DOCSLIB.ORG

Hagiography Sunggu Yang George Fox University, [email protected]

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Hagiography Sunggu Yang George Fox University, Syang@Georgefox.Edu Digital Commons @ George Fox University Faculty Publications - College of Christian Studies College of Christian Studies 2015 Hagiography Sunggu Yang George Fox University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ccs Part of the Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Yang, Sunggu, "Hagiography" (2015). Faculty Publications - College of Christian Studies. 254. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/ccs/254 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Christian Studies at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications - College of Christian Studies by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1151 1152 Hagiography I. Judaism II. Christianity III. Islam IV. Literature V. Visual Arts VI. Music VII. Film I. Judaism Although Judaism does not formally recognize saints, hagiography has been part of Jewish litera- ture since early on. Two types can be discerned, roughly corresponding to the distinction between martyrs and confessors in Christian hagiography. Both types have antecedents in biblical narrative, which provided powerful models to later genera- tions. While the books of Maccabees never became part of the HB, the tales of martyrdom they pre- serve had analogies in rabbinic literature and re- sounded strongly with later experiences in Jewish history. The tale of the mother who encouraged her seven sons to be martyred rather than transgress (2 Macc 7) was frequently invoked in medieval Ash- kenaz; it left its mark on prose accounts of the Cru- sade persecutions and on liturgical poetry dedicated to their commemoration, as did the tale of Daniel’s companions in the furnace (Dan 3) and especially that of the aqedah, the binding of Isaac (Gen 22), which was interpreted as having resulted in actual bloodshed and thus made to serve as a model for the most extreme form Jewish martyrdom took in the Middle Ages: the killing of their own children by Jewish parents in order to preclude their forced conversion to Christianity. A second type of hagiographic narrative in Juda- ism revolved around protagonists who testified to the truth of the Jewish religion not in their deaths but in their lives. Like Elijah and Elisha (1 Kgs 16– 22; 2 Kgs 1–13), these were essentially wonder- workers whose miracles demonstrated their partic- ular closeness to God. A subgroup were legends of confrontation between representatives of the Jewish religion and those of other faiths. These could take the form of a contest between their respective su- pernatural abilities (as in Exod 7 : 8–13 or 1 Kgs 18); elsewhere, Jewish victory was ensured by the pro- tagonist’s wisdom and resourcefulness (as in Es- ther). In many cases, at stake in these narratives was the very existence of the Jewish community, which found itself faced with imminent expulsion, forced conversion or worse. Such tales of deliverance were widely disseminated in the various centers of medi- eval Jewry and ascribed to a wide variety of histori- cal figures, such as Judah the Pious (1150–1217) or Rashi (1040–1105) for Jews living under Christian rule and Moses Maimonides (1138–1204) or Abra- ham ibn Ezra (1089–1164) among those in the Is- lamic world. Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception vol. 10 © Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2015 1153 Hagiography 1154 A tendency to compile the legends focused on giae 6.1; Hugh of St. Victor, Didascalicon 4.2; Thomas specific figures into narrative cycles can first be dis- Aquinas, Summa theologiae II–II q. 174 a. 2 obj. 3). cerned about a century before the advent of print. This entry will focus on hagiography as the At that time, narrators also began to flesh out their written accounts of the saints’ lives. Christian hagi- heroes’ biographies with birth legends or childhood ography is not a literary genre (although it is influ- stories, again drawing on biblical models (Judg 13; enced by ancient biography): texts dealing with 1 Sam 1). A number of these cycles found their way saints and sanctity are part of a “hagiographical dis- into printed collections such as Gedaliah ibn course” (Uytfanghe 1988: 155–57). Hagiography is Yaḥya’s Shalshelet ha-qabbalah (Venice 1587) or the thus defined by (1) the protagonist’s relationship to Yiddish Mayse-bukh (Basel 1602); they may have pre- the divine sphere; (2) the aim of making holiness pared the ground for later works such as Shivḥei ha- visible in the world; (3) the specific function of the Ari (about Isaac Luria) or Shivḥei ha-Besht (about Is- discourse (apology, idealization of a person as role- rael Baal Shem Tov), collections of “praise tales” model, instruction or spiritual guidance); and (4) focused on leaders of popular religious movements certain features displaying holiness, for example, which emerged close to their heroes’ own lifetimes. ascetic virtues, divine wisdom, and supernatural Hagiographic narrative has since become a hall- abilities. Related signs of holiness are also found in mark of Hasidism, while the local veneration of Jewish and pagan writings (e.g., Philostratus’ Life saints characteristic of Jewish communities in Is- of Apollonius of Tyana, Porphyrius’ Life of Plotinus, or lamic countries has begun to result in a similarly Jamblichus’ On the Pythagorean Life; see Cox). This substantial literary output since their mass immi- discourse does not necessarily presuppose the exis- gration to Israel. In recent generations, rather than tence of a cult (the “fait liturgique” postulated by expressing a religious minority’s needs vis-à-vis the the Bollandists, see Delehaye: 2; Aigrain: 251–53). majority religion, the focus of hagiography in Juda- With “hagiography” referring to a discourse rather ism would seem to have shifted towards juxtapos- than a specific literary genre, Uytfanghe (2001: ing orthodox and secularized lifestyles within Jew- 1090–91) considers the term “spiritual biography” ish society. to best encompass the essence of the written saint’s life as one of many voices within said greater hagio- Bibliography: ■ Dan, J., “The Beginnings of Hebrew Hagi- ographic Literature,” Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Folklore 1 graphical discourse, but this again raises the ques- (1981) 82–101. [Heb.] ■ Marcus, E., “The Confrontation tion whether saints’ lives are by necessity “biogra- between Jews and Non-Jews in Folktales of the Jews of Is- phies.” Recently, Berschin (2004) and Pratsch have lamic Countries” (PhD diss.; Hebrew University of Jerusa- analyzed hagiographical topics in order to identify lem, 1977). [Heb.] ■ Rofé, A., The Prophetical Stories (Jerusa- basic structures of hagiography within the texts lem 1982) [Heb.]; ET: id., The Prophetical Stories: The Narratives themselves. about the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible (Jerusalem 1988). Christian hagiography in Late Antiquity is ■ Spiegel, S., The Last Trial (New York 1967); trans. of id., based on biblical reception (see Vos) – not surpris- “Me-aggadot ha-Aqedah,” in Alexander Marx Jubilee Volume (ed. S. Liebermann; New York 1950) 471–547. ■ Yassif, E., ingly, since saints (and martyrs) are by definition Sippur ha-am ha-ivri (Jerusalem 1994) [Heb.]; ET: id., The imitators of Christ. This view does not exclude the Hebrew Folktale: History, Genre, Meaning (Bloomington, Ind. influence of pagan philosophical biographies. Col- 1999). lections of biographies, such as Eunapius’ Lives of Lucia Raspe the Sophists, display a literary competition between pagan and Christian conceptions of hagiography II. Christianity and holiness (Urbano). Nevertheless, hagiography is sufficiently explained not by its classical and con- A. Greek and Latin Patristics and Orthodox temporary literary sources but by its subject: the Churches special relationship of God through Christ with 1. Introduction. Christian hagiography comprises his saints. every kind of literature on martyrs and saints from 2. Athanasius’ Life of Anthony as Paradigm of the apocryphal gospels and acts on (see Uytfanghe Patristic Hagiography. The Life of Anthony, written 2001: 1154–171). It may also denote “the study of by Athanasius of Alexandria ca. 360, is a good ex- the evidence related to saints and martyrs” (Barnes: ample of this mixture of traditions and functions IX). More specifically, it may refer to the act of writ- discernible in Christian hagiography and it is also ing saints’ lives (Krueger). These lives are thus sub- the first text according to the definition above. This ject to narratological analysis (Gemeinhardt 2014). life (which is presented as a letter “to the monks The notion of hagiography stems from the 17th living abroad”) contains allusions to Porphyry’s Life century. In patristic and medieval times, τ γι- of Pythagoras (Vit. Ant. 14) that have led some schol- γραα/hagiographa referred to OT writings, strictly ars to postulate an anti-neopythagorean bias (Rub- speaking to the books of Wisdom (cf. Jerome’s pro- enson). Others have argued that the life is better logues to the books of Kings, Tobit, Judith, and understood with respect to biblical quotations and Daniel in the Vg.; see also Isidore of Seville, Etymolo- motifs (Bartelink) and to the early Christian martyr- Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception vol. 10 © Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, 2015 1155 Hagiography 1156 ological tradition (Gemeinhardt 2012). Clearly, An- of an equally famous bishop of pre-Constantinian thony’s life is modelled throughout according to times (Life of Gregory the Wonderworker). Early ceno- biblical texts (for the following see Gemeinhardt bitic monastic tradition is canonized in the Life of 2013): Anthony’s conversion to asceticism is pro- Pachomius, which is preserved in Greek and Coptic voked by the story of the rich young man (Matt versions and depicts the founders of many monas- 19 : 21), by Jesus’ exhortation “Do not worry about teries as heirs of the patriarchs, prophets, and apos- tomorrow” (Matt 6 : 34), and by his desire to follow tles.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Hagiography Society Newsletter
    Hagiography Society Newsletter Volume XXVIII, no. 2, August 2018 _____________________________________________________________________________________ Executive Committee Elections Elections for two executive committee positions will be held this coming year. We are soliciting nominations for the positions of: President and Secretary/Treasurer The terms are three years. Please see the constitution, posted on the hagiographsociety.org website, for further Hagiography Society Sessions at details about the positions. Kalamazoo: CFPs If you are interested in these positions, or wish to nominate Witnessing the Canonization Process someone, please email our current Nominations Chair, Scholars regularly plumb vitae about holy people for Nikolas Hoel, at [email protected] by December 1. insights into medieval religion and culture. Fewer, Short bios of those interested will appear in the however, focus on the processes of canonization itself. This December/January edition of the newsletter. Elections will panel will focus on those processes. Topics may include: take place this spring before the Society’s Business the specific role of the canonization commissioners and Meeting at Kalamazoo 2019. notaries involved in leading and recording an inquest; how witnesses are chosen; the extent to which canonization inquests conform to or depart from the evolving rules of canonization; how and why information provided by witnesses is sometimes adapted, omitted, or contradicted in subsequent vitae or other documents; patterns across multiple canonization inquests; and how briefer The Sherry L. Reames Graduate Student canonization dossiers based on witness testimonies are Travel Award assembled and forwarded to the curia for further review. While these questions may draw on saints’ vitae, each The Hagiography Society is pleased to solicit entries for the paper should illuminate aspects of the canonization inquest Sherry L.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparative Hagiology And/As Manuscript Studies: Method and Materiality
    religions Article Comparative Hagiology and/as Manuscript Studies: Method and Materiality Barbara Zimbalist Department of English, The University of Texas at El Paso, 500 University Ave, El Paso, TX 79968-0526, USA; [email protected] Received: 11 October 2019; Accepted: 28 October 2019; Published: 31 October 2019 Abstract: Although the academic study of hagiography continues to flourish, the role of comparative methods within the study of sanctity and the saints remains underutilized. Similarly, while much valuable work on saints and sanctity relies on materialist methodologies, issues of critical bibliography particular to the study of hagiography have not received the theoretical attention they deserve. This essay takes up these two underattended approaches to argue for a comparative materialist approach to hagiography. Through a short case study of the Latin Vita of Lutgard of Aywières (1182–1246) written by the Dominican friar Thomas of Cantimpré (c. 1200–1270), I suggest that comparative material research into the textual history of hagiographic literature can provide us with a more comprehensive and nuanced picture of the production of any specific holy figure, as well as the evolving discourses of sanctity and holiness in general. While this suggestion emerges from my own work on medieval hagiography from the Christian Latin West, it resonates with recent arguments by Sara Ritchey and David DiValerio to call for a materially comparative approach to narratives of holy lives in any religious tradition in any time period. Furthermore, I suggest that medieval studies, and in particular medieval manuscript studies, may have much to offer to scholars of sanctity working in later periods and other settings.
    [Show full text]
  • Nicholas Love’S “Mirrour of the Blessed Life of Jesu Criste”
    Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Humanities DOCTORAL DISSERTATION PÉRI-NAGY ZSUZSANNA VOX, IMAGO, LITTERA: NICHOLAS LOVE’S “MIRROUR OF THE BLESSED LIFE OF JESU CRISTE” PhD School of Literature and Literary Theory Dr. Kállay Géza CSc Medieval and Early Modern Literature Programme Dr. Kállay Géza CSc Members of the defence committee: Dr. Kállay Géza CSc, chair Dr.Karáth Tamás, PhD, opponent Dr.Velich Andrea, PhD, opponent Dr. Pődör Dóra PhD Dr. Kiricsi Ágnes PhD Dr. Pikli Natália PhD Consultant: Dr. Halácsy Katalin PhD i Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................. IV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................ V LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ................................................................................................ VI INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 7 I. THE MIRROUR AND THE ORTHODOX REFORM: AIMS ................................................................ 7 II. SOURCES: THE TEXT OF THE MIRROUR AND THE TWO ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS ........... 16 CHAPTER I. BACKGROUNDS: LAY DEVOTION, LOLLARDY AND THE RESPONSE TO IT 20 I. 1. LAY DEVOTION AND THE MEDITATIONES VITAE CHRISTI .................................................... 20 I. 2. LOLLARDY ........................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Gateway to the Syriac Saints: a Database Project Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent Marquette University, [email protected]
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Theology Faculty Research and Publications Theology, Department of 1-1-2016 Gateway to the Syriac Saints: A Database Project Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent Marquette University, [email protected] Published version. Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2016): 183-204. Permalink. © 2016 St. John's College. Used with permission. 183 http://jrmdc.com Gateway to the Syriac Saints: A Database Project Jeanne-Nicole Mellon Saint-Laurent Marquette University, USA Contact: [email protected] Keywords: Syriac; hagiography; late antiquity; saints; manuscripts; digital humanities; theology; religious studies; history Abstract: This article describes The Gateway to the Syriac Saints, a database project developed by the Syriac Reference Portal (www.syriaca.org). It is a research tool for the study of Syriac saints and hagiographic texts. The Gateway to the Syriac Saints is a two-volume database: 1) Qadishe and 2) Bibliotheca Hagiographica Syriaca Electronica (BHSE). Hagiography, the lives of the saints, is a multiform genre. It contains elements of myth, history, biblical exegesis, romance, and theology. The production of saints’ lives blossomed in late antiquity alongside the growth of the cult of the saints. Scholars have attended to hagiographic traditions in Greek and Latin, but many scholars have yet to Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture Volume 5, Issue 1 (2016) https://jrmdc.com 184 discover the richness of Syriac hagiographic literature: the stories, homilies, and hymns on the saints that Christians of the Middle East told and preserved. It is our hope that our database will give scholars and students increased access to these traditions to generate new scholarship.
    [Show full text]
  • 10/1/2012 1 Saints, Pilgrims, and the Medieval Church Saints The
    10/1/2012 Saints, Pilgrims, Jesus, Empire and Church Roman Empire ~50 to 312 Jesus and Apostles and the Medieval Church ◦ Christianity illegal Early Christian Martyrs ◦ Sporadic persecution Rise of Celibacy ◦ Holy widows, virgin saints The Book of Margery Kempe Written in the late 1430s Christian Rome, after 312 Secular Clergy ◦ Christian Emperors ◦ bishops, priests ◦ East and West Monasticism ◦ Germanic peoples & ◦ monks, nuns kingdoms Spiritual Marriage Medieval Christian monarchies, from12th C Cult Virgin Mary 1 2 Saints The literature of saints Rome and early medieval: Hagiography: Lives of Saints martyrs St. Perpetua, d. 203 AD ◦ Challenging authority, patriarchy ◦ Roman persecution St. Winifred, 7th C ◦ Germanic opposition brides of Christ Medieval ◦ cloistered nuns th Writings: visions and experiences Holiness St. Hildegard of Bingen, 12 C rd ◦ withdrawal ◦ anchorites ◦ St. Perpetua, 3 Century th hermits Julian of Norwich, 14 C ◦ Hildegard of Bingen, 12th Century monks ◦ widows th ◦ engagement St. Bridget, 14thC ◦ St. Bridget, 14 Century kings ◦ Julian of Norwich, 15th Century bishops, friars 3 4 “We were still under legal surveillance and my Introduction: Perpetua father was liked to vex me with his words and continually strove to hurt my faith because of “What follows here shall she tell herself; his love: ‘Father, said I…I call myself nothing the whole order of her martyrdom as she other than that which I am, a Christian.’ Then my father, angry with this word, came upon me left it written with her own hand and in her to tear out my eyes; but he only vexed me, and own words.” he departed vanquished, he and the arguments of the devil….
    [Show full text]
  • Reevaluating the Nika Riot & Placing It in Conversation with the Antioch
    Xavier University Exhibit Honors Bachelor of Arts Undergraduate 2019-4 Reevaluating the Nika Riot & Placing it in Conversation with the Antioch Riot of 387 Ty Richer Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH Follow this and additional works at: https://www.exhibit.xavier.edu/hab Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, Ancient Philosophy Commons, Classical Archaeology and Art History Commons, Classical Literature and Philology Commons, and the Other Classics Commons Recommended Citation Richer, Ty, "Reevaluating the Nika Riot & Placing it in Conversation with the Antioch Riot of 387" (2019). Honors Bachelor of Arts. 39. https://www.exhibit.xavier.edu/hab/39 This Capstone/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate at Exhibit. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Bachelor of Arts by an authorized administrator of Exhibit. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Reevaluating the Nika Riot & Placing it in Conversation with the Antioch Riot of 387 By: Ty Richer CPHAB Senior Thesis Xavier University 2019 1 Introduction: A Fine Mess on a Sunny Day You enter into the stadium and find a place to sit down, doing chores around the house made you late, but multiple races run each day, so much of the fun is still ahead. Behind you sits a man, having brought his son to see the games. In front of you is a young man and woman talking about their interests, on their first date no doubt. You strike up a conversation with the man sitting to your left and begin to talk about the new taxes you both have to pay.
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliotheca Sacra
    618 Atha11usius and his Times. [Oct. ARTICLE VI. ATHANASIUS THE COPT, AND HIS TIMES.1 BY NORVELLE WALLACE SHARPE, M.D., F.A.C.S., ST. LOUIS, MO. I. THE Athanasian epoch occurred in the htter portion of the third century and the major portion of the fourth. The predomi­ nating world power was the Roman Empire, vast in extent, polyglot in its constituents, notably J..acking in the virility and co­ hesive stability of the preceding centuries, - its art, its science, its literature, its politics, its philosophy, and its religion frankly manifesting the evidence of decadence that but foreshadowed its final doom. Speculative philosophy was the fashion of thought in extra-ecclesiastic circles; speculative religion the vogue prac­ ticed by the intra-ecclesiastic world. The sound and enduring things are seen to have been masked by casuistic embroid­ eries; the Spirit of the Law has been smothered by the Let­ ter: - while Reason of the Forum, Logic of the Schools, and simple Faith of the Sanctuary have been supplanted by Co)­ liquative Verbiage,.- clamorous progenitor of Confusion. With the exception of the far distant civilizations of China, Japan, and India, the Civilized World may be held, at this period, to be synonymous with the Roman Empire. A single instance will suffice as illustration: Britain was invaded by Julius Cresar B.C. 55; Claudius attempted further conquest nearly a century later; under Julius Agricola A.D. 78-84 1915. ] Athanasius and his Times. 619 Rome attained her maximum of control. In the Athanasian epoch (297-373) the English segment of the Teutoni<; peo­ ples yet resided on the Continent, crude in civilization, and worshipers of divers gods, of which Tiw, \Voden, Thor, Frea, Saetere, and Eastre spring readily to mind.
    [Show full text]
  • Liturgical Calendar for the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
    Liturgical Calendar for the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham Temporale The date of Easter being moveable, Sundays marked * are not needed in every annual cycle. Advent First Sunday of Advent Second Sunday of Advent Third Sunday of Advent From 17 December (O Sapientia) begin the eight days of prayer before Christmas Day Fourth Sunday of Advent Christmas Eve Christmas THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD (Christmas) Sunday within the Octave of the Nativity: The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (if there is no Sunday, 30 December) THE OCTAVE DAY OF CHRISTMAS: SOLEMNITY OF MARY, THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD *Second Sunday after Christmas Epiphany THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD (The Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles) – (6 January or, as permitted or required by authority, the Sunday between 2 and 8 January) The Baptism of the Lord - Sunday after Epiphany (or, if the Epiphany is celebrated on Sunday 7 or 8 January, on Monday 8 or 9 January) Time after Epiphany Time after Epiphany begins usually with Monday of Week 1 on the day following the Baptism of the Lord. For the weekdays following the Baptism of the Lord, the propers for the Week after Epiphany (Week 1) are used. Even when the Baptism of the Lord is transferred to the Monday, the Sunday after the Baptism of the Lord is observed as the Second Sunday after Epiphany. For the purposes of the lectionary, this is Sunday 2 in Ordinary Time and the Sundays thereafter Sundays 3, 4, 5 &c. until Lent begins. Second Sunday after Epiphany * Third Sunday after Epiphany * Fourth Sunday after Epiphany * Fifth
    [Show full text]
  • Anselm's Emphasis on 'Faith Seeking Understanding' Was Instrumental In
    MIRATOR 9:1/2008 37 Reading Devotion Asceticism and Affectivity in Love's Mirror* Jennifer D. Gilchrist Introduction The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ was one of the most popular texts of the late-medieval period in England, with the number of surviving manuscripts surpassed only by a handful of works, including the Wycliffite translation of the Bible, the Prick of Conscience, and the Canterbury Tales.1 Composed around 1410 by the Carthusian prior Nicholas Love, the Mirror constituted the first complete English translation of the Pseudo- Bonaventuran Meditationes vitae Christi, a popular Franciscan text from the late-fourteenth century, and stood as one of the most important versions of the life of Christ of the pre-modern era.2 As such, the Mirror is frequently cited in surveys of late-medieval devotion to the humanity and passion of Christ, as well as in studies of the monastic dissemination of themes and techniques of meditative devotion to the laity, particularly by the Carthusians.3 Yet despite its clear influence and its presentation of * My sincere thanks go to Suzanne Conklin Akbari for her attention and advice, and to the anonymous readers at Mirator for their extremely helpful comments. 1 Michael Sargent, The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ: A Full Critical Edition, Exeter University Press: Exeter 2005, 1. 2 Sargent 2005, 1. Concerning the authorship of the Meditationes, see Sargent 2005, 10–15. 3 Regarding Carthusian reading practice and meditation more generally, Marlene Hennessy has published several articles on the implications of the order's focus on the written word and the representation of devotional methods through texts and images.
    [Show full text]
  • Glimpses of a Mariology in the Qurʾan 533 Glimpses of a Mariology in the Qurʾan: from Hagiography to Theology VIA Religious
    glimpses of a mariology in the qurʾan 533 GlimpSES OF A MariOLOgy IN THE QurʾAN: FROM HagiOgraphy TO ThEOLOgy via REligiOUS-POliTical DEbaTE* Michael Marx Two new contributions on Christian intertexts of the Qurʾan give cause to rethink the complex role that the figure of Mary plays in the Qurʾan: Samir Khalil Samir, “The theological Christian influences on the Qurʾan: a reflection,” and Suleiman A Mourad, “Mary in the Qurʾan: a re-examination of her presentation ”1 It is a felicitous coin- cidence that a database of Qurʾanic intertexts, entitled “Texte aus der Umwelt des Korans” (Texts from the environment of the Qurʾan), is currently being established in the framework of the project Corpus Coranicum at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences 2 This offers a welcome basis for a more in-depth examination of some of the questions raised in these papers For theological issues in the Qurʾan—as highlighted in the title of Samir’s essay—still remain under-researched Since the theological questions tackled in the Qurʾan form part of the still widely undetermined mass of pluricul- tural Late Antique debates, any discussion of these questions demands that the Qurʾanic text be contextualized within as broad as possible a spectrum of previously existing traditions The methods and the individual stages involved in this contextualization procedure also need to be defined The following contribution begins with a brief summary of the research carried out until now on the figure of Mary in the Qurʾan 3 In the main part, Suleiman Mourad’s and Samir
    [Show full text]
  • Jordanes and the Invention of Roman-Gothic History Dissertation
    Empire of Hope and Tragedy: Jordanes and the Invention of Roman-Gothic History Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Brian Swain Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Timothy Gregory, Co-advisor Anthony Kaldellis Kristina Sessa, Co-advisor Copyright by Brian Swain 2014 Abstract This dissertation explores the intersection of political and ethnic conflict during the emperor Justinian’s wars of reconquest through the figure and texts of Jordanes, the earliest barbarian voice to survive antiquity. Jordanes was ethnically Gothic - and yet he also claimed a Roman identity. Writing from Constantinople in 551, he penned two Latin histories on the Gothic and Roman pasts respectively. Crucially, Jordanes wrote while Goths and Romans clashed in the imperial war to reclaim the Italian homeland that had been under Gothic rule since 493. That a Roman Goth wrote about Goths while Rome was at war with Goths is significant and has no analogue in the ancient record. I argue that it was precisely this conflict which prompted Jordanes’ historical inquiry. Jordanes, though, has long been considered a mere copyist, and seldom treated as an historian with ideas of his own. And the few scholars who have treated Jordanes as an original author have dampened the significance of his Gothicness by arguing that barbarian ethnicities were evanescent and subsumed by the gravity of a Roman political identity. They hold that Jordanes was simply a Roman who can tell us only about Roman things, and supported the Roman emperor in his war against the Goths.
    [Show full text]
  • SELECTING a NEW POPE Time to Choose the College of Cardinals Is to Meet Today to Begin Selecting a New Pope
    MN_A_8_A8_LA_1_04-18-05_mo_1_CMYK 2005:04:17:21:37:53_abrown A8 MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2005 LOS ANGELES TIMES THE WORLD SELECTING A NEW POPE Time to choose The College of Cardinals is to meet today to begin selecting a new pope. After a security check of the Sistine Chapel to ensure that the deliberations remain secret, and the cardinals take an oath not to reveal anything of the proceedings, they will begin their work. The conclave could last several days, or extend almost two weeks. Deciding factors Inside the Sistine Chapel The cardinals will weigh various traits of papal candidates and issues, including: The chapel was built between 1475 and 1481, during the time of Pope Sixtus IV. ■■■■Leadership style Linguistic ability Radical or moderate leanings Whether to return the papacy to an Italian ■■■■Ecumenism and how to increase The shift from Catholicism to Effect of globalization, especially Autonomy for local dioceses dialogue with other religions, evangelical Protestant faiths, in developing countries especially Islam especially in Latin America The electorate Detailed Almost all of the 115 cardinals expected to vote in this conclave were appointed by Pope John Paul II. About half are from Europe. Cardinals, by region of origin Europe 58 Stoves Latin America 20 North America 14 (U.S. 11) Michelangelo’s “The Last Africa 11 Asia 10 Oceania 2 Judgment” The conclave Here’s how the process of choosing a new pope will unfold: Entrance to “Room of Tears” Scrutineers 5 3 4 Urns 6 1 2 I The voting The rectangular ballot bears the words “Eligo in Summum Pontificem” (I elect as supreme pontiff) with space at the bottom for the elector’s choice.
    [Show full text]