THE INFLUENCE OF continental female mystics was felt in England not only in the late medieval manuscript tradition, but also in the early printed textual tradition. Printers such as William Caxton, Wynkyn de Worde, and Richard Pynson included the lives and works of such mystics as Catherine of Siena, Bridget of Sweden, and Elizabeth of Hungary among their publications. These texts may not represent an overwhelming contribution to the printed mystical tradition in England, but they find their place beside the modest contribution made by Middle English mystics to the print tradition. The late medieval mystical tradition in print evinces a shift toward a more didactic focus, presenting shorter treatises more often, and ones that are more suitable for a general devout audience. Holy women from the continent are represented primarily in lives, extracts and prayers attributed to them rather than in full-length accounts of their mystical experiences. They usually function in two ways: their holy lives act as examples for the readers in how to live virtuous lives and/or their life and works are mined for materials for instructing the audience on good Christian living. Their use from 1491 to the Reformation and beyond demonstrates their continued popularity in a variety of forms.

The incunabula and early printed texts pertaining to continental women mystics concern their lives and revelations, and prayers associated with them. Bridget of Sweden is well represented in the printed tradition, which is not surprising when we recall that the fifteenth-century Bridgettine house of Syon Abbey maintained an active presence in furthering Bridget's cult in England.