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Reading Margery Kempe's inner voices.
Corinne Saunders1, Charles Fernyhough2
1Department of English Studies, Durham University, Durham, UK.
Postmedieval : a Journal of Medieval Cultural Studies
|May 4, 2018
Summary
Margery Kempe's spiritual experiences and inner voices are explored through contemporary research on voice-hearing and inner speech. This offers new psychological insights into her mystical book and spiritual meditation.
Area of Science:
- Theology
- Psychology
- History
Background:
- Margery Kempe's 15th-century mystical text is a significant historical document.
- Previous interpretations often overlook the subjective, spiritual experiences central to her narrative.
Purpose of the Study:
- To re-examine Margery Kempe's inner voices and spiritual experiences.
- To connect historical accounts of mystical experiences with contemporary scientific understanding.
Main Methods:
- Drawing on research from the "Hearing the Voice" project at Durham University.
- Applying contemporary cognitive frameworks, particularly scientific accounts of inner speech.
- Analyzing the multi-sensory richness of Kempe's depicted experiences.
Main Results:
- Kempe's inner voices and multi-sensory spiritual experiences are foregrounded as central to her "Book."
- Contemporary voice-hearing experiences offer a parallel perspective to Kempe's.
- Cognitive science provides tools to understand the psychology of Kempe's spiritual meditation.
Conclusions:
- Margery Kempe's "Book" is best understood through an emphasis on inner, spiritual experience.
- This interdisciplinary approach offers an alternative to purely bio-medical explanations of voice-hearing.
- Scientific insights into inner speech illuminate the psychology of spiritual experiences.
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