Secretaries of God: Women Prophets in Late Medieval and Early Modern England - Hardcover

Watt, Diane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0859915247 ISBN 13: 9780859915243

Publisher: D.S. Brewer, 1997

Synopsis

This book, while acknowledging the changing nature of prophecy, is the first to argue for continuity in women's visionary experience, from medieval saints to radical Protestants. Dr Watt presents a series of historicised studies of women in England who lived between the early twelfth and the middle of the seventeenth centuries, and who claimed to speak and act for the deity or interpret divine will: they include Margery Kempe and the medieval visionaries, Elizabeth Barton (the `Holy Maid of Kent'), the Reformation martyr Anne Askew, and Lady Eleanor Davies as an example of a woman prophet of the Civil War. Throughout, the book argues that through prophecy women were often able to intervene in the religious and political discourse of the their times; the role of God's secretary gave women a rare opportunity to act and speak autonomously and publicly. Winner of the Foster Watson Memorial Gift for 1998. Dr DIANE WATT is Senior Lecturer in Medieval and Renaissance Literature at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.Dr DIANE WATTteaches in the Department of English at the University of Wales at Aberystwyth.

About this title

Review:

Conceptually elegant and sharply focused book... Not only ground-breaking, but also accessible. NOTES AND QUERIES [Alexandra Barratt] A powerful contribution in the general field of women's studies for the new light it casts upon the tradition and perception of female prophecy. RECUSANT HISTORY [A V McClelland] Very stimulating reading... a fascinating and engaging account of a highly complex topic. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW An extremely insightful book. 16TH CENTURY JOURNAL

Synopsis:

The author aims to set aside the conventional hiatus between the medieval and early modern periods in her study of women's prophecy, following the female experience from medieval sainthood to radical Protestantism. The English women prophets and visionaries whose voices are recovered here all lived between the 12th and the 17th centuries and claimed, through the medium of trances and eucharistic piety, to speak for God. They include Margery Kempe and the medieval visionaries, Elizabeth Barton (the "Holy Maid of Kent"), the Reformation martyr Anne Askew and other godly women described in John Foxe's "Acts and Monuments", and Lady Eleanor Davies as an example of a woman prophet of the Civil War. The uncertainties surrounding their words and their dissemination are analyzed, and the strategies women devised to be heard and read are exposed, showing that through prophecy they were often able to intervene in the religious and political discourse of their times; the role of God's secretary gave them the opportunity to act and speak autonomously and publicly.

About this edition

• Publisher: D.S. Brewer
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0859915247
• ISBN 13: 9780859915243
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208