Promised bodies : time, language, et corporeality in medieval women's mystical texts

277 Pages·2013·1.896 MB·English

by  Dailey, Patricia

♦ ♦
D
a romised bodies
i
l
e
y
♦ ♦
time, language, & corporeality in
praise for
medieval women’s mystical texts n the Christian tradition, especially
romised bodies
in the works of Paul, Augustine, and
the exegetes of the Middle Ages, the

body is a twofold entity consisting of in-
ner and outer persons that promises to
“Both learned and delightful, both sweeping and precise, Promised Bodies
find its true materiality in a time to come.
sets a new standard for the study of the mystical tradition in the Western
A potentially transformative vehicle, it is
Middle Ages. Patricia Dailey provides a compelling new perspective on
a dynamic mirror that can reflect the
the eternally perplexing nature of embodiment and its formal incarnation
p work of the divine within and substan-
in writing.” m tir tially alter its own materiality if receptive
r e m
e bruce holsinger, university of virginia d eo to divine grace.
hetzn “Promised Bodies is a contribution at once to the study of medieval Chris- ieval , lanm The writings of Hadewijch of Braba nt,
lipsen Ttiahne sme ytwstoic afile tlhdse oalroeg ayd ajancde ntot athnadt hoafv me ebdeieenv ainl wdoiamloegnu’se rfeolirg mioourse w trhiatinn ga. wom guagis aw itthh itrhtiese ntrtahd-icteionntu irny sobpehgiusitnicea, teden wgaagyes
a phi century, yet they have never engaged with the intellectual energy that en’s &e, ed both singular to her mysticism and in-
nin© Patricia Dainleiyc bhrionlgas sto w beaatr soonn th, ehma rhevrae.r”d university mys cor b dtwicealtfitvhe aonfd t hthe irttheeeonltohg icceanl tmuriileiesu. Cofr otshse-
t p
atricia dailey is an associate ic oro ing linguistic and historical boundaries,
professor of English and comparative “Patricia Dailey’s Promised Bodies is a truly remarkable study that will al ead Patricia Dailey connects the embodied
literature at Columbia University. transform the way we read and teach medieval mystical texts. Integrating te liti poetics of Hadewijch’s visions, writings,
her deep knowledge of medieval theology and philosophy, Dailey offers x ye and letters to the work of Julian of Nor-
us a new means of reading women’s mysticism that allows us to appreci- ts in s wich, Hildegard of Bingen, Marguerite
ate the sophistication of these texts without compartmentalizing them of Oingt, and other mystics and visionar-
as ‘merely’ somatic and irrational and therefore feminine and incidental.” ies. She establishes new criteria to more
sara poor, princeton university consistently understand and assess the
singularity of women’s mystical texts and,
♦ ♦ by underscoring the similarities between
men’s and women’s writings of the time,
collapses traditional conceptions of gen-
der as they relate to differences in style,
gender, theory, and religion
language, interpretative practices, forms
of literacy, and uses of textuality.
columbia university press | new york
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Jacket design: Jordan Wannemacher Patricia Dailey
Jacket image: Noli me tangere. Fra Angelico 9 780231 161206
columbia
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printed in the u.s.a. ♦ ♦
P r o m i s e d
B o d i e s
G ender, Theory, & Religion
G ender, Theory, & Religion
A my Hollywood, Editor
Th e Gender, Th eory, and Religion series provides a forum for interdisciplinary
scholarship at the intersection of the study of gender, sexuality, and religion.
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P r o m i s e d
B o d i e s
TIME, LANGUAGE, & CORPOREALITY
IN MEDIEVAL WOMEN’S MYSTICAL TEXTS
P
Patricia Dailey
C olumbia University Press
New York
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © 2013 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dailey, Patricia.
Promised bodies: time, language, and corporeality in medieval women’s mystical texts /
Patricia Dailey.
pages cm. — (Gender, theory, and religion)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-16120-6 (cloth: alk. paper)—ISBN 978-0-231-53552-6 (e-book)
1. Mysticism—History—Middle Ages, 600–1500. 2. Women mystics. 3. Christian
literature—Women authors—History and criticism. I. Title.
BV5080.D35 2013
248.2'2082—dc23
2012050242

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
Th is book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
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References to Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author
nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed
since the manuscript was prepared.
To my mother
& my daughter,
my two Sophia Eleanors
P

P
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xiii
INTRODUCTION 1
1. CHILDREN OF PROMISE, CHILDREN OF THE
FLESH: AUGUSTINE’S TWO BODIES 27
2. THE MYSTIC’S TWO BODIES: THE TEMPORAL AND
MATERIAL POETICS OF VISIONARY TEXTS 63
3. W ERKE AND THE POSTSCRIPTUM
OF THE SOUL 89
4. LIVING SONG: DWELLING IN
HADEWIJCH’S LIEDEREN 123
CONCLUSION 157
Notes 173
Bibliography 229
Index 245

P
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Books that have spanned a long time in their making are oft en in-
debted to people, events, seminars, publications, institutions, and encounters that
are noted and archived, as well as to those inadvertent and almost happenstance
occasions that could—and do—easily slip from the fi eld of vision. Beginning
from the moment I reached for the volume entitled Th e Complete Works of
Hadewijch on a slow day while working in the Abbey Bookstore in Paris in 1989—
and determined shortly thereaft er that it would be the subject of any future aca-
demic endeavor I might undertake—many such lacunae punctuate the memory
of my work with Hadewijch. I have not, however, forgotten the question of my
MA adviser when I declared to her that I wanted to work on women’s mystical
texts: “Is that really literature?” I am, in some odd way, indebted to that uninten-
tionally provocative question.
Th is book has, at various moments in its making, benefi ted from the following
support: the hospitality of the Huntington Library; a visiting professorship from
the UCSIA Foundation at the University of Antwerp; a Columbia University
Junior Faculty Development Grant; a Morton Bloomfi eld Fellowship from the
English Department at Harvard University; a Woodrow Wilson Postdoctoral
Fellowship at Northwestern University’s Kaplan Institute for the Humanities;
and a Cardinal Flahiff Fellowship at the Pontifi cal Institute of Mediaeval Studies.
Versions of chapters were presented at the University of Antwerp, Yale University,
UC Riverside, Harvard University, Princeton University, Southern Connecticut
State University, and Northwestern University. I am very thankful for the sup-
port from these institutions and for the hospitality and helpful criticism of the
individuals there. I would also like to express my appreciation to the Warner