Margery Kempe and The Legal Status of Defamation
Bryan VanGinhoven states that the purpose of this paper is to explore Gibson’s reading of Margery’s spiritually devoted Book by looking at the history of the legal implications of defamation and the emphasis of slander in Margery’s Book. The paper starts by addressing what defamation is and how a defamer will be punished, if found guilty. The author then goes on to tell of actual cases that were found in historical documents of the time. Margery endured accusations of heresy which are a “specific category of defamatory accusations,” Baker states they are a type of “spiritual defamation.” The paper then provides evidence that Margery had known about defamation because of the portrayal of defamation and defamation cases in Medieval mystery plays. The last part of the paper brings together connections with The Book of Margery Kempe. Throughout the book, Margery continually defends herself against accounts of heresy. However, Margery doesn’t address the heresy accusations and defamation because she maintains her spiritual authority. The author claims that Margery doesn’t address the defamation because she prefers to suffer through it.
Montana Richards
Bryan VanGinhoven. “Margery Kempe and the Legal Status of Defamation.” Journal of Medieval Religious Cultures, vol. 40, no. 1, Penn State University Press, 2014, pp. 20–43, https://doi.org/10.5325/jmedirelicult.40.1.0020.
