The Book of Margery Kempe (Norton Critical Editions) [Paperback]

Margery Kempe (Author), Lynn Staley (Editor), Lynne Staley (Author)

Book Description

Series: Norton Critical Editions | Publication Date: December 2000

The text presented here remains as faithful to the original Middle English as possible, without sounding archaic.

Kempe's work is accompanied by an introduction, a map of medieval England, a Kempe lexicon, and explanatory annotations.

"Contexts" collects primary readings that illuminate The Book of Margery Kempe.  Included are excerpts from The Constitutions of Thomas Arundel, Meditations on the Life of Christ, The Shewings of Julian of Norwich, The Book of Saint Bride, and The Life of Marie d'Oignies by Jacques de Vitry.

"Criticism" includes nine varied interpretations of the autobiography, written by Clarissa W. Atkinson, Lynn Staley, Karma Lochrie, David Aers, Kathleen Ashley, Gail McMurray Gibson, Sarah Beckwith, Caroline Walker Bynum, and Nicholas Watson.

A Selected Bibliography is also included.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The first autobiography written in English--by a brewery owner, Christian mystic, and mother of 14 named Margery Kempe, who died in the 15th century--is now available in a lively, modern translation by John Skinner. It begins with her stark conversion experience, heralded by a vision of Christ in her bedroom one night. The story follows Margery through pilgrimages across Europe and to the Holy Land, through a heresy trial in England, and her burgeoning mystical life. Similar in many ways to Showings by Julian of Norwich and the Confessions of Augustine, The Book of Margery Kempe is a beautiful description of medieval daily life and religious experience. --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

This classic, one of the first English autobiographies, chronicles the spiritual life of a very unusual, and illiterate, medieval woman. Not an autobiography in the modern sense, the text?dictated between 1432 and 1436?provides sparse personal detail but does give some insight into the beliefs of this holy woman. Kempe (c. 1373-c. 1440) ran a brewery, married, and mothered 14 children before taking a vow of chastity. In her subsequent pilgrimages she learned much through pious conversations with strangers and gained important insights from her communion with God about how her manner of dress and uncontrolled tears at communion would save her from some "secret" sin. Numerous translations of these writings exist, including the Middle English Memoirs of a Medieval Woman (1983), but this text uses modern English and organizes the chapters chronologically, making for a better story. Recommended for popular religious collections.?Leo Kriz, West Des Moines Lib.,
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (December 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393976394
• ISBN-13: 978-0393976397
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #78 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Irish

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent edition of the "Book of Margery Kempe", May 4, 2011

By 

Claire M. - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Book of Margery Kempe (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

I purchased this edition of the "Book of Margery Kempe" after consulting two other editions, one in the original Middle English, and one that attempted to modernize the text to make it more accessible. This edition is the best of both worlds. Lynn Staley provides an accessible, readable text while staying true to the original content. Staley's footnotes are also very helpful, providing information about people, places, and events discussed by Kempe. Also included in this volume is a selection of scholarly essays about the "Book of Margery Kempe" and examples of other writings of the early 15th Century. All in all, a lot of information in one volume, very useful, and reasonably priced. I'd recommend this for anyone interested in women in the later Middle Ages, female visionary experience in Christianity, and/or early examples of autobiography in English. I don't know if this volume will be accessible to high school students, but it's certainly appropriate for undergrads, graduate students, and anyone else interested in the fascinating figure of Margery Kempe.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Look at Medieval Life, July 7, 1998

By 

Laura L. Delgado (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Book of Margery Kempe (Paperback)

I give this book five stars primarily because it is such an irreplaceable classic. One does not award 400 year old autobiographies anything less. Margery Kempe presents a realistic look at the life of an average medieval woman of the upper class, apart from any religious content that the book possesses. I would caution readers that Margery is prone to wailing outbursts on many occasions that most reviewers fail to mention. If one doesn't mind her obnoxious behavior, then Margery Kempe's autobiography can be enjoyed on many levels, from pure entertainment to spiritual enlightenment.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars school book, December 8, 2011

By 

Seckmea - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Book of Margery Kempe (Norton Critical Editions) (Paperback)

It was a great book, had critical essays in the back which helped me. interesting. it is all about a woman who was given the "gift" of tears in the middle ages...her struggles and her pilgrimages. Aslo, she has 14Kids! Yipes!