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 feminist writers, English feminists19th-century English women writersVictorian women writersBritish women's rights activistsEnglish activistsEnglish women activistsEnglish socialistsNew Age predecessorsSocial Democratic Federation membersBritish reformersWomen mysticsEnglish people of Irish descentFormer AnglicansEnglish suffragistsVictorian writersFounders of Indian schools and collegesEnglish non-fiction writers19th centuryHildegard 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
HistoryGerman women philosophersManuscript illuminatorsAnglican saintsRoman Catholic mysticsPre-Reformation Anglican saintsHerbalistsCatholic philosophersGerman classical composersWomen religious writersWomen mystics12th-century writers in LatinMystic poetsMedieval Latin-language poets12th-century Christian saintsBenedictine philosophersAngelic visionariesCreators of writing systemsDoctors of the Church12th centuryLanguageMusicJulian 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
Religion15th-century English writersWriters from Norwich14th-century Christian mystics, 14th-century English women writers, 15th-century English women writers, 15th-century deaths, English Catholic mystics, Middle English literatureWomen religious writersWomen mysticsMedieval English theologiansEnglish religious writers14th century15th centuryTheologyMargery 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 saints15th-century English writersEnglish women non-fiction writersWriters from King's LynnRoman Catholic mystics14th-century Christian mystics, 14th-century English women writers, 15th-century English women writers, 15th-century deaths, English Catholic mystics, Middle English literaturePre-Reformation Anglican saintsEnglish Roman CatholicsWomen religious writersEnglish autobiographersWomen mysticsFemale saints of medieval EnglandEnglish religious writers14th century15th centurySimone 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
PhilosophyChristian humanistsTuberculosis deaths in EnglandFrench socialistsConverts to Christianity from JudaismPhilosophers of religionCritics of work and the work ethicFrench feministsFrench philosophers of scienceDominican mysticsPlatonistsLycée Henri-IV alumniMarxist theoristsÉcole Normale Supérieure alumni20th-century deaths from tuberculosisFrench anarchists, French anti-capitalists, French anti-fascists20th-century French philosophers20th-century French women writersChristian radicalsFrench political philosophersAnti-Stalinist leftFrench communistsFrench Resistance membersJewish philosophersWriters from ParisChristian anarchists, Nonviolence advocatesFrench women philosophersWomen mysticsCritics of Marxism20th centuryFrance