medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
I have run across a brief description of a technique for concentrating
during meditation that doesn't ring a bell, despite my speciality in
late medieval / early modern mystical and meditation techniques.
Has anyone read about a mnemonic method in which the devotee imagines
geometrical figures, one per arm of the cross, each of which figure has
a letter associated with each point, and each letter is the first
letter of a key word (or a phrase, each word of which starts with the
same letter). I.e, imagine a triangle on the left arm of the cross,
and one of the points has an M written next to it, and the M is the
first letter of an important word to meditate on that is provided in a
phrase that has about six words in it that start with M.
The treatise this is mentioned in is from Castile and written in the
1530s, but the author had read widely in spiritual treatises from
across medieval Europe. Thank you in advance!
Jessica A. Boon, PhD
Mellon Lecturing Fellow
University Writing Program, Box 90025
Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0025
jboon at duke dot edu
Assistant Professor of Church History (term starting Jan 1, 2007)
Perkins School of Theology (SMU), Dallas, TX
**********************************************************************
To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME
to: [log in to unmask]
To send a message to the list, address it to:
[log in to unmask]
To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion
to: [log in to unmask]
In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to:
[log in to unmask]
For further information, visit our web site:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
|