One Life, Many Hagiographers: The Earliest Vitae 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 miracles reported. The critical issues arisen by this situation are: are the confessors also the authors of all three versions? Which is the earliest version? And why was the earliest version more and more modified? So far scholars looked at these Vitae through the lens of ancient - and often not reliable - editions, hence had different opinions on which version was the earliest basing their considerations on misedited portions of texts, or on single manuscripts. Besides, we now know more manuscript witnesses and are able to classify each version in at least two, slightly diverse, forms. In order for us to better understand the relationships between the three existing versions of the Vita, new critical editions are needed. Such editions, however, would constitute a broad and difficult enterprise and take a long time to complete. I have, therefore, begun to prepare a thorough analysis of some loci critici of the entire manuscript tradition, an operation so far never attempted.