Communion of the living and the dead: valuing purgatory in A revelation of purgatory to ane holy woman (1422)

Abstract

Revelation of Purgatory to Ane Holy Woman (1422) is one of only five extant fifteenth-century visions of Purgatory written in England. The text addresses the anxiety prevalent in the late Middle Ages that the dead in Purgatory are often forgotten by the living. The text confirms the importance of the invisible ties that bind all Christians together and prescribes rituals that the living can perform for the dead to speed their passage through Purgatory. The text is, in many ways, typical of medieval visions of purgatory. However, Revelation also has a distinctly parochial flavour, naming specific priests from the Winchester and Westminster areas. There is also an indication that the text is calling for the reform of the nunnery to which it is addressed. Despite this, Revelation is positioned as an orthodox text within Catholic eschatological doctrine