Did St Birgitta suffer from epilepsy? A neuropathography.
Seizure April 1, 2004 DOI: 10.1016/s1059-1311(03)00160-2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Humans Epilepsy History, medieval Famous persons Saints Religion and medicine Sweden |
| Key points | Argues that a skull attributed to St Birgitta of Vadstena shows a tuberculum with a corresponding interior indentation possibly indicating a meningioma, a known cause of epilepsy, and scrutinizes arguments for and against epileptic features in her revelations and life story without reaching a firm diagnosis. |
Abstract
Several famous religious personalities have been discussed as possibly having had epilepsy. Partial epileptic fits can be accompanied by religious experiences. The Swedish St Birgitta of Vadstena is focused on from this perspective as the exterior of the skull thought to belong to her has a prominent tuberculum with a corresponding interior indentation possibly indicating the previous existence of a meningioma, a well known cause of epilepsy. This article scrutinises arguments for and against the possibility of epileptic features in the revelations of the saint, as well as in her life story.
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Numinous-like symptoms in epilepsy and/or insular tumors: A hospital cohort study. Epilepsy & Behavior January 22, 2026
- Exaltation in temporal lobe epilepsy: neuropsychiatric symptom or portal to the divine? Journal of Medical Humanities September 1, 2014
- Emotion in mystical experience Religion, Brain & Behavior 2013
- Spirituality and religion in epilepsy. Epilepsy & Behavior May 1, 2008
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