Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It

by Janina Ramírez

Perhaps the most noteworthy of her female interactions is with the famous anchorite, Mother Julian of Norwich. The tone of Margery and Julian’s books couldn’t be more different, with the latter’s Revelations of Divine Love unfolding gently like a web of contemplation. Her famous phrase, ‘all shall be well, all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well’ epitomises what makes Julian’s work so special: a consistent quality of patience and calm – Margery’s chaotic and, at times, difficult work makes for a striking contrast. But when writing about their meeting, Margery manages to capture Julian’s voice. We recognise the anchoress’s tone as we know it from Revelations in Julian’s line, ‘He who is always doubting is like a wave on the sea, which is moved and carried about by the wind’.73 The interaction between two of Norfolk’s most famous medieval women shows Margery’s ability to record not just what a person said to her, but also capture nuance in the way in which it was said.