"The Book of Margery Kempe"

Book Review # 109596

Literature > English
Religion and Theology > Christianity

A review of Lynn Staley's "The Book of Margery Kempe"

1,361 words () | 4 sources | MLA | 2008 Canada

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews "The Book of Margery Kempe" by Lynn Staley: A dictated documentation that details Margery's spiritual and physical pilgrimage through the Holy Lands of the Christian faith. The paper gives a short account of the life of Margery, highlighting her start in religion and gives reasons why some might consider her a profound mystic. The author of this paper discusses the concept of pilgrimage and analyzes how Margery understood pilgrimage concluding that the book provides a deep insight into an unconventional approach to spirituality.

From the Paper:

"To be specific, Margery understands pilgrimage in several different ways. Firstly, she understands it to be a way which she can remove herself from everyday concerns and physically be with that which has occupied her mind for so long. Secondly, Margery understands pilgrimage to be a part of highly valued Christian mysticism of her era. Lastly, Margery understands pilgrimage to be a way in which she can physically follow in the footsteps of Christ. This all draws back to aforementioned idea of heightening one's religious spirituality."

Sample of Sources Used:

The Book of Margery Kempe. Lynn Staley. New York: Norton and Company, 2001.
Knight, Kevin . "CATHOLIC ENCYLOPEDIA: Pilgrimages." August 13th, 2005.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12085a.htm (accessed November 5th, 2008).
Ridyard,Susan J.. Pilgrimage: the English Experience from Becket to Bunyan. Colin Morris. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2004.
Powell, R.. "Margery Kempe and her World." The Catholic Historical Review 25, no. 4 (2006): 271-275.