Bonus Episode: "Margery," the medieval memoirist - Consider This from NPR

Summary

Consider This from NPR Episode: Bonus Episode: "Margery," the Medieval Memoirist
Release Date: February 9, 2025

Introduction to Margery Kemp

In this special bonus episode of NPR's Consider This, host Scott Detrow introduces a captivating exploration into the life of Margery Kemp, a medieval woman whose personal memoir offers a rare glimpse into the past. Produced by Berlin-based Sara Zahra Hushiori, this episode delves into the discovery of Margery's original writings and contrasts them with historical accounts penned by a contemporary monk.

The Hypothetical Phone Call to the Past

Sara Zahra Hushiori sets the stage by imagining a scenario where one could call the past to speak directly with Margery Kemp:

“The person you are trying to reach has been unavailable for over 500 years. Please leave a message after the tone.”
[07:XX]

This imaginative premise serves as the foundation for exploring Margery's life beyond the limited historical records.

Margery Kemp's Life and the Monk’s Treatise

Margery Kemp was a devout Christian woman living in the small English village of King's Lynn during the Middle Ages. A monk named Vinkindeward republished portions of her work in A Short Treatise of Contemplation, portraying her as:

“A very quiet person, a good Christian woman who worships Jesus on her own terms and a good wife, a good mother, a calm listener.”
[03:20]

This characterization aligns with the common medieval practice of documenting the lives of women primarily through the lens of their piety and familial roles.

Discovery of Margery’s Original Autobiography

The narrative takes a fascinating turn with the discovery of Margery's original autobiography, unearthed in the 1930s during an ordinary ping pong match:

“He found something else. A book. It looked old, like really, really old, and it was full of notes.”
[05:10]

This autobiography, meticulously written with the help of scribes, reveals a starkly different portrayal of Margery, showcasing her as a multifaceted individual with personal struggles and desires that the monk's account had omitted.

Contrasting Narratives: The Monk vs. Margery

Margery's autobiography presents a vibrant contrast to the monk’s subdued portrayal:

Personal Struggles:

“She writes about what is arguably the first English account of postpartum depression. Hers was cured by Jesus.”
[06:30]
Desires and Emotions:

“She writes about her sexual desires not just towards her husband, but also towards other people and towards Jesus.”
[07:15]
Social Challenges:

“She cries at every occasion, which gets her excluded from all kinds of social gatherings and in some cases even banned from church services.”
[07:45]

These revelations depict Margery as a complex individual, challenging the simplistic and sanitized image crafted by the monk.

Insights into Medieval Historical Documentation

Sara reflects on the implications of this discovery for our understanding of history:

“History isn't this thing that we get to document if we only look close enough. It's always just a selection.”
[08:10]

The episode underscores the selective nature of historical records, often shaped by the perspectives and biases of those who documented them. Margery’s autobiography serves as a poignant reminder of the untold stories that lie beyond the official accounts.

Conclusion: Celebrating Margery’s Authentic Voice

Margery Kemp’s autobiography is celebrated as potentially the first English autobiography written by a woman, highlighting her bravery in documenting her life in detail:

“Her book means a lot to me. I think it's really cool and super brave that you decided to write everything down in so much detail.”
[08:40]

Sara expresses joy in Margery’s authentic voice, which not only enriches historical understanding but also inspires the imagination regarding the myriad of other stories that remain undocumented.

This episode of Consider This masterfully intertwines historical discovery with imaginative storytelling, offering listeners a nuanced view of Margery Kemp’s life and the broader implications for historical narratives.

Transcript

Scott Detrow (0:01)

Hey there. Consider this, listeners. We're not normally in your ears on Saturdays, but today we've got a special bonus episode for you. It's the first in our new series of short form audio documentaries. It's got medieval monks, rapturous crying fits, ping pong and a little bit of time travel. So stick around. For Saturday, February 8th, it's Consider this from NPR. I'm Scott Detrow.

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Scott Detrow (1:00)

It's Consider this from npr. What if you could pick up the phone and call the past? Today's story does just that. It's brought to us by the Berlin based producer, Sara Zahra Hushiori. Ha. This is Marjorie.

Sara Zahra Hushiori (1:15)

Recently I've been thinking about what it would be like to call Margery Kemp. How would I talk to someone who lived over 500 years ago? Hey Marge. Hello Mrs. Ken. Hi. This is Sarah Margaery. Hi Marjorie. Marjorie, we haven't met. Also, you're dead. I would like to tell her about this monk. His name was Vinkindeward and after her death he took the liberty to republish a few pages of her book and he called it a short Treatise of Contemplation. We don't know what else she wrote about in her book, but he references it and so we know that it existed at some point. And in his Treatise of Contemplation he describes her, Margery Kemp. And he describes her as a very quiet person, a good Christian woman who worships Jesus on her own terms and a good wife, a good mother, a calm listener. And that's about all that we knew about Margery Kemp. She was a devout, quiet Christian who had 14 kids and lived in a small village in England called King's Lynn. And then I would like to tell her about this ping pong match that happened in the 1930s also in England. But I guess first I would have to explain what ping ping pong is. So it's a game that's usually played by two to four nettle and each person holds a penalty and get the ball, you missed the ball. And I guess that's all that she would need to know for now. Anyway. The crazy part about this ping pong match was that one of the players stepped onto the ball and then went back into his country house to get a new one. And as he was looking through the cupboard to find a ball, he found something else. A book. It looked old, like really, really old, and it was full of notes. He took it to the library to have it checked out by someone professional. And it turns out that this was Margery's book, the book that the monk had read and chosen a few parts from to republish. So now there are these two documents. One written by a monk about a quiet, inward turned Margery Kemp, whom he uses as an example of be a good, calm Christian woman. And then, newly discovered, there's another one, the original book, Margery Kemp's own version, the entire thing written by herself. Well, actually she couldn't read or write, so she had to hire scribes, but either way, a book by her own account. In the Middle Ages, there were a few women who had books written about their lives, but normally the procedure was that someone was a holy woman because they had performed a miracle or two and then gathered a following because of that. And. And then when they died, someone else would write a book about their life. But Margaery, she hasn't performed a miracle, not that I know of anyway. And she also didn't gather a following, not in her lifetime. So I guess at some point she must have just decided to write a book about herself so that she would be remembered in the way that she wanted. A few medievalists started reading her book, expecting kind of a long form version of the monk's treatise, but soon they found out that her version of herself was wildly different to what the monk published. She was very Christian, but she wasn't calm and she definitely wasn't quiet and she was a mother of 14 kids. But she doesn't really talk about them. Instead she talks about anything and everything else, and in so much detail. She writes about food and what she likes and doesn't like and how she tries to become a vegetarian at some point, but people are being very difficult about it. She writes about what is arguably the first English account of postpartum depression. Hers was cured by Jesus. About her travels. She traveled to Christian sites of worship all over Europe, sometimes with company, but often alone. She writes about how she decides to wear all white. In her 40s, wearing white was a sign of virginity. And Margery had already had 14 kids at that time, so definitely not a virgin. And people in her village did not take this lightly. She writes about her sexual desires not just towards her husband, but also towards other people and towards Jesus. And she writes about what kind of became her signature move. Crying. She cries at every occasion, which gets her excluded from all kinds of social gatherings and in some cases even banned from church services. She cries every time she thinks about Jesus or Mary or both. When she travelled to Jerusalem, she was so overwhelmed by everything and cried so hard that she fell off her donkey. Overall, she's just this badass who does all of these things that the monk definitely left out on purpose because they don't fit the image that he wanted to create. He totally monquashed her and took away all of the sexiness and the directness and the dirtiness and the realness of her story. The person you are trying to reach has been unavailable for over 500 years. Please leave a message after the tone. Hey Marjorie, this is Sarah calling from the future. I just wanted to leave a quick note and tell you that your book has survived more than 500 years and has made it to the 21st century. And it's actually now considered to be the first autobiography in English that is written by a woman. So that's really cool. Congrats. Your book means a lot to me. I think it's really cool and super brave that you decided to write everything down in so much detail. Thank you. Okay, that's it. Thanks and bye. To me, the book of Margery Kemp is like a little reminder that for a lot of history that we know, we only have the monk version, the edit, not just because someone chose the parts that they wanted to remember, but because people couldn't write their stories down or they thought they were too normal or even too dangerous to be remembered, or because the stories were simply lost. History isn't this thing that we get to document if we only look close enough. It's always just a selection. The book of Marjorie Kemp honestly fills me with joy. Not because I like her so much or because I find it particularly easy to relate to her or her lifestyle, but because it makes it easier for me to imagine the existence of the other stories. The ones that no one wrote down. The ones that didn't make it to the 21st century.