Margaret Fell

John Pettie RA (1839-1893): George Fox refusing to take the oath at Houlker Hall, AD 1663 (1863). George Fox (standing in the middle) and Margaret Fell (seated to his left)

Margaret Fell (* 1614 in Marsh Grange , † April 23, 1702 in Swarthmore ), the " Mother of Quakerism " (I. Ross), was the most important female figure of early Quakerism .

Life

She was the daughter of John Askew and Margaret Pyper and wife of Thomas Fell (1598-1658), whom she married in 1632. Her husband was a judge and belonged to the "Long Parliament" under Oliver Cromwell (1599 to 1658). She spent most of her life on her husband's Swarthmore Hall estate, near the town of Ulverston. Fell had eight children (Margaret * around 1633, Bridget * around 1635, Isabel * around 1637, George * around 1638, Sarah * 1642 to 1714, Mary * 1647, Susanna * around 1650, Rachel * 1653) with Thomas Fell.

The house of the Fells was open to religious figures. Most of them came from among the independents , to whom they belonged. On this way she met the Quaker itinerant preacher George Fox , who preached in the weekly domestic services from June to winter 1652. After the first sermon, all Fells converted to Quakerism except for George Fell and Thomas Fell, who was not on the estate at the time. Her husband remained independent for the rest of his life but allowed his wife to make Swarthmore the center of early Quakerism. From here, measures against the persecution of the Quakers were taken, mission trips were planned and coordinated, and relief work for those in need (through persecution) was organized.

She herself did not preach too often, but in her writings she advocated the preaching office of women. In a petition to the Rump Parliament, in which an objection was raised against the taking of oaths, she is even the first to sign alongside 7,000 other Quakers. In the letter she helped to formulate, which was to go down in history as a so-called " peace certificate " in June 1660, she did not sign herself, but only eight men. At this point in time, Fell was often in London, which was the center of political power, in order to advocate for captured Quakers in person or in writing.

The journey with her daughter took place from May to August 1663 and went down in English Quaker history as the "Thousand Miles Journey" . Here she traveled to the north and south-west of England preaching. In the same year she was arrested for the first time by the contentious judge Daniel Fleming for refusing to oath. She was sentenced a second time in Lancaster to imprisonment in the local dungeon. It was here that her most important writings, "Women's Speaking Justified" (1666) and "Touch Stone" (1667) were created. From the years 1654 to 1670 (the most violent period of persecution) there are 500 letters that were addressed to her and have survived. In June 1668 she was released again. Richard Lower, the brother of Thomas Lower, who in turn was married to a daughter of Margaret Fell, had campaigned for the release in the highest aristocratic circles.

Margaret Fell married George Fox on October 27, 1669 in Bristol . After only a week, she left her new husband and returned to Swarthmore. Claus Bernt wrote about the marriage:

“This was primarily intended to remove the basis of the rumors of an illegitimate relationship between Fox and Fell. Likewise, marriage, which has remained childless, can be seen as a symbolic, mystical union between man and woman, which was of particular importance in many radical Christian movements. "

In the spring of 1670, the son (George) von Fell made sure that his mother was in prison until April 1671. The background was family disputes over the inheritance.

From February 1675 George Fox stayed in Swarthmore near Fell for 21 months to recover from one of his prison stays. During this time around 1676 he dictated his retrospective diary.

From the 1680s onwards things got a little quieter and work on structural things came to the fore. For example, the establishment of monthly and quarterly “Women's Meetings” (central business meetings of the Quaker women) together with daughters Sarah and Rachel.

Shorter stays in prison followed repeatedly until 1684 because she refused to attend local church services.

After the death of George Fox on January 13, 1691, whom she assisted in the last few hours, she withdrew from public life. The Women's Yearly Meeting in London but has been visited by her.

Of great importance is the autobiography "A brief collection of remarkable passages" , which was published posthumously. Among the Quakers she was celebrated and venerated as a saint.

For the technical terms used in the article, see also the article " Glossary Quakerism " .

Web links

• Claus Bernet :  Margaret Fell. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 10, Bautz, Herzberg 1995, ISBN 3-88309-062-X , Sp. 481-494.
• Jacqueline Broad:  Margaret Fell. In: Edward N. Zalta (Ed.): Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy .