Angela of Foligno’s Culture and Context:
In order to understand Angela of Foligno’s life and beliefs, one must understand the context in which she came from. There are various contexts that can affect how a person lives their life, from childhood context to historical context. There are various things that can influence people.
To begin with, Angela was raised into a well-off family. She experienced the little luxuries of life by being able to have needs met and getting the wants of those who come from wealth. She even married into wealth when she married her husband around the age of 20. However, she would lose these riches after selling them when she loses her loved ones. She sells them and devotes herself to charity and human services.
A lot of the context for Angela’s life comes from her hometown, Foligno, and how the location led to a lot of events. Foligno was located in an area in which trade routes would pass through as it was at the crossroads of Pisa, Ancona, and Florence. This allowed for the city to be a visitor stop for those looking to trade goods. Foligno would become involved with a war with Perugia, that would not last long but would have an impact on the community. Besides war, weather would impact Foligno. Foligno would be struck by an earthquake, then a hurricane three years later. These natural disasters left people in the area devastated. People were struck down economically. (Turai, pg. 29).
Angela was in a community that was religiously strong. There were many churches, religious groups and convents scattered throughout the city. The city also had a large Franciscan population, which Angela converted to. The strong religious community influenced Angela to the point she devoted her life to the beliefs of this group.(Turai, pg 30).
Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia Culture and Context:
Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia has several factors that impacted the way he would live the rest of his life. Abraham would live his life traveling and teaching people the viewpoints he had. The factors that impacted Abraham’s life came from historical, religious, and personal context throughout his life that caused him to turn the way he was.
To begin with, Abraham lived in a time in which Judaism and mysticism were being analyzed by various figures. He also experienced the influences of religion through his father. His father taught him the Hebrew bible and the Talmud, which allowed him to be raised in Jewish beliefs. However, his religious profile strengthened as he began studying the theories of other Jewish figures. For instance, Abraham studied Maimonides’ writings and often based his perspective on those writings. (Wolfson, pg 68).
Next, the historical events happening in the area impacted Abraham’s life too. Abraham lived in a time in which wars were scattered all over the world. During one of his travels, he was headed towards Palestine. However, he would end up turning his journey towards Greece as there were various battles that turned him around (Wolfson, pg. 68).
Finally, Abraham was impacted by various personal experiences throughout his life. He lost one of the most loved figures in his life, his father, at an early age. This loss caused him to begin traveling. The traveling exposed Abraham to various cultures, languages, etc. This impacted his views on linguistic views on mysticism.
References
Turai, G. (2022). The Life and Context of Angela. In Medieval Female Mysticism and Weber’s Charismatic Authority: The Case of Angela of Foligno (pp. 25–34). Harrassowitz Verlag. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv2tbwq83.5
WOLFSON, E. R. (2011). Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia and the Prophetic Kabbalah. In F. E. Greenspahn (Ed.), Jewish Mysticism and Kabbalah: New Insights and Scholarship (pp. 68–90). NYU Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qfwtm.7
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