Article by Laura Varnam.
We are delighted to share this wonderful photograph of the new sculpture that was unveiled in King’s Lynn Minster on 4th February 2023 to celebrate the 650th anniversary of the birth of Margery Kempe: ‘A Woman in Motion’ by Rosemary Goodenough (pictured below).
Rosemary’s sculpture of Margery Kempe is a Limited Edition of 12 plus 2 Artist’s Proofs and you can visit Rosemary’s website here: www.rosemarygoodenough.co.uk
‘A Woman in Motion’ is the second time that Rosemary has been inspired by a medieval woman in her work. On her website you can see the five sculptures called ‘The Eleanors’ inspired by Eleanor of Aquitaine: https://www.rosemarygoodenough.co.uk/sculptures
Rosemary’s sculpture of Margery Kempe was inspired by Margery’s life and experiences on pilgrimage. ‘To travel so many thousands of miles in the early 15th century not only took courage but also required immense stamina and determination.’
In describing the form of the sculpture, Rosemary explains in her Artist’s Statement:
‘Although in The Book of Margery Kempe, the first autobiography in the English language, [Margery] is completely honest and open about her love of fine clothes and her competitiveness with other women’s finery, as a Pilgrim her clothes were pretty ragged and patched and at one point on returning back to Bishop’s (now King’s) Lynn she was desperately poor. Having given away all her money, she was given a bolt of white fabric by an ‘honourable man in Norwich’. I have therefore made her clothes, although plentiful, very clearly torn and patched but still with an element of grace and elegance. As Pilgrims of her era were advised to wear a very wide brimmed hat, I have depicted her wearing one. Given her determination to wear white, for which she was persecuted and prosecuted, I have made her robes white but her dress is silvery aluminium as I wanted to give a nod to her love of finery. Her hands are tucked inside her robes as she was so terrified of being burned at the stake that, although determined to fight her corner, her hands shook so badly she hid them in order to appear to be stronger than she actually felt when speaking in her own stout defence about wearing white. The way the light will shine through the stained-glass windows and play on her clothes at certain times adds another element of beauty and spiritual feeling. Margery’s head is bent in prayer and her ‘top-knot’ is my way of denoting her indomitable spirit, both secular and religious as described in Anthony Bale’s book about her wish to live ‘A Mixed Life’.
Both Rosemary’s Margery and Eleanor sculptures feature a distinctive ‘top-knot’ at the apex of the sculpture and in conversation with Laura Varnam, Rosemary explained that the feature denoted Margery’s ‘spirit, both secular and spiritual’ and in Eleanor’s case, represented her ‘power and intellect’: ‘I do feel there is more to a woman than her physicality and that is my way of denoting it.’ This unique feature adds yet another dimension to the energy and dynamism of Margery as ‘a woman in motion.’
The sculpture is cast in aluminium which is, as Rosemary explains, ‘the most abundant metal on earth. Margery Kempe, as the mother of 14 children, was most certainly herself ‘abundant’ but she was also a highly complex, deeply spiritual, brave and determined woman. This sculpture is therefore my homage to her.’
The place of the sculpture in the Minster is especially resonant as Luke Penkett, the Margery Kempe Society secretary explains: ‘She faces the West Door through which Margery would have gone out into the medieval world.’
Luke Penkett kindly shared with us his photographs of the service on February 4th 2023: Bishop Graham Usher preaching (with Lord and Lady Dannatt in the front pew)
Rev. Canon Mark Dimond presides over the unveiling by General The Lord Dannatt GCB CBE MC DL, President of the Norfolk Churches Trust.
As co-presidents of the Margery Kempe Society, Laura and I are so excited to see the sculpture when we visit King’s Lynn later in the year to contribute to the celebration of Margery’s life in her 650th anniversary year.
You can find out more about Rosemary’s work on her website: https://www.rosemarygoodenough.co.uk/ We’re very grateful for her input on this blogpost.
The Margery Kempe Society 