New Directions in Medieval Mystical and Devotional Literature

In pursuing how fourteenth-century English texts engage with philosophical, intellectual, and theological questions, the work of Denise N. Baker has powerfully shaped the field of medieval studies. This collection honors Baker's legacy as a scholar and teacher by taking a fresh approach to the most salient literary, mystical, and devotional works written in late medieval England. The contributors examine a variety of foundational texts ranging from Piers Plowman and The Canterbury Tales to The Cloud of Unknowing and Julian of Norwich's Showings. Their analyses offer new insights into medieval literature and culture by examining the intricacies of vice and virtue, the connections between gender and literary form, and the ethical potential of social formations. Additionally, the volume attests to the wider influence of fourteenth-century literature. Not only do the contributors explore how medieval writers make their own claims of memorialization, but they also analyze later iterations of Middle English writing in the context of nineteenth- and twentieth-century print culture. Featuring chapters by both early scholars and those at the later stages of their careers, this volume celebrates the impact of Baker's scholarship over the past four decades. At the same time, this book offers an incisive inquiry into many of the most debated issues and texts in studies of late medieval England.

Amy N. Vines is associate professor of English at University of North Carolina Greensboro.
Lee Templeton is associate professor of English at North Carolina Wesleyan University.

Introduction Amy N. Vines
List of Denise N. Baker's Publications
Chapter 1 "'What is Synne?': Exploring Julian of Norwich's Question"
David Aers
Chapter 2 "The Coveting of 'Muche' Instead of 'Measure': The Connection between Lady Mede and Nede in the C-Text of Piers Plowman"
Jessica D. Ward
Chapter 3 "The 'Stalke' and the 'Balke': Cherry Picking the Ethics of Reproof in The Canterbury Tales"
Edwin Craun
Chapter 4 "From 'Pore Pacient' to 'Childische Thyng': Versions of the Life of Charity in Piers Plowman C.XV-XVII"
Grace Hamman
Chapter 5 "Conceiving Community: Familial Trinitarian Analogies in Augustine, William Langland, and Julian Norwich"
Jessica Hines
Chapter 6 "Julian of Norwich and the Cloud Author: How Could They Both be 'Mystical Theologians'?"
Denys Turner
Chapter 7 "Beatrice of Nazareth and the Desire for Death"
Jessica Barr
Chapter 8 "Julian of Norwich: Lives and Afterlives"
Nancy Bradley Warren
Chapter 9 "'Heere of myn house perpetuelly a cherche': Imagining P