A Companion to the Book of Margery Kempe

Margery Kempe's Book provides rare access to the "marginal voice" of a lay medieval woman, and is now the focus of much critical study. This Companion seeks to complement the existing almost exclusively literary scholarship with work that also draws significantly on historical analysis, and is concerned to contextualise Kempe's Book in a number of different ways, using her work as a way in to the culture and society of medieval northern Europe. Topics include images and pilgrimage; women, work and trade in medieval Norfolk; political culture and heresy; the prophetic tradition; female mystics and the body; women's roles and lifecycle; religious drama and reenactment; autobiography and gender. Contributors JOHN H. ARNOLD, P.H. CULLUM, ISABEL DAVIS, ALLYSON FOSTER, JACQUELINE JENKINS, KATHERINE J. LEWIS, KATE PARKER, KIM M. PHILLIPS, SARAH SALIH, CLAIRE SPONSLER, DIANE WATT, BARRY WINDEATT. Table of Contents Preface [with Katherine J Lewis] - John H ArnoldPreface [with John H Arnold] - Katherine J Reading and Re-Reading The Book of Margery Kempe - Barry A WindeattMargery Kempe and the Ages of Woman - Kim M PhillipsMen and Negotiating Medieval Patriarchy - Lynn and the Making of a Mystic - Kate ParkerMargery's Heresy, Lollardy and Dissent - John H ArnoldA Shorte Treatyse of The Book of Margery Kempe in its Early Print Contexts - Allyson FosterReading and The Book of Margery Kempe - Jacqueline JenkinsMargery Kempe, Drama and Piety - Claire SponslerPolitical Prophecy in The Book of Margery Kempe - Diane WattMargery's Piety, Work and Penance - Sarah Salih`Yf lak of charyte be not ower hynderawnce': Margery Kempe, Lynn, and the practice of the spiritual and bodily works of mercy - P H CullumMargery Kempe and Saint-Making in Later Medieval England - Katherine J LewisFinal Thoughts [with Katherine J Lewis] - John H ArnoldFinal Thoughts [with John H Arnold] - Katherine J Lewis A Collection Of Essays By Twelve Historians And Literary Critics Who Explore Margery Kempe, Her Book, And Her World. Preface / John H. Arnold And Katherine J. Lewis -- Introduction: Reading And Re-reading The Book Of Margery Kempe / Barry Windeatt -- Margery Kempe And The Ages Of Woman / Kim M. Phillips -- Men And Margery: Negotiating The Medieval Patriarchy / Isabel Davis -- Lynn And The Making Of A Mystic / Kate Parker -- Margery's Trials: Heresy, Lollardy And Dissent / John H. Arnold -- A Shorte Treatyse Of Contemplacyon: The Book Of Margery Kempe In Its Early Print Contexts / Allyson Foster -- Reading And The Book Of Margery Kempe / Jacqueline Jenkins -- Drama And Piety: Margery Kempe / Claire Sponsler -- Political Prophesy In The Book Of Margery Kempe / Diane Watt -- Margery's Bodies: Piety, Work And Penance / Sarah Salih -- 'yf Lak Of Charyte Be Not Ower Hynderawnce': Margery Kempe, Lynn, And The Practice Of Spiritual And Bodily Works Of Mercy / P.h. Cullum -- Margery Kempe And Saint Making In Later Medieval England / Katherine J. Lewis -- Afterword / John H. Arnold And Katherine J. Lewis. Edited By John H. Arnold And Katherine J. Lewis. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [223]-240) And Index.