Mary Magdalene from the New Testament to the New Age and Beyond (Themes in Biblical Narrative)

Twenty scholars from different venues and backgrounds walk through history, arts, literature, and faiths to offer the readers a fresh view on how the figure of the Woman of Magdala was created, adapted, transformed, reviled, and exalted through the centuries. Contents Acknowledgements Figures Abbreviations Notes on Contributors Introduction Chapter 1 The Earliest Magdalene: Varied Portrayals in EarlyGospel Narratives Chapter 2 The Apocryphal Magdalene: Expanding andLimiting Her Importance Chapter 3 The Gnostic Magdalene: Mary as Disciple andRevealer Chapter 3 The Gnostic Magdalene: Mary as Disciple and Revealer Chapter 4 The Vine and the Net-Caster: Mandaean and Manichaean Transformations of Mary Magdalene Chapter 5 The Patristic Magdalene: Symbol for the Church and Witness to the Resurrection Chapter 6 A Whore from Bethany? A Note on Mary Magdalene in Early Non-Christian Sources Chapter 7 The Magdalene Yesterday and Today in the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife Chapter 8 The Cult of Mary Magdalene in the Medieval West Chapter 9 The Magdalene of Medieval Hagiography Chapter 10 Suspended between Sacred and Profane: the Iconography of Mary Magdalene from Its Origins to the Fifteenth Century Chapter 11 The Divided Magdalene: the Three Magdalenes Debate (1517–1519): between Humanism andEnlightenment Chapter 12 The Uncontainable Sexuality of a Penitent Woman: the Magdalene between Baroque and Contemporary Art Chapter 13 The Magdalene of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship Chapter 14 From Disciple to Deviant: the Magdalene in Contemporary Popular Film Chapter 15 The Magdalene of Internet: New Age, Goddess, and Nature Spiritualities Chapter 16 Wife, Queen, Goddess: Mary Magdalene and the New Religious-Spiritual Movements (19th–21st Centuries) Chapter 17 From Galilee to India: There Is Something about Mary (Magdalene) Chapter 18 Why the Church Needs a Prostitutes’ Saint Chapter 19 The Marys in the Contemporary Liturgical Practice of the Mary Magdalene (the) Apostle Catholic Community Chapter 20 The Legionaries of Mary Magdalene? Index of Premodern Sources Index of Modern Authors Index of Places "An international team of twenty scholars under Edmondo F. Lupieri's direction produced Mary Magdalene from the New Testament to the New Age and Beyond. While the historical figure of the Magdalene may be lost forever, the construction of her literary images and their transformations and adaptations over the centuries are a lively testimony to human creativity and faith. Different pictures of Mary travelled through time and space, from history to legend and mythology, crossed religious boundaries, going beyond the various Christianities, to become a "sign of contradiction" for many. This book describes a special case of biblical reception history, that of the New Testament figure of a woman whose presence at the side of Jesus has been disturbing for some, but proves to be inspiring for others"-- Provided by publisher