Fall 2005

E 322 • Birgitta, Hildegard and Margery

Course Description

The life and writings of Saint Birgitta of Sweden, fourteenth-century visionary, religious reformer and pilgrim, will be examined and compared with her predecessor Hildegard of Bingen (Germany) and her successor Margery Kempe (England). Social and historical contexts for all three visionary women will be explored in depth, particularly the factors behind Birgitta's emerging as such an authoritative voice, both political and religious, within the milieu of fourteenth-century Europe.

Grading Policy

5 writing projects, minimum of 4 pp each (2 in-class, 3 out-of-class)
(1 of the out-of-class papers may be substantially revised) 90%
Class discussions and participation 10%

Texts

Birgitta of Sweden: Life and Selected Revelations, ed. Marguerite Tjader Harris, Paulist Press, 1990, ISBN 0809131390
Saint Birgitta of Sweden, by Bridget Morris, Boydell & Brewer, 1999, ISBN 0851157270
The Book of Margery Kempe: The Autobiography of the Madwoman of God, ed. Tony D. Triggs, Triumph Books, 1885, ISBN 0892438258
Voice of the Living Light: Hildegard von Bingen and Her World, ed. Barbara Newman, University of California Press, 1998, ISBN 0520208269

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