Two Middle English Prayer Cycles

This book presents the first critical editions of two fascinating but overlooked devotional texts. Each shines its own light on medieval faith. The Holkham Prayers and Meditations (ca.1410) is a rare example of female authorship, written by an unnamed woman to guide a "religious sustir." Simon Appulby's Fruyte of Redempcyon (1514) is more popular in aim, composed by one of England's last anchorites to serve his urban community. Patterned after the widely influential fourteenth-century Meditationes vitae Christi ("Meditations on the Life of Christ") and its psychological model of prayer, both cycles direct their readers to imagine themselves in Jesus's presence during key events of Christian history, mystically envisioning and experiencing Christ's life and passion in the here and now through a state of spiritual intimacy. Despite their differences in century, contexts, and intended audiences, these prayer sequences together introduce readers to one of the most vital and idiosyncratic traditions of medieval Christian devotion. Both texts are accompanied by extensive notes and introductory essays to aid students and specialists alike.