The Book of Margery Kempe

The Book of Margery Kempe was recorded during Europe’s Late Middle Ages (ca. 1300-1500). The late medieval period was a time of multiple crises, including, but not limited to, the pandemic known as the Black Death (ca. 1347-1351), the Papal Schism (1378-1417), and the rise of new heretical movements, like Lollardy. Margery’s book signals the social and religious tension these crises inspired.

The Late Middle Ages, however, also witnessed progressive change. For example, vernacular schools became increasingly popular and new vernacular literature appeared. Latin was the dominant language of the Church, but more texts were recorded in the common languages, like Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and new travel literature, some of which was inspired by pilgrimages like Margery’s. The Book of Margery Kempe, for example, is recorded in Middle English. The use of the vernacular is also connected to the English heresy known as Lollardy. The movement’s founder, John Wycliffe, translated the Bible into English, something the medieval church forbade. “Lollard” was a slur, meaning uneducated in Latin, leveled at followers of this movement.

The Lollard movement also reflects the declining status of the clergy after the Black Death and in the wake of the Papal Schism that divided the papacy. Many churchmen perished in the pandemic while others refused to perform their priestly duties. During the Schism, competing popes governed from Avignon and Rome simultaneously while various European powers took sides. Thus, in the late medieval period calls for reform of the clergy increased, and men like Wycliffe criticized clerical corruption. Lollards also called for a universal priesthood, which explains why Margery falls under suspicion. She is accused, on several occasions, of being a Lollard due to her public instructions, which some interpret as preaching. She is also questioned on her views about the Eucharist since Wycliffe denied the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. Kempe, however, confirms her belief that the bread and wine, when consecrated, is the literal body and blood of Christ.

European travel increased during the late medieval era, inspired by a rising interest in the world outside of Europe and commercial interests. Christians had made pilgrimages to sacred sites associated with saints or Christ since the early Christian period, but this practice became increasingly frequent by the Late Middle Ages. Travel, however, could be costly and dangerous, especially for women. Margery’s recollections of her pilgrimages attest to this issue. She needs financial assistance to afford her long-distance trips, which she says God provides, and when her companions abandon her on the way to Jerusalem, she turns to others for support because she cannot travel alone.

The Late Middle Ages is also characterized by an upsurge of popular mysticism, especially among women like Margery. Some of these women, like Julian of Norwich, whom Margery visits, were also anchorites (See: Index of Terms). Women like Julian and St. Catherine of Siena were also writers: Julian composed an account of her divine revelations called the Shewings, while Catherine of Siena wrote letters that contain details of her spirituality and attempts to resolve the Papal Schism. Margery was thus not an anomaly but part of a larger mystical phenomenon in the late medieval period in which women were active.