Mystique sans frontières : un aperçu sur la circulation des textes hagiographiques et prophétiques au féminin en Europe 

International audienceIn the late Middle Ages, more and more religious men, but also women, gifted with vision and prophecy, express themselves, and two patterns of prophetism can be observed. The first type of prophetism, called «ecclesial» by André Vauchez, tends to reform the Church with the greatest respect for the institution and is sometimes represented by great female figures such as Hildegard of Bingen, Catherine of Siena or Bridget of Sweden; the second one, the «anti establishment prophetism», more critical of the Church, is represented mostly by male figures. Between those two axes, a mystical and hagiographical literature produced by visionary and saintly living women finds its place: all those writings are at the same time rooted in a context, an area, even a language, and bound to a highly scalable reception. For an example, Bridget’s prophecies were not welcomed in France, unlike in Italy, Germany or Netherlands, were mystical literature was highly appreciated at the same period. This paper aims at touching on the issue of the fortune of some feminine spiritual figures, questioning the geographic dissemination of their image and of their writings in Europe