Margery Kempe
The following biography information provides basic facts and information about the life and history of Margery Kempe, a famous Medieval character:
Nationality: English
Lifespan: c1373 - c1438
Time Reference: Lived during the reign of the English kings Edward III, Richard II and Henry IV
Date of Birth: She was born Margery Brunham at King's Lynn, Norfolk (then called Bishop's Lynn) in approximately 1373
Family connections : She was the daughter of John Brunham, a wealthy merchant in King's Lynn who was involved in local politics and achieved the position of mayor and Member of Parliament
Education: Margery Kempe was unable to read or write but had people read to her. She dictated her memoirs which were transcribed as 'The Book of Margery Kempe'
Married: Margery Kempe married John Kempe at the age of twenty in 1393. Hence the assumption that she was born in 1373.
Children: Margery and John Kempe produced 14 children
When the "visions" of Margery Kempe began: She experienced her first Christian vision c1394 following the delivery of her first child
What provoked the visions of Margery Kempe? She was suffering from a disturbed state of mind caused by any number of events including depression (post natal), feelings of guilt, an over-imaginative mind, a spiritual crisis and an unsympathetic confessor
She suffered the equivalent of a nervous breakdown. Her condition was so severe that she had to be constrained. It was punctuated by loud and unrestrained crying
She then experienced a vision and emerged calm and 'came to her senses'
Unclear of how she should respond to the visions she continued everyday life with her husband and produced many more children. This was seen as an impossible way of life for a "spiritual woman" and she was strongly criticised and even rebuked for attempting to live a life totally devoted to Christ but as a married woman
In 1403 she and her husband took vows of chastity before the Bishop of Lincoln
She then took to wearing white - which brought more criticism as the normal color for a woman of her age and station would have been black
She annoyed people further by her uncontrollable weeping and wailing at holy sites and during mass
Margery Kempe was accused of being a Lollard but cleared of this by the Archbishop of Canterbury
She undertook pilgrimages to sacred places in England including Canterbury, Norwich and York
Margery Kempe was a contemporary of the Medieval anchoress, Julian of Norwich, who she visited
In the autumn of 1414 she undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land via Venice
She reached Jerusalem and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and travelled on to Bethlehem
She returned to England in May 1415
Further pilgrimages took her to Rome, Germany, Norway and Spain
In 1433 she undertook a pilgrimage to Danzig
Margery Kempe dictated the content of 'The Book of Margery Kempe' to men hired as scribes
'The Book of Margery Kempe' was recopied by a travelling priest
The manuscript containing the 'The Book of Margery Kempe' was lost for many years and only rediscovered in 1934 by Miss Hope Emily Allen, although its existence and some of its contents were known from references and quotations in other medieval books
Miss Hope Emily Allen identified the manuscript copy of 'The Book of Margery Kempe' in the library of Colonel Butler-Bowdon of Pleasington Old Hall in Lancashire, England
Date of Death: The last known reference to Margery Kempe was at King's Lynn in 1438 although her exact date of death is unknown
Margery Kempe
The story and biography of Margery Kempe contains interesting information, facts & the history about the life of this Medieval woman of historical importance.
Nationality: English
Lifespan: c1373 - c1438
Time Reference: Lived during the reign of the English kings Edward III, Richard II and Henry IV
Date of Birth: She was born Margery Brunham at King's Lynn, Norfolk (then called Bishop's Lynn) in approximately 1373
Family connections : She was the daughter of John Brunham, a wealthy merchant in King's Lynn who was involved in local politics and achieved the position of mayor and Member of Parliament
Education: Margery Kempe was unable to read or write but had people read to her. She dictated her memoirs which were transcribed as 'The Book of Margery Kempe'
Married: Margery Kempe married John Kempe at the age of twenty in 1393. Hence the assumption that she was born in 1373.
Children: Margery and John Kempe produced 14 children
When the "visions" of Margery Kempe began: She experienced her first Christian vision c1394 following the delivery of her first child
What provoked the visions of Margery Kempe? She was suffering from a disturbed state of mind caused by any number of events including depression (post natal), feelings of guilt, an over-imaginative mind, a spiritual crisis and an unsympathetic confessor
She suffered the equivalent of a nervous breakdown. Her condition was so severe that she had to be constrained. It was punctuated by loud and unrestrained crying
She then experienced a vision and emerged calm and 'came to her senses'
Unclear of how she should respond to the visions she continued everyday life with her husband and produced many more children. This was seen as an impossible way of life for a "spiritual woman" and she was strongly criticised and even rebuked for attempting to live a life totally devoted to Christ but as a married woman
In 1403 she and her husband took vows of chastity before the Bishop of Lincoln
She then took to wearing white - which brought more criticism as the normal color for a woman of her age and station would have been black
She annoyed people further by her uncontrollable weeping and wailing at holy sites and during mass
Margery Kempe was accused of being a Lollard but cleared of this by the Archbishop of Canterbury
She undertook pilgrimages to sacred places in England including Canterbury, Norwich and York
Margery Kempe was a contemporary of the Medieval anchoress, Julian of Norwich, who she visited
In the autumn of 1414 she undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land via Venice
She reached Jerusalem and visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and travelled on to Bethlehem
She returned to England in May 1415
Further pilgrimages took her to Rome, Germany, Norway and Spain
In 1433 she undertook a pilgrimage to Danzig
Margery Kempe dictated the content of 'The Book of Margery Kempe' to men hired as scribes
'The Book of Margery Kempe' was recopied by a travelling priest
The manuscript containing the 'The Book of Margery Kempe' was lost for many years and only rediscovered in 1934 by Miss Hope Emily Allen, although its existence and some of its contents were known from references and quotations in other medieval books
Miss Hope Emily Allen identified the manuscript copy of 'The Book of Margery Kempe' in the library of Colonel Butler-Bowdon of Pleasington Old Hall in Lancashire, England
Date of Death: The last known reference to Margery Kempe was at King's Lynn in 1438 although her exact date of death is unknown
Margery Kempe
The story and biography of Margery Kempe contains interesting information, facts & the history about the life of this Medieval woman of historical importance.
