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.
God's Words, Women's Voices: The Discernment of Spirits in the Writing of Late-Medieval Women Visionaries
Women and vision - the devil's gateway: mystics and visionaries, classical and Christian misogyny, the Medieval Church and women's spirituality, women, vision and discretio spirituum seducing spirits - the discourse of discretio spirituum, discretio spirituum - definition and development, the role of the spiritual director of visionaries, popular knowledge of discretio spirituum, discretio spirituum and women visionaries the lady vanishes - Bridget of Sweden - the woman behind the visionary,, Epistola solitarii ad reges, Sancta Birgitta Revelaciones Margery Kempe - the woman who would not go away - the tangled text, the woman behind the text, Margery's mixed blessing, discretio spirituum in "The Book" of Margaret Kempe, exit the woman. Appendix: the Epistola solitarii ad reges of Alfonso of Jaen - an edition of the text in London, British Library, MS Cotton Julius Fii.
Joan of Arc and Richard III: Sex, Saints, and Government in the Middle Ages
This book is intended for scholars and students of medieval European (especially English and French) history.