The Book of Margery Kempe Allusions & Cultural References

Literary and Philosophical References

• St. Bridget of Sweden, Revelations (I.17.75)
• I Corinthians 2:9 (I.22.88): "So we read of, Things no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no human heart conceived, the welcome God has prepared for those who love him."
• I Corinthians 6:19 (I.18.78): "Surely you know that your bodies are the shrines of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in you. And he is God's gift to you, so that you are no longer your own masters."
• I Corinthians 34-35 (I.52.164): "Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church."
• 2 Corinthians 6:16 (I.18.78): "How can the temple of God have any commerce with idols? And you are the temple of the living God; God has told us so; I will live and move among them, and be their God, and they shall be my people."
• Genesis 1:28 (I.51.159): "God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
• Genesis 18:21 (I.48.153): "that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
• Walter Hilton, The Scale of Perfection (I.17.75)
• Isaiah 49:16 (I.14.65): "Why, I have cut thy image on the palms of my hands..."
• Isaiah 45:15 (I.14.66): "Truly, God of Israel, our Saviour, thou art a God of hidden ways!"
• Isaiah 66:2 (I.18.77): "My hand made all these things, and all these things were made, saith the Lord. But to whom shall I have respect, but to him that is poor and little, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my words?"
• James 1:8 (I.18.78): "Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do."
• James 1:6-7 (I.18.78): "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord."
• Jeremiah 9:1 (I.32.117): "Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people."
• John (14:20, 15:4-5, 17:23, 7:57) (I.10.57): "I am in you, and you in me."
• Lollardy (I.13.64, I.48.152, I.53.168, I.54.170, I.55.174)
• Luke 6:22-23 (I.18.78): "Blessed are you, when men hate you and cast you off and revile you, when they reject your name as something evil, for the Son of Man's sake. When that day comes, rejoice and exult over it; for behold, a rich reward awaits you in heaven; their fathers treated the prophets no better."
• Luke 9:27-8 (I.52.164): "As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, 'Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.'"
• Luke 21:19 (I.18.78): "It is by endurance that you will secure possession of your souls."
• Mark 3:35 (I.14.67): "If anyone does the will of God, he is my brother, and sister, and mother."
• Psalms 51:17 (I.18.77): "My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."
• Psalms 91:11 (I.35.124): "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways [...]."
• Psalms 126:5-6 (II.6.280): "Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them."
• Richard Rolle, Incendium Amoris (I.17.75, I.35.125)
• Richard Rolle, Meditations on the Passion (I.28.106)
• Romans 8:26 (I.18.78): "[...] the Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; when we do not know what prayer to offer, to pray as we ought, the Spirit himself intercedes for us, with groans beyond all utterance [...]."
• Romans 8:31 (II.2.271): "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
• Wakefield or Towneley Play of the Scourging (I.80.232)
• York Crucifixion Play (I.80.233)
• Pseudo-Bonaventure, Stimulus Amoris (I.17.75)
• Wisdom 1:4 (I.18.77): "[...] never yet did wisdom find her way into the schemer's heart, never yet made her home in a life mortgaged to sin."

Historical References

• St. Bridget of Sweden (I.20.83, I.39.132)
• Henry V, 1417 expedition in France (I.44.144)
• St. John the Evangelist, named as Kempe's spiritual confessor (I.32.117)
• John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, third son of Henry IV (I.52.166)
• Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, "arch-Lollard" nemesis of the Catholic Church in England (I.54.170)
• Julian of Norwich (I.18.77)
• Philip Repyngdon, Archbishop of Lincoln (I.15.69)
• Robert Spryngolde (Master Robert), parish priest and Kempe's confessor and scribe
• Richard of Caister, Vicar of St. Stephen's Church in Norwich (I.17.74, 1.43.140, I.60.186)
• St. Teresa of Avila (I.14.65)

Mystical Figures

• St. Barbara (I.22.87)
• St. Catherine of Alexandria (I.17.75, I.22.87)
• St. Margaret (1.22.87)
• Mary of Egypt (I. 21.85)
• Mary Magdalene (I.21.85, I. 29.109, I.73.214, I.74.216, I.81.235, I.86.251)
• Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ (I.6, I.29, I.57.178-179, I.60.186, I.73.214, I.79.228, I.81.237, I.82.239)
• Mary of Oignies (I.62.191)
• St. Paul of Tarsus (I.17.75, I.21.85)