Barbara Newman: ŒIam cor meum non sit suum: ExchangingHearts, from Heloise to Helfta

Speaker(s): Barbara Newman

The exchange of hearts between lovers, a motif common in 12th-century romances, had infiltrated the sacred realm by the mid-13th century, when female mystics began to exchange hearts with Jesus. What does this deceptively simple image mean? This talk will explore the exchange of hearts in texts ranging from the "lost love letters" of Heloise and Abelard to the mystical writings of Helfta, which center on the revelations of Gertrud the Great and Mechthild of Hackeborn.

Barbara Newman is well known for her work on medieval religious culture, allegorical poetry, and woman's spirituality. Her recent books include:Thomas of Cantimpré: The Collected Saints' Lives(2008), Frauenlob's Song of Songs: A Medieval German Poet and His Masterpiece (2007), God and the Goddesses: Vision, Poetry, and Belief in the Middle Ages (2002), and From Virile Woman to WomanChrist: Studies in Medieval Religion and Literature (1995).

Sponsored by the DLCL Mysticism Research Unit, the Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, and the Department of English.