Hope Emily Allen
Encyclopedia
Hope Emily Allen a medieval scholar, is best known for her research on the 14th-century English mystic Richard Rolle
and for her discovery of the Book of Margery Kempe
.
Born in Oneida, New York
, Allen spent a great deal of her childhood there and later also lived in Niagara Falls
, Canada
. Allen completed her undergraduate studies at Bryn Mawr College
in 1905 with special interests in the study of Middle English
literary texts. The next year she completed graduate work, also at Bryn Mawr, in English literature and Greek, earning a master's degree. Allen had great concern for women's values and identity and continued to fight for these issues throughout her life. After Bryn Mawr, she went to Radcliffe
to begin studying for her Ph.D, during which time she enrolled at Cambridge University in 1910 for a semester to study English literature. That semester was eventually elongated to a period of three years.
Allen's time in Britain in the early 1900s allowed her to make a great number of personal and academic associations, as well as experience European culture. During her time in England, she pursued her two lifelong goals: medieval scholarship and feminism. Allen described herself as an "independent scholar," and she never accepted an academic teaching appointment. This independence allowed her to research more freely, so that she could closely examine texts that had not received recognition before. Her writing falls into three overlapping groups: her early work on the Ancrene Riwle, her insight into the study of Richard Rolle, and her research on the cultural background of the Book of Margery Kempe. Themes in her work include the spirituality of women in the late Middle Ages (Ancrene Riwle), contradictions and impossibilities in the work of Richard Rolle, and ideas on the religious life of late-medieval women in the Book of Margery Kempe
.
Allen later returned to the United States, living in Ann Arbor, Michigan
, where she continued to pursue her research and writing. She eventually returned to her hometown of Oneida, New York, and spent the last years of her life at the Mansion House in Kenwood, where she died in 1960.
A significant collection of materials relating to her life can be found at the Bryn Mawr College Library. The papers consist primarily of research notes by Allen, photostats and typescripts of manuscripts, and professional correspondence. Topics include the Book of Margery Kempe, the Ancrene Riwle, and Richard Rolle.
Richard Rolle
Rolle is honored in the Church of England on January 20 and in the Episcopal Church together with Walter Hilton and Margery Kempe on September 28.-Works in print:*English Prose Treatises of Richard Rolle of Hampole, Edited by George Perry...
and for her discovery of the Book of Margery Kempe
Margery Kempe
Margery Kempe is known for dictating The Book of Margery Kempe, a work considered by some to be the first autobiography in the English language. This book chronicles, to some extent, her extensive pilgrimages to various holy sites in Europe and Asia, as well as her mystical conversations with God...
.
Born in Oneida, New York
Oneida, New York
Oneida is a city in Madison County located west of Oneida Castle and east of Canastota, New York, United States. The population was 10,987 at the 2000 census. The city, like both Oneida County and the nearby silver and china maker, takes its name from the Oneida tribe...
, Allen spent a great deal of her childhood there and later also lived in Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Allen completed her undergraduate studies at Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
in 1905 with special interests in the study of Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
literary texts. The next year she completed graduate work, also at Bryn Mawr, in English literature and Greek, earning a master's degree. Allen had great concern for women's values and identity and continued to fight for these issues throughout her life. After Bryn Mawr, she went to Radcliffe
Radcliffe
- Places :England* Radcliffe, Greater Manchester, England** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town* Radcliffe, Northumberland, England* Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, EnglandUnited States* Radcliffe, Iowa, USA...
to begin studying for her Ph.D, during which time she enrolled at Cambridge University in 1910 for a semester to study English literature. That semester was eventually elongated to a period of three years.
Allen's time in Britain in the early 1900s allowed her to make a great number of personal and academic associations, as well as experience European culture. During her time in England, she pursued her two lifelong goals: medieval scholarship and feminism. Allen described herself as an "independent scholar," and she never accepted an academic teaching appointment. This independence allowed her to research more freely, so that she could closely examine texts that had not received recognition before. Her writing falls into three overlapping groups: her early work on the Ancrene Riwle, her insight into the study of Richard Rolle, and her research on the cultural background of the Book of Margery Kempe. Themes in her work include the spirituality of women in the late Middle Ages (Ancrene Riwle), contradictions and impossibilities in the work of Richard Rolle, and ideas on the religious life of late-medieval women in the Book of Margery Kempe
Margery Kempe
Margery Kempe is known for dictating The Book of Margery Kempe, a work considered by some to be the first autobiography in the English language. This book chronicles, to some extent, her extensive pilgrimages to various holy sites in Europe and Asia, as well as her mystical conversations with God...
.
Allen later returned to the United States, living in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, where she continued to pursue her research and writing. She eventually returned to her hometown of Oneida, New York, and spent the last years of her life at the Mansion House in Kenwood, where she died in 1960.
A significant collection of materials relating to her life can be found at the Bryn Mawr College Library. The papers consist primarily of research notes by Allen, photostats and typescripts of manuscripts, and professional correspondence. Topics include the Book of Margery Kempe, the Ancrene Riwle, and Richard Rolle.