Customer Reviews

The Writings of Julian of Norwich: A Vision Showed to a Devout Woman And a Revelation of Love (Brepols Medieval Women Series)

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If you are reading or publishing on Julian of Norwich, this is the new definitive edition that will soon supersede previous editions: Colledge and Walsh, Glasscoe, Beer, Bolton Holloway, Crampton (still the best cheapest one), though the Paulist Press translation still reigns as the most accessible. After an excellent and clear introduction the short text - "A Vision" - is presented with facing-page copious notes, followed by the long text - "A Revelation" - with the corresponding short text printed on the bottom of the page for easy comparison (for the first time ever), and facing-page notes. The text has been modernized ever so slightly, yet significantly, in order to appeal to a wider audience, and most scholars have resigned themselves to these modernizations even though they feel and look extreme at first.

Overall the text is easy to use, the book beautiful, and the scholarship what you would expect from Nicholas Watson: clear, concise, and brilliant. Extensive editorial discussion in the Introduction helps to substantiate the decision to stick with the Paris text and actually provides a pretty good general editorial practice review. Of course variant readings from Sloane, etc. are still provided in the back, so it's infinitely useful. The notes differ in tone from Colledge and Walsh, replacing what some have called a patronizing patriachical view with a more open, comparative stance, using more vernacular texts as echos and respectfully assuming more originality on the part of Julian. Having the long text paralleled by the short text, with helpful bold and italics to indicate departures and excisions from the long text, will totally transform the way you read them both - it's a long overdue feat to print them side-by-side.

This book was also published in Europe under Brepols, with a different cover, but it's exactly the same book.

This book is interesting and very scholarly. I would love to learn more about Julian. This is not a book for person wanting to read about a general biography but it is a written account of her visions.

This book is a revelation and an absolute must for anyone interested in Christianity. The book itself is a very scholarly work, providing fascinating notes and explanations to help the reader find their way through the Middle English text. I highly recommend it.