The Making of The Book of Margery Kempe: The Issue of Discretio Spirituum Reconsidered
Devotion to the Holy Spirit was a fundamental aspect of the Christian faith in the late Middle Ages and discretio spirituum was understood as a prerequisite for fully embracing the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The problem of discretio spirituum is embedded in the entirety of Margery's Book, which bears witness to the way the ideological political struggles in which clerical authority increasingly cast doubt upon female spiritual experience. Lying behind Margery's Book, and undoubtedly influencing her treatment of the issue of discretio spirituum, are the two Church Councils in her lifetime. On her pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Margery passed through Constance as the city was preparing for the forthcoming Council (1414–18). One of the major issues of the Council was the authenticity of St Bridget's revelations. Even after her canonization and its subsequent confirmation, many delegates questioned the divine origin of her visions and connected the issue with schism and heresy. The tension continued into the Council of Basle (1431–49), which was in progress when Margery revised the first version of her Book. Following the chronological development of the controversy over Bridget's revelations, this article contextualizes the Book within the specific international climate of the early fifteenth century and makes links to then evolving thinking about discretio spirituum in order to illuminate its impact on the creation of Margery Kempe's spiritual autobiography.
“As thu wer a wedow”: Margery Kempe's Wifehood and Widowhood
Abstract Representations of maidenhood and wifehood in The Book of Margery Kempe have overshadowed Margery's careful use of widowhood. This essay examines how she manipulates narrative time and traditional female social roles to forge a new identity for herself between chaste wife and independent widow. Selectively drawing from both of those types, she licenses herself as a female writer and spiritual authority. This literary strategy demonstrates that the Book has a significant aesthetic dimension, which Margery substantially shaped.
Techno-economic analysis of solar thermal power plants using liquid sodium as heat transfer fluid
Abstract Solar thermal power plants with central receiver and thermal storage are expected to be one key technology in future electricity generation, because they are renewable and due to the thermal storage independent of the current solar radiation. State-of-the-art solar power plants often use molten nitrate salts as heat transfer fluid. The use of liquid sodium instead leads to lower electricity generation costs. Sodium has a high thermal conductivity and thus large heat transfer rates are possible. Hence, a smaller absorber surface is sufficient for the same thermal power. As a result, the sodium receiver achieves a higher efficiency at lower investment cost. Additionally, the aiming strategy, which reduces the peak heat flux on molten salt receivers isn’t necessary for sodium. Even at high heat flux densities, the absorber tubes will be cooled sufficiently due to the high heat transfer coefficients. Therefore, the sodium receiver in this analysis is designed for one single aim point, resulting in a heat flux density of q mean = 1.06 MW / m 2 and q peak = 2.99 MW / m 2 . The state-of-the-art system with molten salt considers q mean = 0.51 MW / m 2 and q peak = 1.0 MW / m 2 . The presented techno-economic analysis of two sodium based concepts compared to a reference system with molten salt results in up to 16% lower electricity generation costs.