LITURGICAL EXERCISE AS A THEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY IN GERTRUD THE GREAT OF HELFTA'S DOCUMENTA SPIRITUALIUM EXERCITIONUM By Ella Louise Johnson A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Theology of the University of Saint Michael's College and the Department of Theology of the Toronto School of Theology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Theology Awarded by the University of Saint Michael's College Toronto 2010 © Ella L. 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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada ABSTRACT Liturgical Exercise as Theological Anthropology in Gertrud the Great of Helfta's Documenta spiritualium exercitionum Ella Louise Johnson Doctor of Philosophy in Theology, 2010 Faculty of Theology of the University of Saint Michael's College and the Department of Theology of the Toronto School of Theology Gertrud the Great of Helfta's liturgically based Documenta spiritualium exercitionum is an exceptionally rich resource for an investigation of the theological anthropology articulated by a woman of the later Middle Ages. The text, belonging to a genre, which has long been dismissed as lacking any theological acumen or insight, is peppered with references to the Biblical, monastic and theological traditions. I focus on its references to the tradition of the doctrine of the spiritual senses and to liturgical tropes. For, these references illuminate the original theological anthropology crafted and articulated within the text. In chapter one, I introduce Gertrud and her writings, situating them in their monastic environment of Kloster St. Maria at Helfta and its broader social and institutional orbit. In chapter two, I provide an overview of the legacy of the notion of the spiritual senses that was available and significant as source or foil for Gertrud in her own writings. I specifically treat the legacy left by the writings of Origen of Alexandria, Augustine of Hippo and Bernard of Clairvaux. In chapter three, I demonstrate the deep integration of Gertrud's sensory language with this legacy, and draw attention to the innovative aspects of her doctrine of the spiritual senses. I show how Gertrud supports her innovations with the authority of liturgical tropes, in chapter four. I also examine how Gertrud accounts for the fact that the human body is gendered in the theological anthropology she presents. In chapter five, I consider the degree to which Gertrud's text innovates her own way or builds upon previous iterations of making room for the ii body, feminine piety and authority. I also critically reflect on the relevance of Gertrud's Exercitia for modern day theological and anthropological discussions. 111 For my mother, Victoria Louise Johnson and my grandmother, Delores Joan Petrovich 111 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I thank my advisor, Robert Sweetman, whose wise guidance has brought much depth and breadth to my fledgling academic interests and insights. These pages and much of my scholarly development leading up to them are a result of his dedication, thoroughness, encouragement, enthusiasm and instruction. Second, I must thank other teachers I have had the pleasure to know and learn from here at the Toronto School of Theology: Gill Goulding, CJ, for her theological wisdom and personal integrity; Ellen Leonard, CSJ, for blazing new trails for women in theological scholarship and for leading me and countless others to an understanding of God through the lens of feminism; Michael Stoeber, for introducing me to a critical approach to the history of Christian spirituality and mysticism; and Jennifer A. Harris, for her expansive knowledge, which is joined with both a sense of humour and genuine humanism. Other colleagues at the University of Toronto deserve special mention. Reid B. Locklin has been a supportive friend and an inspiring mentor to me, both as a scholar and teacher. The Mullins crew has given my work much needed peer-editing, and has provided me with lively discussion and laughter for the journey. Many thanks also goes to my colleagues at the University of St. Michael's College, too numerous to mention. I would also like to thank the small but dedicated circle of Helfta scholars, especially Laura M. Grimes, Gertrud Jaron Lewis, Else Marie Wiberg Pedersen and Anna Harrison. Through formal meetings at academic conferences and informal chats over coffee, I have learned much about our subject and have been refreshed with new scholarly energy and enthusiasm. Just as for the Helfta women themselves, I have found that our collaboration and conversation generates theology. v In addition, this dissertation owes much to those who have made my doctoral studies financially possible. I am indebted to the University of St. Michael's College and its benefactors for providing me with full tuition bursaries throughout the six years of my program. I would also like to thank the Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies at Victoria University for providing me with the ITER research fellowship for the last six years. I am also grateful for the individuals and religious orders, who have granted me monetary stipends and scholarships to support my studies along the way. Finally, this dissertation would not be possible without the love and support I have received from people not directly related to my studies. Kelly Bourke, Elizabeth Santoro and Mary Bastedo have been very special friends to me. The support and encouragement I have received from my grandparents, especially Delores Petrovich, my family, Mark, Ari and especially, Victoria Johnson, and from my husband, Germano Noce, have meant everything to me. For them I am truly grateful. 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Chapter One: Gertrud of Helfta and the Spiritualia exercitia 23 Chapter Two: The Doctrine of the Spiritual Senses According to Gertrud's Sources 59 Chapter Three: The Doctrine of the Spiritual Senses According to Gertrud 121 Chapter Four: The Liturgical Basis of the Exercitia and its Anthropological Implications 173 Chapter Five: Conclusion: Anthropological Implications of the Doctrine of the Spiritual Senses and Liturgical Basis of the Exercitia of Gertrud the Great of Helfta 221 Bibliography 267 vii INTRODUCTION In recent times there has emerged a trend among some theologians to call for a re- appropriation of women's history of holiness. This trend can be seen in a number of anthologies and readers like Her Story: Women in Christian Tradition and Women & Christianity} Motivating this trend is a call for the inclusion of the theological insights, religious attitudes and practices of women of ages past into contemporary discussions of theology, or what Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza calls a "hermeneutics of remembrance." These scholars believe that the study of the history of Christian women satisfies a need occasioned by the almost exclusive focus on the history of Christian men which has marginalized and so obscured the female half of the church's theological tradition. Some authors, like Grace Jantzen and Margaret Miles, argue that women's lost history is due to prejudicial tendencies in theological and philosophical scholarship against women and their writings. In Jantzen's view, there is a scholarly inclination to make a false yet sharp distinction between female "mystics" and male theologians. She contends that "mysticism" has been delimited throughout history and into the present as a patriarchal construct to maintain male hierarchical control in church and society, and to silence the voices of women. "[TJhose who seek for justice," Jantzen says, have a responsibility to "reclaim the dangerous memories of mystical writers, especially women, which enable our discourses of resistance." According to ' Barbara MacHaffie, Her Story: Women in Christian Tradition (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2006). Mary T. Malone, Women & Christianity, 3 vols. (Maryknoll, N.Y./Ottawa: Orbis Books; Novalis, 2000). 2 Grace Jantzen, Power, Gender, and Christian Mysticism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), xv-xvi; see also 13, 291. Indeed, David Tracy also makes an important link between resistance, mysticism and prophecy. For Tracy, to hear the Christian message alive today, theologians must place those who have been considered as marginal in the center.