The First English Autobiographer: Margery Kempe

Gone Medieval

History Hit

History

4.6 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 10 May 2022

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Margery Kempe was an English Christian mystic, known for writing "The Book of Margery Kempe", a work considered by some to be the first autobiography in the English language. She's also thought to be the first case of schizophrenia.

In honour of Mental Health Awareness week, Dr Cat Jarman is joined by Dr Alison Torn from Leeds Trinity University to explore Margery's complicated legacy and whether it's appropriate to view Kempe’s 15th century life through a 21st century understanding of mental health.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Imagine you, you in a nice comfy seat with your hands behind your head,
0:07.6	taking in the views instead of taking on the road, maybe even taking a nap.
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0:24.4	Avantiwesscoast, feel good travel.
0:50.0	Hello and welcome to Gone Medieval from History Heads.
0:54.9	My name is Dr. Kat Jarman and I, your host for today's episode.
0:59.1	Now this week, the second week of May 2022, is Mental Health Awareness Week.
1:04.1	Across our HistoryHit podcast and platforms, we're featuring a range of content,
1:08.3	exploring issues relating to mental health in the past.
1:11.8	So, we wanted to do the same here on Gone Medieval 2.
1:15.6	And what better to talk about than what is considered to be our first ever autobiography
1:20.4	written in the English language.
1:22.4	Belonging to a woman who lived in the 14th and 15th centuries,
1:26.2	Andrew has been described as mad or psychotic by some, but as mystic or spiritual and religious
1:32.4	by others. I'm talking about Marjorie Kemp and her autobiography.
1:37.3	And to find out what we can learn about the mind of a medieval woman from her writing and
1:41.3	especially whether or not she was suffering from psychosis, I have invited a specialist in
1:46.1	psychology to the podcast today. Dr. Alison Torn is a senior teaching fellow in the school of
1:51.5	psychology and therapeutic study at Leeds Trinity University who has researched Marjorie Kemp
1:56.8	and the narratives of her as either a mystic or a mad woman or maybe a little bit of both.
2:02.1	Alison, thank you so much and welcome to the podcast today.
	...

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