Margery Kempe

Pioneering English mystic whose autobiography shaped early English literature.

Chronology: 1373 – 1438-12-05

Origins & Early Life

Margery Kempe (c. 1373 – after 1438) was an English Catholic mystic, known for writing through dictation The Book of Margery Kempe, a work considered by some to be the first autobiography in the English language. Her book chronicles her domestic tribulations, her extensive pilgrimages to holy sites in Europe and the Holy Land, as well as her mystical conversations with God. She is honoured in the Anglican Communion, but has not been canonised as a Catholic saint.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

== Early life and family == She was born Margery Burnham or Brunham around 1373 in Bishop's Lynn (now King's Lynn), Norfolk, England. Her father, John Brunham, was a merchant in Lynn, mayor of the town and Member of Parliament. The first record of her Brunham family is a mention of her grandfather, Ralph de Brunham, in 1320 in the Red Register of Lynn. By 1340, he had joined the Parliament of Lynn. Kempe's kinsman Robert Brunham, possibly her brother, became a Member of Parliament for Lynn in 1402 and 1417.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

== Life == No records remain of any formal education that Kempe may have received. As an adult, a priest read to her "works of religious devotion" in English, which suggests that she might have been unable to read them...

Source: Wikipedia