This research paper examines the pilgrimage to Jerusalem as depicted in The Book of Margery Kempe, situating the narrative within the cultural, religious, and socio-political context of fifteenth century England. It explores how Kempe’s journey reflects broader societal dynamics, including religious devotion, gender expectations, and the social challenges of pilgrimage. By analyzing her personal experiences and encounters along the route, the study highlights the transformative impact of pilgrimage on Kempe’s identity and social standing. Particular attention is given to the tensions between personal piety and communal norms, and the role of spiritual travel in negotiating female agency during the late medieval period. Ultimately, the paper argues that Kempe’s account offers valuable insight into how pilgrimage functioned not only as a religious act but also as a means of self-definition and social positioning. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of medieval pilgrimage as a personal and culturally embedded experience.
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Theoretical Framework:
- 2.1 Cultural, religious, and socio-political climate of fifteenth-century England.
- 2.2. Understanding Late Medieval Pilgrimage to Jerusalem
- 3. Analytical Part:.
- 3.1. Margery Kempe's Jerusalem Pilgrimage: Challenges and Encounters
- 3.2. The Impact of the Pilgrimage on Margery Kempe's Identity and Social Status
- 4. Conclusion.
- 5. Bibliography.
- 5.1. Primary Source:
- 5.2. Secondary Sources
Objective & Thematic Focus
This article examines Margery Kempe's pilgrimage to Jerusalem, as depicted in The Book of Margery Kempe, within the cultural, religious, and socio-political context of 15th-century England. It explores her motivations, the transformative experiences encountered along the way, and ultimately argues that her account offers valuable insight into how pilgrimage served not only as a religious act but also as a means of self-definition and social positioning, contributing to a deeper understanding of medieval pilgrimage as both a personal and culturally embedded experience.
- Religious devotion and spiritual transformation
- Gender expectations and negotiation of female agency
- Social challenges and impact of pilgrimage on identity
- Tensions between personal piety and communal norms
- Cultural, religious, and socio-political dynamics of late medieval England
- Pilgrimage as a tool for self-healing and authorial identity formation
Excerpt from the Book
Margery Kempe's Pilgrimage to Jerusalem: Challenges and Encounters
The pilgrimage to Jerusalem is considered to be one of the most prominent themes in the Book of Margery Kempe, which is, according to what Naoë Kukita Yoshikawa claims that the pilgrimage holds a dual significance in the religious journey of Margery Kempe. On a literal level, it takes a central place in her autobiographical narrative. On a symbolical level, it reaches its climax with contemplation on the Passion in Jerusalem and the ensuing mystical union in Rome. This pivotal experience marks the initiation of the spiritual transformation of Kempe (cf. 193). A transformation that takes the form of revolt against her place in the social and church system in England. It is also considered as a technique to heal herself spiritually and it can be deemed as a self-validation process for her authorial identity. Kimberly Hope Belcher asserts in her essay ""My Body Free to God": Pilgrimage as a Technology of Self in the Book of Margery Kempe" that Kempe employs pilgrimage as a tool for self-healing and identity formation: "Margery's pilgrimages can be seen as the ritual process by which her identity is constructed and reconstructed" (158). This paper confirms this claim and attempts to scrutinize in this chapter the challenges and transformative encounters she faced during this sacred journey. As an English Christian mystic and traveler, Margery Kempe embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land during a tumultuous period in late medieval England.
The Book of Margery Kempe utilized the theme of Christian faith to depict a healing journey, displaying Kempe as a character who endured illness and found recovery with the assistance of Jesus Christ. Kempe explicitly references the Passion of Jesus on Mount Calvary and his subsequent resurrection, presenting this account as a beacon of hope for overcoming illness. The narrator's initial disclosure of Kempe's illness piqued the interest of several researchers in the book. The third line of the first chapter in the Book of Margery Kempe states the following:
And after she had conceived, she was afflicted with great attacks of fever until the child was born; and then, what with the travails she had in childbirth and the sickness she had beforehand, she despaired for her life, thinking she might not live. (Kempe 11)
Her health continued to deteriorate after giving birth for half a year, eight months and some days (cf. ibid, 11) until her health was restored after the vision incident she mentioned in her book, which was the appearance of Christ to her while she was lying in her bed (cf. ibid, 12). Christ called her not to abandon her faith in Him and to return to Him because He also did not abandon her (cf. ibid, 12). This vision was pivotal in her life because she knew through it that she wanted to become a servant of the Lord. "So, when this creature had thus through grace come back to her right mind, she thought she was bound to God and that she would be His servant" (ibid, 13). Although this paragraph is more concerned with the journey of treating the disease than diagnosing it, the sickness with which the book began was associated with the period of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum, and for this reason many researchers went to explain it. Firstly, Clarissa Atkinson assumes that Kempe suffered from the postpartum psychosis (cf. 209). According to her, Postpartum psychosis often arises in individuals who have perceived their own mothers as lacking in love³, depriving them of a positive role model for parenthood (cf. Atkinson 209).
Chapter Summaries
1. Introduction: This chapter explores Margery Kempe's pilgrimage to Jerusalem, delving into her motivations, transformative experiences, and its role in understanding the cultural, religious, and socio-political factors of late medieval pilgrimage.
2. Theoretical Framework: This section examines the broader context of Margery Kempe's pilgrimages within late medieval England, highlighting the dynamic shifts in culture, religion, society, and politics that characterized this tumultuous period.
2.1 Cultural, religious, and socio-political climate of fifteenth-century England: This sub-chapter analyzes the challenging environment of 15th-century England, covering major events like the Black Death, Hundred Years' War, and religious movements such as the Great Schism and Lollardy, which significantly shaped the era.
2.2. Understanding Late Medieval Pilgrimage to Jerusalem: This sub-chapter explores the profound religious significance of pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Christians in late medieval England, tracing its roots in biblical teachings and its role in spiritual renewal and societal challenge, particularly for women.
3. Analytical Part: This section focuses on Margery Kempe's pilgrimage to Jerusalem, dissecting the challenges and encounters she faced, and analyzing its profound impact on her identity and social status, including how it challenged gender norms and ecclesiastical authority.
3.1. Margery Kempe's Jerusalem Pilgrimage: Challenges and Encounters: This sub-chapter investigates the obstacles and transformative experiences Margery Kempe faced during her sacred journey, emphasizing its significance for her spiritual healing, self-validation, and resistance against the English church system and accusations of Lollardy.
3.2. The Impact of the Pilgrimage on Margery Kempe's Identity and Social Status: This sub-chapter explores how Margery Kempe's pilgrimage to Jerusalem challenged traditional gender roles and societal constraints in late medieval England, serving as a powerful source of empowerment and a subtle critique of English politics and ecclesiastical norms.
4. Conclusion: This chapter summarizes Margery Kempe's pilgrimage as a complex spiritual odyssey of identity development and self-healing, portraying it as an act of rebellion against church limitations and a symbol of women's agency in late medieval England.
Keywords
Margery Kempe, Pilgrimage, Jerusalem, Late Medieval England, The Book of Margery Kempe, Cultural Dynamics, Religious Dynamics, Socio-Political Dynamics, Female Agency, Identity, Social Status, Mysticism, Black Death, Lollardy, Spiritual Transformation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is this work fundamentally about?
This work fundamentally explores Margery Kempe's pilgrimage to Jerusalem in late medieval England, analyzing its cultural, religious, and socio-political dimensions, and how it shaped her identity and social standing.
What are the central thematic areas?
The central thematic areas include religious devotion, gender expectations, the social challenges of pilgrimage, the transformative impact of the journey on identity, and the interplay between personal piety and communal norms in negotiating female agency.
What is the primary objective or research question?
The primary objective is to shed light on how Margery Kempe's pilgrimage to Jerusalem functioned not only as a religious act but also as a means of self-definition and social positioning within the broader context of late medieval England.
Which scientific method is used?
The work employs a method of textual analysis of "The Book of Margery Kempe" combined with historical and cultural contextualization, drawing on scholarly interpretations of medieval pilgrimage, society, and religious movements to analyze Kempe's experiences.
What is covered in the main part?
The main part analyzes the theoretical framework of late medieval England's cultural, religious, and socio-political climate, understanding of pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and delves into the challenges and encounters Margery Kempe faced during her pilgrimage, as well as its impact on her identity and social status.
Which keywords characterize the work?
The work is characterized by keywords such as Margery Kempe, Pilgrimage, Jerusalem, Late Medieval England, Female Agency, Identity, Social Status, Mysticism, Cultural Dynamics, Religious Dynamics, and Socio-Political Dynamics.
How did Margery Kempe's pilgrimage challenge societal norms for women?
Margery Kempe's pilgrimage challenged conventional gender roles by allowing her to transcend domestic duties, assert a degree of freedom and autonomy, and achieve a mode of identity formation and public agency typically denied to women in late medieval English society.
What role did her illness play in her spiritual journey to Jerusalem?
Margery Kempe's initial illness, a postpartum breakdown, served as a crucial catalyst for her spiritual transformation and pilgrimage. Her journey to Jerusalem became a healing process, where she sought and found solace, spiritual renewal, and a deeper connection with Christ, mirroring His Passion and resurrection as a beacon of hope.
How did the socio-political climate of 15th-century England influence her pilgrimage?
The tumultuous socio-political climate of 15th-century England, marked by events like the Hundred Years' War, the Black Death, the Great Schism, and the Lollard Movement, provided a backdrop of instability and religious fervor that influenced Kempe's motivations for seeking spiritual solace and even prompted her to use pilgrimage as a means to validate her orthodoxy against accusations.
Why was Margery Kempe accused of being a Lollard and how did she address these accusations?
Margery Kempe was accused of being a Lollard due to her public expressions of visions and direct communication with God, which challenged traditional church authority and norms for women. She addressed these accusations by undertaking pilgrimages to holy places, steadfastly observing church sacraments, and obtaining official letters from archbishops, using her pilgrim status as evidence of her Catholic orthodoxy.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Fadi Kafa (Autor:in), 2024, Margery Kempe's Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in Late Medieval England. Analysis of Cultural, Religious, and Socio-Political Dynamics of Pilgrimage to Jerusalem in Late Medieval England, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1667931
