364/cl.72.07 |