A Swedish mystic and saint, patron of Sweden, founder of the Brigittine Order, and a visionary whose revelations about the Nativity were highly influential in the way it was artistically depicted during the Middle Ages.
After the death of her aristocratic husband Bridget entered a convent and began to have a series of visions, some political, some personal and some of which dealt with the birth of Jesus. Until Bridget’s revelations it was believed that Mary had given birth in the normal fashion but after she announced that it had been revealed to her that Mary had given birth standing in prayer, without pain or effort, medieval art changed its portrayal of the Nativity.
Bridget was canonized in 1391 and her Revelations were printed in 1492.