It is rare in history, especially in the late medieval ages, to find a woman who is able to find her own way and make a name for herself without the aid of a man. However, Birgitta Bigersdotter did exactly that; she realized her potential and with the visions from God she was blessed with, she used everything she had and rose to become “one of the great saints of Scandinavia” (Lindqvist 71). Birgitta was the only woman in the fourteenth century who was made a saint and the only woman to start her own monastic order that is still relevant today (Morris 1). Saint Brigitta overcame the limitations placed on women of this era by turning toward religion. By proving her piety and “on the basis of an acknowledged sanctity and a theocratic equality, she was able to communicate effectively with emperors and popes, kings and bishops, women and men, children and servants” ("Birger Gregersson and Thomas Gascoigne: The Life of Saint Birgitta") How was it that a woman could rise to such heights in the male dominated medieval society? To answer that question one must look at the Swedish society at this time.
As far as Europe goes, Sweden could be considered a bit of a late bloomer. In many ways Sweden was falling behind its more advanced neighbors. Gone were the incredible years of Viking conquest, these were the years of suffering, trying to piece this country together. It seemed that everything was coming to Sweden much later than most other parts of Europe. Sweden did not have a common law until the mid fourteenth century, the capital, Stockholm was only established far in the thirteenth century, Christianity also arrived late, in the eleventh century (Morris 12). A benefit of this is that they avoided the struggle between church and the ru...
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...of the European Union (Lindqvist 72).
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Holy Feast and Holy Fast emerged as a pivotal work during the mid-1980s in response to a prevalent trend among scholars which placed apostolic poverty and chastity at the very core of the Western European vita religiosa at the expense of attention toward the forms of austerity, some of which were more common to women. Bynum builds up her narrative by exploring how, although the renunciation of money and sex had a shared significance to both genders, the chief metaphor governing the spiritual life of women specifically concerned food. Bynum weaves her monograph together through a careful analysis of both food symbolism and food-related religious practices as described in the works of female mystics themselves and in the hagiographical vitae of female saints. Although this review will be chiefly focused on the latter portion of the work, “Chapter 6: Food as Control of Self” in particular, a brief overview of its preceding sections may be useful for setting context.
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