The writings of Margaret of Oignt (medieval prioress and mystic) (review)

Reviews 299 function, patron, designer, choice of atelier and cultural milieu are treated very briefly in the concluding chapter. This study of a remarkably individual yet very Byzantine monument will be of enduring value. The photographs are commendably crisp and highhghts from the artificial lighting are kept to a minimum and away from thefigures.Appropriately, an Italian edition has been published by the very supportive Istituto Siciliano di Studi Bizantini e Neoellenici in Palermo. Ann Moffatt The Australian National University Canberra Margaret of Oignt, The writings of Margaret ofOignt (medieval prioress and mystic), (Focus Library of Medieval W o m e n ) , trans. Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski, Newburyport, Focus Information Group, 1990; paper; pp. iv, 86; 1figure,1 plate; R R P not notified. A slim volume that includes an introduction and interpretative essay by Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski, as well as three texts and a number of letter extracts and 'notable stories' translated from the Latin and Francoprovencal , this small offering provides much that will intrigue and, perhaps, perplex. Of particular interest is that Margaret of Oignt left us not only her own mystical experiences, but also those of her 'saindy' contemporary Beatrice of Omacieux. The result is a curious mix of mystical traditions. Margaret's personal experiences, for example, are expressed in a manner heavily reliant on biblical metaphors and textual symbolism. Indeed, both the Mirror and the Page of meditations have an undeniably 'bookish character' (p. 74), the former grounded in the symbolism of a 'divine' volume (pp. 42-45), the latter springing from scripture and functioning almost as an exegesis. M u c h use is made of the significance of colour and many of the revelations that Margaret experiences are found within the confines of singular letters (pp. 42-43). The allusion to manuscript Ulumination is marked and the significance of thetextualand the visual is blended with the mystery of divinity to remarkable effect. Margaret's relationship with G o d thus finds a place in the visual andtextualworld of the intellect and, interestingly enough, the familiar physical 'signs' of mystical transport remain subdued. Margaret's Life of the virgin saint Beatrice of Omacieux, by contrast, is more in keeping with the somatic tradition of divine relationships. 300 Reviews Asceticism and self-imposed tortures are present, as are bodily miracles and copious tears, and one is constandy reminded of the much documented physicality of the experience that so characterises women's mysticism in this period. What do w e have then in these contrasting examples of mystical expression? What does this tell us about literacy and the expression of mystical experience, about the 'politics of religiosity' and the curious position of w o m e n mystics? And, perhaps most importandy, why was Margaret's brand of mysticism not more apparent in the period? Blumenfeld-Kosinski addresses some of these questions in the attached essay, 'The idea of writing as authority and conflict'. Like Constant M e w s and Sabina Flanagan in their respective interpretations of Hildegard of Bingen's writings, the author explores the issues of authority and the requirements of 'higher learning' for the expression of female mysticism, and points to the conflict that emerges not only in the very expression of the 'inexpressible', but in the politics of female religious authority. In doing so, some particularly alluring interpretations of the significance of writing as a symbol of mystical understanding are offered. The relationship between the mirror as a device for displaying the 'hidden' (p. 79) and its links with the verso and the recto (p. 77) of manuscript inscription is one aspect that deserves further elucidation. One is left wondering, all the same, at the contrast between Margaret's own mysticism and her vita of Beatrice, a point that Blumenfeld-Kosinski might have emphasised more, as it so befits the subject of her essay. Altogether, this is, nevertheless, an important text that should prompt further attention. Suitable for both the 'beginner' and the 'well versed', it contains some fascinating insights and curious conundrums, proving to be an intriguing addition to an already impressive array of mystical tracts by and about medieval women, one that should add much fodder to the growing debate surrounding...