Although Revelations of Divine Love is considered autobiographical, it concentrates on her spiritual journey, as opposed to her physical life. However, we simply do not know enough about Julian’s early life to positively identify her origins. She was probably from a well-to-do, if not noble, family as she seems to have had some level of education given that she could, at least, read before she became an anchorite. It is also possible that Julian had been a nun at the Benedictine priory of Carrow, which was close by and had an affinity with St Julian’s Church. If Julian of Erpingham and Julian of Norwich are one and the same person – and this is far from certain – the legacies from her two husbands would have helped to pay for Julian’s upkeep once she had dedicated herself to God. She had at least three children, with a daughter already married and the youngest possibly fostered out by the time Julian entered the Church. Julian of Erpingham was married twice her first husband died in 1373, and her second was dead by 1393. She was the sister of Sir Thomas of Erpingham, who had been a friend of Edward III and later fought at Agincourt in 1415. Julian of Erpingham has been suggested by Father John Julian as a possible candidate for the identity of Julian of Norwich. However, there was a contemporary of the same name, Julian of Erpingham, who was from one of the foremost noble families of Norwich in the 14th century. It may even be a derivative of Juliana, a more familiar woman’s name. Although Julian was not a common name for a woman at the time, it was not unknown.

It is possible that Julian took her name from the church in which she lived, St Julian’s, however, it may have been hers from birth.

Julian’s true identity and origins remain obscured. These simple words still offer hope and encourage positivity today, especially in the atmosphere in which we are all currently living.

‘all shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well,’ Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love Having survived 600 years, her book, Revelations of Divine Love, is the earliest surviving of its kind – a book written in English, by a woman. Julian’s life was remarkable in its simplicity, devotion and spirituality, and because of her writing. One such devotee was Saint Julian of Norwich, an anchorite and mystic who lived in a cell at the parish church of St Julian at Conisford in Norwich. Moreover, the cloistered life was not the only path for a woman who wanted to devote her life to God. It was an alternative to marriage, and childbearing, for women and girls from diverse backgrounds. The medieval religious life provided a refuge for widows and elderly women in search of calm and peace at the end of their lives. Statue of Julian of Norwich, Norwich Cathedral by sculptor David Holgate.

Julian of norwich short text