A Lineage of Apocalyptic Queens: The Portrayal of Birgitta of Sweden in Domenica Narducci’s Sermon to Caterina Cibo (1533)

The chapter foces on the central role that Birgitta of Sweden’s Revelations played in the dissemination by women mystics of political advice. In this framework, I argue that women’s contributions to exegetical reading practices of the Scriptures introduced new paradigms of a “shared” knowledge and language based upon a gendered reading of the Apocalypse for educational, evangelical or prophetical purposes, with implicit political references to their historical context. To restrict my enquiry, the chapter focuses on the case study of Florentine nun, preacher, and visionary Domenica Narducci (1477–1553), one of those referred to as “Savonarola’s women”, from the Paradiso convent in Florence. Narducci’s application of Apocalyptic Marian traits to female figures, among them Birgitta herself who figures as a character in the sermon she addresses to Cibo, not only reinforces her message from a rhetorical point of view, but also gives consistency to a sense of communal mission to which her spiritual daughters are asked to commit themselves. Here, the legacy of Birgitta’s figure, her sophisticated reading of the Virgin Mary as a vector to address political matters emerges as a paradigm that unites her supporters.