The documentary was also the winner of the Royal Television Society East Best Factual Programme Award in 2017.
Dr ‘Nina’ Ramirez is a cultural historian, broadcaster and author of ‘Julian of Norwich: A very brief history.’ She is based at the University of Oxford.
In the documentary Nina travels from Oxford to Norwich to discover what is known of the anchoress, Julian of Norwich and the writing of her book, Revelations of Divine Love, thought to be the first written in English by a woman.
Uncovering Julian’s story takes Nina behind the scenes at the British Museum, and on a pilgrimage through Medieval Norwich from the Cathedral to Julian’s Cell on King Street. She discusses the importance of Julian’s writing with former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the former Bishop of Norwich, Graham James, the JR Tolkien Professor of English at Oxford, Vincent Gillespie, and Senior Lecturer in English at Kings College London, Dr Sarah Salih.
The documentary also follows the transmission of Julian’s manuscript through 600 hundred years of turbulent history during which time the work is kept secret, repressed, reviled, ignored and finally rediscovered in the 20th Century to become recognised as a spiritual and literary masterpiece.
Tracing the fate of Julian’s Manuscript takes Nina on a journey from Norfolk to Yorkshire and across the Channel to France before returning to archives of the British Library. She discovers the hidden history of a trail of women who preserved and protected Julian’s writing.
You can buy this DVD, for £7.50, from the Julian Centre, St. Julian’s Alley, Rouen Road, Norwich NR1 1QT.
Open 10.30am – 3.30pm Monday to Saturday, 01603 767380, admin@juliancentre.org.
