An Analysis of the Poem On the Motherhood of Christ by Julian of Norwich

Although little is known of the vast majority of her writings, English mystic Julian of Norwich (November 8, 1342-1416) penned one of the most controversial and highly provocative poems concerning the femininity of Christ during the Medieval period. The original and remaining text of "On the Motherhood of Christ" was adapted and gleaned from Norwich's work A Revelation of Love.

The concept of Jesus Christ as a mother figure is not a new one. For centuries, countless authors, poets and theologians have postulated the idea that Christ exhibits certain feminine qualities. Many additionally argue that certain phrases and adjectives within Scriptures, particularly the Psalms, are evidence of this. However, even in the New Testament, Jesus speaks of longing to shelter Israel (Jerusalem) under His wings as a mother hen would do with her chicks (see Luke 13:34).

Religious debates aside, Norwich's work is certainly one of the most exhaustively thought out pieces from early medieval literature.

By referring to Christ as "our sweet, kind and ever-loving mother Jesus" (Larrington 102), Norwich immediately asserts the notion that Christ is capable of exhibiting all the tender compassions and mercies of natural love just as a mother would (or should). Furthermore, she evokes the idea that Christ's death on the cross was indeed the ultimate, fullest act of "motherhood" imaginable. He sacrificed His very life for His children as a mother would.

According to Norwich, Jesus may be even better than earthly, human mothers, as He is capable of feeding us "not with milk, but with himself, opening his side to us and challenging all our love." (Larrington, 102). In keeping with this assertion, it is noteworthy to examine the mindset at work here behind Norwich's piece. She is essentially asserting the idea that a human mother is only capable of feeding and sustaining her children with milk, whereas Christ possesses the ability to lead us into an eternal Heaven with God the Father.

The focus of feminized language upon the person of Jesus Christ reflects and parallels later 20^th Century gender language refiguring of "God", the "God our Father" or "God our Mother" controversy. The question for many literature scholars who scrutinize and study the medieval period has thus become "What made feminized depictions of Christ so attractive to the medieval culture?" No doubt there were artistic renderings of the time period depicting Christ as a more motherly figure than a man. But what drew people to this notion?

Certainly many women of the period found the idea of a feminized Christ attractive. The religious culture of the day had so stereotyped and permanently denoted God as inherently masculine, i.e. "God the Father", "Prince of Peace", etc. However, Norwich suggests that Christ may have exhibited and possessed more feminine qualities than the majority of the medieval Protestants would have been comfortable discussing.

References:

1. Larrington, Carolyne. Women and Writing in Medieval Europe, Routledge Publishers. 1995.

2. Norwich, Julian. A Revelation of Love, ed. M. Glasscoe, Exeter: Exeter University Press, pp. 73-4. "On the Motherhood of Christ," 1986.