The Book of Margery

Kempe
 Spiritual autobiography
• Spiritual autobiography is a non-fictional genre written in prose which rose to
prominence in seventeenth-century England (and mostly appealed to Protestants),
although its roots can be traced as far back as such works of the early Christian
tradition - St. Augustine’s Confessions where the author describes how he was
rescued by God from false beliefs.
• The basic concern is to trace the progress of an individual believer from a state of
sin to a state of grace and ultimate salvation that is guaranteed by God.
 Spiritual autobiography

• Spiritual autobiography usually begins with sinful youth which is followed by

awakening of spiritual feelings and fear about the prospects of one’s soul. Then the
person would repent, fall again into sin, repent and sin again; these cycles could last
for years. That is when the conversion takes place; the person has an epiphany and
they realise they had been singled out by God for salvation.
 Margery Kempe (c. 1373 - 1438)
• Margery Kempe (c. 1373 - 1438) was an English Christian mystic, known for
dictating The Book of Margery Kempe, a work considered by some to be the
first autobiography in the English language.
• Her book describes her domestic tribulations, her extensive pilgrimages to holy sites
in Europe and the Holy Land, as well as her mystical conversations with God. She is
now honoured in the Anglican Communion, but she was never made a Roman
Catholic saint.
 Mysticism
• The term mystic is derived from the Greek noun mystes, which originally
designated a secret cult or mystery religion.
• Mysticism is specific philosophical attitude which foregrounds an extremely
intense and deeply personal communion of a person (mystic) and God. It is
popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer
to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a
religious or spiritual meaning.
 Mysticism
• During the fourteenth century, the task of interpreting the Bible and God through
the written word was restricted to men, specifically ordained priests; to interpret
God through the senses and the body became the domain of women, primarily
women mystics, especially in the late Middle Ages.
• Mystics directly experienced God in three classical ways:
1. Bodily visions, meaning to be aware with one's senses - sight, sound, or others;
2. Ghostly visions, such as spiritual visions and sayings directly imparted to the soul;
3. Intellectual enlightenment, where one‘s mind came into a new understanding of
God.
 The Book of Margery Kempe
• Kempe was an orthodox Catholic and, like other medieval mystics, she believed that
she was chosen to have a “greater intimacy with Christ“. After the birth of her first
child, Margery went through a period of crisis for nearly eight months. During her
illness, Margery claims that she envisioned numerous devils and demons attacking
her and commanding her to “forsake her faith, her family, and her friends”. Margery
was also known throughout her community for her constant weeping as she begged
Christ for mercy and forgiveness.
• She went on many pilgrimages and has been known to have purchased indulgences
for friends, enemies, the souls trapped in Purgatory and herself. In 1413, Margery
left her husband to take a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. During the winter, she also
spent several weeks in Venice.
 The Book of Margery Kempe
• Margery affirms that she had visitations and conversations with Jesus, Mary,
God, and other religious figures and that she had visions of being an active
participant during the birth and crucifixion of Christ. These visions and
hallucinations physically affected her bodily senses, causing her to hear
sounds and smell unknown, strange odors.
• In Kempe's vision, Christ reassured her that he had forgiven her sins. "He
gave her several commands: to call him her love, to stop wearing the hair
shirt, to give up eating meat, to take the Eucharist every Sunday, to pray the
rosary only until six o'clock, to be still and speak to him in thought…”
 The Book of Margery Kempe
• During the 1420s, Margery dictated her Book, known today as The Book of Margery
Kempe. The Book of Margery Kempe was dictated in two parts, to two different
scribes, and the latter has been revised by a priest, but still kept characteristic form
and expression of the author. The Book of Margery Kempe illustrates her visions,
mystical and religious experiences, as well as her "temptations to lust, her travels,
and her trial for heresy“.
• The narrative of Kempe's Book begins just after her marriage, and relates the
experience of her difficult first pregnancy. Since she was very emotionally expressive
– also a married woman and a mother of fourteen children – the book caused a lot
of controversy.
 The Book of Margery Kempe
• Margery’s book is commonly considered to be the first autobiography
written in the English language.
• Margery did not join a religious order, but carried out "her life of devotion,
prayer, and tears in public". Indeed, Margery's visions provoked her public
displays of loud wailing, sobbing, and writhing which frightened and
annoyed both clergy and laypeople. Many of her contemporaries regarded
her as eccentric or even heretic.