Money

Money

1. Geoffrey of Monmouth, "The History of the Kings of Britain" 

Themes:

Gentility

Margery Kempe is a well-off middle-class townswoman in the medieval English town of King’s Lynn. After the birth of her first child, Margery has a nervous breakdown, seeing hideous devils all around her. Margery recovers after having a vision of Jesus Christ, and she decides to devote her life to holiness and contemplation of God. One of the first hurdles Margery has to overcome is convincing her husband to live a life of celibacy with her—she succeeds only after having fourteen children. After the failure of a brewing business she starts, Margery becomes certain that God wants her to turn away from the world. Margery’s devotion to Jesus is highly emotional and dramatic, and she soon acquires a reputation as a religious eccentric, a potentially dangerous reputation in a time when heresy was a capital offense. Margery faces doubt and temptation, especially sexual temptation, but she perseveres and often receives guidance in her visions.

Margery Kempe is a well-off middle-class townswoman in the medieval English town of King’s Lynn. After the birth of her first child, Margery has a nervous breakdown, seeing hideous devils all around her. Margery recovers after having a vision of Jesus Christ, and she decides to devote her life to holiness and contemplation of God. One of the first hurdles Margery has to overcome is convincing her husband to live a life of celibacy with her—she succeeds only after having fourteen children. After the failure of a brewing business she starts, Margery becomes certain that God wants her to turn away from the world. Margery’s devotion to Jesus is highly emotional and dramatic, and she soon acquires a reputation as a religious eccentric, a potentially dangerous reputation in a time when heresy was a capital offense. Margery faces doubt and temptation, especially sexual temptation, but she perseveres and often receives guidance in her...

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