Bridget of Sweden was one of the best-travelled women of the Middle Ages. From her native Sweden, she went to Rome and later to the Holy Land.

Luca Cesarini describes her journey, the circumstances that led to her setting out, the people she met en route, encounters with Islam, and the experience of pilgrims in the fourteenth century. The book also includes some of Bridget’s own accounts of the visions she had during her journey, not least of the nativity of Christ, which would change the depiction of the Christmas crib in Christian art for ever.

In an accessible and entertaining way, this book describes not only Bridget’s own life and travels but also enables modern-day readers to look at popular pilgrimage destinations through the eyes of a medieval woman.