Rediscovering the Marys: Maria, Mariamne, Miriam

Description

This interdisciplinary volume of text and art offers new insights into various unsolved mysteries associated with Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany, Mary the Mother of Jesus, and Miriam the sister of Moses. Mariamic traditions are often interconnected, as seen in the portrayal of these women as community leaders, prophets, apostles and priests. These traditions also are often inter-religious, echoing themes back to Miriam in the Hebrew Bible as well as forward to Maryam in the Qur’an. The chapters explore questions such as: which biblical Mary did the author of the Gospel of Mary intend to portray–Magdalene, Mother, or neither? Why did some writers depict Mary of Nazareth as a priest? Were extracanonical scriptures featuring Mary more influential than the canonical gospels on the depiction of Maryam in the Qur’an? Contributors dig deep into literature, iconography, and archaeology to offer cutting edge research under three overarching topics. The first section examines the question of “which Mary?” and illustrates how some ancient authors (and contemporary scholars) may have conflated the biblical Marys. The second section focuses on Mary of Nazareth, and includes research related to the portrayal of Mary the Mother of Jesus as a Eucharistic priest. The final section, “Recovering Receptions of Mary in Art, Archeology, and Literature,” explores how artists and authors have engaged with one or more of the Marys, from the early Christian era through to medieval and modern times. Cover Series Title Page Copyright Contents Figures Abbreviations Introduction Section One Revisiting Which Mary: Does Which Mary Matter? 1 The Magdalene Effect 2 Which Mary, and Why It Matters 3 Why Mary?
The Gospel of Mary and Its Heroine 4 What Is Mary Doing in Acts?
Confessional Narratives and the Synoptic Tradition 5 Magdalene, Mother, Martha’s Sister, or None of the Above?
The Mary in the Dialogue of the Savior 6 Two Mary Magdalenes 7 Two Women Leaders Section Two Rediscovering the Marys in Mission and Leadership 8 The Power of Leadership through Mediation, or How Mary Exercises Overlapping Authority 9 The Constriction of Female Leadership
Tracing a Trend in the Early Reception of Miriam and Mary Magdalene 10 Virgin Mary Co-Priest or Not 11 The Memory of Mary’s Mission According to “Guadalupan Sermons” of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries Section Three Recovering Receptions of the Marys in Literature, Art, and Archaeology 12 Mary of Nazareth and Nazareth Archaeological Excavations 1997–2015 13 The Dormition of Miriam in Rabbinic Literature 14 Dormition Urtext?: Oldest Dormition Wall Painting Combines the Great Angel and Women with Censers 15 Mary in the Qur’an and Extracanonical Christian Texts 16 The Origin and Manifestations of the Smiling Virgin Mary 17 From Holy Grail to The Lost Gospel Afterword References Index Index of Biblical References