Lollard Persecutions

Travers creates a compelling point when she claims that, “(Margery) is accused of heresy in Leicester and York which had active Lollard persecutions” (Travers 2). With general misconceptions occurring regularly during the 15th century, Margery had to protect herself from the false blame that was usually occurred in the life of a Lollard. As the beginning of the 15th century commenced, Travers tells us that if a Lollard was proven to have knowledge of religious instruction then they would be questioned and often punished. Now that it is clear that Margery knew she would get in trouble for understand written texts, this proves the point that Margery knew she had to act illiterate to protect herself against the reprimands the Lollards would have

It was generally known that Lollard’s did not participate in religious instruction other than authorized sources. If found engaging in unauthorized sources, the accusations that they were guilty of going against the demands of the Lollards, would result in an unsurprising fate. Connectively, being able to read and write, almost always go hand in hand when relating to such a high economic standing. These two individualities do not act without one another. Although, literacy can be obtained by those who are not wealthy, it is less common for people living in wealth to be illiterate. These standards that we notice today are known to relate back to the 14th and 15th century. As a Lollard during the 15th century, many accusations were made against them and held their expectations on a high shelf. If any of these expectations were not met or gone against, intense persecutions against the Lollards would be the result, if found guilty. Readers can see Margery stressing the idea that her knowledge of books comes through priests, monks, vicars and orthodox spiritual directors. Travers tells readers that the reasoning behind these allegations, frequently prosecuted on Lollards, is because Traver’s believes that, “Margery consistently represents herself as a victim of the inquisition and her travels take her too many Lollard strongholds” (Travers 1). As Margery describes in her book, her impressive memory allows her to recall entire passages, word for word, defending herself against critics with knowledge of the Bible. In an outsiders understanding of Margery Kempe, it may see like this attribute is a quite an astonishing ability, given her illiteracy. But during the 14th and 15th century, her accusations of Lollardy cannot be forgotten. With this being said, it is unfortunate that being able to recite the