Edith Cowan University Research Online Theses: Doctorates and Masters Theses 2011 All shall be well: Julian and Bartholomew Ena Taylor Edith Cowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses Part of the Literature in English, British Isles Commons Recommended Citation Taylor, E. (2011). All shall be well: Julian and Bartholomew. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/401 This Thesis is posted at Research Online. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/401 Edith Cowan University Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorize you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. 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All Shall Be Well: Julian and Bartholomew by Ena Taylor BA (Comparative Literature) This thesis is presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Arts (Writing) Faculty of Education and Arts Edith Cowan University July 2011 i USE OF THESIS The Use of Thesis statement is not included in this version of the thesis. Abstract The creative content of my thesis has been developed from a personal experience that became the catalyst, and source material for the creative part of the novella All Shall Be Well: Julian and Bartholomew. The essay, and the preface to the creative side, situates the thesis as a work of reflection and memoir combining with creativity, and proposes that threads of beliefs and feelings, represented in the social, and the cultural life of the English fourteenth century, are also relevant to, and for those to be found in contemporary society. This applies particularly to the importance of compassion in society, and emphasises the reality of what it is to be human. The reflective essay contains my own personal experiences, and an alignment, with two characters, their discovery, and the impact that it has had on my own life and beliefs. Wrought in coincidence, it also connects with a childhood life in the county of Norfolk, England, where my two authentic characters are found to be living in close vicinity to one another, at almost the precise time. The anchoress Julian of Norwich lived in a cell attached to the church of St Julian in the city of Norwich, in the latter part of the fourteenth century, and some fifteen miles south east of Norwich lived Bartholomew Edrich, Lord of the Manor in the village of Thrigby. Edrich, my own patriarchal surname, was an ancient Anglo Saxon name, commensurate with the longevity of the Edrich family. As yeoman farmers they have lived in this area throughout the centuries and to the present day. Bartholomew is authenticated by my discovery of his silver seal in the Norwich Castle Museum in 1978. I came to Julian of Norwich, anchoress at the church of St. Julian, in a dance included in the Sacred Circle Dances group, of which I was a member. I was further inspired by her writing, and those who wrote of her, in books bought in subsequent visits to her reconstituted cell. The recovered writing of her book the Revelations of Divine Love, various wills of the period in which she lived, and a reference made, in The Book of Margery Kempe, to a visit made by Margery to Julian in her cell in 1415, establishes her authenticity. iii In the essay I have observed and written of medieval living conditions, noting the dramatic weather and health changes that caused much loss of life, and with great human suffering. This has been the background for the meeting of two historical personages, Julian and Bartholomew. An accompanying fictional story draws on their roles, as people caught in a violent situation, where there is the need for a listening ear, and prayerful response; for such was the role of an anchoress, or anchorite, of that period. It has recently been suggested that role to be similar to contemporary counselling, even that of psychotherapy. Implicit in this thesis is the conclusion that suffering engenders compassion, the feeling that one suffers with another, in understanding and love. This is, I feel, an important thread connecting the medieval, and, a contemporary society. For a population suffering immense changes today, as in the medieval period of the fourteenth century, implies that Julian’s message, of the motherhood of God, His love for his creation in His understanding and compassion for sin, and His message of hope, is proof of her popularity and of a recognised need of the contemporary human. I acknowledge a sense of pride that my family name existed then, and can be found in the same area today, and that they are a vital part, that recognises in the story unfolding, a continuity of the name, and of the family’s genetic qualities. iv Declaration I certify that this thesis does not, to the best of my knowledge and belief; i. incorporate without acknowledgement any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any institute of higher education; ii. contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text of this thesis; or iii. contain any defamatory material. I also grant permission for the library at Edith Cowan University to make duplicate copies of my thesis as required. Signature:........................................................... Date:............................................ v Acknowledgements Individual people, and groups, have assisted me in my writing endeavours in the past eighteen years. Firstly I wish to express my gratitude to my friend and mentor, the late Western Australian author, Julie Lewis OAM. Without her encouragement it is doubtful whether I would have ventured into the exciting, and engrossing world of the word-smith. Secondly I am grateful that Julie’s encouragement led me to become a member of the Northern Writers Association, later to become the Peter Cowan Writing Centre, based in Edith Cowan House on the campus of Edith Cowan University. It was here that I became an apprentice to the art of writing in different genres, and learned the pleasures, and the pains of writing. I wish to express my gratitude to Edith Cowan University for allowing me the opportunity to partake in a part-time research and writing thesis. My supervisor, Jill Durey, deserves my heartfelt thanks for encouraging, and leading me through the process, with a firm and gentle hand. It has been such a pleasure working with her. My daughter Jo has offered me invaluable help with computer work, and has had patience with my mistakes. I am grateful that she has taken time from her own studies to constantly assist me, to critique my work, and to be a willing driver, and helper, when I have had meetings at the university. I could not have continued without her assistance. At home I have the support of Philip, my husband, who, I am sure, wonders what has become of his traditional wife of yore, yet is delighted with any success that I achieve. So many thanks to Lizzie, our Sacred Circle Dance leader, who, in 1992, introduced me to Julian in the dance, The Bells of Norwich. I might never have taken the path to Julian’s cell, nor been imbued with her philosophy, had I not danced with Lizzie. I add a thank you to Carol, with whom I have spent countless hours in discussions, ranging through spiritual, and philosophical, meanings. They are both lovely younger companions who lighten my ageing heart, and who delight me with their company. vi I am grateful to be able to retire to the retreat centre Milmeray, in the hills north east of Perth, in a setting where beauty and peace are a constant. I meet with a group of Wise Women in a ritual gathering of sharing, in which our ongoing stories are the focus. I hope they have forgiven me for questioning the wisdom aspect of our naming, and that they realise it is not theirs, but my own wisdom, to which I refer. I am glad that they have accepted my warts and all self, and my sometimes outrageous behaviour, and hope they realise that it is symptomatic of a teasing quality that is often found in Norfolk people. It has assisted me to have had such an intimate knowledge, and love, of the area in which my characters were immersed. Such knowledge has been enhanced by research, but more by the book which has given me an important grasp of the fourteenth century: The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England, by Ian Mortimer. I offer to him my sincere thanks for his inspirational work, his portrayal of Edward 111, and to his words, which have taught me that the English character was birthed in the fourteenth century. To Karen Armstrong, author of innumerable books on important religious, philosophical, and spiritual aspects of world history, I offer gratitude for opening my mind.