Humanities 200
Human Experience: Spirituality and Mysticism
http://www.bhsu.edu/dsalomon/hum200/fall2000/home.html 
Fall 2000
Professor David A. Salomon (davidsalomon@bhsu.edu)
Shorter Essay 

Choose ONE and only one of the following questions. Answer it in a complete and thoughtful essay. Your
essay should be a well-developed, clear, logical and complete idea developed from a definite thesis statement.
Use the text where appropriate to support your answer. You need not consult secondary sources for this paper,
but if you do, give credit for the information you use. Do not forget to cite any Internet information you use as
well. 

Use specifics from the texts to support your answers, but do not merely summarize plot. 

Essays should be typed (double-spaced) and approximately 5-7 pages in length. This paper is due on Monday,
October 23. Papers must be submitted on time. Papers handed in late will receive a one grade deduction for
each class late. I will be happy to look at drafts ahead of time; in fact, I encourage it! 

Read the questions carefully. Proofread your work.

1) We have discussed Richard Rolle's mystical writing as being particularly "male" in nature, and we have
talked of Hildegard of Bingen's writing as being particularly "female." Aside from the fact that Rolle is male
and Hildegard is female, how do you account for the assignment of these labels? What is it about Rolle's take
on the mystical experience that is especially male? Similarly, what makes Hildegard's mysticism female?

2) In The Fire of Love Richard Rolle writes, "Truly the love of God and love of this world may never be
together in one soul" (16-17). Discuss this as one of the dominant issues in the work. 

3) In Medieval Women's Visionary Literature, Elizabeth Petroff writes, 
                    Visions led women to the acquisition of power in the world while affirming
          their knowledge of themselves as women. Visions were a socially sanctioned
          activity that freed a woman from conventional female roles by identifying her as
          a genuine religious figure. They brought her to the attention of others, giving her
          a public language she could use to teach and learn. . . . Finally, visions allowed
          the medieval woman to be an artist, composing and refining her most profound
          experiences into a form that she could create and recreate for herself throughout
          her entire life. (19)
Given these statements about female mystics of the Middle Ages, and what you know about her life and work
in the late-eleventh and early-twelfth centuries, how do you think Hildegard of Bingen would have fit into the
world of the year 2000? Would the year 2000 have accepted her? Why or why not? Refer to specifics in her
writing and thought.
                                             
N.B. When you cite Rolle and Hildegard (and you should), just use the page number from their texts (44).
Make sure you use the correct format. Any questions, just ask.