Search

This article examines the devotional practices presented by The Book of Margery Kempe in connection to late-medieval English image debates. While scholarly consensus holds that Kempe displays an uncritical approach to the popular devotional practices of her time and a strong attachment to effigies, I argue that she espoused a much more nuanced view, deeply influenced by the anxieties raised in the clash between the Church and the iconoclastic Lollards. This article offers a case study of Kempe's approach by analysing a scene in which her desire to experience a miracle of image animation is denied. This is a highly unusual outcome within The Book's literary genre, which can be explained as an active engagement with the issues raised in the image debates. I conclude that the scene should be read as offering guidance on the idolatrous potential of devotional images and how to properly engage with such artefacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the devil's appearance in chapter 59 of The Book of Margery Kempe is a creative adaptation of Legenda aurea hagiographies in which a devil takes on the guise of a woman to seduce male saints. Like a male saint, Kempe is tempted with a sexual spectacle, but like a female saint, she is threatened with rape. This portrays the devil as an ineffectual tempter. In this way, the Book emulates episodes in the vitae of St. Bridget of Sweden and Marie d'Oignes in which the holy women outwit demonic trickery. By portraying the devil as an artless seducer, chapter 59 supplements methods of self‐discernment outlined by Julian of Norwich in chapter 18 of the Book. This is because Julian's previous advice that Kempe will be able to tell God's visions from the devil's fails to reassure her as God shows her visions of damnation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Margery Kempe is an intriguing figure in medieval England. Following a dramatic conversion experience, Kempe feels called to conform her life to that of Christ. This illiterate wife and mother of fourteen senses God's desire for her to (pay scribes to) put her extraordinary religious encounters on paper. The Book of Margery Kempe becomes the first autobiography written in the English language. While Kempe's Book has received scholarly interest for its record of a middle-class woman's lived experience, it has been largely neglected from theological investigation—due, in part, to Kempe's unseemly devotional style. Known for her copious tears and bouts of loud sobbing, Kempe did not conform to the devotio moderna of her day. The present article will introduce The Book and address the heightened emotion so particular to this author. It will, finally, point to anointed aspects of Kempe's experience meriting a pentecostal designation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jill Carter has spearheaded the interpretive practice of "red reading," wherein a canonical text is read through an Indigenous perspective, and has proven the validity of approaching traditional texts or problems through a decolonized or non-European method. To date, the red reading methodology has been most noticeably used to decentralize a Eurocentric reading of Indigeneity in North American literature, though as this article illustrates, the concepts of red reading can be expanded to analyze texts from across temporal and cultural periodization, which allows us to approach texts from a new perspective. In red reading a text like The Book of Margery Kempe, with its emphasis on holism and fluid consciousness, we can reach past the orality and textuality at the forefront of the text to interrogate and explore the liminality of a third (ghostly) consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Margery Kempe establishes the authority of her body and pleasures on the grounds of her "singularity," leading her to defend a stance on universal salvation from an expansive conception of Heaven that is surprising in its acceptance of sexual gratifications. Drawn in part from Richard Rolle's self-authorizing singularity that unites the term's meanings of both solitude and exceptionality, Kempe's term is fitted to the circumstances of her own social, worldly life. She presents her achieved solitude not as a turning away from the world, but instead as the world's rejecting her, and specifically her eccentricities. Her life story proposes that the more singular she is, the more people will resist her; and the more that people resist her, the more surely her singular life is confirmed as God-inspired. Her singularity thus brings about the will of God, and her singular life affirms her material body as a glorified body in a realization of Heaven on earth. From her embrace of singularity, Kempe discovers a revaluation of bodily pleasure and a reimagining of community that results in her insistence on a Kingdom of Heaven open to everyone, a community based on the celebration of singularities—however queer—rather than on conformity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the intersections among music composition, religious history and spiritual texts, with their attendant concepts. It focuses on two works with medieval sources—the concert piece Ave generosa (1996) and the chamber opera The Song of Margery Kempe (2008)—which were featured in the online Gallery of the conferences in 2021 and 2022, respectively, of the British and Irish Association for Practical Theology (BIAPT). Through the lenses of semiotics and intertextuality, it explores the ways by which theological concepts and spiritual contexts can be evoked and 'translated' into musical sound, both instrumental and vocal. A sampling of the literature on medieval monasticism and St Hildegard of Bingen, whose corpus forms the source of Ave generosa, supports a musical exegesis of its 'spiritual programme'. In the case of The Song of Margery Kempe, recent scholarship on the text frames examples of the multiplication of meanings provided by dramatisation and musical setting. Art in general and music composition in particular are presented as a commentary, or gloss, on both religious history and enduring spiritual themes, and a different way of thinking about religion and spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on the work of Sianne Ngai in Ugly Feelings (2005), in this essay we focus on two examples from early fifteenth-century medieval literature that represent medieval books as 'ugly' either because they arouse negative feelings of aversion or disgust or because they are considered in some way aesthetically lacking or inadequate. Christine de Pizan's Livre de la cité des dames and Margery Kempe's Book of Margery Kempe present women's involvement with troubling or difficult books. The 'ugly book feelings' which both narrators encounter challenge not only their authority as writers, but their very sense of self. Such feelings, however, are transitory when placed in narrative context: in the two examples we discuss, a single material text serves as the catalyst for a moment of emotional transformation which may be spiritual and/or intellectual. Attending to literary representations of ugly book feelings, we argue, complements existing scholarship on late medieval women's relationship to material textual culture by placing such feelings at the centre of a broad emotional spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Book of Margery Kempe (1430s) narrates Margery’s life story in loosely-knitted episodes, mainly focusing on her spiritual experiences, sufferings, and development. It is actually an autobiography dictated by Margery Kempe herself and written by two different scribes. However, it is recited and written after twenty years of her visions including personal conversations with God and Jesus Christ. Memory, thus, with its various types occupies a crucial place in both the writing process of the text and the text itself. As Margery, an illiterate woman as she claims, recites her experiences relying only on her memory, she may not be able to accurately recollect all memories of the past covering almost twenty-five years. Even, she may select, manipulate, and reconstruct them for various reasons. In this context, this paper aims to analyze how Kempe provides the fictional Margery with an alternative role of a mystic, a religious authority, and a pilgrim other than allotted roles of wifehood and motherhood for a medieval woman. To be able to achieve this, Margery Kempe makes use of the fictional Margery’s visions beginning after her first childbirth and also other strategies.

Drawing on examples of the Virgin Mary, Margery Kempe, and Mothers of the Movement, this article explores wailing as a form of prophetic speech. According to Christian tradition, the Virgin Mary wailed at the crucifixion, and her cries constituted a substantive message of judgment and lament. Many in the medieval church considered her a preeminent preacher. Margery Kempe, a medieval pilgrim preacher, and the Mothers of the Movement, African American activist-mourners, also herald a divine message through wailing. In illuminating this form of bearing witness, this essay considers the sonic dimensions of the gospel, the authority of the preacher, and the nature of divine revelation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with autobiographical remarks and autobiographies written in medieval England, either by English authors or by authors who came to England (mainly from France), as well as by authors that were born in England but moved (or had to move) abroad (mainly to France). The survey is broad in that it takes not only Old and Middle English texts into account, but also relevant Latin texts. A wide range of material exists, from passages where authors simply mention their name to fully-fledged autobiographies, such as the Book of Margery Kempe, which is often regarded as the first genuine English autobiography. In another respect, my scope is narrower than that of some previous critics (especially Brandl and Misch): autobiographies by clearly fictitious characters such as Beowulf or the speakers in many of the Old English elegies are excluded. However, the borderline between the genuine and the fictitious is not always easy to draw. Therefore, I also briefly discuss the Old English elegy "Deor", where the speaker mentions his name (Deor), but is nevertheless probably a fictitious character. It is also not always easy to decide where the autobiography describes real events and where the speaker uses or at least seems to use topoi, conventionalized images; but even a conventionalized image can express real events. There are several cases where the speaker describes himself as an old man, who repents the luxurious and sinful life which he led in his youth. Due to these and similar problems, scholars have not been able to identify some authors or characters, even if their names are mentioned. This applies to the Old English poet Cynewulf or to Nicholas of Guildford, who is referred to as a wise man at the end of the Early Middle English poem "Owl and Nightingale." Chaucer is the only author who describes himself with a bit of clear self-irony - this confirms Chaucer's exceptional status among the medieval English poets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers whether religion in general can be viewed as adaptation and if medieval Catholicism in particular can be seen as a reflection of the human necessity to be emotionally attached to a primary caregiver, especially in the early stages of people's lives. It observes that in a period of high instability and often regressive child-rearing practices, God and/or a special saint could represent a stable and adequate attachment figure, facilitating relationships which contributed to mental well-being of the devotees. The article also suggests that, due to historic circumstances, the proportion of insecure attachment was probably higher among medieval populace than among modern people, and traces the evidence of such attachment style in The Book of Margery Kempe (late 1430s), arguably the first vernacular biography in English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with Chaucer's Wife of Bath, Margery Kempe is the best known female pilgrim in late medieval England. However, The Book of Margery Kempe portrays its pious protagonist as a radically different kind of pilgrim from that of Chaucer's fun-loving Alisoun, who represents a fairly damning critique of female pilgrimage in the late Middle Ages. This article reassesses Margery's pilgrim identity, particularly in the light of fifteenth-century criticism of female pilgrimage. Focusing on Margery's narrative persona, it argues that the pilgrim label given to Margery by scholars is not one intended by the author herself. Close examination reveals that Margery's travel motivations, journey destinations, and religious activities place her outside normative pilgrimage practices. Given her lofty spiritual aspirations and her identification with saintly role models, the article also asks whether Margery even envisaged herself as a pilgrim at all. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how the engagement with textiles and textile-craft in The Book of Margery Kempe facilitates the performance of Margery's female religious identity. Drawing on the fundamental precepts of performance theory, the article responds to recent scholarly interest in the manifestations of material devotional culture and the performative body. It first maps out the charged theological significations of textiles and their subsequent transformative potential. Then, it examines how Margery finds an active tool in "fabrics of devotion" in the form of saintly relics, images, and garments themselves, and how Margery's adoption of white garb refashions her body in the image of a saintly matrilineage. It concludes that interaction with Bridgettine visual and material objects supplies Margery with a new Marian iconography, which allows her to perform a double imitatio, weaving together the thread of her own life into the rich tapestry of archetypal holy women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When Martin Luther mounted an attack on the industry of Indulgences, he affirmed key Reformation principles: human beings are saved by God’s grace alone and the priesthood of all the baptised gives all followers of Christ equal status. This was in conformity with an earlier generation of reformers who saw the Bible as ultimate authority and witnessed to biblical truth against corruption. The logical consequence of this should have been the enabling of women who were so disposed to exercise a theological vocation. In practice, the resulting rupture in religious and social life often affected women for the worse. Educational formation and leadership opportunities were restricted by the closure of convents. While the trade guilds, with their tightly regulated social systems, did not allow scope for women who transgressed normative expectations, their suppression was not necessarily liberating for women. The new social model of the home replaced that of convent and guild and marriage was exalted in place of celibacy. Changes in devotional practice involved loss and gain. Women who did not conform to the domestic norm were treated at best with misogyny and female prophets of the radical Reformation paid for their convictions with their lives. In education, leadership, piety and radical social challenge, women’s options were restricted. However, the key Reformation principles ultimately enabled the development of women’s ministry which was marked by the ordination of Constance Todd 400 years later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When Martin Luther mounted an attack on the industry of Indulgences, he affirmed key Reformation principles: human beings are saved by God’s grace alone and the priesthood of all the baptised gives all followers of Christ equal status. This was in conformity with an earlier generation of reformers who saw the Bible as ultimate authority and witnessed to biblical truth against corruption. The logical consequence of this should have been the enabling of women who were so disposed to exercise a theological vocation. In practice, the resulting rupture in religious and social life often affected women for the worse. Educational formation and leadership opportunities were restricted by the closure of convents. While the trade guilds, with their tightly regulated social systems, did not allow scope for women who transgressed normative expectations, their suppression was not necessarily liberating for women. The new social model of the home replaced that of convent and guild and marriage was exalted in place of celibacy. Changes in devotional practice involved loss and gain. Women who did not conform to the domestic norm were treated at best with misogyny and female prophets of the radical Reformation paid for their convictions with their lives. In education, leadership, piety and radical social challenge, women’s options were restricted. However, the key Reformation principles ultimately enabled the development of women’s ministry which was marked by the ordination of Constance Todd 400 years later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The foundation of the Brigittine Order in England at Syon Monastery in 1415 is just one indication of fifteenth-century English aristocratic interest in St Bridget. Syon's book holdings show a steady focus on contemplative and visionary texts and their reach extended to Westminister and London where Syon's noble patrons resided. Bridget's Revelations were received by fifteenth-century readers in the form of extracts as well as the full text. The anonymous Contemplations of the Dread and Love of God borrowed from Bridget's visionary work and was widely read by the laity. St Bridget had a formative influence on Margery Kempe and is one of the female mystics of the high Middle Ages who united contemplation with active ministry in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does one rightly name and discern imitatio Christi, imitatio crucis, and the relation between them? In one provocative attempt to answer this question, John Howard Yoder identifies Christ-imaging in vulnerable enemy love and rejects all other criteria. This essay reads the iconoclasm of Yoder's approach through poetry of the cross by William Mure and John Donne. It then proceeds to repair Yoder's Mure-like posture with Donne, as well as the writings of Margaret Ebner and Margery Kempe. These texts destabilise the dichotomies that sustain Yoder's iconoclasm and illustrate the inadequacy of a single criterion for imitatio Christi. Yet Kempe and Ebner's texts are also infected with violence such that they, too, need repair. Vulnerable enemy love thus returns as a negative condition for Christimaging, and Yoder's strong iconoclasm is moderated to a weaker iconoclasm that breaks images purporting to be Christ-like but are, in fact, violent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay reexamines Margery Kempe's competitiveness as a facet of the emotion of envy. Long seen as a petty, nasty emotion, envy has recently been recuperated by Sianne Ngai as possessing critical agency in its capacity to address social inequality and negotiate one's relationship to exemplary models. Kempe's Book is suffused with portraits of Margery's envy of her neighbors (and vice versa), her envy of holy women such as Mary Magdalene, and depictions of envy as a form of suffering that brings her closer to Christ. Kempe strategically structures her book via the logic of envy, depicting a holy woman navigating her relationships with her neighbors, clerical authorities, and female saints. She uses envy -- with its simultaneous identifications and aggressions -- to explore the construction of social categories and ideal femininity, as well as to portray herself as an exemplary, singular indi-vidual. Kempe shows envy to be an essential component of the practice of critical invitatio, positing new possibilities for exemplarity and community formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars have noted the dependence of The Book of Margery Kempe on defamation, or slander, as a tool of establishing the metaphorical, if not literal, martyrdom of its titular figure. Few, however, have investigated the historical situation of legal cases and penalties for public slanderous speech. Viewing Margery's Book in light of court records of legal charges of slander, as well as public knowledge of slander as demonstrated in mystery plays and public announcements at parish churches, makes it clear that the Book employs common knowledge of legal proceedings related to slander to establish Margery's willingness to undergo her public humiliation for devotional purposes. The "negative context" of slander--"negative" because legal recourse to clear Margery's name is not mentioned in the Book, seemingly intentionally--provides evidence of Margery using public, secular institutions to advance her status as a mystic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Margery Kempe scholarship has not given enough credit to medieval conduct books and their influence on the construction of Margery in The Book of Margery Kempe. This article argues that as a work intending to offer a devotional example to readers, the Book uses the ideals of a domestic woman described in conduct books in order to render its protagonist authoritative. Margery becomes an ideal wife and mother who does service for her household; by imposing the lay ideals of houswifery in devotional contexts, the Book successfully validates Margery's status as a mystic with secular ties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the comedic qualities of The Book of Margery Kempe in light of Henri Bergson's writings about humor. The Book's humor emerges, in part, from Margery's adherence to a mechanized hagiographic script from an idealized past regardless of the ever-changing demands of her late medieval context, and in part from the tendency of that script to take on the tropes of fabliau. Kempe uses the interplay of martyrology and fabliau, surprisingly complementary genres that share an interest in the nature and function of desire, to call into question devotional practices based upon imitatio and their effects upon human companionship. Readers, both medieval and medievalist, are invited to laugh at Margery, to ally with her, and to acknowledge their shared interest in the satisfyingly unpredictable results of a creature's attentive engagements with a complex emotional and physical environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Médiévales is the property of Presses Universitaires de Vincennes and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article examines the boundaries between madness and mysticism by presenting a narrative analysis of a medieval first-hand account of madness. The Book of Margery Kempe details one woman's spiritual visions and voices, and her struggle for a sense of belonging amongst different medieval communities. Part of its fame is that it is considered by some to be an early first-hand account of madness. This article argues that whilst Kempe's book details a self-acknowledged episode of madness in its initial chapter, the remainder of the book describes a negotiation between the contested boundaries of madness and mysticism. The central argument is that this permeable boundary is not confined to the medieval era, but is reflected in recent research that attempts to distinguish between spiritual and psychotic experiences. The article concludes by arguing that the individual meaning of unusual experiences is embedded in the dialectical relationship between cultural values and subjectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]