How God appears in medieval literature and what it says about the human experience.
If one were to go through the canon of important literary works from the Middle Ages, chances are some aspect of each story contains at least some mention of Christianity. This isn’t surprising considering how prominent and (in some cases) domineering Catholicism was in England, which in turn made the religious approach the most common lens artists used to express their artistry. One might expect that because the church had such a major influence in the country’s government as well as in the lives of the common folk that literature from this time would produce one objective way to view and worship God; but this isn’t exactly the case. In fact, there are many authors who expressed varying attitudes and portrayals regarding Christianity, and more specifically God. Whether or not the authors were Christian or atheist, vocal defenders of the church or silent worshippers, their writing all seem to share the common factor of including God or some form of the Christian faith within the story.
Perhaps the most common way God is included in a story is when the character(s) are active practitioners of Christianity. When this is the case, the arc of the characters is usually revolves around a spiritual journey that ends with them “closer to God” than they were before. In works such as The Book of Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich, the characters constantly engage with their religion with the majority of their experience based on interactions with the divine through visions and dreams. This is an example of God as a “passive” influence, meaning that he does not possess an active desire to interfering with the characters’ lives and never becomes a physical presence, in which he acts like a character. With this kind of muted involvement in the story, the authors give much more personal and realistic accounts of experiencing divinity, enforcing the notion that God’s influence can only be put into momentum as a result of individual engagement with one’s faith.
However, other texts such as Everyman and Paradise Lost make God an actual character in the story. Instead of being some sort of mystical force that only shows itself when one possesses a religiously inclined mindset, he is an operating participant in the story with an agenda that directly affects the plot. This is when God becomes an “active” influence in the story, with just as much motivation and desires as other characters in the story. In this case, God is personified rather than mystified, fitted with his own domineering personality. This depiction is universal when it comes to stories where God is an active influence, though often God adopts more human characteristics which in some ways sacrifices God’s mystery and divinity when he is given clear and tangible desires.
Whether God is passive or active in a written work, in all cases his image is a projection created by humans, inspired by their interactions with the Catholic faith. The worship, ideas, and questions surrounding the nature of man’s relation to God is one of the most fundamental topics explored in medieval English literature, perhaps even the most important. As you explore the content this site has to offer, remember that there is no one objective depiction of God. Anyone can experience and interpret God in their own way, regardless of whether they are Catholic. It is important that we explore how and why God exist in the story, and perhaps, it will make us ask the same questions about our own life.
