Margery Kempe was an Englishwoman who was born in approximately 1373. Despite her illiteracy, she is believed to have dictated the very first autobiography.
Ms. Kempe is now viewed as possibly being bipolar, though at the time she was seen as being extremely crazy. She had a deep love for Jesus Christ and left her life behind to preach the Bible, though she had never actually read it herself. She drew the ire of the church, not only because she was a layperson trying to preach to others, but also because her understanding of the Bible did not align with the beliefs at the time.
When Margery decided that she had to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Lands, she found a group to travel with. Her constant weeping and bizarre behavior grated on her fellow pilgrims, who abandoned her. At the time, roving bands of outlaws raped and pillaged unfortunate travelers who wandered outside city walls. That was why pilgrims traveled in groups. Abandoning Margery was seen as a possible death sentence for her. When she arrived unmolested and alive at the next city, her fellow pilgrims believed that meant that she was sainted. They quickly grew to overlook her unpleasantness and allowed her to rejoin the group.
Despite the fact that Margery dictated these stories herself, they are widely believed to be true. Many others repeated these stories and she was seen as being a Saint in her lifetime. Officially, however, only the Anglican Church of England recognizes her as a Saint.
