Women mystics
Medieval women's mysticism was "a succession of insights and revelations about God that gradually transformed the recipient" according to historian Elizabeth Petroff of Oxford University in her 1994 book, Body and Soul. The word "mysticism" has its origin in ancient Greece where individuals called the mystae participated in mystery religions.
5 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Annie Besant
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life of 19th-century writer and campaigner Annie Besant.
21 June 2012
Featuring: Lawrence Goldman, David Stack, Yasmin Khan
CultureEnglish non-fiction writersWomen mysticsEnglish socialists19th-century English women writersVictorian writersEnglish women activistsEnglish people of Irish descentEnglish suffragistsVictorian women writersEnglish activistsNew Age predecessorsBritish women's rights activistsFormer AnglicansSocial Democratic Federation membersFounders of Indian schools and collegesBritish reformersEnglish feminists, English feminist writersHildegard of Bingen
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval mystic, composer and writer Hildegard of Bingen.
26 June 2014
Featuring: Miri Rubin, William Flynn, Almut Suerbaum
HistoryAnglican saintsCatholic philosophersWomen religious writersWomen mysticsMedieval Latin-language poetsAngelic visionariesGerman classical composersGerman women philosophersRoman Catholic mystics12th-century writers in LatinDoctors of the ChurchManuscript illuminators12th-century Christian saintsPre-Reformation Anglican saintsMystic poetsBenedictine philosophersCreators of writing systemsHerbalistsJulian of Norwich
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the anchoress, who is probably the earliest named woman writer in English, and her celebrated work on her visions of the suffering of Christ.
19 October 2023
Featuring: Katherine Lewis, Philip Sheldrake, Laura Kalas
ReligionWomen religious writersWomen mysticsEnglish religious writersWriters from Norwich15th-century English writersMedieval English theologians15th-century English women writers, 15th-century deaths, English Catholic mystics, 14th-century English women writers, Middle English literature, 14th-century Christian mysticsMargery Kempe and English Mysticism
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Margery Kempe (1373-1438), the English mystic who went to Jerusalem and dictated her life story, said to be the first autobiography in English.
2 June 2016
Featuring: Miri Rubin, Katherine Lewis, Anthony Bale
HistoryAnglican saintsWomen religious writersWomen mysticsEnglish religious writers15th-century English writersEnglish women non-fiction writersRoman Catholic mysticsEnglish Roman CatholicsEnglish autobiographersWriters from King's LynnPre-Reformation Anglican saintsFemale saints of medieval England15th-century English women writers, 15th-century deaths, English Catholic mystics, 14th-century English women writers, Middle English literature, 14th-century Christian mysticsSimone Weil
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the French philosopher and social activist Simone Weil. Admired by Albert Camus and Iris Murdoch, she achieved a great deal in her short life.
15 November 2012
Featuring: Beatrice Han-Pile, Stephen Plant, David Levy
PhilosophyPhilosophers of religionJewish philosophersChristian humanistsWriters from ParisFrench political philosophersChristian radicals20th-century French philosophersCritics of work and the work ethicFrench women philosophersMarxist theoristsFrench philosophers of scienceWomen mysticsFrench feministsFrench socialistsÉcole Normale Supérieure alumni20th-century French women writersFrench Resistance membersFrench communists20th-century deaths from tuberculosisLycée Henri-IV alumniPlatonistsAnti-Stalinist leftCritics of MarxismConverts to Christianity from JudaismDominican mysticsTuberculosis deaths in EnglandFrench anarchists, French anti-fascists, French anti-capitalistsNonviolence advocates, Christian anarchists