Margery Kempe was a practical businesswoman in early fifteenth-century England—wife of a merchant, mother of fourteen children, owner of a failed brewery. Then, after a difficult childbirth, she fell into what she described as madness: terrifying visions, voices telling her to harm herself, months of torment.
Christ Heals Mental Torment
In the midst of this darkness, Christ appeared to her. "Daughter, why have you forsaken me, when I never forsook you?" From that moment, Margery's life became an extraordinary pilgrimage of faith that scandalized her neighbors and inspired countless others.
Bold Faith Despite Opposition
Her conversion was dramatic and demonstrative. She wept loudly and uncontrollably whenever she contemplated Christ's passion—in church, in the streets, at home. She wore white, claimed mystical visions, and spoke boldly about spiritual matters. In an age when women were expected to be silent, Margery would not stop talking about Jesus.
This brought persecution. She was accused of heresy multiple times, hauled before archbishops and bishops who questioned her teaching. Each time, her knowledge of Scripture and orthodoxy of doctrine secured her release—but barely. "Sir," she told the Archbishop of York, "I shall speak of God and rebuke those who swear great oaths wherever I go."
Living for God's Glory
She made pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Rome, and Santiago de Compostela—remarkable journeys for any medieval person, extraordinary for a woman traveling with limited means. Late in life, she dictated her experiences, creating what scholars consider the first autobiography in English.
Margery's book reveals a woman whose intense, emotional spirituality was genuine despite its unconventional expression. She heard God's voice in her soul: "Daughter, you shall be with me without end."
