The Making of The Book of Margery Kempe: The Issue of Discretio Spirituum Reconsidered
Devotion to the Holy Spirit was a fundamental aspect of the Christian faith in the late Middle Ages and discretio spirituum was understood as a prerequisite for fully embracing the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The problem of discretio spirituum is embedded in the entirety of Margery's Book, which bears witness to the way the ideological political struggles in which clerical authority increasingly cast doubt upon female spiritual experience. Lying behind Margery's Book, and undoubtedly influencing her treatment of the issue of discretio spirituum, are the two Church Councils in her lifetime. On her pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Margery passed through Constance as the city was preparing for the forthcoming Council (1414–18). One of the major issues of the Council was the authenticity of St Bridget's revelations. Even after her canonization and its subsequent confirmation, many delegates questioned the divine origin of her visions and connected the issue with schism and heresy. The tension continued into the Council of Basle (1431–49), which was in progress when Margery revised the first version of her Book. Following the chronological development of the controversy over Bridget's revelations, this article contextualizes the Book within the specific international climate of the early fifteenth century and makes links to then evolving thinking about discretio spirituum in order to illuminate its impact on the creation of Margery Kempe's spiritual autobiography.
The Importance of St Margaret’s Church in The Book of Margery Kempe: A Sacred Place and an Exemplary Parishioner
This article argues that Margery Kempe is presented as an exemplary parishioner and a supporter of her parish church in The Book of Margery Kempe. It begins by demonstrating that St Margaret’s church and King’s Lynn are placed at the centre of the Book’s mapping of Christian holy places and then analyses the two miracles that take place at St Margaret’s (the stone and beam in chapter 9 and the fire in chapter 67) as evidence of the church’s sanctity and its importance in Margery Kempe’s spiritual life. The article examines three interrelated characteristics of the church (the material, sacred, and communal) in relation to Margery’s identity as a lay woman and in the context of Middle English pastoral care literature. The article concludes that Margery’s role in the miracles and her behaviour in St Margaret’s church demonstrate that the Book presents an ideal church supported by an exemplary parishioner as an inspiration to its readers.
Dickens and the Popular Radical Imagination
List of illustrations Acknowledgements Note on editions and abbreviations used Introduction: Dickens and the popular radical imagination 1. Popular radical culture in Regency England: Peterloo and The Queen Caroline Affair 2. Dickens and nineteenth-century show trials 3. Dickens, popular culture and popular politics in the 1830s: Oliver Twist 4. Christmas is cancelled: Dickens and Douglas Jerrold writing the 1840s 5. Popular and political writing in the radical press: from Douglas Jerrold to Ernest Jones, Chartist 6. Household Words, politics and the mass market in the 1850s 7. Flunkeyism and toadyism in the age of machinery: from Bleak House to Little Dorrit Notes Bibliography Index.