Medieval women's Christian mysticism
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For medieval women, 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.[1] The word "mysticism" has its origin in ancient Greece where individuals called the mystae participated in mystery religions.[1] This page focuses on examples primarily relating to Christian expressions of mysticism amongst women, their lives, and their significant contributions to their communities' theology and cultural psyche. The life of a medieval woman mystic was spent seeking unity with God in a series of stages.[2] The mystical life of a medieval woman began with a purge of the spirit in which she released herself from earthly indulgences and attachments.[3] In a state of contrition the medieval woman mystic faced suffering because of her past sins, and the mercy of God was revealed to her through penitence.[4] Mystics sought to imitate the suffering of Christ in order to gain an understanding through experience.[5] During the compassion stage of suffering, the pain experienced by the medieval woman mystic "revealed the believer's love of Christ, fostered unity with Christ and the world, and began to draw the believer beyond the physical Jesus who suffered on the Cross to understand the immensity of the love that motivated Christ in the world to suffer on humanity's behalf".[6] Medieval women mystics experienced visions during what medieval historians refer to as the Illuminative stage of their lives that contained instructions from God[2] and would communicate their revelations in written form.[1]