Description
The Christian mystics open our eyes to a world beyond this one, to the world of the spirit and of God, of whom they had a direct knowledge and experience, obtained chiefly through prayer, meditation and contemplation.
The purpose of this book is to introduce the general reader to the fifteenth century English mystic, Margery Kempe of Lynn in Norfolk, as seen against her religious, social and historical background, with chapters on her spiritual and devotional life, her home town of Lynn, her encounters with the clergy, her vow of chastity, her pilgrimages, her trials for heresy and her conformity to the customs, faith and doctrines of the church of her day.
About the Author
As a former teacher at King’s Lynn High School, Margaret Gallyon acquired a considerable knowledge of the town of Lynn and the surrounding district. It was here too that she first became interested in Margery Kempe, one of Lynn’s most fascinating medieval citizens.
Margaret Gallyon was educated at the Perse School, Cambridge, Norwich Teacher Training College and the Selly Oak Colleges in Birmingham. She is the author of three books on the coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England.
Contents
Preface
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Author’s Note
1. The Spiritual and Devotional Life of Margery Kempe
2. An Outline of the Life of Margery Kempe
3. Medieval Lynn
4. Margery Kempe and the Secular Clergy
5. Margery Kempe and the Regular Clergy
6. Margery Kempe and the Friars
7. Vow of Chastity
8. Travels and Pilgrimages at Home and Abroad
9. John Wyclif, The Lollards and Margery Kempe
10. Margery Kempe and the Faith of the Church
Postscript: Margery Kempe’s Amanuensis
Footnotes
Further Reading
Index
