Summary: Perhaps no members of European royalty rejected wealth and embraced poverty so utterly as Elizabeth and Margaret, Hungarian princesses and members of a ruling family that produced ten saints. Filmed amidst the spectacular vistas of Hungary's medieval past, this program traces the lives of Elizabeth, queen of Thuringia, and her niece, Margaret, comparing and contrasting their asceticism and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: A 14th-century English mystic who enclosed herself for life in order to fully develop her relationship with God after a series of revelations, Julian of Norwich and her writings are still studied by Christian theologians. Her prose, some of the most terrifying and compelling, is the first to refer to God as "She," forging the way for inclusive language that is used in many Bibles today. This...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Poet, essayist, musician, and visionary, Hildegard of Bingen is the most well-known female mystic of the Middle Ages, renowned in Europe for advising popes and bishops, conducting theological debates with Bernard of Clairvaux, and composing Ordo Virtutum. In this program, host Avril Benoit and theology experts Dr. Kathy Garay and Dr. Madeleine Jeay of McMaster University tour the abbey...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: From within her own brief life to the present day, Joan of Arc's mystique has been appropriated by many groups and causes. This program, filmed in Orleans and Joan's native village of Domremy, allows her to speak for herself through voice-over readings of her letters and her responses before the Inquisition, as well as testimony from the minutes of her rehabilitation trial. Leading scholars...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: As women mystics became more common throughout Europe in the late 14th and 15th centuries, the manner in which they expressed and practiced their devotion became more diverse. In this program, Kathy Garay, of McMaster University, presents Margery Kempe's unconventional life in context. Topics such as bridal mysticism are discussed, along with Kempe's pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The transcription...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Inspired by Saint Francis, Clare of Assisi abandoned a comfortable and privileged life to establish her own order; founded on vows of poverty, self-denial, and working for the poor, it flourishes to this day. This program provides a biography of Clare's life along with an in-depth analysis by McMaster University's Kathy Garay of Clare's relationship to the Church and to her peer St. Francis. A...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: An illiterate common woman, Constance of Rabastens' visions of the apocalypse and prophecies of the coming of the Antichrist resulted in her imprisonment at the hands of the Inquisition and the Archbishop of Toulouse. In this program, McMaster University's Madeleine Jeay places Constance of Rabastens in the historical context of the tumultuous 15th century, including the Hundred Years' War, the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Devoting their lives to works of charity and to unifying a divided church, Bridget of Sweden and Catherine of Siena challenged the limitations imposed on their gender, playing key roles in world affairs. In this program filmed on location, theology experts Dr. Kathy Garay and Dr. Madeleine Jeay of McMaster University trace the lives of Bridget, diplomat and prophet whose revelatory visions...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: A 13th-century French mystic, Douceline de Digne established the first community for laywomen devoted to caring for the sick and the poor. This program presents an in-depth biography of an early mystic who embraced an ascetic life and who was emulated by many, both rich and poor, male and female. Commentary from Kathy Garay, of McMaster University, offers insight into medieval culture and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: By the Middle Ages, women's roles as defined by the Church were strictly circumscribed; however, alternate role models were also available, beginning with the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalene, and the transvestite saints from the early Church. This program examines the options available to women living in the 12th through 15th centuries and how some subverted traditional roles in order to discover...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006