I. Life
She was born, it seems, in the year 1303 at Finsta castle in Uppland (Sweden) and died in Rome on 23 July 1373. The sources for her biography are, in the first place, her own writings, a Life of St Birgitta compiled by her confessors and theological advisers Petrus of Alvastra and Petrus of Skänninge, and the acts of the process for her canonisation. Of lesser documentary value is the Life of St Birgitta by Bertheldus, a monk of the Brigidine Order of the year 5200, reproduced in the Acta Sanctorum, as likewise a verse biography, the Vita metrica s. Birgittae, by an anonymous author.St Brigid claimed noble descent, being the daughter of one of the most eminent figures of her time, the powerful governor of Uppland Birger Persson, and of Ingeborg Bengtsdotter, of the old royal line of the Folkungar. Her mother’s family was well known for its deep piety, and Finsta castle, where Brigid lived with her parents until the age of twelve, when her mother died, was a centre of high religious culture with strong mystical tendencies, which could not fail to exert a decisive influence on the formation of her character. At the age of ten she had her first conversation with Christ, and even as a young girl she showed a lively enthusiasm for asceticism. After her mother’s death she was sent to live with an aunt, Ingrid, wife of the kingdom’s Grand Chancellor Knut Jonsson, to complete her education. In 1318, for political reasons, she married the eighteen-year-old Ulf Gudmarson, who later became governor of Östergötland, and the young couple took up residence at Ulvåsa castle. Her husband, also of royal lineage, was of gentle and rather weak character, and during the marriage, from which were born four sons and four daughters, another side of St Brigid’s character came to the fore and stood out: her iron will, her practical energy, her indomitable tenacity. Her life was divided between the administration of her considerable estates, a high court position – in 1335 she was summoned as first lady of the court by Queen Blanche of Namur, wife of King Magnus – and her duties as wife and mother. Court life brought her into direct contact with the troubled political life of the time and aroused in her a lively interest in European politics, an interest she maintained thereafter.
At the centre of her life, however, remained unquestionably religion. She summoned to Ulvåsa the first Swedish theologian of her time, the canon of Linköping, Magister Matthias, as her confessor and personal adviser in matters of religion. Through his teaching she became acquainted with the contemporary mystical and apocalyptic religious literature which played a large part in her spiritual formation. Alongside this study, the reading of Holy Scripture and the works of St Bernard of Clairvaux contributed to perfecting her religious education. She also gathered around her other masters of theology such as Nicolaus
Bridget, St — The casket in which the body of the Saint was brought from Rome to Vadstena — Chapel of St Bridget in the church of the Vadstena monastery, now a Lutheran parish church.
HERMANN, tutor of the royal children and later bishop of Linköping, the prior of the Alvastra monastery, Petrus, and the abbot of the Institute of the Holy Spirit at Skänninge, Petrus. Ulvåsa thus became a true centre of Swedish religious life of the time and enjoyed a clear reputation for high learning and generous charity. About the year 1340, St Bridget left her court office for political reasons—she belonged decidedly to the aristocratic opposition against the monarch’s totalitarian tendencies—but above all to devote herself entirely to pious studies and religion. Together with her husband she made a pilgrimage to St James of Compostella in Spain in the years 1341–43. Travelling through Germany and France, she gained a vivid impression of the great political and religious questions of the time, namely the merciless war between France and England, the struggle between the Pope and the Emperor and the consequent “Babylonian captivity” of the Pope at Avignon; impressions which later inspired her various activities and gave her direct personal experience of the spiritual and material needs of a distracted Europe. She also came into contact with the Fontevrault Order, a Benedictine foundation very widespread in France, frequented by the high nobility and often with abbesses of royal blood. The Fontevrault monasteries included monks and nuns organised within the same convent but in two separate enclosures, and it seems beyond doubt that this organisation inspired St Bridget in the foundation of her own order.
On her return to Sweden her husband fell gravely ill and died shortly after his return in 1344. This year represents a highly significant date in the life of St Bridget. She left Ulvåsa and took up residence near the Cistercian monastery of Alvastra (q.v.) where she received the first of a long series of religious revelations. These revelations generally came to her in a state of ecstasy, and after awakening she herself wrote them down or dictated them in Swedish to her confessor, who then took care of their translation into Latin. According to the content of the first revelation, Christ had called her His spouse and chosen her as an instrument to lead men to the path of Christian uprightness. In subsequent revelations she violently attacked the moral corruption of the time and especially the court life of King Magnus, but she also sought to restore peace between France and England through divine messages and to induce the Pope to return to Rome. Magister Matthias corrected the Bridgettine revelations from a dogmatic and theological point of view; they spread rapidly in various centres of Europe, giving their revelatrix a clear reputation as a pious prophetess and considerable influence in the political and religious world. It was in these years that St Bridget conceived the idea of founding a new religious Order called of the Holy Saviour, the rule of which was dictated to her in one of her revelations. Meanwhile substantial donations began to reach her, and in 1346 the king in his will bequeathed Vadstena Castle with its extensive tower for the future convent.
To receive papal sanction for her rule, she went to Rome in 1349, arriving with a large following in the Holy Year 1350. She probably took up residence in the house of Francesca Papazura in the Campo Marzio, later left to the Vadstena convent as the “Hospitale S. Birgittae de Regno Sueciae” for Swedish pilgrims, and lately passed into the possession of the new sisters of St Bridget, a modified refoundation of the original Order (1911). The house with its church and chapel is situated at Piazza Farnese 96, where the cells of St Bridget and of her daughter Catherine can still be visited.
In Rome St Bridget devoted herself to works of charity, studies and spiritual exercises and to dictating her revelations. In these latter she repeatedly exhorted—and in very clear, at times threatening language—the Pope to return to Rome, and she seems to have exercised some influence on the policy of the Avignon curia. In 1370 she received from Pope Urban V, by means of a bull issued at Montefiascone, sanction for her rule with some reservations. The new Order was to follow the rule of St Augustine, but in the Vadstena convent and in the foundations dependent on it life was to follow the prescriptions given in the rule of St Bridget. Thus it took on a character all its own, distinguished by the double monastery for monks and nuns with a common church. Under the guidance of Peter of Skänninge a special ritual was drawn up, the so-called Cantus sororum with two rectrix-choirs, two versiculariae and a lectrix. The rule was confirmed by Urban VI in 1378, and the Order—during its most flourishing and vigorous period—seems to have had about seventy monasteries scattered through Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and England. After the Council of Basle (1436), which did not take a clear position on the revelations, and after the Reformation in the Scandinavian countries, the Order rapidly declined (concerning the modern restoration of the Order: q.V. Order of the Holy Saviour and of St Bridget).
Having reached the long-desired goal with the sanction of her rule, St Bridget set out on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land at the beginning of 1372. Returning to Rome the following year in ruined health, she died there on 23 July 1373. Her mortal remains were conveyed to her Vadstena. Already in 1379, with the favour of Popes Gregory XI and Urban VI, the process for her canonisation began, and was brought to a successful conclusion on 7 October 1391.
St Bridget is without doubt the most interesting and outstanding personality of the Nordic world in the late Middle Ages. Nor should one omit to note how, alongside her religious and political activities, her singular literary gifts also emerge. Her writings indeed gave impetus to Swedish literature and are marked
It conveys a poetic force, a pregnant and narrative style, and a vivid concreteness that assign it not only a place of honor in Swedish literary history but also trace back to it a maximum influence on all sacred literature of the late Middle Ages.
Erik Sjöqvist
II. The Revelations
For this characteristic work B. is called the “Mystic of the North.” Her vocation is described in solemn, almost biblical terms in Rev. Extr. 47: in B. the charism of mystical union is joined to the prophetic mission. Providence had already prepared her for this mission through her noble upbringing, her contacts with all strata of society, her extensive reading—especially of Holy Scripture, her “most precious treasure” (at her request, Magister Matthias had made a Swedish translation of it: cf. G. Jörgensen, I, p. 55)—and, after the death of her husband (12 Feb. 1344), it disposed her more directly through an abundance of supernatural communications in the solitude of Alvastra, where B., by special concession, was permitted to reside as an “oblata” in a dependency of the monastery. Thus begins the first cycle of Revelations, the Swedish one (1344–49), marked by prophetic missions to the court of Stockholm, to the nobility and clergy: Marian revelations, ecclesiastical in nature, concerning the founding of the Order of the Holy Savior, to the seven “angels” (bishops) of her nation, on Swedish sovereignty, on the decline of Christian chivalry, on the proclamation of the second Jubilee in Rome, and the related message that the prior of Alvastra and the bishop of Åbo carried to Clement VI in Avignon.With B.’s arrival in Rome, by divine command, on the occasion of the Jubilee of 1350, a second cycle of Italo-Roman Revelations begins (cf. Rev. Extr. 8): in Milan, then in St. Peter’s during the opening of the Holy Door (24 Dec. 1349), and on many other occasions, with admonitions and threats from the Lord, exhortations to penance and assurance of forgiveness, and above all calls to the Pontiffs to return to the Urbe. Rome and its Basilicas recall the seer, rapt in ecstasy near the Catacombs of the Appian Way or at the tombs of the Apostles and ancient martyrs. In the Basilica of St. Paul a marble statue represents her listening to Jesus, who speaks to her from the ancient crucifix still venerated there.
Another cycle of Revelations harmonizes with her pilgrimages to the Shrines of Italy (1364–70): Assisi (St. Francis), Ortona a Mare (St. Thomas the Apostle), Monte Gargano (St. Michael the Archangel), Bari (St. Nicholas), Benevento (St. Bartholomew), Naples, with various missions to the court of Queen Joanna and the nobility, Salerno (St. Matthew), Amalfi (St. Andrew).
A fourth cycle consists of the Revelations connected with her journey to the Holy Land (1371–73): on the Passion of the Lord (in the precincts of the Holy Sepulcher), on Christmas (in the grotto of Bethlehem), on the life of the Virgin (in the grotto of Jerusalem), and minor revelations at the Cenacle, on the Mount of Olives, at the Jordan, and, both on the outward and return journeys, in Cyprus, with admonitions and messages for the people, the court of Famagusta, and even the Byzantine Empire itself.
All these visions and revelations B. received in a state of wakefulness and ecstasy (Rev. IV, 77; cf. IV, 78; VI, 52). Often she had corporal visions and sensible auditions, and at the same time was illuminated as to the meanings of these symbols, and her heart burned with love. At other times she heard voices without seeing the speaker, yet recognized her interlocutors—the Lord, the Angels, the Saints. Sometimes she had only intellectual illuminations, yet even then recognized what was being communicated to her by revelation. Often, however, B. experienced anguished doubt as to whether the phenomenon she had undergone was divine; in such cases a new revelation reassured her, sometimes recalling to her the criteria for discerning the divine origin of her revelations (“cognoscendi bonum vel malum spiritum”: cf. Rev. I, 4; III, 10; IV, 78).
Moreover, the Lord and the Virgin imposed upon her, as a principle, that she should submit her visions to the judgment of her directors (cf. Rev. IV, 78; cf. I, 52). Magister Matthias (d. 1350), in the prologue to the Revelations of the Swedish period, enumerates the evident signs of their divine origin. He had such confidence in B. that he asked her to consult the Lord on the interpretation of the Apocalypse for his commentary (cf. Rev. VI, 89).
The words that B. heard in ecstasy remained distinctly impressed upon her memory until she had confided them to her secretaries, who translated them into Latin; then she remembered only their general sense. Protesting their fidelity, they report that B., after she had learned Latin in Rome, would check their work to ensure the accuracy of their translation.
1. The Collection
At her death B. left a group of “friends of God” (to whom frequent allusion is made in the Revelations: cf. I, 55; IV, 11; VI, 76), whom she had gathered around herself with maternal solicitude, convinced of their particular divine election, imbued with her spirit, animated by invincible hopes and zeal for the spread of her message. Among them were Petrus of Skänninge, Petrus of Alvastra, and, from 1368, the hermit Alfonso of Vadaterra, former bishop of Jaén in Spain. They took care not only to translate into Latin, as they were received, the Revelations of the Roman and Palestinian periods, but also to collect them, uniting them with those of the Swedish period, so that at B.’s death they could, in the Life of the Saint prepared by them for canonization, refer to the books of the Revelations. This work of organization is owed above all to Alfonso of Jaén (cf. Rev. VII, 31; Extr. 49). Returning to Sweden in 1380, the two Peters completed the Brigittine corpus, which the monks of Vadstena then presented in its definitive form in the *editio princeps* of Lübeck in 1492. In this edition the Revelations are grouped into 8 books, and a supplementary collection called, in juridical terminology, *Revelationes Extravagantes*. Two books have special titles: Book V is called *Liber quaestionum*, and Book VIII *Liber caelestis Imperatoris ad reges*. At the head of Book I is the *Prologus* of Magister Matthias of Sweden; at the head of Book VIII, the *Epistola solitarii ad reges* of Alfonso of Jaén.To these properly so-called Revelations are added, between the 8th and the Extravagantes, the Regula s. Salvatoris (revised in canonical style for Roman approval), and the Sermo Angelicus de excellentia B. Mariae Virginis, adapted and divided into 21 chapters for liturgical use (3 lessons for each day of the week), and 4 Orationes, each preceded by a prologue.
Each revelation (chapter) is preceded by a summary; not a few are also followed by some Declarations. Apart from the 1st Book V (or «of the Whys»), which concerns a vision that St Bridget had on the road to Vadstena, in dialogic form, between a proud monk and his divine judge, the 8th (Ad reges: exhortations to sovereigns) and the final part of the 4th (i.e., chaps. 132–44: Tractatus ad sacerdotes et ad Summos Pontifices), the collection presents no logical or chronological order. Some revelations are repeated. In the 1st Book VIII visions received in the Holy Land predominate. There is no critical edition. The best is that of Gonzalvo Durante, bishop of Montefeltro (Rome 1606), who enriched the editio princeps with explanatory notes, a theological commentary on the individual Revelations. Prefixed to it is part of the Defensorium by Cardinal Giovanni di Torquemada and the brief of approval Cum sicut accepimus (24 July 1606) by Paul V. In the reprint of 1628, even more authoritative, he added a great Tractatus de Revelat. s. Brigitae. It proves St Bridget’s submission to the Church in doctrinal matters, her agreement with authorized doctors in free opinions, and her Thomistic tendencies. This edition, reprinted in Munich in 1680, was enriched with copious indices by Fra Simone Hörmann, prior of the Brigittine monastery of Altomünster (Bavaria).
2. Partial Collections
These are given by extracts made for ascetical purposes from the Brigittine corpus, e.g.: 1) Caeleste viridarium, by Alfonso of Jaén; 2) Onus mundi, drawn from Book IV, Rome 1485; 3) Opusculum Vitae et Passionis Christi eiusque Genitricis Mariae, Antwerp 1489; 4) Thesaurus animae fidelis, Cologne 1517.3. General Characteristics
A literary and mystical masterpiece, St Bridget’s Revelations are written in a vivid, imaginative, and at times dramatic style, all pervaded by a powerful and captivating poetic spirit. Although the Latin dress in which they have come down to us lacks classical elegance, it is nonetheless dignified. The soul of the saint is revealed in her «chivalrous» grandeur, trembling at injustices and the unworthiness of clergy and rulers.St Bridget’s spirituality, in its relation to religious orders, belongs chiefly to the Cistercian school and shows traces of the Franciscan school (she was a Franciscan tertiary). A characteristic note is her strength, not divorced from admirable discretion. The Revelations frequently recur to the great ideas of God’s sovereignty and justice, and at the same time of His infinite mercy, so that the Lord can say to her that He never does «justice without mercy» (Rev., I, 7), even to the damned (Rev., II, 12; cf. III, 28); of Providence, especially for the souls of the just, called to cooperate in the divine redemption (cf. Rev., I, 56; IV, 77); of the Rome of Christ, «most excellent and most holy», whose squares are «paved with the blood of martyrs» (Rev., III, 27; VI, 63).
The saint describes the kingdoms of the hereafter (cf. Rev., VI, 53), which, together with the present world, constitute the four cities (of trial, of purification, of suffering, of glory) with four different loves (Rev., III, 28: a concept perhaps inspired by St Augustine); and she seems to have foreseen, as Pius XI himself used to admit, the establishment of the Vatican City (cf. Rev., VI, 74).
St Bridget also expresses the great Catholic devotions to the Humanity of Christ, to the Blessed Virgin Mary (whose glories she sings and whose Immaculate Conception she extols: Rev., VI, 49 [«Ego concepta fui sine peccato originali»]; cf. I, 9; V, at the end; VI, 55; Sermo Angelicus, 10), especially as Mother of Sorrows, and to St Joseph, whose cult was still somewhat in the shadows in the Church (cf. Rev., VI, 59); to the Angels, particularly the guardian angel (cf. Rev., I, 9); and she embraces local devotions to the shrines she visits. For this reason the Revelations also influenced medieval piety and art (cf. É. Mâle, L’Art religieux de la fin du M. A. en France, Paris 1908, pp. 80, 81, 118, 125, 128).
4. Theological Value
These Revelations were not welcomed with enthusiasm by all; alongside the apologists there were also critics and doubters: reluctance was shown to credit «visionary» little women (nulierculae) (St Bridget and St Catherine of Siena) who presumed to act as advisers to the Head of the Church (cf. G. Gerson, De examinatione doctrinarum, II, 3, and De probatione spirit., 5, in Opera omnia, I, Antwerp 1706, cols. 16 and 38).The question, brought before the Council of Constance (cf. Hefele-Leclercq, VII, p. 184 sq.), was more bitterly agitated at the Council of Basel (cf. Acta SS. Octobris, IV, Brussels 1780, pp. 409–12), where it came to the point of demanding the censure of the Revelations according to a list of 123 articles drawn from them. But the Scandinavian bishops and the Dominicans defended them effectively, and Giovanni di Torquemada, Master of the Sacred Palace and later cardinal, drew up a Defensorium, refuting point by point all 123 articles (Mansi, XXX, 697–81).
Moreover, Gregory XI and Urban VI had already judged them favorably (cf. Acta SS. Octobris, IV, pp. 406–18), and Boniface IX had them rigorously examined for St Bridget’s canonization, recognizing her as endowed with a «prophetic spirit» (bull Ab origine mundi, 7 Oct. 1391).
Recourse was had to conciliar ratification so that, given the schism, even the party dissenting from Boniface IX might recognize the holiness and mission of the seer; the canonization was confirmed by John XXIII at the Council of Constance (2 Feb. 1415), and again at Florence by Martin V, the ecumenical pope (bull Excellentium principum, 1 July 1419). The Revelations were re-examined at the Council of Basel (1433–36), where, however, the claim of those who wished to assimilate the Revelations to the Gospel was rejected (cf. Rev. Extr., 49), and it was declared that many passages needed clarification and revision.
Accessory defects are indeed not lacking, due to the influence of the environment of the time (cf., e.g., Rev., IV, 13 on the liberation of Trajan from Hell, also recalled by Dante, Purg., X, 76) and to the mingling of human activity with the action of God.
The definitive judgment therefore remains that of Benedict XIV, who, asking what is to be thought of private revelations even when approved by the Church (such as those of Sts Hildegard, Bridget, and Catherine of Siena), replies that one must neither can give them «assensum fidei catholicae, sed tantum fidei humanae, iuxta regulas prudentiae, iuxta quas praedictae revelationes sunt probabiles et pie credibiles» (De Serv. Dei Beatif., III, 53, 15; cf. II, 32, 11).
Catholics have always held St Bridget’s Revelations in great esteem.
writings of St. Bridget (cf. PETER CANISIUS, De Maria Virgine, I, 7), whose reading elevates and strengthens the spirit.