An obscure but gripping part of history that can sometimes be overlooked is the subject of women’s mystics in the medieval period. These women were spread all over Europe walking a fine line between orthodoxy and heresy. They claimed a special relationship with Jesus, with some seeing themselves as a Bride of Christ. All their stories are enthralling, especially Margery Kempe, Christina of Markyate and Saint Bridget of Sweden.

Margery Kempe was an English mystic living in Lynn where her father was mayor, and she married John Kempe having 14 children. It was after the birth of her first child that she first received a vision of Jesus, but it was later on after some failed business ventures where she decided to fully commit to a religious life. Her visions with Jesus were conversational and he advised and directed her decisions, for example telling her to go on pilgrimage. Despite her orthodoxy in terms of taking the sacrament and regularly confessing, she was accused more than once of heresy. This was because of her eccentric behaviour which included loud consistent crying and wearing white clothes which was deemed unseemly for a married woman. Margery was lucky her heresy charges were always dropped, as many people wanted her to suffer a heretic’s death, with many of her friends turning against her due to unsavoury rumours about her behaviour. She dictated her Book which is available (and worth a read!) and it is thought of as the first English autobiography.

Christina of Markyate was another English mystic whose family bullied her into an arranged marriage. However she wanted to remain a virgin, and refused to consummate the marriage causing friction between Christina and her family. Jesus and the Virgin Mary appeared to her in comforting visions, and she decided to run away and remained hidden for four years with a hermit. She lived in a cupboard where she couldn’t sit or stand and that was freezing during the winter, but she remained here to escape her marriage. As noted in her vita her husband eventually released her from her marriage vows after receiving a scolding vision from the Virgin Mary. After that her life was relatively peaceful as she devoted herself to her calling.

Saint Bridget of Sweden was an important influence for Margery Kempe and for good reason as she achieved sainthood despite facing heresy accusations during her life. She was a Swedish noblewoman who committed herself to the religious life after her husband’s death. She fought for the papacy to return to Rome among other causes, and had correspondences with high ranking people of her time including Queen Giovanni I of Naples and three separate popes. She created her own religious house and the cult of Bridget also started which came to England, with Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville’s youngest daughter being named after her. After her death her spiritual advisor Alfonso of Jaen compiled her works to create a case to get Bridget sainthood, and he was successful although he did not live to see it.

These women had a vocation that they were unafraid to show the world.

If you want to know more here are some good books:

Rosalynn Voaden ‘God’s Word’s, Women’s Voices’

Margery Kempe ‘The Book of Margery Kempe’

Elizabeth Petroff ‘Medieval Women’s Visionary Literature’