Religion and Mysticism in the of Margery Kempe - Book Report/Review Example

Born around 1373 in the town of Bishop's Lynn in England, was she a Christian mystic who talked to Christ and had crying fits of religious fervour, or just an eccentric middle-class medieval woman who embarked on pilgrimages across Europe and to the Holy Land, narrating her experiences to scribes Margery Kempe tells us she was both. Her self-titled book, a cross between a spiritual biography and historical narrative, explores the tenuous relationship between religious experience and mystic phenomena. With reference to a number of academic sources, this essay will examine the religion/mysticism context of Kempe's narrative, but more importantly, her portrayal of self, for there will be found the reality of life as a medieval Christian mystic, in 'The Book of Margery Kempe'. Roman Catholicism was the dominant religion of Kempe's world, and as her mystic phenomena is a direct result/product of her relationship with the Church and its saviour, Jesus Christ, entrenched religious dogma governed how proceedings were handled. Catholicism adheres to an antiquated creed that defines a system of hierarchal patriarchy within its clergy, where only men are ordained as priests; women become nuns. From there, one can be secular/lay clergy, or ordinary parishioners. Margery Kempe's physical relationship to the Church then, was as a female parishioner. This is not only an important factor in understanding the biography itself, as stated in the Introduction to the book as being one of feminist conflict as Kempe challenged Church (and secular) authority with her visions and fits, but also the reaction of the Church to the release of Kempe's book some six centuries later. When according to a Father Thurston, reviewer of Catholic Periodicals in the 1930s, he and his peers regarded the mystical approach to God as through traditional self-abnegation and meditation, not Kempe's awkward performances (Beckwith 1986, p.38). This helps to establish the point where Catholic dogma and mysticism separate, there has to be evidence of a miracle, manifestation, and/or visitation. Take the apostles Paul and John (the Revelator) for example, the first Christian mystics. Paul's conversion was witnessed, and John's vision is the last Book in the Holy Bible. We can see that in Kempe's case then, she had two issues, not only was she female, but the visions and/or voices only she heard. Therefore, without tangible evidence or manifestation of God's power, when the fits of violent crying began during mass services, as Jim Jones from the University of Pennsylvania in his 2002 web-article points out, it actually angered many people, most of them clergy. Here was this woman clothed all in white crying maniacally during worship. Jones makes a further point that 'Monastic sects, heretical priests, self-selected pilgrims, as well as orthodox Catholics all sought ways to ensure their salvation in the afterlife. Margery Kempe was someone who sought salvation by extraordinary means.' It stands to reason that a person crying violently in places of worship will attract attention. Unfortunately for Margery Kempe, some of that attention could have meant her death, for at times she was called a Lollard, a follower of heretic John Wycliff's (1330 -1384) teachings, which advocated that man could have a personal relationship with God without the need for priests, nuns, or the Church (Encarta). It is understandable why this claim caused such a stir with clergy. To be found a Lollard during the early reign of King Henry VI meant a trip to the stake and a fiery end. No, with the benefit of hindsight, it can be said that Margery Kempe wasn't insane, nor was she a heretic. She was Catholic parishioner, one who apparently, had an unconfessed secret sin from childhood that may or may not have, hastened the onset of mystical visions and fits of weeping. Moving forward on the premise that Margery Kempe's mystical experiences/ phenomena whilst unproven, do bear closer examination. The encyclopedic definition of Christian mysticism is to paraphrase: after translation from Greek into Latin the mystical theology of Eastern Christianity was introduced into Western Europe where it combined with the mysticism of early Church father and theologian, Saint Augustine. The result being a hybrid, cultural-practice part Eastern, part Western, which is now of course, entrenched as Catholic dogma. This mystic element of Christian belief is not widely publicised, naturally enough, although some Protestant Pentecostal and Charismatic churches today do openly practice 'gifts of the spirit'. What then, is a Christian mystic, someone that follows Christ obviously, but also has a personal religious experience whereby they have some revelation or special knowledge of God No doubt, the apostle Paul had a mystical experience; Jesus Christ knocked him off his donkey and told him to clean his act up. The apostle John was taken up and shown a Revelation of things to come. Saint Francis of Assisi branded with stigmata. Then history reveals the English mystics, Kempe and her contemporary, Richard Rolle, whom it was claimed that God granted a healing miracle. Rolle was meant to be canonised a saint, only to fade into obscurity. What then of Margery Kempe, was she a true Christian mystic Referring to herself in her book as 'a creature' that is full of worldliness and pride, in the first chapter the reader is told that during the birth of her first child, ill and surrounded by demons, Christ appears to her and tells her not to worry, he will be with her all her life. Chapter 3: She hears the sweet sounds of Paradise and begins a regime of penance and chastity. Chapter 6: During a meditation, Christ allows her to experience the life of his mother, his birth, and that of John the Baptist first hand. Chapter 8: The Virgin mother appears and grants her a gift. (Cont.) (Cont.) Chapter 9: whilst praying a part of the church roof fell on Kempe; she was miraculously uninjured. Chapter 14: Christ speaks to her mind. Chapter 15: Christ commands her to Rome. Chapter 20: She has a vision where Christ confirms his favours and support. Chapter 22: Christ gives her a vision of heaven where she'll live as a consecrated virgin. Chapter 28: She receives her 'gift of tears'. Chapter 32: Christ sends her St John the Evangelist to be her confessor. Chapter 35: Granted a vision of her marriage to Christ in heaven. Chapters 36-38: Christ continues to console and reassure. Chapter 41: Christ preaches to her in her heart. A vision of St Jerome reveals her tears are blessed. Chapter 59: Christ reveals a vision. She is harassed by the devil and soothed by an angel. Chapter 65: Vision of Christ; heaven is waiting for her. Chapter 67 & 70: Apparent miracles happen as Kempe prays during a fire threatening to destroy a church and snow falls quenching the flames, then prays for a gravely ill man and he recovers. Chapter 80: Sees a vision of Christ's crucifixion. Chapters 85-Final: Here the mystic phenomena end with a reflection on all visions from Christ. Book II is about family and a second pilgrimage through religious sites in Europe. Obviously, one thing is abundantly clear at this point; Margery Kempe qualifies as one who experienced mystic phenomena if only a tenth of what she claims is true. And therein lay the quandary: why then, weren't her claims more widely accepted In the case of The Book of Margery Kempe, elements like historical accuracy, eyewitness accounts, and author credibility must be taken into account during the text validation process if the critic is to have any hope of determining the exact nature of religion and mysticism portrayed within the text ie. Free of bias. Especially in this case, where a scribe was dictated a story (by Kempe) that is later copied by a monk. This process, oral transfer, exposure to bias (the monk's), then reproduction, by its very nature, leaves the originality of the text vulnerable. One element that is not at the mercy of the scribe is historical and geographical accuracy, and in this regard, Kempe's autobiographical narrative scores well. In all sources consulted, the accuracy of Kempe's depiction of medieval life was not in question. An article from the Women's History Department of King's College goes so far as to say it (Kempe's book) 'has great significance because it is the earliest known autobiography in English'. Lynn Staley, editor of the Introduction to the Medieval Institutes 1996 publication of the book, says 'Kempe examines the fundamental conflicts and tensions of that world (medieval) by describing Margery's gradual and voluntary movement away from worldly prestige'. Note how Staley refers to Kempe and Margery as two separate entities, author, and protagonist. This is a key element in understanding the nature of the text itself, as a work of prose, and not an historical document. The next element to be considered is eyewitness accounts, and in Kempe's case, there were many. The thing about Margery's gift (or affliction) is it naturally attracted attention. Her fits and violent crying upset people, some in high places. Therefore, as procedure dictates, Church and secular authorities documented these events. No, the fact Margery Kempe suffered some kind of strange phenomena was/is not in question. It was a matter of source, where was it coming from: a disturbed mind, Satan, or God As much as Margery told her peers she was crying on an edict from Christ, that this is what Christ wanted her to do, in the end, like the miraculous falling of snow, and healing, all was nullified by the violent wailing and crying disturbing each religious service. Margery Kempe, Christian mystic, was her own worst enemy. This self-sabotage is an unfortunate by-product of the 'gift's' in-your-face ostentatiousness, and has been well documented. In Julian Yates'1995 article 'The Mystic Self: Margery Kempe and the Mirror of Narrative', he argues that the fits of crying were preordained by Christ. 'Her (Margery's) suffering becomes an enactment of the tortures Christ suffers on the Cross-she projects (mirrors) a set of behaviours that her fellow Christians should seek to emulate' (p.1). In other words, she is a witness. While this assumption may be one of many, it does help to establish another important fact regarding the nature of the text, that whilst a work of prose, it is nonetheless a document of some gravity and historic worth. Christian's take their witness seriously, especially when it is intended for mass consumption. The last thing on Margery Kempe's mind as a pious Catholic would have been that her book provided a negative witness to other Christians. Therefore, it would be relatively safe to assume at this point, that Kempe narrated events as they happened-to the best of her knowledge. That brings this essay to a major hurdle when considering accuracy in the portrayal of religion and mysticism in The Book of Margery Kempe: the oral author's lack of eduction. Had Margery been well schooled, her claims, whilst still vigorously pursued, would have carried weight. Alas, her under-educated oral narration to a scribe and subsequent copying by a monk, as argued earlier, not only left the text vulnerable, but somewhere along the line, transformed a pious Catholic parishioner, albeit one in the throws of mystic phenomena, into the 'creature', a fiction-like protagonist in a tale of mystic phenomena. The great misfortune is the true Margery Kempe is a woman of historical importance, and there are lessons to be learnt from her portrayal of medieval life, first as the daughter of a wealthy merchant, and second as a female Catholic parishioner. For example, her narrative exposes collusion between the two patriarchal systems of Church and medieval society in the repression and subjugation of women and their rights. In determining the nature of religion and mysticism in The Book of Margery Kempe, it has been established that Roman Catholicism is the denomination in question, with the mystic element of the book involving visions of Christ, his mother, and various saints. Hence, the historical Margery Kempe was by nature, a Christian mystic, albeit one who happened, as Jones highlighted, to seek salvation by extraordinary means. Then the question asked if Kempe's narrative depiction of Church and Mystic is true and faithful. This required a further examination of the text itself, the result of which determined historical accuracy, but due to the lack of hard evidence, left a question mark over most of the claims made. In a dose of irony, the eyewitness accounts that should have confirmed mystic phenomena, due to Kempe's violent fits of crying, actually turned people against her. Julian Yates reminded us that while Kempe's crying fits may have been bazaar, to look at the whole picture: her life, like the book, is a witness for other Christians of her time. In conclusion, while there is a lack of hard evidence regarding certain phenomena and visions, as a testimony to medieval religious practice and mysticism from a personal (female) perspective, the work deserves some canon of respectability. No doubt, feminist scholars regard the trials of the real Margery Kempe from a very different perspective to the Catholic Church, seeing her religion and mysticism as repressed, like her femininity, by a patriarchal Church and society. Unfortunately, due to the fact the book is not a work of historical import, that being one wrote by an academic, its reflection of religious mysticism in medieval life may well be overlooked, and that is regrettable. Sources http://courses.wcupa.edu/jones/his101.htm http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/margerykempe.html http://lib.rochester.edu Microsoft, 1999, 'Encarta 2000', Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, USA. Yates, Julian, 1995, 'Mystic Self: Margery Kempe and the Mirror of Narrative', Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies: Vol. 26, Article 5. Reference Beckwith, Sarah, 1986, "A Very Material Mysticism: The Medieval Mysticism of Margery Kemp," in Medieval Literature, Ideology History, ed. David Aers (New York, St. Martins Press, p.38. Read More