WORDS OF FIRE AND FRUIT: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER WORDS IN THE "CLOUD OF UNKNOWING"

Freed from all sensations and visible concerns, the mind pours itself out to God with unspeakable groans and sighs.)10 These groans and cries are akin to those monosyllables, each one a succinct unit that stands on its own and is 'uninflected, syntactically uninhibited'.11 Each syllable is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Medium aevum 2015-01, Vol.84 (2), p.213-230
Main Author:	MCCANN, DANIEL
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	1100-1499 Middle English period Contemplation Emotions English Literature Historical Vocabulary of English Interjections Linguistic Usage Methods Middle English and Fifteenth Century Prayer Prayers Prose Psychological aspects Psychology Semantics Separate Anonymous Works Sources Spirituality Syntax The Cloud of Unknowing The English Language Vocabulary
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Summary:	Freed from all sensations and visible concerns, the mind pours itself out to God with unspeakable groans and sighs.)10 These groans and cries are akin to those monosyllables, each one a succinct unit that stands on its own and is 'uninflected, syntactically uninhibited'.11 Each syllable is a tool of focused expression, deeply connected to '^>e werk of J)e spiryte', and able to channel it into its highest and most intense point. To use them is to 'preie in be hei3t & be depnes, be lengbe & be brede of oure spirit. & bat not in many wordcs, bot in a lityl worde of o silable'.63 They focus and express affect, and are the very groans of prayer which Bonaventure asserts are so crucial to the soul's journey into God.
ISSN:	0025-8385 2398-1423