Margery Kempe
Author of The Book of Margery Kempe
About the Author
The daughter of a respected merchant and public official, Margery Kempe was born in about 1373 in Norfolk, England. When Kempe was in her 20s, she began having visions in which she talked to Jesus, Mary, and some saints. In 1414, Kempe and her husband, a local official named John Kempe whom she show more married in 1393, embarked on a series of pilgrimages to the Holy Land and throughout Europe. At about the age of 60, Kempe dictated her spiritual autobiography to two scribes. The earliest autobiography written in English, The Book of Margery Kempe discusses every aspect of Kempe's life, including her marriage, religious conversion, and many pilgrimages. Margery Kempe is believed to have died sometime around 1440. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Margery Kempe
Associated Works
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Common Knowledge
- Other names
- Brunham, Margery
- Birthdate
- 1373 c.
- Date of death
- 1440 c.
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- King's Lynn, Norfolk, England
- Short biography
- Kempe is honoured in the Church of England on 9 November and in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America together with Richard Rolle and Walter Hilton on 28 September.
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Folio Society (1)
Europe (1)
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 13
- Also by
- 3
- Members
- 1,838
- Popularity
- #14,003
- Rating
- 3.5
- Reviews
- 19
- ISBNs
- 27
- Languages
- 3
- Favorited
- 4
Her particular story is that she believed herself to be, and was believed by many to be, in direct contact with God, for many years. Many people, including many priests and 2 bishops, sought her out for her goodness & insight/guidance She was abused, threatened, beaten, abandoned, ridiculed and despised by a great many other people, who believed that the Devil or a demon had taken over her body. She expressed the closeness she felt to God by constantly talking about what God & Jesus told her & others to do, and she exploded in wild outcries and weeping that often went on for hours.
So, this is, in effect, an artifact of part of Christian Europe/Britain/Middle East. She once spent months in Germany and had one months-long pilgrimage to Jerusalem with many stops along the way, given the transportation choices available at that time. She had occasion to visit churches in France, Italy, Turkey, Syria and Palestine, among other countries. She talked with citizens of many places and had to wait for weeks, or change her routes, occasionally because of various war as well as one Crusade.
This book opened up a whole new world for me.… (more)