author
of Norwich Julian
b. 1343
A medieval English mystic and anchoress, she is remembered for Revelations of Divine Love, the earliest surviving book in English known to be written by a woman. Her writing is admired for its warmth, clarity, and hopeful vision of divine love.
1 Audiobook
Revelations of Divine Love
by of Norwich Julian
About the author
Little is known for certain about her early life, and even "Julian" was probably taken from St Julian's Church in Norwich, where she lived as an anchoress. She was born around 1342 or 1343 and spent much of her life in Norwich, in eastern England.
In 1373, during a severe illness, she experienced a series of visions that became the basis of Revelations of Divine Love. She first wrote a shorter account and later expanded it into a longer, more reflective work. The book is widely valued not only as a classic of Christian spirituality but also as the earliest surviving English-language work attributed to a woman.
Julian was also known in her own time as a spiritual counselor. Her writing has endured because it combines deep thought with striking gentleness, especially in its confidence that divine love is at work even in suffering and uncertainty.