The Book of Margery Kempe

Margery viewed herself as Christ’s “servant” after her vision but continued to behave in a worldly manner and chastised her husband for his lesser status. She sought her neighbors’ admiration and took up brewing, later running a mill. The latter venture was short-lived when the horses refused to cooperate. Gossips claimed it was God’s retribution while others said, “it was the high mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that called her from the pride and vanity of this wretched world” (15). This experience transformed Margery, who performed penance to gain absolution for her pride.

Margery begins hearing heavenly music, which continued throughout her life and causes her to weep “for the bliss of heaven” (15). She expresses an aversion to sex and petitions her husband for a chaste marriage, which he refuses for several years. Margery performs “bodily penance” (16) and attends confession with frequency. Some of her neighbors disdain her behavior as too extreme while others claim her tears are a performance intended to garner attention. Some friends turn against her. She gives birth to more children during this time, and God tests her resolve.

“Vainglory” (18) consumes Margery because she resists the temptations God presents. God therefore tempts her with lechery so that she propositions a man outside of her church. He rebuffs her, leaving Margery shame-filled and hopeless because she is convinced of her damnation. God tests her further with new temptations, despite her consistent confession, causing Margery to believe God has forsaken her.

Christ speaks to Margery while she prays in a chapel attached to the Church of St. Margaret just before Christmas. He grants her absolution for her sins and tells her that he is her “love without end” (20). He commands that she stop wearing a hair shirt because he will provide one for her to carry within. He demands that she stop eating meat, replacing it with the Eucharistic bread and wine. He tells Margery that he will empower her to answer the clergy who question her, and he will install thoughts in her mind to replace her constant prayers. He commands that she be still and communicate with him via her thoughts, and that she conveys his messages to a local anchorite.

Christ gives Margery a Biblical vision in which she acts as a servant assisting in the births of various holy figures, including Mary, John the Baptist, and Jesus. For example, she organizes the bedding on which Mary gives birth to Christ and procures food for her after.

Margery continues to envision herself as a “handmaid” to the Virgin (23). She finds housing for Mary and Joseph when they flee to Egypt, for instance. She weeps “violently” (24) because she longs to join Christ in Paradise.

Margery has a vision of the Virgin and Christ. Mary appears to tell her that a place is waiting for her in heaven, next to Christ. Margery requests that her confessor, “Master R.” (24) join her. Mary tells her that her spouse, father, and children will also enjoy salvation’s reward. She asks that Christ recognize her good works as redemption for others, since she is already saved.

Margery prays for a chaste marriage, which Christ promises if she fasts. Later, her husband tries to initiate sex but possesses “no power to touch her at that time in that way” (25). Later a stone falls from the ceiling of St. Margeret’s Church, landing on Margery as she prays. Christ heals her from the severe pain after she calls out to him. Some view this experience as a miracle while others interpret it as God’s vengeance for Margery’s iniquitous ways.

Margery wants to make pilgrimages for her “spiritual health” (26). Her husband consents and joins her on her travels to local sites, including York. People welcome her in various places, engendering a “fear of vainglory” (26) within Margery. Christ, however, tells her that he will protect her from vainglory and tells her that he speaks through her: “And they that hear you, they hear the voice of God” (27).

Margery and John Kempe are traveling from York when John presents his wife with a hypothetical scenario: If a man threatened to decapitate John unless she had sex with her spouse, would she do so? John claims she is a bad wife because she says she would not break their vow of chaste marriage. She advocates for a permanent chaste marriage and requests they take a formal vow of chastity in front of a bishop. John attempts to negotiate with Margery. She refuses, for example, to feast with him on Fridays, and he threatens to “have sex with [her] again” (28).

Christ later speaks to Margery, releasing her from her Friday fast and requesting that she approach her husband again. John agrees to a permanent chaste marriage under this new condition. The two travel to other areas of England, visiting anchorites, clergy, and doctors of divinity so that Margery can tell them about her mystical experiences “to find out if there were any deception in her feelings” (29).

Margery visits a monastery where she is well-received by all except one cleric, who changes his mind after hearing her speak with the abbot and others at dinner. He questions her about his salvation, claiming that he will only believe she receives divine revelations if she can tell him what sins he has committed. Jesus tells her that the monk has been worldly and lecherous with married women. The cleric returns to piety and later becomes the monastery’s sub-prior.

Margery visits Canterbury where her weeping annoys monks, priests, and the laity. Her husband abandons her there because he is embarrassed by her behavior. One monk suggests that she is either possessed by demonic forces or the Holy Spirit. She thanks the monks for their scorn because it makes her a sort of martyr for her faith via the distress it generates. The monks accuse her of being a Lollard as she departs, and others declare that she should be burned as a heretic.

Two men come to her defense after she prays; they reunite her with her husband at her lodgings that she is unable to find on her own. Meanwhile, in King’s Lynn many detractors have slandered Margery during her absence. Nevertheless, she finds peace through her contemplations.

The criticism Margery faces brings her “comfort.” She longs to be martyred for her piety, though she fears that she would not be strong enough to face a violent death. Christ tells Margery he is grateful that she is willing to die for his love and assuages her fear of violent death. He tells her that he will baptize her in his blood, just like a priest baptizes a child in holy water. He reminds her to gratefully accept her contemplations, that God is within her, and that she finds Paradise wherever she finds the divine.

He calls Margery a daughter, sister, mother, and wife, for she takes on these various roles in her diverse expressions of love for Christ. For example, when she weeps over the Passion, she behaves like his mother, and she is a wife when she longs for unity with her beloved Christ in heaven.

Margery wants to see the Holy Land. Christ tells her to make pilgrimages to Rome, Jerusalem, and Santiago de Compostela. However, she does not have the funds to cover her travel expenses. Christ tells her that he will ensure that friends provide for her; he will accompany her on her journeys and protect her. He also commands that she dress in white. Margery protests that others will attack her for wearing a color that symbolizes “virginity.” Christ retorts that disdain increases her piety.

Margery, John Kempe, a maidservant, and a man described as trustworthy set out together. However, the unnamed man and maidservant soon turn against her thanks to Margery’s critics. Her husband comes to her defense and brings her to the Bishop of Lincoln. She tells the bishop about her contemplations, and he agrees to recognize her chaste marriage with John. Nevertheless, he soon reconsiders, telling her to go to Jerusalem to prove her devotion and to Canterbury. He claims the authority lies with the archbishop in Canterbury because Margery “was not from his diocese” (39). In reality, his advisors dislike Margery.

Margery and John reach Lambeth Palace, the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Members of the archbishop’s household and “other heedless men, both squires and yeoman” (40) swear at her and accuse Margery of heresy. She confronts the archbishop about their behavior and spends the day in his company before returning to London, where she is welcomed. Upon her return to King’s Lynn, the anchorite that Margery visits says he has been encouraged to abandon their friendship but refuses to do so.

God demanded Margery go to Norwich shortly after she gave birth to one of her children. He tells her to greet the Vicar of St. Stephens and convey God’s pleasure with him. She spends some time in conversation with the cleric when she hears “so terrible a melody” (43) that she collapses, after which she finds the spiritual resolve to continue. She tells the Vicar about her conversations with Christ and the saints, including the Virgin Mary. She explains that her contemplations cause her weeping, leading to her neighbors’ scorn. The Vicar becomes Margery’s supporter and serves as her confessor whenever she visits Norwich.

Christ orders Margery to consult a “White Friar” (44) in Norwich named William Southfield. She tells him about her contemplations, and he assures her they are divinely inspired. His words comfort Margery, who goes on to visit the anchoritic woman, Julian of Norwich, with whom she spends multiple days. She tells Julian about her conversations with Christ and divine revelations. Julian explains how Margery can distinguish between divine revelations and evil voices and validates Margery’s weeping. She tells Margery not to concern herself with slanderous words leveled against her and notes that the more she suffers, the more worthy Margery becomes in God’s eyes.

Nevertheless, others continue to level slanderous accusations against Margery. Her confessor in Lynn prophesies that Margery’s maidservant will betray her during her pilgrimage to Jerusalem and that God will “test” her repeatedly (47). She will also cope with a troublesome confessor sent as a “scourge” (48). Margery also confronts a difficult widow who refuses to listen to God’s advice, conveyed through Margery.

God sends Margery to converse with a “respectable lady” (49). The woman becomes upsets when Margery reveals that her deceased spouse is in purgatory where the woman’s soul will also spend time upon death. The woman attempts to get Margery’s anchoritic confessor to turn against her, but he refuses and continues to reassure Margery of God’s special love for her.

Margery witnesses the Eucharistic bread and wine moving independently during Mass one day. Christ tells her that even his beloved St. Bridget never saw such a thing and that “‘it betokens vengeance’” (51). He reveals that an earthquake will occur.

Christ tells Margery she is pregnant. She worries about her lack of chastity, but Christ assures her that his love for married women is great. He reminds her that his concern is with what she will become, not what she has done in the past. He names several saints who changed their ways to become beloved to him, like Mary of Egypt and St. Paul. Margery later has a vision of the Virgin Mary in which she reassures Margery that God loves her.

Margery laments her lack of “virginity” while contemplating. Christ reminds her that he remits her sins and that she will enjoy salvation upon her death, when she will join not only him, but the Virgin and other revered saints like Mary Magdalene, St. Margaret, and St. Katherine. The many trials Margery has suffered means she has already received the sacrament of last rites. She receives God’s grace like saints Margaret, Katherine, Barabara, and Paul. Christ describes her as “a maiden in […] soul” and his “blessed spouse” (55).

Margery recounts several divine revelations. For example, the divine tells Margery during a funeral Mass that the deceased’s soul is in purgatory and that the dead woman’s spouse will die soon. This revelation comes true within a short time. On another occasion, one of Margery’s close and devout friends is ill and expects to die. God reveals that she will live another 10 years, which also proves true. Margery finds it difficult to live with this revealed knowledge because it often causes her fear, but God explains “to her soul how the feelings should be understood” (57).

Margery’s scribe asks her questions about future events to test her so that he feels comfortable recording her book. However, he does not always take her advice. For instance, when a strange youth arrives asking for monetary support, Margery advises against it. Instead, she suggests that their neighbors in King’s Lynn have just as much need, and helping those known to them is better. The priestly scribe nevertheless loans the young man some silver. He promises to repay him after going away for a few days, but he never returns—Margery’s suspicions were correct.

Some parishioners in King’s Lynn petition the Pope to give two chapels the same rights as the parish church. For example, they want fonts for baptisms placed in the two chapels. This action causes division between the parishioners and the Prior. Margery’s scribe consults her about the matter. The bishop of Norwich offers a font on the condition that it not degrade the position of the parish church. Margery prays about the issue, and God reveals that the parishioners will not get their font. Thus, the church of St. Margaret “still remained in its dignity and its degree as it had done for two hundred years before and more” (63).

Margery leaves England for Jerusalem, as God commanded some years earlier, with her primary confessor’s and husband’s blessings and knowing she will face many tribulations. She boards a ship at Yarmouth that sails to Holland, where she weeps at the thought of the Passion. Margery’s fellow pilgrims become annoyed with her because she refuses to eat meat and constantly weeps. They tell her she is no longer welcome to travel with them, and her maidservant abandons her. Margery begs to remain with her party until they reach Constance. They degrade and bully her along the way, cutting her gown, for example. Nevertheless, everywhere Margery is “held in more esteem than they were” (65).

Margery visits an English papal legate in Constance whom she tells about her visions and contemplations. He assures her that the voice she hears is that of the Holy Spirit. The legate later joins her group for a meal during which she never speaks. Her fellow pilgrims complain about Margery to the legate and request that he command her to eat meat and cease her weeping. He refuses on the grounds that he will not demand she break a vow. Her party then leaves her with the legate, who treats Margery kindly. He helps her exchange her currency. Margery prays for God to provide her with an escort for the remainder of her journey.

She soon encounters William Wever, who agrees to travel with her. They arrive in Bologna where William asks her former traveling partners to accept Margery into their group again. They agree, provided she will “make merry” (68) with them at mealtimes and not talk about the Gospels. They reach Venice, where Margery begins conversing about the Gospels and is once again forsaken by her party. Her maidservant refuses to help her, even when she falls ill.

Christ warns Margery not to depart from Venice in the ship her party has arranged. She finds alternative transport. Her former companions join her galley when they find out about her revelation, but they continue to abuse her until the group finally comes to Jerusalem.

Margery experiences divine ecstasy and visits numerous sites associated with Christ’s Passion, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. At Calvary, she spreads her arms out like the crucifixion and has a vision of the Biblical mourners who witnessed Christ’s death. She also begins crying and screaming during her contemplations involving the Passion. This crying later occurs in Rome and continues when she returns to England. Critics claim her screams are demonically or illness-induced. She tries to suppress the cries but cannot, since she mourns Christ’s death much like others grieve the deaths of loved ones.

Margery collapses in grief during the procession to Christ’s tomb. She envisions the Virgin Mary’s sorrow at the sight of her son’s death and weeps in anguish. She continues to weep wherever she goes in Jerusalem. She wants to receive communion at Mount Zion, the site of Christ’s Last Supper. Christ tells her to journey to Rome and Santiago de Compostela during Mass. The Virgin tells her that if she wishes to enjoy the joy of Heaven, she must bear the sorrow that Mary felt when Jesus was crucified. The Franciscans who lead the processions of pilgrims recognize her unique devotion, just as Christ revealed before her journey.

Margery’s fellow pilgrims abandon her while she struggles up Mount Quarentyne but a Muslim passerby helps her to the top. The other pilgrims will share no water with her, but the monks care for her. The clerics at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre give her relics to take home and beg her to stay. Her Muslim guides likewise treat her with dignity.

The divine then tells her to travel to Rome before returning home. Her companions abandon her again on the way to Rome, but God promises to deliver her safely. She meets an Irishman called Richard who agrees to act as an escort for her. They meet a group of friars and kind women who allow her to travel with them, providing her with food and drink: “And every evening and morning, Richard the hunchback came and cheered her up as he had promised” (79).