ABSTRACT
An exploration of the roles of the Church and religion in Lynn is essential to an understanding of the tenor of The Book and the attitudes ascribed in it to Margery. The Book is an expression of religious mentalities and concerns in Lynn in the 1430s. The work was presumably intended in the first instance for a Lynn readership and audience. It refers offhandedly to what was familiar to them, in homely terms tailored to their preoccupations and ways of expressing themselves. In order to explore the seedbed of the work, and to determine its value as evidence about piety in the town, let us then consider the framework and character of religion there in its subject’s lifetime.
