Snowdrops or Candlemas Bells
Candlemas Day, 2nd February, commemorating the Purification of the Virgin. It's the season of snowdrops. 'Not very appetising weather', says Thomas Shaffernaker on the week's forecast. Not very appetising news either. On short winter days I find a study of literature and history enriching. Janina Ramirez' programme, Julian of Norwich, The Search For The Lost Manuscript, presents a quest unresolved. That elusive manuscript in Julian's own hand may yet be discovered. Melvyn Bragg's In Our Time discussion on Julian gives further insights.
Julian of Norwich (1343 - 1416) Revelations of Divine Love. Julian made clear she adhered to all tenets of Holy Church. ' I'm only a woman, feeble and frail but yet I must tell you about the goodness of God.' A message of hope in 14th century England that saw recurrent and virulent outbreaks of plague, famine and religious heresy. Survive all that and paintings adorning Church walls warn of the torments of Hell awaiting sinners in the afterlife. As an anchoress with only a servant as intermediary how might she ensure that her manuscript reached Christians with whom she wanted to share Revelations she had received in a vision direct from God. She was valued in her community as a spiritual adviser and shortly before Julian died Margery Kempe visited her. Was it through her that Julian's manuscript reached the safe keeping of Benedictine nuns who fled to Cambrai, Northern France, at the suppression of the monasteries. And who fled the French Revolution and brought copies of Julian's manuscript back to England where one now resides at Stanbrook Abbey, North Yorkshire. What a story!
How many lost manuscripts from that time give an insight into the beliefs of people living in 14th century England. We have Julian's Revelations of Divine Love. And The Book of Margery Kempe who, being illiterate, dictated her story.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) was Julian's contemporary. HIs poetic masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, gives vivid portraits of all classes of society who would have gone on religious pilgrimages, like Margery Kempe, Chaucer was a court poet, attached to the household of John of Gaunt. He was a diplomat, civil servant who travelled widely. His canvas is broad, his stories wide-ranging in style and in tone. He's humane and humorous.
The anonymous poet of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was also writing during the reign of Richard II. A story set at the legendary court of King Arthur- it explores the values we hold dear and aspire to. Truth to our word, for instance. RIchard II broke his word and broke the bonds of trust between a king and his nobles, most notably his uncle and England's greatest magnate John of Gaunt. Chaucer would have witnessed the tyranny that led to Richard's downfall.
What might these writers have to say to Our TImes? Well, today we have the latest revelations from the Jeffrey Epstein files, those that have not been redacted, suppressed, deliberately lost, their truth contested. Lord Peter Mandleson is dismissed from the Labour Party and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer declares he should no longer be in the House of Lords. Betrayal is the word used of Mandleson's leaking of sensitive Government information whilst in high office and at a time of financial crisis.
Back to Macbeth and his reflection that our actions in this life are determined by a consideration of what awaits us in the afterlife. What keeps us moral beings, what keeps us true in 21st century, in our times. What values underpin our society, what structures hold it together, for our well-being?
3rd February. Shocking revelations from the Epstein saga continue to emerge. Bill and Hilary Clinton will testify and hope this sets a precedent for others to do so. Let's hope President Trump hears this loud and clear, at last.
Sir Ed Davey speaks well of the need to restore the public's trust in democracy, in the UK and globally.
So, the pure white of Candlemass Bells, an emblem of light out of darkness.
Julian of Norwich (1343 - 1416) Revelations of Divine Love. Julian made clear she adhered to all tenets of Holy Church. ' I'm only a woman, feeble and frail but yet I must tell you about the goodness of God.' A message of hope in 14th century England that saw recurrent and virulent outbreaks of plague, famine and religious heresy. Survive all that and paintings adorning Church walls warn of the torments of Hell awaiting sinners in the afterlife. As an anchoress with only a servant as intermediary how might she ensure that her manuscript reached Christians with whom she wanted to share Revelations she had received in a vision direct from God. She was valued in her community as a spiritual adviser and shortly before Julian died Margery Kempe visited her. Was it through her that Julian's manuscript reached the safe keeping of Benedictine nuns who fled to Cambrai, Northern France, at the suppression of the monasteries. And who fled the French Revolution and brought copies of Julian's manuscript back to England where one now resides at Stanbrook Abbey, North Yorkshire. What a story!
How many lost manuscripts from that time give an insight into the beliefs of people living in 14th century England. We have Julian's Revelations of Divine Love. And The Book of Margery Kempe who, being illiterate, dictated her story.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) was Julian's contemporary. HIs poetic masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, gives vivid portraits of all classes of society who would have gone on religious pilgrimages, like Margery Kempe, Chaucer was a court poet, attached to the household of John of Gaunt. He was a diplomat, civil servant who travelled widely. His canvas is broad, his stories wide-ranging in style and in tone. He's humane and humorous.
The anonymous poet of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was also writing during the reign of Richard II. A story set at the legendary court of King Arthur- it explores the values we hold dear and aspire to. Truth to our word, for instance. RIchard II broke his word and broke the bonds of trust between a king and his nobles, most notably his uncle and England's greatest magnate John of Gaunt. Chaucer would have witnessed the tyranny that led to Richard's downfall.
What might these writers have to say to Our TImes? Well, today we have the latest revelations from the Jeffrey Epstein files, those that have not been redacted, suppressed, deliberately lost, their truth contested. Lord Peter Mandleson is dismissed from the Labour Party and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer declares he should no longer be in the House of Lords. Betrayal is the word used of Mandleson's leaking of sensitive Government information whilst in high office and at a time of financial crisis.
Back to Macbeth and his reflection that our actions in this life are determined by a consideration of what awaits us in the afterlife. What keeps us moral beings, what keeps us true in 21st century, in our times. What values underpin our society, what structures hold it together, for our well-being?
3rd February. Shocking revelations from the Epstein saga continue to emerge. Bill and Hilary Clinton will testify and hope this sets a precedent for others to do so. Let's hope President Trump hears this loud and clear, at last.
Sir Ed Davey speaks well of the need to restore the public's trust in democracy, in the UK and globally.
So, the pure white of Candlemass Bells, an emblem of light out of darkness.
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