Margery Kempe: In Search of the Scribe Robert Spryngolde William E. Bolton

The Historical Spryngolde Of the people mentioned by name in the Book of Margery Kempe, the parish priest of St. Margaret’s, principle confessor, and friend to Margery, Robert Spryngolde, is often suggested as of the most likely candidates to be Margery’s scribe. One reason that this seems likely is based on historical evidence. If the Spryngolde of the Book is the same Robert Spryngolde who appears in extant records, he was certainly in Lynn at the time that the Book was written. The earliest historical record referring to a Robert Spryngolde in Lynn is a document related to a dispute over the rights of the chapels of St. James and St. Nicholas in 1427 (Owen 140). These smaller chapels were vying for the right to have a baptismal font, which was opposed by the parish of St. Margaret’s, which wanted to maintain the benefits, spiritual and monetary, that came with having the only local font. Later in 1436, the same year the scribe began to work on his revision of Book I, a Spryngolde is mentioned again in two more legal documents. The earlier is a deed of 30 April 1436 (Meech and Allen 368, appendix IV, 1), and the later is the record of the divorce proceedings of Thomas Toddenham that took place later in the same year. Circumstantial evidence in the second document strongly suggests that the man mentioned therein is the same Spryngolde as the one who appears in the Book of Margery Kempe. The proceedings took place in St. Margaret’s in Lynn, where, according to the Book, Spryngolde was the parish priest. And, much like the character in the Book, he is described during the proceeding as a “bachelor of decrees” (Virgoe 412). Although this does not necessarily confirm that this historical Spryngolde is the same as the one in the Book, it does, however, seem more likely than not. If he is indeed the same man, then he would clearly have been alive and well enough to perform his official duties in 1436, so it is also reasonable to suppose that he could have taken on a project like transcribing the life of Margery. Spryngolde the Character Spryngolde not only seems to fit the profile of the scribe because he was likely in Lynn at the time that the Book was written, but also because the text makes it clear that he had a close relationship with Margery. Barry Windeatt, the editor of a recent and widely read edition of the Book, suggests in his introduction to the text that coupled with the historical records, Margery’s friendly relationship with the priest is enough evidence to name Spryngolde as the probable scribe (5-9). Indeed, Margery and Spryngolde were rather close and seem to have known each other for at least twenty years, and it is very possible that they knew each other far longer than that. Although he is not mentioned by name until chapter 26 as Margery is preparing to make her journey to the holy land, it is probable that the “Maystyr R.” (20/25) discussed in chapter 8 is Robert Spryngolde. In the episode, Christ asks Margery who she would like to follow her into heaven (20/23), to which Margery responds that she wanted her “gostly fadyr Master R.” (20/24-25) to meet her in the afterlife. Margery explains that he has been a particularly good confessor to her and she would like him to receive half of the good works she ever does as a favor in heaven. It is initially surprising, perhaps, that she gives no particular attention to her family or children in the matter (although Christ does inform her that they too will be with her in the afterlife), but it also suggests that if this is Spryngolde, the two have had a long enough relationship for him to be such an influential and beloved confessor. Indeed, it could be argued that the often-discussed “sharp” confessor who appears in chapter one is Spryngolde as well. Indeed, Spryngolde is described speaking “sharply” to Margery at the end of Book II, and it is completely possible that as he was a harsh confessor to Margery, the descriptor “sharp” accompanies his appearances. If he were the confessor who is described in the chapter one, he would have known Margery for the entire period of time that the Book encompasses. But, however close Margery Kempe and Robert Spryngolde were, and despite his seemingly natural role as Margery’s amanuensis, there are clues in the text that strongly suggest that he was not, in fact, Margery’s scribe. This is particularly evident in the way the scribe eventually finds faith in Margery’s revelations. The scribe is described as being far more skeptical of Margery and only decides that her revelations are genuine rather late. Spryngolde, on the other hand, is convinced of Margery much earlier and does not vacillate nearly as much as the scribe. One episode in particular that illustrates this is the account of a time when the scribe claims that he doubts Margery. In this memorable episode, the scribe confesses to following others in Lynn and turns his back on Margery after a famous Franciscan preacher, commonly thought to be William Melton (see Meech and Allan’s note to 148/28-29), comes to Lynn and preaches for some time at the chapel in St. James. The famed preacher eventually becomes tired of Margery weeping and wailing during his sermons and bars her from his pulpit. At this time, “a worshipful doctowr of diuinity, a White Frer” (150/23-24), who is presumably Master Alan, and “a bacheler of lawe,” Margery’s principle confessor, who is most likely Spryngolde, both go to the preacher and make an appeal on the behalf of Margery. They bring wine in an attempt to cheer him (150/30-31) and ask the friar to permit Margery to weep while he preaches, explaining that her sobbing is “a gyft of God” (150/35). The Franciscan refuses to believe that Margery’s strange behavior is due to divine intervention, but adds that he would put up with her wailing if she would admit that it was the result of a “cardiakyl er sum other sekenesse” (151/8-9). Margery naturally refuses that her weeping is anything but divinely inspired, and Master Alan and “hir confessowr,” (151/17) Spryngolde, both advise her to avoid the Friar’s sermons. Even though Margery apparently follows their advice and avoids Melton’s sermons, the friar continues to preach against Margery. During one sermon, in a particularly colorful turn of phrase, he threatens the congregation, which had apparently been discussing the matter, that “Yif I here any mor thes materys rehrsyd, I schal so smytyn the nayl on the hed…that it schal schamyn alle hyr mayntenorys” (152/27-29). For fear of the rather harsh words of the friar, many of the people who had earlier “pretended” to be Margery’s friends turn their backs on her. The scribe, who would later write the Book, claims to be among those rejecting Margery. However, a short while later he reads the account of Mary of Oignies, a French mystic who also experienced the divine gift of tears, and his faith in Margery’s feelings returns. The book about the French mystic seems to have had quite an effect on the scribe and he spends some time recalling it. Through the stirring of a “worshipful clerk, a bacheler of diuinite” (153/59), he reads and researches matters of mysticism further, reading a series of popular mystical texts including an English version of Stimulus Amoris, Incendium Amoris, and The Revelations of Elizabeth of Hungary (153/38-154/13). A second look at this episode makes it apparent that the priest, who later writes the Book, is most likely not Robert Spryngolde. As it is discussed above, Spryngolde knew Margery for quite some time. The first solidly dateable appearance of Spryngolde is around 1413 when Margery begins her journey to the holy land (see Meech and Allen’s note to 60/18-19 or the Chronological Chart). Meech and Allen maintain in their note to 152/8-9 that the earliest date Melton could have given his sermon denouncing Margery is 1420. The scribe tells us that his faith in Margery is cemented after reading a selection of mystical texts, again, only after Melton preaches against Margery. It seems highly unlikely that Spryngolde, who has known and been a confessor to Margery for at least seven years, would reject Margery at this point in the narrative and tell us that he has only just decided that he thinks her feelings were genuine. Indeed, even the more specific events surrounding the episode make it rather unlikely that it is Spryngolde who turns his back on Margery. It does not make very much sense that he and Master Alan would go to so much trouble trying to convince Melton to tolerate Margery only to be frightened by Melton’s threats of ridicule in the following chapter. There is an instance early in the narrative where it seems that Spryngolde doubts Margery that Windeatt suggests (7) likens him to the scribe, who doubts her in the episode with Melton described above. In this scene Margery complains (44/19) to an anchorite, who is Margery’s principle confessor at the time, that in his absence Spryngolde “is rygth scharp vn-to me. He wyl not levyn my felyngys” (44/20-21). Windeatt makes a good point showing that like our scribe, Spryngolde is clearly skeptical of Margery’s revelations. However, it is also apparent that this skepticism is present at this early point in their relationship. Although the incident is not precisely dateable, it is clear that it occurred before Margery makes her journey to the holy land. Interestingly, the anchorite defends Spryngolde, saying that it is no surprise that he be skeptical because she has previously been such a sinful woman. This seems to suggest that the event takes place fairly close to the time of Margery’s conversion. Whatever the precise date, the early date at which this all takes place makes it less surprising that he might not have believed that Margery’s feelings were genuine. Her revelations are a fairly new thing at this moment in the Book and it would certainly take a little time to get used to them and understand them for what they are. However, later in the Book, even when he is harsh with Margery, Spryngolde is never described as disbelieving. A case in point is a later place in the text where Spryngolde distances himself from Margery. The episode is formulated in a way that does not suggest that he, like the scribe, really rejects Margery or even that he stops talking to her all together, even when he does appear to be distancing himself from her. In this scene, someone complains to the Carmelite Provincial, Thomas Netter, about Master Alan’s relationship with Margery (168/4-5). Netter admonishes Alan by “vertu of obediens” (168/9-10) to no longer speak with Margery and answer her questions about scripture. When Spryngolde hears of this, he advises her to avoid speaking with Master Alan. Margery becomes quite upset as, apparently, Master Alan was rather open to discussing biblical matters with her. Sometime later during a vision she complains about this to Christ and also mentions that as a result of this incident, “Maistyr Robert dar vn-ethys spekyn wyth me” (168/38). This event is described rather differently than when the scribe claims he turns his back on Margery. It is evident that the description of Spryngolde distancing himself from Margery here is not confessional—the scribe is not reporting something that he himself did, as in the early event with Melton. Here, the scribe seems to be merely reporting the facts or Margery’s testimony. Also the impetus for Spryngolde to remove himself from Margery is different. It is not the result of his fear of ridicule from a preacher or pressure from the community. In fact, in the Melton episode it is reported that Spryngolde and Master Alan make an effort to change the mind of the antagonistic friar. Here, Spryngolde seems to be responding to official direction—to the demands of a person, who, although he does not answer to directly, he must imagine as being in authority. This is not surprising at all given the rank and prestige of Thomas Netter. The Book makes a distinction that the distance put between Margery and her friends in this episode was not the result of any change in Alan of Lynn or Spryngolde; rather, they are merely responding to the demands of “obediens” (168/16). These events illustrate that the persona of the scribe does not line up very well with that of Spryngolde’s. If anything, Spryngolde’s apparent closeness to Margery makes it difficult to believe that he is the scribe, given the scribe’s depiction of himself. The proem of the Book is another indication that the scribe, unlike Spryngolde, seems to be someone who is not all that close to Margery. When the scribe first encounters the original draft of the Book, he claims to have a great deal of trouble reading it, because it was so poorly written (4/39-40). If Spryngolde were the scribe, as Margery’s principle confessor for many years, it would seem odd that he would have to spend so much time and energy recopying a life story he undoubtedly knew a great deal about. And perhaps hinting at the later episode when he turns his back on Margery because he is frightened of Melton, the scribe mentions in the proem that he was resistant to recopying the first draft of the Book because of the negative talk that surrounded Margery and her crying (4/21-24). Again, it is not clear if Spryngolde ever distances himself from Margery for fear of ridicule in the community. The probability that Spryngolde was the scribe is far less than one might think at first glance. He was undoubtedly close to Margery, but his closeness betrays the fact that the scribe describes himself as a character who does not seem to have been very intimate with her. The scribe is far less sure of and friendly with Margery, and therefore much less willing to defend her behavior. It is also clear from the text that the scribe does not seem to have known Margery for a very long period of time, or at least not as long as Spryngolde appears to have. Initially, it seems odd that Spryngolde, being so close to Margery, does not appear to have been her amanuensis. As Margery’s confessor, he would have been the person who would have known the most intimate details of Margery’s life. Further, it also evident that Spryngolde was supportive and friendly to Margery for as long as he knew her, despite his apparently harsh reaction to her at times. To attempt to answer why Spryngolde, or for that matter Alan of Lynn, do not appear to be Margery’s scribe would only be conjecture at this point. It is not clear whether they were not willing or not able to do the writing for her, or if she simply was not interested in having them do the work for her. Notes: All references to the Book of Margery Kempe appearing here follow the Early English Text Society edition by Sanford Brown Meech and Hope Emily Allen. References to specific lines in the text follow their citation method of page number followed by line number. Quotations from the Book containing medieval orthography have been transliterated for ease of on-line viewing, but I have made an effort to leave spelling as it is in the original. Bibliography: Blomefield, Francis. An essay towards a topographical history of the county of Norfolk, containing a description of the towns, villages, and hamlets. Fersfield, 1739-75. Electronic reproduction. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale, 2003. Electronic Reproduction available through Eighteenth Century Collections Online. The Book of Margery Kempe. Ed. Sanford Brown Meech and Hope Emily Allen. London: Early English Text Society, 1940. The Book of Margery Kempe. Ed. Barry Windeatt. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2004. Hillen, Henry J. History of the Borough of King’s Lynn. Wakefield: EP Pub, 1978. Goodman, Anthony. Margery Kempe and Her World. London: Longman, 2002. Owen, Dorothy M. The Making of King’s Lynn: A Documentary Survey. London: Oxford University Press for The British Academy, 1984. Vigroe, Roger. “The Divorce of Sir Thomas Tuddenham.” Norfolk Archaeology 34 (1966-69): 406-418. Back Home