English Pilgrims in A Coruña
Margery Kempe
Visionary, traveller, mother, wife and writer
Margery Kempe was one of the most interesting women of the British 15th century. She was born in Lynn, England in 1373. Her father was a local merchant in Lynn, mayor of the town and Member of Parliament. However, Margery didn’t know how to read and write. She married John Kempe at the age of twenty and they had fourteen children.
She was an English pilgrim who visited Compostela using the maritime way from Bristol to A Coruña. Margery asked for permission to the religious leaders of her district to make pilgrimages alone, as it was costume at the time and she received the approval from her bishop. It took her seven days to travel from Bristol to A Coruña by sea.
After her pilgrimages, she dictated to some scribes her life’s story and her peregrinations. Her book, The Book, is considered to be the first autobiography even written in English.
23