Barbara Jane Newman is an American

medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often v ...

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. ...

, religious historian, and author. She is Professor of English and Religion, and John Evans Professor of Latin, at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. Newman was elected in 2017 to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

Education and career

Newman was raised near Chicago, Illinois. After an undergraduate education at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of highe ...

and graduate work at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, she began her scholarly career with a 1981 dissertation at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...

. She has written on issues of gender and identity in a broad range of literary and theological texts, as well as translating important works from Latin, French, and

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

. Her scholarship has explored figures such as

Julian of Norwich Julian of Norwich (1343 – after 1416), also known as Juliana of Norwich, Dame Julian or Mother Julian, was an English mystic and anchoress of the Middle Ages. Her writings, now known as '' Revelations of Divine Love'', are the earlies ...

, Heloise and

Abelard Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a Middle Ages, medieval French Scholasticism, scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This ...

Thomas of Cantimpré Thomas of Cantimpré (Latin: Thomas Cantimpratensis or Thomas Cantipratensis) (Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, 1201 – Louvain, 15 May 1272) was a Flemish Catholic medieval writer, preacher, theologian and a friar belonging to the Dominican Order. He is bes ...

Mechthild of Hackeborn Mechtilde of Hackeborn, also known as Mechtilde of Helfta (1240/1241 – 19 November 1298), was a Saxon Christian saint (from what is now Germany) and a Benedictine nun. She was famous for her musical talents, gifted with a beautiful voice ...

Marguerite Porete Marguerite Porete (; 13th century1 June 1310) was a French-speaking mystic and the author of '' The Mirror of Simple Souls'', a work of Christian mysticism dealing with the workings of agape (divine love). She was burnt at the stake for heresy i ...

Henry Suso Henry Suso, OP (also called Amandus, a name adopted in his writings, and Heinrich Seuse or Heinrich von Berg in German; 21 March 1295 – 25 January 1366) was a German Dominican friar and the most popular vernacular writer of the fourteenth centu ...

, and

Guillaume de Lorris Guillaume de Lorris (c. 1200c. 1240) was a French scholar and poet from Lorris. He was the author of the first section of the ''Roman de la Rose''. Little is known about him, other than that he wrote the earlier section of the poem around 1230 ...

. She has been described as "one of the finest Hildegard scholars". Her 2003 book, ''God and the Goddesses: Vision, Poetry, and Belief in the Middle Ages'' suggested that medieval Christianity included multiple female figures, "distinctive creations of the Christian imagination", who deepened the medieval vision of God. Her book was praised in ''Speculum'' as a "provocatively and eloquently written study" in which "Newman has directed her lifelong passion for the feminine in medieval Christian literature toward a finely tuned reading of female figures" as Goddesses;

Caroline Walker Bynum Caroline Walker Bynum, FBA (born May 10, 1941, in Atlanta, Georgia)Caroline Walker Bynum short CV
at < ...

wrote that when "we look back fifty years from now, we will see this book as one that changed the face of scholarship and maybe even our understanding of Christianity itself." In 2006 Newman published a study and translation of the ''Song of Songs'' or ''Marienleich'' of Heinrich Frauenlob, which was described in ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' as being "a gorgeous publication, clearly and forcefully written, stunningly laid out and carefully edited." In 2015 she was elected to a one-year term as President of the Medieval Academy of America.

Awards

Newman was elected in 2005 to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

. In 2008 she was awarded an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Distinguished Achievement Award, currently the most valuable award in the humanities. In 2009 she was awarded the Charles Homer Haskins Medal by the

Medieval Academy of America The Medieval Academy of America (MAA; spelled Mediaeval until c. 1980) is the largest organization in the United States promoting the field of medieval studies. It was founded in 1925 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The academy publishes ...

, for ''God and the Goddesses''. Her research has been supported by the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

, the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropy, philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, aft ...

, and the Guggenheim Foundation. ''Medieval Crossover: Reading the Secular against the Sacred'' (2014) has been named a ''

Choice A choice is the range of different things from which a being can choose. The arrival at a choice may incorporate motivators and models. For example, a traveler might choose a route for a journey based on the preference of arriving at a give ...

'' Outstanding Academic Book for 2014.

Works

''Sister of Wisdom: St. Hildegard's Theology of the Feminine''
(1987)
''From Virile Woman to WomanChrist: Studies in Medieval Religion and Literature''
(1995)
''Symphonia'': A Critical Edition of the ''Symphonia Armonie Celestium Revelationum''
(1998)
''God and the Goddesses: Vision, Poetry, and Belief in the Middle Ages''
(2003)
''Frauenlob’s Song of Songs: A Medieval German Poet and His Masterpiece''
(2006)
''Thomas of Cantimpré: The Collected Saints' Lives: Abbot John of Cantimpré, Christina the Astonishing, Margaret of Ypres, and Lutgard of Aywières''
(2008)
''Medieval Crossover: Reading the Secular Against the Sacred''
(2013)
''Making Love in the Twelfth Century: "Letters of Two Lovers" in Context''
(2016)
of Hackeborn and the Nuns of Helfta: The Book of Special Grace''
(2017)
Works of Richard Methley''
(2021)
''The Permeable Self: Five Medieval Relationships''
(2021)

References

External links

Barbara Newman's publications on Northwestern Scholars

Barbara Newman's Academia.edu page

Barbara Newman's CV

"Medieval Romance and the Pagan Imaginary"
''Berfrois''
"Astonishing Heloise"
a review of ''The Letter Collection of Peter Abelard and Heloise'', ed. David Luscombe, in the ''London Review of Books'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Barbara American literary critics Women literary critics American medievalists Women medievalists Northwestern University faculty Living people Chaucer scholars Writers from Illinois Yale University alumni 20th-century American writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Oberlin College alumni University of Chicago alumni Fellows of the Medieval Academy of America Members of the American Philosophical Society American women historians Year of birth missing (living people) Presidents of the American Society of Church History 21st-century American women writers American women critics