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Birgitta of Sweden-Life and Selected Revelations edited, with a preface by Marguerite Tjader Harristranslation and notes by Albert Ryle Kezelintroduction by Tore Nyberg

"I am a sinner unworthy to say such things; nevertheless, know that Jesus Christ appeared to me at prayer."--Birgitta of Sweden (c. 1303-1373)

The Catholic history of Scandinavia is rich in its legacy of saints and blesseds: Canute, Eric, Hallvard, Henry, Olaf, Sigfrid, Thorlac and many others. One Swedish saint has achieved worldwide fame: Birgitta Birgersdotter, born into wealth and aristocracy, a happily married mother, a religious foundress, a mystical visionary and the fines Scandinavian writer of the Middle Ages. Like Joan of Arc, Birgitta experienced a repeated and insistent visionary call to public action. Her task was to reawaken the Church's attention to the essential things of God; and, in her vividly colorful writings, she has left to the world an exemplary record of her own perseverance in prayer. Knut Westman, a major authority on St. Birgitta, says of her: "Birgitta is of another kind of religion: personal, vocational, mystical, recognized by its strong ethical attitude, its visions of God's work through history, and the consciousness of being called to task. Such a life cannot be explained as a product of known factors." Contained in this volume are four key documents of Birgittine literature: the eyewitness Life of Blessed Birgitta, the complete Fifth and Seventh books of her Revelations, and her Four Prayers. Of the present volume, Birger Bergh, prominent Birgittine textual critic, writes: "This translation, done by a translator with a sensitivity of style and with genuine understanding of the Birgittine world, gives a perfect picture of the Latin original and its fluent diction."

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

TRANSLATOR'S FOREWORD

THE LIFE OF BLESSED BIRGITTA BY PRIOR PETER AND MASTER PETER

THE FIFTH BOOK OF REVELATIONS OR BOOK OF QUESTIONS

THE SEVENTH BOOK OF REVELATIONS

FOUR PRAYERS

NOTES

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY