Julian of Norwich’s Near-Death Experience

Historians know little about famed mystic/writer, Julian of Norwich, not even her name. Likely the name Julian is derived from the church she adopted and Norwich from the bustling town where she lived in Medieval England in the 1300’s.

Best estimates suggest that Julian of Norwich was born in 1342 and was 6 years old when the first wave of the Black Plague swept across England, killing 1/3 of its population. Aged 19, the second wave spread, possibly claiming the lives of Julian of Norwich’s children, explaining how a young woman was allowed to live independently as she did.

When she was only 30, Julian of Norwich herself lay dying in her mother’s home, tended by the women of her family. As the priest held the crucifix above her dying body to perform her last rites, Julian began to experience visions of blood pouring out of Christ’s body. In her near-death state, Julian had a series of mystical experiences and conversations with God which she would later spend her life contemplating and recording.

Upon her recovery, Julian petitioned her local bishop and fundraised to build a cell attached to the abbey, where she lived out her days in solitude. With only a window into the church to attend daily mass and another to the street to trade spiritual counsel for essentials, Julian of Norwich dedicated her life to translating her mystical experience and offering a new vision of God to her neighbors.

Following the waves of the Black Death, a round of cow plague and seasons of poor crops, many Medieval English saw their heartache as God’s wrath and judgement. Julian wrote tirelessly of a different vision of God, one who is only love and compassion and mercy.

Julian’s counsel became grief support to her community in a way we still need today. Her deathbed visions were recorded into two books, the earliest written books in the English language by a woman. My favorite quote is a reminder of the power of listening in witnessing grief:

“No one listens, they tell me,
And so I listen …
And I tell them
What they have just told me,
And I sit in silence
Listening to them,
Letting them grieve.”