Visions and Longings: Medieval Women Mystics.It is difficult to keep up with the books published on the experience of women in the Christian tradition Christian traditions are traditions of practice or belief associated with Christianity. The term has several connected meanings. In terms of belief, traditions are generally stories or history that are or were widely accepted without being part of Christian doctrine. . Inevitably, some of this material (especially in the more popular categories) owes its publication more to enthusiasm than to competency. Furlong's anthology is, alas, an almost textbook example of this problem. Gathered here are snippets of writings from eight medieval women and one group of women (the Beguines Beguines (bāgēnz`), religious associations of women in Europe, established in the 12th cent. The members, who took no vows and were not subject to the rules of any order, were usually housed in individual cottages and devoted themselves to ). A short introduction accompanies each selection and Furlong begins the book with a longer, but not very convincing essay. The title tells us that the subject is mysticism, but one selection is not from a mystic (Heloise), and the text given from another (Clare of Assisi Clare of As·si·si , Saint 1194-1253. Italian nun and religious leader who founded with Saint Francis of Assisi the first Franciscan order of nuns, the Poor Clares. She was canonized in 1255. ) is not a mystical text but a religious rule. The introductory essay is a farrago far·ra·go n. pl. far·ra·goes An assortment or a medley; a conglomeration: "their special farrago of resentments" William Safire. of cliches and generalizations. Especially irritating is the carelessness with which Furlong corrects, in asides, scholars like Caroline Walker Bynum or lumps visionary and mystical literature together in a facile fashion. The book has no index and no bibliography. Most of the original texts in this anthology are already available in reliable and inexpensive editions. I mention this book only because there are a number of such unsatisfactory paste-up jobs around. Furlong, a British author, has a certain popular reputation as a writer, so to my mind this rather slapdash slap·dash adj. Hasty and careless, as in execution: slapdash work. adv. In a reckless haphazard manner. work is exemplary of an unfortunate trend. |
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