Childhood and Family of Julian of Norwich and Lalleshwari

 

Julian of Norwich was born in 1343 in Norwich, England and lived in this town her whole life. As a child, Julian belonged to the Roman Catholicism faith, growing up in the Church. Very little is known of her childhood, such as whether her name was given to her at birth or if it was given to her because she lived at the St. Julian Church as a mystic; however, historians have found out some information on her life as an adult prior to becoming the mystic we know her as, although some of it is still up for debate. For example, there was a woman named Julian of Erpingham who was of a noble family in Norwich at the same time of the mystic Julian. Some people believe Julian of Erpingham and of Norwich are the same person, which having this belief would tell us that Julian had at least three children and two husbands (one died, then she remarried). Whether this theory be true or not, it is all the knowledge and speculation we have on Julian of Norwich prior to her revelations at age 30.

Lalleshwari, also known as Lal Ded or Lalla, was born sometime between 1320 and 1355 in Pandrethan, Kashmir. She was born into a Pandit Clan, a native clan in Kashmir that follows Hinduism, thus Lalleshwari grew up studying Hindu religious texts all the way up to age 12. The reason for the halt in her studies was her marriage into a harsh family. This family that she was married into would mock her and treat her like a lesser human, for example, her mother-in-law would place pebbles in Lalleshwari’s food as a joke. Lalleshwari’s own husband would break the water pitchers she would use to collect the family’s water in, which would only set back the rest of the family because she was never known to complain about her mistreatment. Lalleshwari got to the point where after filling up the pitchers to her best ability, she would cross the river to study Hinduism and pursue yoga under Sidh Srikanth at the Lord Shiva’s temple then go back home in the evening. At age 26, Lalleshwari left the marriage and the cruel family behind to become a mystic.

Julian of Norwich and Lalleshwari both lived a life of faith that had both mystery and hardships placed in their journey that led them to the become the mystics we know them as today. Both Julian and Lalleshwari lived in the same time period and where both brought up in their own religious communities. However, because these two women lived on extremely different parts of the world, their experiences in their communities were also extremely different. For example, Julian lived a life in a small city, where women stayed in the house it can be assumed, however Lalleshwari lived in the countryside where it was known that she spent her time outside, where she fulfilled duties for the house, like filling up the water pitchers.

Resources

Holm, Filip, host. “Lal Ded- The Mystic Poetess of Kashmir.” Let’s Talk Religion,

Spotify app, 15 August 2023.

“Lal Ded: The Mystic of Kashmir | Kashmirica.” Www.kashmirica.com, 16 Jan. 2021, www.kashmirica.com/blog/lal-ded/.

 

Mark, Joshua. “Julian of Norwich.” World History Encyclopedia, 3 June 2019, www.worldhistory.org/Julian_of_Norwich/.

Sheldrake, Philip. Spirituality: A Brief History, 2^nd Edition. John Wiley & Sons, 

    2013, Print.