Catherine of Siena

Life

Catherine of Siena (1347–1380), born in Siena, Italy, was a prominent mystic and writer, canonized in 1461. Her most influential work are her Dialogo and her letters, written down in Italian, but translated into Latin on the initiative of Cristofano di Gano Guidini. Birgitta of Sweden seems to have been a role model for Catherine. Several manuscripts contain both works by Birgitta and by Catherine.

Works
Further Reading

Beattie, Blake. 2012. Catherine of Siena and the Papacy. In: C. Muessig, G. Ferzoco & B. Mayne Kienzle (eds.), A Companion to Catherine of Siena. Leiden: Brill. Pp. 73–98.

Falkeid, Unn. 2017. The Avignon Papacy Contested: An Intellectual History from Dante to Catherine of Siena. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP.

Holloway, Julia Bolton. 1996. Saint Birgitta of Sweden, Saint Catherine of Siena: Saints, Secretaries, Scribes, Supporters. Birgittiana 1, pp. 29–46.

Luongo, F. Thomas. 2013. Saintly Authorship in the Italian Renaissance: The Quattrocento Reception of Catherine of Siena’s Letters. In: J. F. Hamburger & G. Signori (eds.), Catherine of Siena: The Creation of a Cult. Turnhout: Brepols. Pp. 135–167.

Mooney, Catherine. 2013. Wondrous Words: Catherine of Siena’s Miraculous Reading and Writing According to the Early Sources. In: J. F. Hamburger & G. Signori (eds.), Catherine of Siena: The Creation of a Cult. Turnhout: Brepols. Pp. 263–290.

Tylus, Jane. 2009. Reclaiming Catherine of Siena: Literacy Literature and the Signs of Others. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Tylus, Jane. 2012. Mystical Literacy: Writing and Religious Women in Late Medieval Italy. In: C. Muessig, G. Ferzoco & B. Mayne Kienzle (eds.), A Companion to Catherine of Siena. Leiden: Brill. Pp. 155–183.

Tylus, Jane. 2013. Writing versus Voice: Tommaso Caffarini and the Production of a Literate Catherine. In: J. F. Hamburger & G. Signori (eds.), Catherine of Siena: The Creation of a Cult. Turnhout: Brepols. Pp. 291–312.

Vauchez, André. 1983. Sainte Brigitte de Suède et sainte Catherine de Sienne. La mystique et l’église aux dernier siècles du Moyen Age. In: Temi e problemi nella mistica trecentesca. Todi: Accademia Tudertina. Pp. 227-248.