Date of Award

Summer 2025

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

English Language and Literatures

First Advisor

Holly A. Crocker

Abstract

This project puts the history, context, and reception of medieval murals in dialog with The Book of Margery Kempe to identify neglected parallels between Margery’s sense of sight and the visual culture around her. Guided by a method of recovery that draws on interdisciplinary approaches to text and image, this dissertation combines digital tools, close reading, and archival accounts to compare how Margery responded to visions of holiness—both in spiritual revelations and in physical imagery—in murals which would have been on display during and in proximity to her travels. While mapping, close reading, and analysis have been applied to Margery Kempe’s Book by literary and historical scholars, the approach contained here combines these aspects with art history and archival accounts of “lost” artwork to ascertain the influence of visual culture on Margery’s narrative visions. This project investigates known mural imagery that visually validated or encouraged saintly emulation—and analyzes the consequences for women like Margery who ventured to model their behavior on this artwork.

Rights

© 2025, Kristin L Harrell

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