The Revelations of St. Birgitta of Sweden Volume 2 figure 1. The earliest wooden sculpture of St. Birgitta, from Skederid church, Uppland,intheparishofherbirth,c.1375–1400.StatensHistoriskaMuseum,Stock- holm. The Revelations of St. Birgitta of Sweden Volume 2 Liber Caelestis, Books IV–V translated by denis searby with introductions and notes by bridget morris 1 2008 1 OxfordUniversityPress,Inc.,publishesworksthatfurther OxfordUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellence inresearch,scholarship,andeducation. Oxford NewYork Auckland CapeTown DaresSalaam HongKong Karachi KualaLumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoCity Nairobi NewDelhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto Withofficesin Argentina Austria Brazil Chile CzechRepublic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore SouthKorea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright#2008byOxfordUniversityPress,Inc. PublishedbyOxfordUniversityPress,Inc. 198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NewYork10016 www.oup.com OxfordisaregisteredtrademarkofOxfordUniversityPress. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced, storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans, electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise, withoutthepriorpermissionofOxfordUniversityPress. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Bridget,ofSweden,Saint,ca.1303–1373. [Revelationes.English] TherevelationsofSt.BirgittaofSweden/translatedbyDenisSearby;introductions andnotesbyBridgetMorris. p. cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978-0-19-516644-6(v.1) ISBN978-0-19-516626-2(v.2) 1. Privaterevelations. 2. Visions. I. Searby,DenisMichael. II. Title. BX4700.B62E52005 248.209—dc22 2005047277 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica onacid-freepaper Acknowledgments Wewouldliketothankonceagainallourfriendsandcolleagueswho weregratefully acknowledged in volume1, andto add to thelist the names of Arne Jo¨nsson,Eva Odelman, Domenico Pezzini,Sara Ris- berg,and Paula Turner,who have given information and advice on mattersthathaveariseninconnectionwiththepresentvolume.Itis also agreat pleasure to acknowledge ourcolleague onthis project, StephanBorgehammar, who has readthrough theentire book in draft,mademanyvaluablesuggestionsforimprovement,andshared withus his learning on medievaltheology. The completion of this volume has once again been made pos- sible with thefinancial support oftheRiksbankens Jubileumsfond (TheBankofSwedenTercentenaryFoundation).Wearemostgrateful for theFoundation’s generous sponsorship,and also to Kungl. Vit- terhetsHistorie ochAntikvitetsAkademien,Stockholm, which has acted as thefinancial administrator of thegrant. We are grateful to theThe Dean andChapterof York Minster for permission to reproducethe jacket illustration. Whilewewerecompletingthisvolume,weweregreatlysaddened to learn ofthe death of ProfessorSten Eklundin June 2006.He made an enormouscontribution toBirgittine Studies during the courseof his career in the Department of Classical Languages at the UniversityofUppsala;andhegavegenerouslyofhistimetoyounger scholars, like ourselves, as we set out onan academic career. This volumeis atributeto him. This page intentionally left blank Contents Abbreviations,xv The Entire Birgittine Corpus, xvii BOOK IV Introduction, 3 chapter 1 St.John ExhortstheKing to Lead aBetter Life, 23 chapter 2 About a Fantastic Beast and aFish, 24 chapter 3 Onthe Rights ofSuccession in theCountry, 27 chapter 4 TheStruggle betweena Good and aBad Spirit in the Conscience ofa Lady, 30 chapter 5 St.PeterBemoans the State of Rome, 34 chapter 6 St.Paul Speaks ofthe Conversion ofSt.Stephen the Martyr, 35 chapter 7 A Soul in Judgment;and aDescriptionof Purgatory,36 chapter 8 Further onthe Revelationabove,and theSufferings ofPurgatory, 41 chapter 9 OnSix Agesof Purgatory forthe Soul Mentioned above,and His Voicesof Woe; How His Time in PurgatoryMayBeShortened, 42 chapter 10 A Complaint about theInhabitants ofRome,44 chapter 11 St.Agnes Describes the‘‘Wedding’’ of theVirgin; Birgitta’s Renunciation ofHerChildren; theWorld Is LikeaCookingPot, 46 viii contents chapter 12 Adviceto God’sFriends,and to Birgitta, with theImages of aFist and aShepherd, 47 chapter 13 OnTears and Almsgiving, 48 chapter 14 TheDevilIs Like a Snake, aLion, anda Dog,50 chapter 15 A Parable about a Mother and TwoSons,and about God’sProphecies, 51 chapter 16 TheChurch and God Are Like aGooseand aHen; and aboutIndulgences in Rome,54 chapter 17 St.Agnes Describesa Proud Lady in aCarriage andElaborates on theSymbolism of theWheels, 56 chapter 18 Birgitta PraisestheVirgin,and Is Preparedby the Apostles to Go to Christ on Behalf of All theFaithful, 59 chapter 19 Onthe Virgin’s Beauty; She Is Compared to aGoldsmith, 61 chapter 20 St.Agnes Encourages Birgitta to StandFirm,and Alludes to a CorruptWoman; God Is Like an Eagle, 62 chapter 21 Birgitta Is Encouraged to Keep Teaching and Converting Others, 64 chapter 22 Various Messages about Present-Day Sinners, 66 chapter 23 St.John and theVirginDiscussaSinful Cleric; theDevil as Coin-Maker;and of Seven Signs; andthe Man Is Identified in the Explanation as aCistercian Who Repented,68 chapter 24 TheBrewingof Beer Is Likened to the Swellingof People’s Hearts, 71 chapter 25 A Comparison of aBride before a Bed-Curtain andAdvice to a Man WhoWas Steadfast,72 chapter 26 Virtues,Especially Obedience, AreLike Flowers ona Tree, 73 chapter 27 A Man’s Counterfeit Devotion Is Comparedto aPoorly Equipped Squire inBattle, 74 chapter 28 OnThree Types ofBread,74 chapter 29 Spiritsof th eDevilHoldInstruments ofTorture, 75 chapter 30 Onthe Needfor Fine Apparel,75 chapter 31 Conversion Is Like a Grainof Gold in Sand, 76 chapter 32 Reassurancefor theComposer ofthe Prayer of Praise, 77 chapter 33 A Descriptionof theWretchedState ofRomeand of ItsClerics,78 chapter 34 About the Imminent Tortureof aMan, 82 chapter 35 AnExcessof Material Possessions Is Discouraged, 83 chapter 36 About Degenerate Monks andKnights, 86 chapter 37 God’sAngertowardthe World, WhichIs Like an Open Sack, 85 chapter 38 Birgitta ShouldNot Place Her Trust in Dreams, Which Can BeHappy or Sad, 86 chapter 39 OnaLamb in aLion’s Mouth, 87 chapter 40 Onthe Meaningof aChristian Death, 88 chapter 41 EvenSinful Priests Can Administer theSacraments, 89 chapter 42 God’sFriendsAreCompared to Door Posts, 90 contents ix chapter 43 Bad Pastors AreLike a GnawingWorm, 90 chapter 44 The Body Is Like aShip, 91 chapter 45 Four Virtuous Sisters AreUsurpedby Four Worthless Ones, 91 chapter 46 A Man Is Upbraidedfor AcquiringPossessions Unlawfully, 92 chapter 47 People AreLike Goats,and Christ Is Like aHenProtecting Her Chickens,93 chapter 48 A King Must HonorGod More, or Else His Kingdom Will BeDivided, 95 chapter 49 Voices from TwoPulpitsExhort thePope to Improve theSituation ofthe Church, 95 chapter 50 Many People before theSeatofJudgment, 97 chapter 51 OntheSoul of aYoung Woman in Judgment, 98 chapter 52 OntheBestial Featuresofa MarriedCouple in Judgment,100 chapter 53 AnAnswer to Birgitta’sPrayerfor Her Sons, 103 chapter 54 About theRebirthof a‘‘Son ofTears,’’ 104 chapter 55 A Boy WillBeBrought Upto Be aGood Soldier, 105 chapter 56 A Father Sometimes Has to BeatHis Son,106 chapter 57 Rome Is Like a Field ofTares, 106 chapter 58 OnPriestsWhoAdminister theSacraments, andon Seven Steps,SevenVestments, andSevenVices, 107 chapter 59 OnthePriest’s Three Duties, 110 chapter 60 A Prayer to the Lord,WhoIs Like aDoctor,111 chapter 61 A Discussion about theReal Presencein the Eucharist,112 chapter 62 About aSinful Priest Who Buries aMan,115 chapter 63 The Devil and Christ Argue about theReal Presencein the Eucharist,116 chapter 64 Christ Is Like a Poor PeasantCarrying Brushwood, 119 chapter 65 Birgitta Sho uldBe Like aVessel;ChristIs Like aRuler in aCastle, 120 chapter 66 Good Intention Is Exemplifiedby aWaterMill, 121 chapter 67 OnChrist’s Foreknowledgeaboutthe Immutable Arrangement of theWorld,122 chapter 68 The Devil Is LikeaFox, 123 chapter 69 Springwater RepresentstheConduct of Priests, 124 chapter 70 A Vision of theCrucifixion, 125 chapter 71 A Discussion about Marriage,128 chapter 72 About Mary andMartha, 131 chapter 73 About aKnightWho Is Presumed Dead,132 chapter 74 OntheKnight’s Armor, 133 chapter 75 OntheLikeness of aBride andGroom,141 chapter 76 OnPeople’s Fickle Nature,144 chapter 77 Birgitta Is Given Reassurance, 147 chapter 78 A Letter Addressed toa Prelate,149 chapter 79 A Letter to aPriest in Rome, 151