The miracle God gave Julian

      Wow a lot of people jumped on this website after class! Before I get started I have decided to change my font, I really like Verdana font (just a little side note). Also I do know everything I just wrote in this mini paragraph probably does not count in my word count.

      I do have to say, I did not really enjoy reading about Julian of Norwich. Don't get me wrong, it was a miracle she lived through her illness and I would like to read more about those seven days talked about on page 1. But the fact that she spent her life writing a book just seems boring to me (4). The fact that she became an Anchoress (4) instead of traveling to spread the word about God made me wonder why God picked her. I know that sounds bad to say, but I believe people that receive visions from God should share them and help bring the community back to God. He could have picked anyone, but he picked Julian and she barely publicized her talent or God's words. 

       At the same time, it must take a strong person to live as a Solitary. It must take someone stronger to write a book about visions the person was receiving from God. On that note, I will give Julian a little credit. In that time period, Julian was rare; she was a strong woman that devoted her life as a Solitary. 

http://thenoontimes.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/icon-of-julian-of-norwich-juliet-venter1.jpg

         While looking up Julian of Norwich, I found this picture. I have to say this is by far the best picture I have found of Julian. Also out of all three women we have discussed, this is the best picture I have posted on this blog. I am a little curious as to why there is a cat in this picture. I would like to note in class, Dr. MB said no one really knows what Julian wore; if know one knew what Julian wore, why is she wearing a nuns outfit in this picture? Seems the person that created this picture agreed with the author of our reading because on page 4, the author mentions that Julian "probably dressed in the black of a Benedictine nun (4)".

http://www.virginiawieringa.com/galleries/plog-content/images/icons/personal-work-inspired-by-icons/lady-julian-of-norwich.jpg


        Even in this picture, Julian is touching a cat. I would like to know what she is holding between her thumb and index finger; and in this picture, is Julian an 
Anchoress yet? To conclude this blog, there is not enough information about Julian for me to understand her. I have a lot of unanswered questions about her and her visions.

Blog post #1

What is Magic Now???

Midway through the class, I’m not exactly sure what magic is anymore. Is it something that people used as a scapegoat to get another women’s husband or was it actually real? Perhaps it was a little bit of both?

People had to have seen things that were actually magical, because some of the texts we’ve read are just so farfetched to just “make up”. Unless they were on some hardcore drug, I’m convinced they saw some really funky stuff that actually scared them to believe magic is real. I’m seriously scared to think of the freaky rituals people performed, especially involving babies or blood, or anything. But I honestly don’t think people could be that gullible. Nothing in the texts would pass as magic in today’s world. The world would not go on a craze claiming everyone who looked at you funny was a witch. It would more likely be considered an extremely weird cult or something emotionally disturbed people partake in.

That being said, I believe that magic is real, in some sort of way. However, I don’t believe that all the cases made in the texts we read are absolutely true. There are always people who learn how to “work the system” and can manipulate it to their digression. After a while, when people realized that this “witch” thing wasn't going away, they realized

“Hey, maybe I could use this to get back at people I don’t like. If I tell the town I saw Sarah in the field last night, and say I heard her mumbling to herself, they’ll all believe that she’s a witch.” It’s messed up to think people would do this, but you cannot tell me people did not do this. So if you don’t like someone, just call them a witch.

Clearly I can rant about this for a long time. I’m not sure what I believe in. I am Christian, but I do not exclude all possible things out there. Unexplainable things happen on a day to day basis. Surely it could be the works of God, but the act in which he does it: isn’t that magic? I wish there could be magic like that in Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, but who doesn’t!? But realistically, there has to be some sort of balance keeping everything together. In order to have balance there has to be “good” magic and “bad” magic. So, is there evil out there? No doubt. It’s always nice to assume there is no such thing as magic because we all fear the evil aspect of it. Ignorance is bliss I guess. 

Witches = Fear

As I was writing my position paper, it really made me think of all the different reasons people used to be claimed as witches. Of course there are the typical ways of being summed a witch, like dancing naked in the forest with a chicken or using some sort of spell to wish death upon another. I feel, however, that cases like those were actually the rarest ones to happen. Most of the time, persecutions seemed to be based on a "he said, she said" bases. "She must be a witch because she was in my field two nights ago and now my crops have died." But of course the person would forget that it had stormed the night before, but he surely remembers this girl in his field, who just loves late night walks.
It was almost like a fear "norm" that everyone had to live up to or more like keep an eye out for. This fear of witches or being a witch seriously spread faster than the Black Plague itself. Look at Trier, Germany. Hundreds of people “claimed” to be witches were either hung, burned, drowned, and the list goes on. There is no doubt that some, if not a good majority, of those people were innocent. The people of Trier were so obsessed with the idea of exterminating “witches”, they didn’t even care to second guess the accusations. Well, even if people did question the large amounts of persecutions, like arch-bishop Flade, they were accused of protecting them. And we all know if you protect a witch you must be one yourself.

As it said in Kors and Peters, “A persecution such as that at Trier demands a population that believes in the efficacy of the process by which the witches are identified and exterminated” (310).

It’s crazy to think what fear can do to people. Clearly it can make people turn on one another. Even when there was “proof” that certain people dabbled in witchcraft, how legitimate was it? Everything in a court of law needs evidence to prove the facts stated. The only actual, tangible evidence that I've seen so far is what Kors and Peters said in the “Confessions of the Chelmsford Witches”.

“…of the intentions, the diabolical pact, and the unnatural powers of the witch, uttered by his or her own tongue and signed by his or her own hand” (303).

My real question is how valid these confessions were. In the text it says that the confessions were given willingly and through torture. Well if I knew I was in deep shit and there was no way out; even if I did confess, I would surely be put to death anyway. Most of these people probably just said things or agreed with the accusations to avoid any type of torture. Better be burned now, than tortured, then just burned later. The English said how the confessions were tangible proof, but I say bullshit. The majority of the accused were poor and uneducated, they had no clue what was going on. Just because of their social status, automatically made their words lesser than words of someone rich and educated. 

It's sad to think about, but come on, it happened all the time. Fear can do some crazy stuff, no doubt. Look at the Crucible. An entire town turned on each other just because a group of (LYING) girls claimed certain people were workers of the Devil. The ironic thing is that these girls were the ones performing the rituals! Talk about a scapegoat.