Rather than traveling with the other pilgrims, Margery Kempe travels to Bologna with an escort, an old man named William Wever who she meets in Constance. Rather than describing the terrain she travels across, she describes feeling the spiritual comfort of God throughout her journey. She does not mention the time it took to travel from Constance to Bologna, though she says that “they went on day by day and met many excellent people. And they didn’t say a bad word to this creature, but gave her and her man food and drink, and the good wives at the lodgings where they put up laid her in their own beds for God’s love in many places where they went” (101). These lines depict her journey as filled with very generous people. It is uncommon for Margery to meet so many people and not be openly insulted or criticized. While the specific type of lodgings Margery stays in are not mentioned, the mention of wives suggests that they may have stayed in people’s personal homes. The incredible level of hospitality described, in which wives give Margery their own beds to sleep in, may imply that in the areas Margery travelled through to reach Bologna, there was a major societal duty of hospitality (especially for women). It is also possible that this description of hospitality is Margery exaggerating, as this section of her journey is not witnessed by the other pilgrims.

Margery writes that she arrived at Bologna faster than the pilgrims that abandoned her, which shocks them and convinces them to allow Margery to rejoin their party. It is possible that because Margery was only traveling with one other person, they did not face any hold ups that a large group of people travelling might have encountered. However, Margery is only allowed to rejoin the group under the condition “you will not talk of the Gospel where we are, but you will sit and make merry, like us, at all meals,” which she agrees to (101). Margery notes nothing else about Bologna, emphasizing her focus on her relationship with God and people’s perceptions of her (often their difficulties with how she expresses her faith).

Margery then states that they travelled to Venice. She does not offer details about her travel (beyond that she is once more traveling in a group). For once, she actually notes how long they stayed in a location– 13 weeks.  Margery writes that while in Venice she receives communion every Sunday in a house of nuns. Her access to communion suggests a strong presence of Christianity in Venice (and considering its close proximity, also in Bologna).  Once more, Margery and her relationships are the primary focus. She writes that she is very welcomed among the nuns, who are “greatly amazed” at Margery’s “devotion and plentiful tears” (102). Margery may be attempting to brag and uplift herself, or, these nuns could have been appreciative of a woman (that is not a nun) with whom they share a strong sense of religious devotion. Additionally, Margery once more causes meal-time conflict by talking about the Gospel despite her agreement not to. Margery then eats alone for six weeks (potentially a reason she originally mentions the length of her stay– in order to emphasize she ate alone for almost half of it).

Margery then describes falling “so ill that she thought she would die” (102). Margery does not mention the symptoms of her illness (though it is logical to think she fell ill due to her constant exposure to the difficulties of travel and new places). She instead emphasizes that she believes God made her ill then well again, perhaps to test her faith or as a form of penance. Margery also adds that her maid servant serves the other pilgrims instead of her while she is sick, building on this victim narrative where Margery is struggling, sick and alone, for God.

While Margery describes incredibly little about Bologna and Venice, her focus on herself, other’s opinions of her, and God, uplifts her as an astonishingly devout woman.