IMC 2020: Sessions
Session 654: Says Who?, II: Establishing Authority in Mystical Texts
Tuesday 7 July 2020, 11.15-12.45
| Organiser: | Einat Klafter, Cohn Institute for the History & Philosophy of Science & Ideas, Tel Aviv University |
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| Moderator/Chair: | John Arblaster, Institute for the Study of Spirituality, KU Leuven / Ruusbroecgenootschap, Universiteit Antwerpen |
| Paper 654-a | 'One of the most excellent disciples of Plato': Berthold of Moosburg and the Theological Authority of Proclus in His Expositio super Elementationem Theologicam (Language: English) Index terms: Philosophy, Religious Life, Rhetoric, Theology |
| Paper 654-b | Owning Your Critics and Making Them Work for You: Authority through Negation in the Book of Margery Kempe (Language: English) Index terms: Politics and Diplomacy, Religious Life, Rhetoric, Women's Studies |
| Paper 654-c | 'A great solace for our faith': Interjections from the Scribe in the Visions of Agnes Blannbekin (Language: English) Index terms: Hagiography, Religious Life, Rhetoric, Women's Studies |
| Abstract | The individual nature of divine experiences meant that perspective followers were asked to believe the mystic's accounts of these events and welcome their interpretation of these revelations. This presented a significant problem for some mystics or aspiring saints, particularly in the case of women and those living outside of religious communities, who had no socio-religious authority on theological and spiritual matters. These sessions examine how authority of voice was constructed in mystical texts, through the invocation of tropes and stereotypes, calling on ancient wisdom, comparisons to holy figures, and the support of witness testimonies and the opinions of institutional authorities. |