The writings of Julian of Norwich often hinge on small but powerfully evoked sensory details. She invites us to hear rain dripping from eaves, to feel enfolding textiles, to see shiny herring-scales, to smell the sulphurous reek of evil and to weigh in our hands the smallness and fragility of a hazelnut.
Delivered by Margit Thøfner, a senior lecturer in art history, this lecture explores Julian’s sensory world through works of art and music from medieval Norwich and beyond, works that allow us to grasp something of how Julian’s knowledge of her world was rooted in lived experiences rather than just in contemplation. The central aim is to show how medieval art and music offers fresh perspectives on Julian’s explorations of what it was and still is to be human in a troubled world.
Tickets are free — please ensure you book your place in advance.
Suggested donations of £5 to the Friends of Julian at julianofnorwich.org or in cash on the day, are welcomed.
Part of the Festival of Julian 2026. In partnership with the Friends of Julian
Image: ‘Mother Julian of Norwich‘ by Leo Reynolds, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Margit Thøfner
Margit Thøfner is a senior lecturer in art history. She took her BA and MA in this subject at the Courtauld Institute in London and her DPhil at the University of Sussex. Since then, Margit has taught at the universities of Sussex, St Andrews, Bristol and East Anglia before joining the Open University in 2021. Her research interests focus on the later medieval and early modern period in the Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia and the British Isles. They include painting, print, architecture, sculpture, textiles and metalwork and range across the histories of religion, politics, gender, court culture, public rituals, urban spaces and musical culture.
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