Which is the earliest «Vita» of Birgitta of Sweden?

In the first few years after Birgitta of Sweden’s death (1373) her confessors, both named Peter, composed a Vita, which has been handed down in three main versions. Each version differs from the others mostly in the length, in the narrative flow and in the number of the reported miracles. While Birgitta’s writings have already been published in critical editions, the research on Birgitta’s hagiography faces a discouraging lack of such editions. This article analyzes some loci critici of the entire manuscript tradition, an operation so far never attempted, in order to better understand the relationships between the three existing versions of the Vita. As a result of this examination, it is possible to observe that the Vita was, in fact, a work in progress, since each version witnesses a different – and often not definitive – stage in the promotion of Birgitta’s cult.