Queering Richard Rolle: Mystical Theology and the Hermit in Fourteenth-Century England (The New Middle Ages)

This book examines three aspects of Rolle’s thinking used throughout this work: his ontology, phenomenology, and sound ecology. These facets of his work invoke both a way of understanding being in the world, an opening up of the body in queer ways to experience the divine, and a way to consider divine contemplation in terms of singing the body. __Queering Richard Rolle__ considers how Rolle navigates queer, eremitic conduct in order to create an identity always in process Queering Richard Rolle 4 Acknowledgments 7 Contents 9 1 Introduction: Queering the Hermit 10 Richard Rolle, Hermit 18 Eremitic Pride 20 Intentionality and Exomologesis 23 Notes 29 2 Richard Rolle’s Eremitic Ontology 34 Recognizing Deception in The Form of Living 38 Queer Time and Space 41 Kinds of Stability 47 An Ethos of Love 52 Notes 59 3 The Phenomenology of the Open Body 63 Phenomenology and Mysticism 64 The Fire-Heart 70 The Experience of God’s Touch: Sweetness 75 The Phenomenon of Embodied Language: Sitting in the Direction of God 79 Notes 86 4 Richard Rolle’s Ecology of Canor: An Aesthetics of Desire 93 Soundscapes and Divine Sound 95 Rolle and the Tones of Heaven 100 Rolle’s Sound Ecology 103 The Materiality of Sound 113 Notes 115 5 Epilogue: Three Vignettes 124 Daughters of Fire 125 The Scholar’s Sweetness 126 Song’s Erasing Touch 128 Notes 129 Bibliography 131 A 131 B 132 C 133 D 134 E 135 F 135 G 136 H 136 I 138 J 138 K 138 L 139 M 139 N 140 O 141 P 141 Q 141 R 141 S 142 T 143 V 143 W 143 Z 144 Index 145 This book examines three aspects of Rolle's thinking used throughout this work: his ontology, phenomenology, and sound ecology. These facets of his work invoke both a way of understanding being in the world, an opening up of the body in queer ways to experience the divine, and a way to consider divine contemplation in terms of singing the body. Queering Richard Rolle considers how Rolle navigates queer, eremitic conduct in order to create an identity always in process. Christopher M. Roman is Associate Professor of English at Kent State University, USA Machine Generated Contents Note: 1. Introduction: Queering The Hermit -- 2. Richard Rolle's Eremitic Ontology -- 3. The Phenomenology Of The Open Body -- 4. Richard Rolle's Ecology Of Canor: An Aesthetics Of Desire -- 5. Epilogue: Three Vignettes. Christopher M. Roman. This Palgrave Macmillian Imprint Is Published By Springer Nature--title Page Verso. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction: Queering the Hermit....Pages 1-24 Richard Rolle’s Eremitic Ontology....Pages 25-53 The Phenomenology of the Open Body....Pages 55-84 Richard Rolle’s Ecology of Canor: An Aesthetics of Desire....Pages 85-115 Epilogue: Three Vignettes....Pages 117-123 Back Matter....Pages 125-144