Culture and Context of Julian of Norwich and Lalleshwari

 

Julian of Norwich lived in Norwich, England from 1343 to 1416 which was a time of great social change in not only England but in the whole world. In not only Norwich, but in the more widespread area of Europe, society was recovering from the Black Death of 1348. Julian would have been five years old at the time, so she most likely did not remember life before this great change in society. This could be compared to how young kids of today might not be able to recall societal norms of the world prior to COVID-19 in 2020. Along with the Black Death, there was a rise in populations of cities, due to the decline of serfdom and the rise of industry jobs. For Julian, her city of Norwich was a booming industrial city on the river Wensum that had many shipping ports that brought in not only goods, but a great sum of money for the people of Norwich. However, Julian did not get to experience this wealthy port city once she isolated herself in the Church of Julian. This could be seen as a paradox because although she lived in the heart of a bustling city and could see it all out of her cell window, Julian kept herself in isolation to grow herself on her mystical journey.

            Lalleshwari, also known as Lal Ded, lived somewhere 1320 and 1355 (exact birth year is not known) to 1392 in the Pandrethan area of Kashmir. During this time, Kashmir and India were not identified as the nation states we know them as today. India was under the rule of Delhi Sultanate from 1206 to 1526 AD which was an Islamic empire based out of Delhi, India. During Lal Ded’s lifetime, the specific dynasty that was in power was the Tughlaq who tried to set up a fully Islamic military, administration, and culture in India. This did not fully happen due to the extremely culture ties and beliefs revolving around Hinduism. However, this dynasty did bring in new agricultural practices and bettered the infrastructure by creating canals, bridges, and roads for travel. Specifically in Kashmir, they had their own rulers in defiance from the Tughlaq Dynasty. By the time Lal Ded was born, Kashmir was under rule of Sahamera, an Islamic ruler who was once a minister under Kota, a female ruler. Sahamera came into power by killing his rival Bhatta and imprisoning Kota, officially placing Kashmir under Muslim rule. Lal Ded did not really feel the impacts of this cultural change because she was first in prisoned in her own relationship and family, then she wondered around the mountains free from society and cultural indifferences.

Julian of Norwich and Lal Ded both lived during a time of great social changes, specifically in the shift between agricultural to industrial society that along brought religious and transportation changes. Just like in Lal Ded’s Kashmir, Julian’s England switched agricultural practices, allowing for a higher yield in food, thus increasing the standard of living and population. For Julian, this allowed her to see more out of her cell window and listen to other’s experiences. However, for Lal Ded, this agricultural change allowed her to travel the mountains in a way that would sustain her nutritional needs, but she also interacted with new people with new experiences. These interactions the two women had with others coincides with the higher standard of living in the fact that ways of transportation were bettered, and trade increased across the world. Therefore, even though Julian and Lal Ded both experienced the new standard of living, the experiences were in different forms, Julian in a city and Lal Ded in the wilderness of the mountains.

Resources:

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“Delhi Sultanate | Muslim Kingdom, India.” Encyclopeadia Britannica, 2019,

www.britannica.com/place/Delhi-sultanate.

Mishra, Patit Paban. “Tughlaq Dynasty.” World History Encyclopedia,            

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Accessed 28 Feb. 2024.

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