St Birgitta of Sweden was one of the most charismatic figures in the late medieval mystical tradition. In Rome she succeeded in commanding prelates and popes, and throughout the courts of Europe she engaged in political secular intrigues; she married and produced eight children, yet became the only woman in the fourteenth century to be canonised; and in an age where new monastic foundations were proscribed, she founded an order of her own devising, primarily for women. This first modern biography presents an account of her extraordinary life and achievements, placing the saint in the context of the society from which she emerged, and showing how her public voice and reforming zealwere informed by a private spirituality at all stages of her life. Particular attention is given to her most lasting achievement, the monastic foundation which bears her name and has produced a network of communities throughout Europe, active to the present day.
BRIDGET MORRIS is senior lecturer in Scandinavian studies at the University of Hull.
- ISBN10 0851157270
- ISBN13 9780851157276
- Publish Date 1 July 1999
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
- Imprint The Boydell Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 216
- Language English