Magistra apostolorum : The Virgin Mary in Birgitta of Sweden and Vittoria Colonna

Abstract

Vittoria Colonna used a series of role models, such as the heroines of classical mythology, or female saints such as Catherine of Alexandria and Mary Magdalene, in the construction of her image as an intellectually aspiring and moral exemplary noblewoman. This chapter argues that Birgitta of Sweden (1303–73) should be added to Colonna’s gallery of female models. As an aristocratic widow in Rome with reform inclinations, with a strong public voice, and above all with an extensive textual presence that extended throughout Italy and to other European countries, no one could fit better as Colonna’s exemplum than Birgitta. As this chapter explores, the clearest traces of Birgittine imitations are to be found in Colonna’s radical meditations on the Virgin Mary.