CRITICISM

del Mastro, M. L. Introduction to The Stairway of Perfection, by Walter Hilton, translated by M. L. del Mastro, pp. 5–47. Garden City, N. Y.: Image Books, 1979.

Contends that the structural organization of The Scale of Perfection, with its repetition and digressions, is best illustrated by a circular stairway, not a ladder or a standard staircase.

Gardner, Helen L. “Walter Hilton and the Authorship of the Cloud of Unknowing.” Review of English Studies 9, no. 34 (April 1933): 129-47.

Evaluation of evidence supporting claims of Hilton being author of The Cloud of Unknowing, concluding that there is no merit in the argument.

Hodgson, Phyllis. “Walter Hilton.” In Three Fourteenth-Century English Mystics, pp. 32–40. London: Longmans, Green & Co. Ltd., 1967.

Provides an outline of The Scale of Perfection, tracing the different stages of the spiritual journey.

Kirschberger, Clare. Introduction to The Goad of Love, translated by Walter Hilton, edited by Clare Kirschberger, pp. 13–44. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1952.

Analyzes Hilton's translation, pointing out that he omitted repetitive elements, exaggerations, coarse descriptions, and instances of the overly devotional.

Milosh, Joseph E. “The Scale of Perfection” and the English Mystical Tradition. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1966, 216p.

Analyzes the work in the context of Catholic spirituality.

Russell-Smith, Joy M. “Walter Hilton and a Tract in Defence of the Veneration of Images.” Dominican Studies 7 (1954): 180-214.

Examines an epistle Hilton wrote in Latin to a friend concerning the veneration of images controversy.

Underhill, Evelyn. “English Mediaeval Mystics.” In The Mystics of the Church, pp. 110-32. New York: Shocken Books, 1964.

Includes a brief sketch of Hilton, along with profiles of Richard Rolle, Julian of Norwich, and the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing.

Additional coverage of Hilton's life and career is contained in the following sources published by the Gale Group: Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 46; Reference Guide to English Literature, Ed. 2.