ABSTRACT
The collaboratively written texts examined in this study are created through processes of mediation. That is, between the time the texts are first conceived of as an idea, and the time they are presented to readers in final manuscript form, they are handled by several persons who function as literary intermediaries. Originating with God, the texts’ truths are revealed to holy women through specific visions or general inspiration. The women, in turn, share their insights with scribes who help transcribe and edit the texts. Thereafter, the scribes often convey the texts to authoritative audiences for approval. Such exchanges are captured neatly in a fifteenth-century illustration of Birgitta’s revelations (See Plate 4). In the picture, Christ gives Birgitta a piece of parchment that represents a divine vision. Even as Birgitta receives the parchment in one hand, she gives it away with the other, passing the document on to a church official who is most likely her confessor and scribe. He hands the text to a messenger boy, who travels to a royal palace and delivers the parchment to three kings (Nordenfalk 1:375). By having the text literally pass through many hands, the picture offers a vivid image of the mediated nature of religious women’s collaborative writing.
