Mary Magdalene is a key figure in the history of Christianity. After Mary, the mother of Jesus, she remains the most important female saint in her guise both as primary witness to the resurrection and 'apostle of the apostles'. This volume, the first major work on the Magdalene in more than thirty years, focuses on her 'lives' as these have been imagined and reimagined within Christian tradition. Philip Almond expertly disentangles the numerous narratives that have shaped the story of Mary over the past two millennia. Exploring the 'idea' of the Magdalene – her cult, her relics, her legacy – the author deftly peels back complex layers of history and myth to reveal many different Maries, including penitent prostitute; demoniac; miracle worker; wife and lover of Jesus; symbol of the erotic; and New Age goddess. By challenging uniform or homogenised readings of the Magdalene, this absorbing new book brings fascinating insights to its subject.
Author(s): Philip C. Almond
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 364
City: Cambridge
Copyright_page
Dedication
Contents
Plates
Acknowledgements
Prologue
1 Who Was Mary Magdalene?
2 The ‘Lives’ of Mary Magdalene
3 The ‘Afterlives’ of Mary Magdalene
4 Mary Divided: Sacred and Profane
5 Many Magdalenes
6 Mary Magdalene: Lover and Wife
Epilogue: On Myth and History
Bibliography
Index
