In Visionary Women, influential feminist theologian Rosemary Radford Ruether gazes into the souls of three medieval mystics. Hildegard of Bingen, a self-taught theologian who developed a mystical secret language used in her community of mystics, became a traveling preacher and author. At the age of forty. Mechthild of Magdeburg was commanded by God to write down her visions, which resulted in seven books. Julian of Norwich prayed as a young child that she would see Christ's passion, that she would become deathly ill, and that she would long for God-all in her desire to focus her life solely on the divine-and God answered all three prayers. Ruether describes the women as prophets with a God-given message for the church and society of their time. Her sympathetic overview evokes the new religious horizons they envisioned for Christianity. She discusses the three women's beliefs about God, theology, and their identities. Though they faced adversity, they challenged conventions as bold women in the faith, secure in their strong relationships with God. Visionary Women is an adaptation of Ruether's award-winning book Women and Redemption: A Theological History. Readers will join in the long tradition of keeping the mystics' messages alive and relevant.