Makt, Sex, och Kön: St. Birgitta and Medieval Swedish Politics

Birgitta Birgersdotter (1302/3 – 1373) was a Swedish noblewoman who began reporting repeated heavenly visions beginning shortly after her widowhood in 1344, although tradition came to believe that she had had earlier visions as well. Her visions had a strong religious component. However, they also gave admonishment and advice to powerful leaders throughout medieval Europe, notably Sweden’s king, Magnus IV Eriksson, and his queen consort, Blanche of Namur. Another important motif of the visions was an insistence of the papacy returning to Rome from Avignon. Birgitta was not always taken seriously due to her gender. However, the privilege obtained from her social status may have helped her speak to powerful figures with impunity. This work argues that Birgitta provides important insight into the Middle Ages. A woman who traveled the continent and provided solicited and unsolicited advice to leaders provides a rich contrast to misconceptions that hold medieval women to have been passive.