Cloud Of Unknowing Vs. The Book Of Margery Kempe

Margery Kempe was a very isolated women, even with the love of God. Margery’s “gift” that was granted to her and her dedication to religion came at a cost to her. Margery has a very deep spiritual connection to the life of Christ. This deep connection causes Margery to burst into tear, screaming, and overall emotional turmoil. Since Margery is screaming and crying, she would often scare away other people, this would leave Margery along with just her faith.

The significance of religious leaders during this era is evident by the fact that the writer of this poem places the bishop at the beginning of the table. Due to the fact that the “medieval society was a religious society” and that these religious leaders held a special relationship with God, it is no surprise that these individuals held the second highest social class position in the medieval time period (Feudalism and the Three Orders (Overview) 2).

The central Middle Ages was a period of time from the 11th century through the 13th century that was characterized by prosperous economic growth in Europe. The lead of economic growth in Europe was the movements in the Christian communities. Christian movements in the central Middle Ages included Knights Templar, first Crusade, the Franciscans, and pilgrimages. Not only were the movements in the Christian communities made changes in the economy, but they also influenced the challenges against traditional authority. Some challenges of traditional authority were the Dominicans and the Franciscans. Guibert of Nogent’s description of the Revolt in Laon will be examined in this essay. Robert the Monk’s version of Pope Urban II’s speech from 1095

In the 16th Century, Europeans had their faith shattered and were forced to realize that there was doubt in what they believed in. From the countless wars being fought in the name of religion, to the once great and wealthy countries that needed to reaffirm their place in the world, ‘all that they had once taken for granted was suddenly cast into doubt’ (446). Europeans were desperately searching for new foundations to put their faith in ‘in the face of intellectual, religious, and political challenges’ (446). This period is an example of the expression “Age of Doubt, Age of Uncertainty”.

Hilary of Poitiers is a Later Patristic Period Theologian who we have come to know little about. What we have learned, of his life, come from within his many writings. Hilary was, “born to a pagan family in present-day France” (“Catholic News Agency”, 2016). During his younger years, Hilary received very little Christian influence. Through his education, Hilary became well endowed in Latin and Greek classics (2016). Through Hilary’s education, he began to read the Bible and accepted it based on its compatibility with philosophy and science (2016). In 345, Hilary became a member of the Catholic Church. In 353, the people of Poitiers called for him to become the bishop (2016). Shortly after becoming bishop, Constantius II exiles Hilary from Gual.

In Roberta Bondi’s book, To Love as God Loves, in her own struggle with Christianity, she studies the early manuscripts and the lives of the early monastics. These writings shed light and clarity to understanding the love of God.

By The Middle Ages, one understands a relatively long historical period extending from the end of the Roman Empire to the 1500's. The conquest of The Roman Empire by Germanic tribes, and synthesis of Germanic and Roman ways of life formed the civilization which we call medieval (medieval-from Latin words; medium (middle) and aevum (age)). Medieval civilization was greatly influenced by the Muslims in Spain and The Middle East, and by Byzantine Empire and Christians in Southeast Europe.

The Classic of Filial Piety is a highly influencial piece of art from acient China that many use, along other acient Chinese arts, to portray how art in China was effected by the beliefs and events surrounding the artist. However, not many mention on how it was a major factor in influencing China to accept painters and paintings as arts that could be used for artists to express themselves, thus being both affected by the current events and being the event that affected other arts. The Classic of Filial Piety was painted by Li Gonglin and is different than modern art, mixing both pictures and text. The art was painted in the Northern Song Dynasty, which lasted from 960 to 1279. China was in the later half of the Dynasty, as the painting

Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. Second Edi. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2010.

The Middle Ages were a period in Europe dating from the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, around the 5th century. However, the fixing of dates for the beginning and end of the Middle Ages is arbitrary. According to the Norton Anthology, "Medieval social theory held that society was made up of three 'estates': the nobility, composed of a small hereditary aristocracy,...,the church, whose duty was to look after the spiritual welfare of that body, and everyone else..."( Norton 76).

Moreover, Kempe’s book tells the story of conversion from a normal life to a life devoted to prayer2. Margery Kempe was a married woman and mother of fourteen . She lived in King’s Lynn, an English town, and her father was once the mayor. She journeyed to many religious figures to have discussions with them3. Despite her many responsibilities as a mother and the woman of the house, Margery put her religion

People in the middle ages were very religious. People believed that Roman Catholic Church represent God. The church had a big influence on the content spread in the Middle Ages, and they were content with religious or moralistic. The only religion recognized in Middle Ages Europe was Christianity and specifically Catholicism. Christianity in the middle ages dominated the lives. The life of the medieval people was dominated entirely by the church and many religious institutions gained power and wealth. It was single the larges institution in west of Europe. It touched everyone’s life no matter what rank in social class they lived in. Everyone in western Europe was Rome Catholic Christian at that time. From the reaches king all the way down.

According to her own testimony, Margery Kempe's spirituality involved deeply passionate experiences of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Kempe had "the gift of tears" -- meaning that, for years, she was unable to attend mass without crying profusely, and, as often as not, sobbing loudly and theatrically. Her adventurous life included a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where much weeping and wailing took place, and tanglings with several Bishops, including the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Margery often loudly sobbed and called out when she envisioned God, visited a site where had Jesus had spent time at during his life and crucifixion, or witnessed someone that reminded her of Jesus, such as a baby or a young handsome man. Her tears occurred with a “surpassingly great sweetness of devotion and high contemplation.” But, it was largely these tears that turned people against her. Some simply saw the tears as an irritation, but to other witnesses, the absurdity of them caused them to consider Margery as a heretic or possessing the devil. She described people as “thinking she had been troubled with some evil spirit or a sudden illness.” Often, the public did not believe that these messages were coming from God, but Margery only

During the course of this class we have learned some thought-provoking information about life during the medieval time period. More specifically, we have learned information about the pray, religious practices, church leadership, and society as a whole. The reference tool used to enhance our learning experience is the Book of Hours. The Book of Hours was a prayer book used for daily meditation, pray, and devotion during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance time period. The book was use by wealthy and the poor people for devotional purposes. As a part of my final assignment, I have developed my own Book of Hours and this paper is my rationale for my book.