Butler-Bowdon, W., trans., The Book of Margery Kempe, fourteen hundred & thirty-six: a modern version (New York: The Devin-Adair company, 1944). View Source Online

Text name(s): Book of Margery Kempe

Number of pages of primary source text: 0

Medieval Author(s): Kempe, Margery

Dates: 1400 - 1438

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Original Language(s): English - Middle English;

Translation: English translation.

Translation Comments:

Geopolitical Region(s): England;

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Comments:

Margery Kempe was an extraordinary woman who decided, after giving birth to many children, to lead a religious life. She had visions in which she conversed with and participated in the lives of Christ and his family. She faced considerable obstacles in her pious life—her family, friends, and clergy did not support her efforts, and she was accused of Lollardy. However, she took a pilgimage to Rome and travelled extensively through Europe, despite these obstacles. Her book, which she dictated to a cleric, is an unusual account of the life of a middle class woman in medieval England. It provides fascinating details of everyday life, as well as a broader picture of lay piety. Excerpts from this modern English translation, along with some additional introductory and interpretive material, can be found on the Pilgrimage to Jerusalem Website, which supplements a seminar course taught at Colorado State University, Pueblo. The excerpts deal with Margery’s pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

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Cataloger: MK