On a visit to Canterbury, Margery Kempe ran afoul of an elderly monk, who declared, “I wish you were shut up in a house of stone where nobody should talk to you” (Book 1, Chapter 13). Kempe tended to annoy people–her husband, her son, the neighbors, mayors, archbishops, fellow travelers. You get the idea. People didn’t like her talking about God all the time.  They disapproved of her flamboyant clothes.  They resented her unsolicited advice.  They cringed when she burst into tears, “roaring” uncontrollably during sermons and church services.  Clergy thought she was poaching on their turf when crowds gathered round to hear her.  Husbands thought she was going to convert their wives to her eccentric lifestyle.  Mothers didn’t know what to think when she snatched their infants from their arms and cuddled and kissed them because they reminded her of the baby Jesus.

Kempe didn’t mind exciting controversy.  In fact, she rather enjoyed it.  Except when her critics threatened to burn her as a heretic.

Like Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe embraced a religious vocation following a serious illness.  But instead of pursuing a conventional route to holiness, as Julian did by becoming an anchoress, Kempe fashioned her own idiosyncratic vocation as a married woman of God in the world.  No anchorhold, no wall, no “house of stone” for her!   She travelled widely through England and Continental Europe, venturing as far as Jerusalem.

During the 1430s, when Kempe was in her late fifties and sixties, she dictated her adventures to two scribes.

Though Kempe annoyed many, she was also much admired.  An indication of the respect she enjoyed is her membership in the prestigious Guild of the Trinity in her hometown of King’s Lynn, a guild whose members were a Who’s Who of the city’s elite:

Like Julian, Margery Kempe was a visionary, but her visions were more participatory than Julian’s.  She conversed with Jesus.  What’s more, she talked back to him.  She also talked back to priests, bishops, abbots, and other clergymen. 

The Book of Margery Kempe, often considered the first autobiography in English, but it’s a very strange autobiography.  For one, Margery Kempe refers to herself throughout as “this creature.”  Indeed, The Book of Margery Kempe is like nothing else in English literature.

This video lecture surveys this extraordinary text and contextualizes the selections that follow.

Extracts from The Book of Margery Kempe

Modernized by Abigail S. Greff

If you’d like to sample The Book of Margery Kempe in the original Middle English, see this edition by Lynn Staley, designed for students.

Fashionista and Entrepreneur

From Book 1, Chapter 2:

And, when this creature had thus graciously come again to her mind, she thought that she was bound to God and that she would be his servant. Nevertheless, she would not leave her pride nor her pompous apparel that she had used before, neither for her husband nor for any other man’s counsel. And yet she knew full well that men said many disgraceful things about her, for she wore gold pipes on her head and her hoods with the tippets were dagged. Her cloaks also were dagged and laid with diverse colors between the dags so that they should be the more ostentatious to men’s sight and so that she might be held in higher esteem. And, when her husband would speak to her and tell her to leave off her pride, she answered sharply and shortly and said that she came from worthy kindred, and he should never have married her, for her father had been the mayor of the town N and after that he was alderman of the high Guild of the Trinity in N. And therefore, she would maintain the honor of her kinsmen whatsoever any man said. She had great envy of her neighbors if they were dressed as well as she was. All she desired was to be honored by people. She would not be warned by anyone’s chastising, nor be content with the goods that God had sent her, as her husband was, but always desired more and more.

And then, for pure covetousness and to maintain her pride, she began to brew and was one of the greatest brewers in the town N for three or four years until she suffered losses, for she had never had experience with brewing before. No matter how many good servants or what skill in brewing she had, they were never able to be successful. For, when the ale was standing as fair under the barm as anyone might see, suddenly the barm would fall down so that all the ale was lost brewing after brewing, so that her servants were ashamed and would not stay with her. Then this creature thought about how God had punished her before and she was not properly wary of it, and now the same was happening again by the loss of her goods, and then she left and brewed no more. And then she asked her husband to forgive her for not following his counsel before, and she said that her pride and sin were the cause of all her punishments and that she would amend the ways in which she had trespassed with good will.

But yet she did not altogether leave the world, for now she thought to herself about a new occupation. She had a horse mill. She found two good horses and a man to grind men’s corn and she trusted in this to earn her living. This project did not endure long, for shortly after, on Corpus Christi Eve, there fell a marvel. This man was in good bodily health, and his two horses were vigorous and healthy and had drawn well in the mill beforehand. Now, when he took one of his horses and put him in the mill as he had done before, this horse would pull no load in the mill no matter what the man did. The man was dismayed and considered with all his wits how he should make this horse pull his load. Sometimes he tried leading him by the head, sometimes he tried beating him, and sometimes he tried treating him with kindness, but it was all to no avail, for he would rather go backward than forward. Then this man set a sharp pair of spurs on his heels and road on the horse’s back in order to make him pull, but it worked no better. When this man saw it would in no way be possible, then he settled this horse in the stable again and gave him food, and he ate well and eagerly. And then he took the other horse and put him in the mill. And just as his fellow did, so did he, for he would not pull a load for anything that the man might do. And then this man gave up his work and would no longer stay with the foresaid creature. As soon as it had spread around the town of N that there was neither man nor beast that would work for the said creature, then some said she was cursed; some said God took open vengeance upon her; some said one thing, and some said another. And some wise men, whose minds were more grounded in the love of our Lord, said it was the high mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, which tried to hail and call her from the pride and vanity of the wretched world.

And then this creature, seeing all this adversity coming at her from every side, thought it was the scourge of our Lord that would chastise her for her sin. Then she asked God for mercy and gave up her pride, her covetousness, and her desire for worldly honors, and did great bodily penance, and began to enter on the path of everlasting life, as shall be detailed after.

The Handmaiden’s Handmaiden, or, Inhabiting a Virtual Reality

From Book 1, Chapter 6:

On another day this creature gave herself over to meditation, as she was bidden before, and she lay still, not knowing what she might best think.

Then she said to our Lord Jesus Christ, “Jesus, what shall I think?”

Our Lord Jesus answered to her mind, “Daughter, think on my mother, for she is the cause of all the grace that you have.”

And then, at once, she saw Saint Anne great with child, and then she prayed to Saint Anne to be her maiden and her servant.

And soon our Lady was born, and then she busied herself to take the child to her and keep it until it was twelve years of age with good food and drink, with fair white clothes and white kerchiefs.

And then she said to the blessed child, “Lady, you shall be the mother of God.”

The blessed child answered and said, “I would that I were worthy to be the handmaiden of her that should conceive the son of God.”

The creature said, “I pray you, Lady, if that grace should befall you, do not forsake my service.”

The blissful child passed away for a certain time, the creature being still in contemplation, and afterward came again and said, “Daughter, now I have become the mother of God.”

And then the creature fell down on her knees with great reverence and great weeping and said, “I am not worthy, Lady, to do you service.”

“Yes, daughter,” she said, “Follow me, your service pleases me well.”^[1]

Then she went forth with our Lady and with Joseph, bearing with her a large vessel of sweet wine with spices. Then they went forth to Elizabeth, Saint John the Baptist’s mother, and, when they met together, each one showed honor to the other, and so they dwelt together with great grace and gladness twelve weeks. And then Saint John was born, and our Lady took him up from the earth with all manner of reverence and gave him to his mother, saying of him that he would be a holy man, and blessed him. Then they took their leave of one another with compassionate tears. And then the creature fell down on her knees to Saint Elizabeth and prayed to her that she would pray for her to our Lady that she might do her service and pleasure. “Daughter, it seems to me,” said Elizabeth, “that you do your duty very well.”

And then the creature went forth with our Lady to Bethlehem and obtained her lodging every night with great reverence, and our Lady was received with glad cheer. Also, she begged for our Lady fair white clothes and kerchiefs to swaddle her son in when he was born, and, when Jesus was born, she arranged bedding for our Lady to lie in with her blessed son. And afterward, she begged food for our Lady and her blessed child. Afterward, she swaddled him with bitter tears of compassion, having mind of the sharp death that he would suffer for the love of sinful men, saying to him, “Lord, I shall fare well with you; I shall not bind you painfully. I pray that you not be displeased with me.”

Negotiating Marriage

From Book 1, Chapter 11:

It happened on a Friday on Midsummer Eve in very hot weather, as this creature was coming from the direction of York bearing a bottle of beer in her hand, and her husband bearing a cake in his bosom, that he asked his wife this question: “Margery, if a man came upon us with a sword and said that he would cut off my head unless I had intercourse with you again as I used to do, tell me the truth of your conscience – for you say you will not lie: would you allow my head to be cut off, or would you allow me to have intercourse with you again as I did before?”

“Alas, sir,” she said, “why do you bring up this subject when we have been chaste these past eight weeks?”

“Because I would know the truth of your heart.”

And then she said with great sorrow, “Truthfully, I would rather see you be slain than have us turn again to our prior uncleanness.”

And he said to her, “You are no good wife.”

And then she asked her husband why he had not tried to have intercourse with her for eight weeks, when she lay with him every night in his bed. And he said that he suddenly became so afraid every time he tried to touch her that he dared try it anymore.

“Now, good sir, amend your ways and ask God for mercy, for I told you nearly three years ago that you would be slain suddenly, and now this is the third year, and yet I hope I shall have my desire. Good sir, I pray you, grant me that which I ask, and I shall pray for you so that you will be saved through the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, and you will have a greater reward in heaven than if you had worn a hair shirt or a coat of mail on your bare skin. I pray you, allow me to make a vow of chastity in whatever bishop’s hand God wills.”

“No,” he said, “I will not grant you that, for now I may use you sexually without deadly sin, and otherwise, I cannot do so.” Then she said again, “If it be the will of the Holy Ghost to fulfill my desire, then I pray to God you will consent to it; and, if it not be the will of the Holy Ghost, I pray to God that you never consent to it.”

Then they went forth toward Bridinglington in very hot weather, the foresaid creature feeling great sorrow and great concern for her chastity. And, as they passed by a cross, her husband set himself down under the cross, calling his wife to him and saying these words to her, “Margery, grant me my desire, and I shall grant you your desire. My first desire is that we will still lay together in one bed as we have done before; the second, that you will pay my debts before you go to Jerusalem; and the third, that you will eat and drink with me on Fridays as you were wont to do before.”

“No, Sir,” she said, “I will never agree to eat on Fridays as long as I live.”

“Well,” he said, “then I will start to have intercourse with you again.”

She begged him to give her leave to make her prayers, and he granted it amicably.

Then she knelt down beside a cross in the field and prayed in this manner with a great abundance of tears: “Lord God, you know everything; you know what difficulty I have had trying to be chaste in my body these last three years, and now that I might have my will, I dare not for love of you. For, if I were to break that manner of fasting which you commanded me to keep on Fridays, not having food or drink, I should now have my desire. But, blessed Lord, you know I will not act contrary to your will, and my sorrow will be great unless I find comfort in you. Now, blessed Jesus, make your will known to me, unworthy wretch, so that I might follow it thereafter and fulfill it with all my might.”

And then our Lord Jesus Christ spoke to this creature with great sweetness, commanding her to go back to her husband and pray him to grant her what she desired. “And he shall have what he desires. For, my dear daughter, this was the reason that I bid you to fast: so that you would sooner obtain and receive your desire, and now it has been granted to you. I no longer wish you to fast; therefore, I bid you in the name of Jesus to eat and drink as your husband does.”

Then this creature thanked our Lord Jesus Christ for his grace and goodness, then rose up and went to her husband, saying to him, “Sir, if it pleases you, you shall grant me my desire, and you shall have your desire. Grant me that you will not come to my bed, and I will grant you that I will pay your debts before I go to Jerusalem. And make my body free to God so that you never again challenge me by claiming the matrimonial debt after this day as long as you live, and I will eat and drink on Fridays at your bidding.”

Then her husband said to her, “May your body be as free to God as it has been to me.” This creature thanked God greatly, pleased that she had her desire, urging her husband that they should say three Our Fathers in worship of the Trinity for the great Grace that He had granted them. And so they did, kneeling under a cross, and then they ate and drank together with a great gladness of spirit.

This was on a Friday on Midsummer Eve.

Then they went forth toward Bridlington and elsewhere, and spoke with God’s servants, both anchorites and recluses and many other of our Lord’s lovers, with many worthy clerks, doctors of divinity, and bachelors in many diverse places. And this creature shared her feelings and contemplations with many of them, as she was commanded to do, in order to know whether there was any deceit in her feelings.

Visiting Julian of Norwich

From Book 1, Chapter 18:

And then she was bidden by our Lord to go to an anchoress in the same city who was named Dame Julian. And so she did and showed Dame Julian the grace that God had put in her soul: compunction, contrition, sweetness and devotion, compassion with holy meditation and high contemplation, and the many holy speeches and intimate conversations our Lord had spoken to her soul, and many wonderful revelations, which she showed to the anchoress to discern whether there was any deceit in them, for the anchoress was an expert in such things and could give good counsel.

The anchoress, hearing about the marvelous goodness of our Lord, thanked God highly with all her heart for His visitation, counseling this creature to be obedient to the will of our Lord God and fulfill with all her might whatever He put into her soul, as long it was not against the worship of God and the profit of her fellow Christians; for, if it was, than it was not the prompting of a good spirit but rather of an evil spirit. The Holy Ghost never inspires anything against charity for, if He did, He would be acting contrary to His own self, for He is all charity. Also, He inspires the soul to all chasteness, for people living in chastity are called the temple of the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost makes the soul stable and steadfast in the right faith and the right belief. And a man conflicted in his soul is always unstable and unsteadfast in all his ways. He that is forever doubting is like the floodtide of the sea, which is moved and born about with the wind, and that man is not likely to receive the gifts of God. Whatever creature has these tokens must steadfastly believe that the Holy Ghost dwells in his soul. And much more than that, when God visits a creature with tears of contrition, devotion, or compassion, he may and ought to believe that the Holy Ghost is in his soul. Saint Paul says that the Holy Ghost asks for us with unspeakable mourning and weeping; that is to say that he makes us ask and pray with mourning and weeping so plenteous that the tears may not be counted. No evil spirt may bestow these tokens, for Jerome says that tears torment the devil more than do the pains of hell. God and the devil are forever in opposition, and they shall never dwell together in one place, and the devil has no power in a man’s soul. Holy Writ says that the soul of a righteous man is the seat of God, and so I trust, sister, that you have been such a one. I pray God grant you perseverance. Set all your trust in God and do not fear the talk of the world, for the more spite, shame, and reproof that you have in the world, the greater is your merit in the sight of God. Your patience is necessary for it is through patience that you will keep your soul.”

Great was the holy conversation that the anchoress and this creature had as they shared with each other their love of our Lord Jesus Christ during the many days that they were together.

This creature showed her manner of living to many a worthy clerk and to revered doctors of divinity, both religious men and other men of secular habit, and they said that God wrought great grace within her and bid her not to be afraid, for there was no deceit in her manner of living. They counselled her to be perseverant, for her greatest fear was that she should turn in her manner of living and not keep her perfection. She had so many enemies and there was so much slander about her that it seemed to them she might not bear it without great grace and a mighty faith. Other people, who had no knowledge of her manner of living, save only what they saw or else heard through the gossip of other people, perverting the judgement of truth, said evil things about her and stirred up opposition to her and caused her more distress than she should have had if they had not spoken viciously about her.

Jesus as Husband

From Chapter 36 (Jesus is speaking to Kempe):

“Fasting, daughter, is good for young beginners and as well as certain types of penance, namely that which their ghostly father gives them or enjoins them to do. And saying many prayers is good for them that can do no better, and yet it is not perfect. But it is a good way to set out on the path toward perfection. For I tell you, daughter: those who are great fasters and great doers of penance, they believe that it should be held the best life. Also, those who devote themselves to the saying of many devotions, they believe that that should be held the best life, and those who give many alms believe that that should be held the best life. And I have oftentimes, daughter, told you that thinking, weeping, and high contemplation is the best life on earth. And you shall have more merit in heaven for one year of thinking in your mind than for a hundred years of praying with your mouth, and yet you will not believe me, for you will say many prayers whether I will it or not. And yet, daughter, I will not be displeased with you, whatever you might think, say, or speak, for I am always pleased with you.

“And, if I was on earth as bodily as I was before I died on the cross, I would not be ashamed of you as many other men are, for I would take you by the hand among the people and make you such great cheer that you would well know that I love you very well. For it is suitable for the wife to be intimate with her husband. No matter how great a lord he is and how poor a woman she is when he marries her, nevertheless, they must lie together and rest together in joy and peace.

“Just so must it be between you and me, for I take no heed of what you have been, but only what you would be. And oftentimes I have told you that I have completely forgiven you all your sins. Therefore, I must be intimate with you and lie in your bed with you. Daughter, you greatly desire to see me, and you may boldly, when you are in your bed, take me to you as if I was your wedded husband, your dearest darling, and your sweet son, for I wish to be loved as a son should be loved by his mother and desire you to love me, daughter, as a good wife owes love to her husband. And therefore, you may boldly take me in the arms of your soul and kiss my mouth, my head, and my feet as sweetly as you wish to.

“And, as often as you think about me or would do any good deed to me, you will have the same reward in heaven as if you did it to my own precious body, which is in heaven, for I ask no more from you but that your heart loves that which loves you, for my love is always open to you.

Marriage and The Book of Margery Kempe