The Life and Miracles of Saint Margaret of Cortona - Giunta Bevegnati - A Short Summary & Review

The Life and Miracles of Saint Margaret of Cortona - Giunta Bevegnati - A Short Summary & Review

By: a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures

A Rite of Fancy Book Recommendation and Review

The title says it all.

A short summary:

At first glance, The Life and Miracles of Saint Margaret of Cortona seems almost self-explanatory: it is the account of a woman who fell hard, repented fiercely, and pursued holiness with unrelenting devotion. Yet beneath this straightforward framing lies an intense spiritual portrait of a saint who understood suffering, shame, and humility at a visceral level.

Margaret’s life is not presented as a gentle ascent into sanctity or a tidy narrative of conversion neatly resolved. Instead, it unfolds as a continual wrestling against pride, memory, desire, and the severe demands of penance and obedience. Her repentance is not sentimental, nor is her holiness abstract. It is forged through discipline, submission, and an ongoing confrontation with her own limitations.

The text emphasizes transformation through surrender rather than self-assertion. Margaret’s sanctity feels earned, not idealized, shaped by endurance and perseverance rather than momentary insight. This is ultimately a narrative about the long road from contrition to peace, and about the costly work of allowing one’s life to be completely reordered toward God.

My favorite quote from the book:

"Whoever tries to gather virtues without first gathering humility will only scatter dust in the wind."

St. Margaret of Cortona

Questions to ponder while reading:

Do you feel guilty about the past?

Have you ever questioned your motives?

My review:

This book offers a serious and demanding glimpse into the interior life of a medieval saint, and it makes little effort to soften the edges for modern sensibilities.

Margaret’s spirituality is rigorous, emotionally raw, and often uncomfortable to inhabit as a reader. Her devotion is marked by extremes of penance, deep self-knowledge, and an uncompromising pursuit of obedience that resists easy admiration. The language and structure of the text unmistakably reflect its age, requiring patience and attentiveness, but the reward is an unfiltered encounter with the intensity of medieval faith.

Rather than inspiring immediate imitation, the book provokes honest self-examination. Margaret’s struggles do not invite comparison so much as reckoning. Her life exposes the distance between modern spiritual comfort and a worldview in which holiness demanded everything, reputation, security, and autonomy included.

What lingered for me was not a desire to emulate her practices, but a renewed awareness of my own reluctance to be changed. The Life and Miracles of Saint Margaret of Cortona is humbling in the truest sense: it reminds us that sainthood is not reserved for the polished or the untroubled, but for those willing to undergo, however severe, a transformation in pursuit of peace.

_____________________________________________________________________________

About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life

She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.

You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.

✨ #TakeTheBackRoads

Enjoyed this post? Support the adventure by visiting my sponsors, shopping the gallery, or buying me a cup of coffee!