Medieval manuscripts blog

In August 1372, a woman had an extraordinary experience that changed the way that people pictured Christmas. Birgitta Birgersdotter (or, as she is better known, St Bridget of Sweden) was a Swedish widow who had moved to Rome and made a name for herself as a holy woman. When she was around 69 years old, Birgitta made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. There, at the Grotto of the Nativity, the subterranean cave in Bethlehem traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Christ, she experienced a spiritual vision in which she saw the events of the first Christmas. Of the many visions she experienced in her life, Birgitta’s vision of the Nativity is probably the most famous and influential, going on to profoundly shape the way the scene was depicted in medieval art.

St Birgitta writing with her vision of the Nativity appearing above her head, a woodcut print from The Myrroure of Oure Lady, 1530: British Library, C.11.b.8.

Before Birgitta

The descriptions of the Nativity in the Bible are light in detail. The gospels of Matthew and Luke recount that Jesus was conceived through the power of the Holy Spirit by a virgin named Mary, who was betrothed or married to a man called Joseph. They state that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, with Luke explaining that Mary and Joseph had travelled there for a census and that Mary “wrapped him [Jesus] in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).

In order to create vivid and compelling images of the Nativity, medieval artists desired more information. They drew extra details from Old Testament prophecies, apocryphal gospel accounts and medieval childbirth practices. The standard image of the Nativity in Western Europe until the 14th century showed the Virgin Mary reclining in bed, as was normal for medieval mothers. Jesus is usually lying in the manger, being adored by an ox and ass. Joseph and sometimes midwives accompany the scene, as in the example below. In the 14th century, however, a new type of Nativity scene began to appear, due in a large part to Birgitta’s vision.

Nativity scene, showing the Virgin Mary in bed (above), with midwives bathing Child (lower left), and Christ lying in a manger (lower right), North-East France or Flanders, 12th century: Cotton MS Caligula A VII/1, f. 5r

Birgitta’s vision of the Nativity

Birgitta described her vision at the Grotto of the Nativity in her magisterial visionary work, the Liber celestis revelacionum (heavenly book of revelations), which was widely read throughout Europe. She described seeing the pregnant Virgin Mary enter the cave with Joseph, the ox and ass. Joseph lights a candle and fixes it to the wall, then leaves. Mary takes off her shoes, mantle and veil, spreading her long golden hair. After preparing cloths in which to wrap the baby, she kneels facing east and begins to pray. According to Birgitta,

“While she was thus praying, I saw the infant in her womb move, and at that very moment, in the flash of an eye, she gave birth to her son... The birth of the child was so instant and sudden that I was unable to see or discern how or even with what part of her body she gave birth. And yet I immediately saw that glorious infant lying on the ground, naked and shining”.

(Liber celestis, book VII, chapter 21, translation by Denis Searby, 2012, p. 251).

Birgitta (on the right) witnesses the Nativity, from a copy of her Liber celestis, Northern England, 1400-1425: Cotton MS Claudius B I, f. 270r

Birgitta’s vision is rich with details, two of which are particularly important for medieval art. First, the Virgin Mary gives birth instantly while kneeling, with Christ supernaturally transported out of her womb and onto the ground. As the mother of eight children, Birgitta was fully aware of the realities of childbirth. Birgitta’s description of this miraculous birth is her way of explaining how Mary could give birth without damaging the virginal intactness of her body. Additionally, since the Bible presents painful childbirth as a punishment inflicted on womankind for Eve’s disobedience (Genesis 3:16), Birgitta’s description of the painless birth implies that Mary was free from Original Sin inherited from Eve.

The other distinctive feature is that the newborn Christ shines. The idea that the birth of Christ was accompanied by a bright light originated in apocryphal gospel accounts, probably referring to the idea of Christ as “the light of the world”. Birgitta specifies that light radiates from the body of Christ and that his brightness outshines both the sun and the candle that Joseph had brought in:

“Such indescribable light and splendour went out from him that the sun could not be compared to it. The candle that the old man had placed there was giving no light at all, for that divine lustre completely outshone the material lustre of the candle”.

(Liber celestis, book VII, chapter 21, translation by Denis Searby, 2012, p. 251).

Within only a few years, these elements from Birgitta’s vision began to appear in medieval depictions of the Nativity.

The Nativity in a Book of Hours, France, around 1430-50: Add MS 28784 B, f. 2v

Nativity scenes in Books of Hours

One place where medieval Nativity scenes often appear is in Books of Hours. These prayer books, often described as the “best-sellers of the Middle Ages”, contain sets of prayers for reading at the eight canonical hours of the day. The most important of these, the Office of the Virgin, often begins each hour with a picture from the life of the Virgin Mary, where the Nativity usually accompanies the hour of prime (first daylight). An examination of Books of Hours in the British Library reveals many examples of Nativity scenes depicting elements from Birgitta’s vision.

The Book of Hours shown below was made in Italy in 1412 for Neapolitan nobleman and diplomat Antonio Carafa. Nativity scenes inspired by Birgitta’s vision first appeared in Italy, where she spent the latter part of her life and had many supporters. Although the Western artistic tradition usually sets the Nativity in a stable, this image depicts the birth of Christ taking place in a cave, corresponding with Birgitta’s description of the Grotto of the Nativity. The Virgin Mary kneels and the infant Jesus lies on the floor emitting light, outshining the sun above and the candle that Joseph holds up. Behind them, the ox and the ass wait by the manger and in the background an angel announces the birth of Christ to the shepherds.

The Nativity from a Book of Hours, Italy, 1412: Add MS 17466, f. 34r

More often, artists transported the key elements from Birgitta’s vision to a stable or a classical ruin. The idea that the Nativity took place in a stable was a logical inference based on biblical references to a manger and animals, and the ruin was a symbol of paganism crumbling with the birth of Christ.

The Nativity from a Book of Hours, Paris, c. 1530: Add MS 35318

The image of the Nativity shown below includes a pilgrim’s bag and staff lying on the floor in the foreground, perhaps referring to Birgitta’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land. We can imagine that we are seeing the scene through Birgitta’s eyes, with her belongings laid down in front of her.

The Nativity in a Book of Hours, Southern Netherlands, late 15th century: Sloane MS 2916, f. 45v

It is questionable whether the artists who created these images and the book owners who admired them were always aware of Birgitta’s vision. Most medieval images were based on other images rather than texts, so once the vision became an image, it took on a life of its own. The kneeling Virgin, the shining Infant on the ground, the sun's rays and Joseph holding a candle all became part of the visual tradition of the Nativity, and they can still be found in many Nativity scenes to this day.

The Nativity in a Book of Hours, France, late 15th century: Add MS 14803, f. 37r

The Nativity in a Book of Hours, Southern Netherlands, 1460-75: Harley MS 2853

Manuscript illustration of the Nativity, written by a nun named Modesta, northwest Germany, late 15th century: Harley MS 2975

You can see manuscripts of Birgitta’s Liber celestis and learn more about her incredible legacy in the British Library’s exhibition Medieval Women: In Their Own Words, from 25 October 2024 to 2 March 2025. Tickets are available to purchase online now. 

From everyone in the Medieval Manuscripts team, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Eleanor Jackson
Follow us @BLMedieval

This exhibition is made possible with support from Joanna and Graham Barker, Unwin Charitable Trust, and Cockayne – Grants for the Arts: a donor advised fund held at the London Community Foundation. 

Translations

The Revelations of St. Birgitta of Sweden: Volume III: Liber Caelestis, Books VI–VII, trans. by Denis Searby, ed. by Bridget Morris (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), pp. 250-51.