Mary Anointing Jesus' Feet, by Peter Paul Rubens
The Legend of Saint Mary Magdalene: edition of lines 1-250 of MS Egerton 2810, Ff. 83b-87 Judith van Aalst
The Legend of Saint Mary Magdalene:
Edition of lines 1-250 of MS Egerton 2810, Ff. 83b-87
Judith van Aalst 0012874
Thesis English language and culture
Specialisation: English Language and Literature
1st Supervisor: Dr. E.S. Kooper
2nd Supervisor: Dr. T. G. Summerfield
2 September 2005
Preface
Although my life started less than a quarter of a century ago, I have had many destinies already. I was still a child when I realised that a little musical talent was required to become some kind of musician, so my first destiny didn’t last very long… The second lasted for two or three years, until in my second year of high school my mathematical skills forever abandoned me, and becoming a paediatrician became out of reach as well. I soon chose another future – I was going to be a lawyer – and this time it seemed that nothing was standing in my way. After a visit to the University of Tilburg I was certain: I was going to court. Then it happened. On a Tuesday in 2000, just months before my high school exams, I had a sudden hunch that would change my destiny one more time. I was listening to Mrs. Van de Sande who was my French teacher, and all of a sudden I just knew that I was going to be studying English (and yes, I know that sounds a little odd). When my parents had gotten over their initial shock there was no time left for proper orientation, and I decided to spend my college years in Utrecht because it was closest to home….
Exactly five years after I started my studies I finally did it: I fullfilled one of my destinies. There are many people who helped me in one way or another and they should therefore be mentioned as my partners-in-crime. First and foremost, I’d like to thank my parents for giving me the opportunity to get this education, and for believing in me despite my sudden change of direction. Barry, we used to fight like cats and dogs, but we’ve grown much closer in the past few years and I’m glad about that. I know you are proud of me and believe me, I’m proud of you, too. Thank you to my two supervisors Dr. Erik Kooper and Dr. Thea
Summerfield. Your enthusiasm during your lectures has proven to be highly infectious…!
3 Erik, without your guidance and constructive criticism I could have never written this thesis.
Grandma, after a whole year of telling me it was about time to finish my studies, I can proudly tell you I’m ready, ha ha! Thank you to my other relatives for their interest and support, and to my friends for the love, tears and laughter we can share. Riemke, thanks for your friendship and help.
Although I’m still not sure what exactly I want to do with my skills professionally – I am seriously considering to lengthen my student days as a learner of the French language before I take that giant leap into the real world – I know that, although it sounds extremely cheesy, deciding on a different future five years ago was the right thing to do.
Judith van Aalst
September 2005
4 Table of Contents
Preface 2 Table of Contents 4 Chapter 1: Introduction 6 Chapter 2: Life and Legend of Saint Mary Magdalene 9 2.1. History of Mary Magdalene 9 2.1.1 Youth 10 2.1.2 Life of Sin 10 2.1.3 Conversion 11 2.1.4 Mary Magdalene as Apostle 11 2.1.5 Miracles in Marseilles 12 2.1.6 Retreat 13 2.1.7 Death 13 2.1.8 Miracles after death 14 2.2. Deviating Sources 14 2.2.1 Youth 15 2.2.2 Life of Sin 15 2.2.3 Conversion 16 2.2.4 Mary Magdalene as Apostle 16 2.2.5 Miracles in Marseilles 17 2.2.6 Retreat 17 2.2.7 Death 18 2.3. Recent Theories 19 2.3.1 Her image restored 19 2.3.2 A new Mary Magdalene? 20 Chapter 3: Importance and Popularity 22 3.1 The Widespread Fame of Mary Magdalene 22 3.1.1 ‘Legenda Aurea’ or ‘Golden Legend’ 22 3.1.2 Lay People 23
5 3.2. The Exemplary Life 24 3.2.1 Symbolism 25 3.2.2 Diversity of Mary Magdalene 28 3.2.3 Her relationship with her Lord 30 3.2.4 Representation 31 Chapter 4: Introduction to the Text 33 4.1. The Manuscript 33 4.1.1 Manuscript context 33 4.1.2 Provenance 33 4.2. Handwriting 34 4.3. The Text 35 4.4 Editorial Practice 36 Chapter 5: St. Marie Maudeleyne, ll. 1-250, edition from MS. Egerton 2810. ff. 83b-87 37 Explanatory Notes 45 Textual Notes 48 Bibliography 49
6 Chapter 1: Introduction
In the Middle Ages, religion and faith were extremely important to the people. For many of them, the belief in God was the basis of both their thinking and their behaviour.
Therefore, it is hardly a surprise that Biblical figures were worshipped. Possibly the most important Biblical woman – apart from the Holy virgin, of course – was Saint Mary
Magdalene. She is the subject of an enormous amount of material written throughout the
Middle Ages, and one of the most popular saints of the South English Legendary (SEL). The
SEL is a “collection of Middle English versified saints’ legends and homiletic pieces [that] must have been one of the most popular vernacular texts of the late 13 and 14 C”.1 It consists of 25 major manuscripts and many other (fragments of) texts.2 No less than eighteen of the main manuscripts of the SEL include a text on St Mary Magdalene,3 and there is also a
“quantity of literature on the subject in the form of sermons, poems, and plays” that is not included in SEL.4 As Carl Edgar Eggert points out in The Middle Low German Version of the
Legend of Mary Magdalen, her legend is “one of the most widespread Christian legends of the middle ages”.5 Mary Magdalene’s popularity is not only visible through the large number of medieval manuscripts in which she is included, but also through the many places of worship, such as churches and monasteries, that are dedicated to her and carry her name. A third indication of her importance is her portrayal in many medieval pieces of art, not to mention the many pilgrimages that were made in her honour. On top of this all, she has her own Feast
Day, July 22. Because of all this, one might think that Mary Magdalene was an honourable and pious woman. However, this Saint comes with a history – as a prostitute. This thesis concerns itself with a Middle English text of the legend of St Mary Magdalene, taken from
1 Görlach, The Textual Tradition of the South English Legendary (1974), p. 1. 2 Görlach, Textual Tradition, viii-x. 3 Görlach, Textual Tradition, p. 308-10. 4 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature (1950), p. 12. 5 Eggert, The Middle Low German Version of the Legend of Mary Magdalen (Bloomington, Indiana, 1902), p. 132, quoted by Garth, p. 11.
7 MS Egerton 2810, ff. 83b-87, which is preserved in the British Library in London.6 My aim is to create an edition of this text that is accessible to contemporary audiences. To achieve this, I have added a basic punctuation and capitalisation according to modern practice, provided a glossary and added textual and explanatory notes. A second aim of this thesis is to answer the question how a woman who was once known as ‘the sinner’ could have become the most popular female Saint of the Middle Ages.
Despite Mary Magdalene’s popularity during the Middle Ages, it seems that many people today have forgotten – or have never even heard of – her legend, unlike the legends of non-religious medieval heroes. For that reason, it is important to know who Mary Magdalene was, and, more importantly, why she is seen as a legend rather than a real person. It is hardly possible to answer the first question, but all the more simple to answer the second. To begin with the first, establishing the identity of the historical St Mary Magdalene as she appears in the New Testament is an extremely difficult task, for various reasons. First of all, the four
Gospels of Matthew, Luke, John, and Mark only account for a few episodes of Mary
Magdalene’s life. Furthermore, it is covered in such a minimal way that it is impossible to determine whether the facts ascribed to her actually are part of her history. What adds to the confusion is the fact that she is never mentioned by name in the scene that she is mostly linked to, namely that of the woman who washes her sins away by washing the feet of the
Lord with her tears.7 As a result of all the uncertainty, various legends of the Saint existed throughout the Middle Ages, which were not only based on the details of Mary Magdalene’s life, but partly also on the lives of one of the six other Marys that appear in the New
Testament.8 There was, however, a firm belief that Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, were the same woman. This is because in the scene
6 My edition of the text comprises only the first half, lines 1-250 (ff. 83b-86b). 7 Luke 7:37-50. All Biblical references in this thesis refer to the King James Version of the Holy Bible. 8 The Virgin Mary, Mary the wife of Cleophas, Mary of Bethany (Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus), Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, Mary the mother of John, and the Mary St Paul mentions in one of his Epistles.
8 mentioned earlier, which is attributed to Mary Magdalene all the time, the sinner is explicitly mentioned as the sister of Lazarus.9 Thus, while it is impossible to find out who the real St
Mary Magdalene was, the person we meet in her medieval legends is a composite figure of several biblical women, most importantly the Saint herself and Mary of Bethany. The problem of Mary Magdalene’s identity is known as the ‘unity tradition’.10
It is possible to divide this thesis into two parts. The first consists of chapters two and three and serves as a more eleborate introduction to St Mary Magdalene. It gives a general account of her life and legend, as based on the Bible and various medieval sources (chapter two), as well as a discussion of her importance and popularity in the Middle Ages (chapter three). In this third chapter I will also explain how Mary Magdalene was usually portrayed in medieval paintings and I will attempt to find an answer to the question how she, as a fallen woman, could have become such an extremely popular Saint. On the whole, the first part of this thesis should be seen as an introduction to the second part, which consists of chapters four and five. Chapter four provides an introduction to the Middle English text St Marie
Maudeleyne, based on MS Egerton 2810, ff. 83b-87. The final chapter offers my edition of this text,11 as well as a glossary.
9John 11:1-2. “It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, .. whose brother Lazarus was sick.” 10 www.magdalene.org 11 lines 1-250.
9 Chapter 2: Life and Legend of Saint Mary Magdalene
2.1 History of Mary Magdalene
There are a few terms that one must be familiar with when studying the life and legend of a Saint. It is an extremely difficult, if not impossible, task to determine the meaning of the word saint. In order to be declared a saint, several conditions must apply. The first leaves no room for doubt: someone must have died and gone to heaven before being able to claim the title.12 Yet, in spite of several attempts to find the exact definition of the term, studies have only resulted in the determination of at least three other elements that must apply: holiness, a supernatural and a moralistic element.13
In the first place, there must be a clear distinction between what is Holy and what is ordinary. The term Holy has a number of meanings, but in general it can be explained as
“belonging to, derived from, or associated with a divine power”.14 Then, there must be a supernational power, and lastly, the highest possible morality must be inherent.15
The second term that one must be familiar with is saint’s legend. Manfred Görlach describes it as “a narrative told to instruct and to edify by holding up for imitation the exemplary life, the suffering and the miracles of a saint”.16 A saint’s life is what we would call a biography of that Saint. Görlach explains that although there is a clear difference between a saint’s life and a saint’s legend, people made no distinction between the two.17 Numerous different legends of St Mary Magdalene existed in the Middle Ages, but in her Saint Mary
Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature Helen Meredith Garth has tried to establish one legend of the saint’s life which, in general, can be seen as the medieval legend of Mary Magdalene. It is based on the writings of both anonymous and known authors, including famous ones such as
Jacobus de Voragine, who wrote the most widespread collection of medieval saints’ lives, the
12 www.dictionary.com 13 Zuidweg, De Duizend en Een Nacht der Heiligenlegenden (1948), p. 64. 14 www.dictionary.com 15 Zuidweg, Duizend en Een Nacht, p. 64. 16 Görlach, Studies in Middle English Saints’ Legends (1998), p. 8. 17 Görlach, Studies, p.8.
10 Legenda Aurea. Garth’s general medieval legend can be divided into two parts. The first describes Mary Magdalene’s life until Christ’s resurrection. It more or less follows the account of Mary Magdalene’s life as described in the Gospels, but with the addition of many scenes, elaborations and exaggerations. The second part describes the rest of Mary
Magdalene’s life as well as her death, but it cannot be traced back to a single source.
Although the many accounts of the second half of her life vary greatly, most Western
European versions show parallels. It is thus possible to construct a single, if composite, medieval account of the life of St Mary Magdalene based on a general medieval idea. With the help of Garth’s work, its most important details will be discussed in the next paragraphs.
2.1.1 Youth
The Gospels provide no information on Mary Magdalene’s younger years. Still, a few details are known about her youth. Because of her encounters with Jesus Christ it is certain that Mary Magdalene lived in the first century AD, though it is unknown in what year exactly she was born. She came from a good family that belonged to the nobility. Mary is the daughter of Cyrus and Eucharia and the sister of Lazarus and Martha. Her family was very religious, and also very wealthy, with possessions in the cities of Magdala and Bethany. After
Cyrus and Eucharia had both died, their possessions were divided amongst their three children. Mary inherited the castle of Magdala, her birthplace, and added ‘Magdalene’ to her name.
2.1.2 Life of sin
Because it was uncommon for women to travel alone during Jesus’ lifetime it is believed that Mary Magdalene was married to a disciple, St John the Evangelist. When Jesus and his followers were at the marriage of Cana in Galilee,18 Christ called St John the
18 Described in John 2:1-10. This is the site of Christ’s first miracle, the turning of water into wine.
11 Evangelist away. Mary Magdalene felt that both her husband and her Lord had deserted her, and turned away from God’s law. Instead, she found comfort in sin and dedicated herself to the flesh. She turned to prostitution and eventually she even founded a brothel. At her brothel, seven devils, often interpreted as the Seven Deadly Sins,19 entered her body, which caused even more wrongdoing.
2.1.3 Conversion
While the New Testament tells the story of Mary Magdalene’s conversion in a simple way, the medieval version, as given in Garth’s work, is very detailed. Martha convinced her younger sister to go to Simon the Leper’s house, where the Lord was going to stay. There,
Jesus cast the seven devils out of Mary Magdalene. Mourning for her past sins, Mary
Magdalene kneeled at the Lord’s feet and started to wash them with her tears. With this deed she became worthy of having her own sins washed away. With her hair, which she had previously decorated to tempt men, she then dried His feet. After that she kissed the soles of the Lord’s feet, as she had done to other men earlier, but for sexual reasons. Following this, she covered His feet with jewelry, because she used to decorate her own body in this way to make herself more attractive. In other words, she carried out all the things she had done for worldly pleasures during her time of sin, but directed them to God instead.
2.1.4 Mary Magdalene as Apostle
Of Mary Magdalene’s life after her conversion up to Christ’s resurrection, there are no records in the Bible. According to her legend, however, she spent her days well, now that her sins had been forgiven. She sold all her worldly possessions to start a new life that was entirely dedicated to the Lord. From that moment on, Mary Magdalene attempted to turn people away from sin and converted them to Christianity. She was a witness of the
19 Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, and Sloth.
12 Crucifixion, where she wept bitter tears because of her Lord’s anguish and death. After the
Resurrection, Mary Magdalene was the first to find Christ’s empty tomb. Also, she was the first to meet the risen Lord, who chose to reveal Himself to Mary Magdalene because he was grateful for her commitment to Him. This is the final historical fact of Mary Magdalene’s life that is known through the Holy Scriptures. The rest of her legend is based on assumption and traced from parallels in various medieval texts. After the Ascension Mary Magdalene set sail together with her siblings and others, and arrived in Marseilles in France. In this pagan society, Mary Magdalene was able to convert the king and queen – and eventually the people as well – to Christianity by means of her preaching and performing two miracles.
2.1.5 Miracles in Marseilles
The king and queen of Marseilles had been praying to their pagan gods to have a baby for years, with no success. Mary Magdalene was able to convince the couple to believe in her and her religion. In return they wanted her to promise that she would prove that her faith was worthy. She vowed to do so, and started to pray to the Lord for a baby for the queen. Not much later the queen was indeed pregnant, and together with the king she undertook a pilgrimage to St Peter in Rome, as the couple had promised to do if a child were sent to them.
Their ship was almost shipwrecked in a heavy storm which caused the queen to give birth, and she died shortly afterwards because of fear and lack of medical care. The king refused to cast his dead wife into the sea, and left her corpse on a rock on a desert island. He left their son, who was bound to die as well because of lack of nurture, on her breast and covered them with a mantle. The king then prayed to St Mary Magdalene, even though he blamed her for the misfortune. Shortly afterwards he continued his pilgrimage and had a safe arrival in
Rome, where he met St Peter. He took the king to Jerusalem where he showed him the places where Jesus had been during his life, and taught him all about Christianity. After a few years
13 the king sailed back to Marseilles. On his way, he passed the place where he had left his family and found his young son, alive. When the king praised Mary Magdalene for this miracle he told her that he believed she could bring his wife back to life. The queen then rose, and told her husband that her soul had seen all that he had seen in Jerusalem, and also what
Mary Magdalene had done for the child. Upon their return in Marseilles everyone was baptised and all that was reminiscent of paganism was destroyed.
2.1.6 Retreat
Mary Magdalene continued her mission as an apostle in the city of Aix. One day she received a message from the Lord, in which He told her to withdraw to the wilderness of Ste
Baume. There, she spent her days in dedication to God, with no food, water, or any other luxuries. Nevertheless, the Lord kept Mary Magdalene alive with celestial food. Several times a day angels carried her up into the air, where she could hear celestial choirs chanting in heaven, through which she was fed. Afterwards, the angels would carry her back to the earth.
2.1.7 Death
After a period of thirty years a holy priest approached the wilderness, but was prevented from entering it. He was told by a heavenly voice to bring a message to St Maximin in Aix, who had baptised Mary Magdalene. In obeyance of this message, St Maximin went into his oratory on the first day after Easter and witnessed the angels lifting up Saint Mary
Magdalene. She saw him too, and called to him to come nearer. All the priests and clerks were summoned after which the company celebrated Mass together. Following this, Mary
Magdalene received the Blessed Sacrament and her soul went up to heaven. After several days her body was buried by St Maximin.
14 2.1.8 Miracles after death
Saint Mary Magdalene continued to perform miracles even after her death, mostly at her graveside, as Garth describes in her book: “All the sick who approached the tomb were cured, the demoniacs were delivered, and the blind received their sight”.20 Within a few days of her death, Mary Magdalene already performed her next miracle. She appeared before her sister Martha, whom she had promised to visit once more. The Lord accompanied her, and He told Martha that He would soon receive her in Heaven as well. Other miracles that, according to popular medieval belief, Mary Magdalene had performed after her death were similar to the ones she performed in and near Marseilles. She also brought a knight who had suddenly died back to life, after which he confessed his sins and received the Blessed Sacrament. He died again immediately, but had been given the opportunity to rest in peace.
2.2 Deviating sources
Garth has based this general account of Mary Magdalene’s life on the various medieval texts about the Saint that she has studied. While these texts for the most part agree about Mary Magdalene’s life up to Christ’s Resurrection, they disagree just as much about the
Saint’s life from that moment onwards. Nevertheless, many of the Western European texts show parallels, which provides the possibility for Garth’s outline. The next paragraphs will treat a selection of those sources that deviate from the general medieval history of Mary
Magdalene.
2.2.1 Youth
The four Gospels are the main sources for most medieval literature about the first part of Mary Magdalene’s life, and thus no big differences can be found in these accounts. There
20 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 56.
15 are some small variations, though. As Garth points out, the well-kown ninth-century author, teacher and theologian Rabanus Maurus21 “insists that the Magdalene’s father was named
Theophilus, and that he was of the Syrian nation”, while “later writers call him Syrus, the
Syrian, or Cyrus”.22
2.2.2 Life of sin
Garth’s most important source for the start of Mary Magdalene’s life of sin was
Jacobus de Voragine’s Legenda Aurea, or the Golden Legend, in which she is explicitly mentioned as St John the Evangelist’s supposed wife.23 Other sources mention her as well, according to Garth, such as an anonymous fourteenth century author, who adds that “the
Church neither affirms it or forbids it [and that] it delights me much to think in my thoughts that it was so,”24 and a Middle High German poem.25 Many other sources describe the wedding of St John the Evangelist but leave the bride unnamed, for example the English author and abbot Aelfric,26 who “mentions the wedding [...], but does not identify the bride”,27 and an anonymous preface to Saint Augustine’s In Joannis Evangelium.28
In the South English Legendary, Mary Magdalene’s name is never explicitly mentioned in the description of her behaviour and reputation during her time of sin. This is the case for both the regular version of the SEL (“He[o] werþ womman of mest folie · þat mai
21 Rabanus Maurus, De Vita Beatae Mariae Magdalenae et Sororis Eius Sanctae Marthae, Migne. P.L., vol. 112, col. 1433. 22 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 29. 23 Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend or Lives of the Saints, as Englished by William Caxton. Ed. by F.S. Ellis (London, J.M. Dent and Co., 1900), vol. 4, pp. 87-88. 24The Life of St. Mary Magdalen, translated from the Italian of an unknown Fourteenth Century Writer by Valentina Hawtrey, with an introduction by Vernon Lee (London and New York, 1904) pp. 2-4, quoted by Garth, p. 30. 25Der Saelden Hort, Alemannisches Gedicht vom Leben Jesu, Johannes der Täufers und derMagdalena, ed. Heinrich Adrian (Berlin, 1927), pp. 98 ff. 26The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church. The First Part, containing the Sermones Catholici or Homilies of Aelfric, in the original Anglo-Saxon, with an English version. Vol. 1, ed. Benjamin Thorpe, F.S.A. (London, 1844) pp. 58-59. 27 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 30. 28 Prefatio Incerti Auctoris to S. Aurelius Augustinus, In Joannis Evangelicum, Migne. P.L., vol. 35, col. 1380.
16 come in munde” )29 and Carl Horstmann’s edition that Garth has used for her work (“Þe more fol womman heo wax: and sunful and unwys: / Hire ri3hte name marie: over-al heo les þare- fore”).30 In Horstmann’s edition only the name ‘marie’ is given, and in the version in the
South English Legendary the female sinner is simply referred to as ‘she’. Nevertheless, this woman is usually identified as Mary Magdalene.
2.2.3 Conversion
Garth mentiones various sources that describe Mary Magdalene’s conversion, but these show no important differences.
2.2.4 Mary Magdalene as Apostle
As Garth states, Horstmann’s edition of the South English Legendary31 explains that
“Mary not only ministered to Christ and His disciples, but converted many people, was kind to the sick, and turned great numbers from lechery”.32 She gives no examples of other sources, which means that apparently other texts have unimportant differences only. However, from this moment on Garth’s sources start to show dissimilarities and they can no longer be traced back to a single source. This causes surprising differences, in particular concerning Mary
Magdalene’s trip to Marseilles. Numerous texts include the trip to Marseilles in one version or another, but others skip the entire Marseilles story, for example the Old English Martyrology:
“After Christ’s ascension [...] she went into the desert and lived there thirthy years [...].”33
Many early authors write that Mary Magdalene went to Rome following the Ascension. One
Eastern Legend, according to Garth composed by “some Gnostic34 of Egypt” (40), is
29 D’Evelyn and Mill, The South English Legendary (1959), p. 303, l. 18. 30 The Early South-English Legendary or Lives of the Saints, ed. Carl Horstmann. (Early English Text Society, Original Series, 87 (London, 1887), p. 464, lines 66-67, quoted by Garth, p. 32. 31 South-English Legendary, p. 466, lines 158-162. 32 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 35. 33 An Old English Martyrology, ed. George Herzfeld (Early English Text Society, Original Series, no. 116, London, 1900), p.127, quoted by Garth, p. 41. 34 “Relating to, or possessing intellectual or spiritual knowledge” (www.dictionary.com)
17 discussed by E.J. Goodspeed ,35 and has a very strange account of Mary Magdalene’s life after the Resurrection. Garth explains: “It represents Jesus as living with His disciples for eleven or twelve years [...] and telling them a great many things about sin and salvation, especially in response to questions asked him by Mary Magdalene”.36
2.2.5 Miracles in Marseilles
In the works that Garth discusses there are no important differences in the miracles that Mary Magdalene performs in Marseilles. Only some small and unimportant details vary.
2.2.6 Retreat
With the exception of some sources that skip the episode in Marseilles and state that
Mary Magdalene withdrew into a barren place immediately after Christ’s Ascension, 37 all medieval texts studied by Garth state that Mary Magdalene left Marseilles to go to a wilderness. While the Golden Legend speaks of a desert,38 the rest of her sources speak of a wilderness in Ste. Baume.
2.2.6 Death
Garth’s sources all describe the death of Mary Magdalene in a similar way, as well as her burial by Saint Maximin. There are, however, several conflicting theories about her exact burial-place. According to Garth, the “common mediaeval theory [...] places her tomb in the little church of St. Maximin [...] in the archbishopric of Aix, where she had spent the latter part of her life”.39 Among the ones supporting this theory are the French archeologist and
35 E.J. Goodspeed, A History of Early Christian Literature (1942), p. 59. 36 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 40. 37 E.g. the Old English Martyrology. 38 Golden Legend, p.82 39 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 101-2.
18 historian Edmond-Frederic Le Blant40 and the French historian Etienne-Michel Faillon.41
Garth refers to a work of Princeton University professor E. Baldwin Smith to explain why this theory was widely supported: when St Maximin’s tomb was discovered at this place, fragments of an early coffin were found.42 According to medieval tradition they were believed to belong to Mary Magdalene’s tomb. Another theory, held by the Eastern Church and supported by Saint Gregory of Tours,43 is that “the Magdalene was buried at Ephesus [and that] [h]er body was said to have been removed to Constantinople in the ninth century” .44 The
French burial-place seems to be the more likely one, according to Sherry Reames. She states in her Middle English Legends of Women Saints that its status as Mary Magdalene’s tombsite
“improved considerably after 1279, when [it was] discovered that her body was still there”.45
It is this place where Mary Magdalene’s relics were venerated, and although it is said that
Mary Magdalene’s bones were scattered during the French Revolution (1789-1799), her head is still believed to be there.
2.3 Recent theories
Today, the life and legend of St Mary Magdalene is only alive among the people who have a special interest in her and other saints, either for religious reasons, or because of historical motives. In fact, in the last few years she has been a hot topic among many
Christians and historians. In the 2003 report “Mary Magdalene Saint or Sinner?A new wave of literature is cleaning up her reputation. How a woman of substance was ‘harlotized’” for the US magazine Time,46 journalist David van Biema cites a passage in Dan Brown’s novel 40 Edmond-Frederic Le Blant, Les Sarcophages Chrétiens de la Gaule. (Paris, 1886) p. 147. 41 Etienne-Michel Faillon, Monuments inédits sur l'apostolat de Sainte Marie-Madeleine en Provence et sur les autres Apôtres de cette contrée, Saint Lazare, Saint Maximin, Sainte Marthe.., 2 vols. (Paris, 1865), II,p. 9. 42 E. Baldwin Smith, Early Christian Iconography and a School of Ivory Carvers in Provence (Princeton, 1918), p. 65. 43 Gregorius Episcopus Turonensis, Liber in Gloria Martyrum, in Monumenta Germaniae Historics, Rerum Merovingicarum Scriptores, t. I (Hanover, 1885), p. 505, ch. 29. 44 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 101. 45 Reames, Middle English Legends of Women Saints (2003), p. 52. 46 Van Biema. Mary Magdalene Saint or Sinner? A new wave of literature is cleaning up her reputation. How a
19 The Da Vinci Code,47 where a girl who asks her professor if he means ‘the prostitute’48 after he has pointed Mary Magdalene out in a painting. In response, the fictional professor “drew a short breath, as if the word had injured him personally”49 and said “Magdalene was no such thing. That unfortunate misconception is the legacy of a smear campaign launched by the early Church.”50
2.3.1 Her image restored
St Mary Magdalene, in the Middle Ages as well as today, is known most of all as “the archetypical sinner who repented and was redeemed, supplying a powerful illustration of
God’s forgiveness and an example of reform that was potentially relevant to every
Christian”.51 However, this image is purely based on Mary Magdalene’s – for a large part fictional – legend, for there are no historical facts to support this. There are only six historical facts known through the Scriptures. First of all, Jesus heals her by casting out the seven devils.52 Secondly, she joined and supported Jesus while travelling with Him and His disciples.53 We also know that she witnessed the Crucifixion and followed Jesus’ body to the garden tomb54 and that on the morning of Easter she went to anoint His body with spices.55
Furthermore, she saw the angels that guarded Christ’s empty tomb and she heard their message as well.56 The final fact we know about Mary Magdalene is that both the angels and
Jesus ordered her to bring the good news of his Resurrection to His disciples.57 For centuries, however, the Catholic Church represented Mary Magdalene in the same way as she is
woman of substance was “harlotized” In Time (11 August 2003), Vol. 162. no. 6, pp. 52-59. 47 Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code. Doubleday Fiction, 2003. 48 Dan Brown, Da Vinci Code, p. 244, quoted by van Biema, p. 52. 49 Dan Brown, Da Vinci Code, p. 244, quoted by van Biema, p. 52. 50 Dan Brown, Da Vinci Code, p. 244, quoted by van Biema, p. 52. 51 Reames, Women Saints, p. 52-53. 52 Luke 8:2 53 Matthew 27:55-56; Mark 15:40-41; Luke 8:1-2 54 Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47; Luke 23:55 55 Mark 16:1; Luke 23:56-24:1 56 Matthew 28:2-7; Mark 16:5-7; Luke 24:4-7; John 20:12-13 57 Matthew 28:7; Mark 16:7; John 20:17-18
20 depicted in the legends: as a prostitute. In 1969, the Vatican cleared her name by admitting that this portrayal was the result of a mistake made in the sixth century by Pope Gregory the
Great. Apparently, he had difficulties with the ‘identity problem’ of Mary Magdalene as well, and had confused her with someone else in a sermon.
2.3.2 A new Mary Magdalene?
The belated declaration of the Catholic Church caused much commotion, but it also opened up a whole new world of possibilities, which “has inspired a wave of literature, both academic and popular, [and] gained Magdalene a new following among Catholics who see in her a potent female role model and a possible argument against the all-male priesthood”.58
Among the various ‘new’ Mary Magdalenes that emerged, who all supposedly were the ‘real’ historical figure, one theory appears to be a persistent one: St Mary Magdalene as the mother of Jesus Christ’s only child. In Marlee Alex’s children’s book Mary Magdalene: A Woman
Who Showed Her Gratitude, it is explained that Mary Magdalene "was not famous for the great things she did or said, but [that] she goes down in history as a woman who truly loved
Jesus with all her heart and was not embarrassed to show it despite criticism from others."59
Perhaps this love and devotion for Jesus Christ are the reasons why the above theory seems to get more and more support. According to van Biema “the notion that Magdalene was pregnant by Jesus at his Crucifixion became especially entrenched in France [because] several French kings promoted the legend that descendants of Magdalene's child founded the Merovingian line of European royalty”. In Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln and Richard Leigh’s Holy
Blood, Holy Grail (1982), Mary Magdalene is even identified as the Holy Grail, which means as much as the human vessel of the blood of the King.60 Dan Brown’s novel is currently
58 van Biema, Mary Magdalene Saint or Sinner?, p. 53. 59 Marlee Alex, Mary Magdalene: A Woman Who Showed Her Gratitude. Outstanding Women of the Bible series for children. W.M. Eerdmans Publishing Co.: September 1988. Quoted by van Biema, p. 53. 60 Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln. Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Dell, 1982. Quoted by van Biema, p. 57.
21 probably the best known work that explores this theory. Even Princess Diana of Wales is included in the discussion of this supposition. According to van Biema “[she] reportedly had some Merovingian blood”.61 He also explains that the theory is included in Richard Wagner’s opera Parsifal, as well as in other contemporary works. It surely is not coincidental that in the film The Matrix Reloaded the villain Merovingian is seen surrounded by cups that look like
Grails... There is, of course, no evidence to prove the theories about the identity of Mary
Magdalene, and there will never be more historical certainties concerning her than we know through the Scriptures. Nevertheless, the declaration of the Catholic church and Mary
Magdalene’s recent topicality will in the (near) future provide us with even more interesting theories on an interesting saint.
Chapter 3: Importance and popularity
This chapter is meant to find an answer to the question how Mary Magdalene, a fallen woman, could have become the most popular female saint of the Middle Ages. Also, it contains a discussion of the way in which Mary Magdalene was usually depicted in medieval art. Taking into account the four conditions that must apply to someone before that person can be declared a saint, one sees that only the first three conditions are relevant in Mary
Magdalene’s case. She is dead, obviously, and her soul is believed to be in heaven. She is also evidently associated with the divine, and through the miracles she has performed the supernatural element is also vividly present. The fourth (moral) condition, however, does not completely apply to Mary Magdalene. Whereas she spent most of her life following the
61 Van Biema, Mary Magdalene Saint or Sinner?, p. 57.
22 teachings of Jesus Christ, she also has a history of adultery and prostitution. Neverteless, she has become the most important biblical woman apart from the Virgin Mary, and her legend was one of the most popular saint’s legends throughout the Middle Ages. The answer lies possibly in Görlach’s description of a saint’s legend. Mary Magdalen’s legend seems to be the ultimate exemplum, a narrative told to instruct and to illustrate moral truths.
3.1 The Widespread Fame of Mary Magdalene
3.1.1 Legenda Aurea or Golden Legend
For a saint’s legend to serve its purpose as described by Görlach, it needs at least one major condition: it must be told and retold. According to Reames, Mary Magdalene was at the height of her popularity during the later Middle Ages: “Where two or three churches had been dedicated to her by 1100 and some 35 a century later, the total had grown to nearly 200 by the end of the Middle Ages”.62 Jacobus de Voragine’s Legenda Aurea or Golden Legend has very likely contributed to this growth. De Voragine (born c. 1230) was an Italian preacher and the archbishop of Genoa, a city in northern Italy, from 1292 until his death in 1298. Although it has not been accurately determined when the Legenda Aurea was written, it has been dated somewhere between 1250 and 1280.63 Originally the work was titled Legenda Sanctorum, which is Latin for ‘Readings of the Saints’,64 but it became most popular after its name was changed. The Legenda Aurea is a collection of medieval saints’ legends and includes an account of St Mary Magdalene’s life. The work spread throughout Europe rapidly, both immediately after its release and in the centuries afterwards.65 The Legenda Aurea is the most widespread medieval work of its genre, and with the exception of the Bible it is one of the most popular and important religious pieces of literature that existed in the Middle Ages.
62 Reames, Women Saints p. 52. 63 Zuidweg, Duizend en Een Nacht, p. 16. 64 Ryan and Ripperger, The Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine (1969), v. 65 Zuidweg, Duizend en Een Nacht, p. 17.
23 There are hundreds of versions that have survived in manuscripts to prove this. As Zuidweg says, “geen ander boek heeft er dan ook meer toe bijgedragen om tal van Heiligenlegenden tot een algemeen geestelijk bezit van de gehele Christelijke wereld te maken”.66
3.1.2 Lay People
Not long after the Legenda Aurea spread throughout Europe’s upper classes, it was translated from Latin into the major West European languages. Furthermore, after the invention of printing halfway the fifteenth century, many editions appeared in the vernacular languages throughout the continent. This development has been essential for the importance and popularity of the work, for it became accessible and available to a much larger audience.
Since in the Middle Ages no distinction was made between a history and a legend - not even by De Voragine himself, who mixed historical facts with the narratives of his sources without giving it a second thought67 - the wonders and the uncritical, storytelling tone of the Legenda
Aurea made the work effortlessly appealing to those medieval Christians who knew how to read. Furthermore, the work contains symbolism and edifying messages, and not without reason. It had been de Voragine’s major goal to write a religious work that would appeal to the common man, so that they would be educated through it.68 Because of all this the book became a source of inspiration for all kinds of artists.69 Through the literature of medieval authors the contents of the Legenda Aurea spread among medieval storytellers, and through their entertaining stories the tales of the Legenda Aurea – and thus the legend of Mary
Magdalene - became accessible to the ordinary lay people. Nevertheless, it remains a question why Mary Magdalene, with all her sins, was so appealing to church members who lived in a society in which religion and faith were at the basis of everyday life.
66 Zuidweg, Duizend en Een Nacht, p. 18. 67 Zuidweg, Duizend en Een Nacht, p. 44-45. 68 Zuidweg, Duizend en Een Nacht, p. 14. 69 Zuidweg, Duizend en Een Nacht, p. 19.
24 3.2 The Exemplary Life
It is clear that Görlach’s description of a saint’s legend more than applies to the medieval legend of St Mary Magdalene. Perhaps, then, the answer to the question why Mary
Magdalene was so popular during the Middle Ages lies in her status as the penitent woman whose sins were washed away because of her complete dedication to God. The message of her legend – all sins can be forgiven as long as you show remorse and your unconditional love and dedication to the Lord – must have been appealing to the citizens of an extremely religious society, especially because the people might have been good Christians in heart and mind, but in reality were not always as good as they pretended, or wanted, to be. However, this message can be found in practically all the medieval saints’ legends, so it cannot be seen as an absolute explanation of Mary Magdalene’s popularity.
3.2.1 Symbolism
The message that can be found in St Mary Magdalene’s legend is consequently only a small part of the answer. In the medieval period, symbolism and allegory were part of everyday life, especially as means of instruction and expression. According to Garth “Mary
Magdalene [...] was interpreted by mediaeval writers in various symbolical and allegorical ways, and was also pointed out as an example to all Christians”.70 She makes a distinction between several categories of interpretation, including
the Magdalene as a “type” or parallel to other characters of the Old Testament, the
New Testament or the Apocrypha [...], the double meaning and inner interpretation put
70 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 75.
25 to various actions and speeches of Mary Magdalene [and] Mary Magdalene as a
fulfillment of certain Scriptural quotations.71
To begin with the first, Mary Magdalene was often compared to Eve, for example by pope St
Gregory I (590-604, also known as “the Great”). He says of the saint that “the guilt of the human race is cut off whence it proceeded. For in paradise a woman gave death to a man; from the tomb a woman announces life to men, and tells the words of the Life-Giver as [Eve] told the words of the death-bearing serpent.” 72 In other words, he explains that Mary
Magdalene reverses Eve’s sinful actions, and that by doing so she takes away the burden those sins had put on women. Garth also mentiones various others who make the same comparison, such as the bishop of Milan and doctor of the church St Ambrose,73 and the monk, priest and abbot St Odo of Cluny.74 She explains how “they reason that Mary
Magdalene was chosen as the first to bring the good news of the joys of the Resurrection to men, as Eve had first brought the sorrowful news of death, so that perpetual opprobrium should not rest on women”.75 St Odo of Cluny compares Mary Magdalene to the Holy Virgin as well, in a parallel that was also used by bishop Hildebert of Le Mans: 76
And just as through the Blessed Mary, ever a virgin, who is the only hope of the
world, the gates of Paradise were opened to us and the malediction of Eve was shut
out; so through the Blessed Mary Magdalene the opprobrium of the female sex was
destroyed, and the splendor of our resurrection, appearing in the Lord’s resurrection,
was reported by her.77
71 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 75. 72 Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarium in Evangelia, Lib. II. Homil. XXV, Migne, P.L., vol. 76, col. 1194, quoted by Garth, p.79. 73 Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis Episcopis, Expositions in Lucam Lib. X, Migne, P.L. vol. 15, cols. 1936- 1937. 74 Sanctus Odo Abbas Cluniacensis II, Sermo II. Migne, P.L., vol. 133, col. 721. 75 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 80. 76 Ven. Hildebertus Cenoman Episc. Sermones de Sanctis, Sermo LXIX: In Gesto Sanctae Magdalenae Sermo Unicus, Migne. P.L., vol. 171, col. 677. 77 S. Odo Abbas Clunacenis II, Sermo II, Migne, P.L., vol. 133, col. 721, quoted by Garth, p. 80.
26 Many other sources see parallels between Mary Magdalene and different Biblical figures, but some sources also cite her as a contrast to them. St Ambrose, 78 for example, contrasts her with the deacon St Stephen, who was the first Christian martyr. According to Ambrose, Mary
Magdalene did wrong what St Stephen did right. As Garth explains,79
He says that if we wish to find Christ, we should not seek Him on the earth, nor
according to the flesh. Thus Stephen did not seek on the earth, yet saw the Lord
standing at the right hand of God.80 But Mary Magdalene sought Him on earth and was
not able to touch Him.81
Mary Magdalene was also frequently compared to less prestigious people and things. Most remarkably, she is compared to an ant:
Just as an ant most zealously carries a grain of wheat to its house in the summer time,
looking ahead so that it will not be in need during the winter; thus Mary Magdalene,
[...] hearing that the Lord was at the house of Simon, ran, and as if she had picked up a
grain of wheat, carried it to her soul in most humble conversion.82
To continue with the significance of Mary Magdalene’s actions and speeches, many authors give special meaning to the fact that she tells the Lord that she first believed that He, the risen
Christ, is a gardener.83 St Odo of Cluny, for example, states that Mary Magdalene is not entirely wrong in her thought: “Just as the duty of a gardener is to eradicate harmful weeds so that good plants may be able to come forth, so the Lord Jesus daily eradicates vices from His garden, that is from His Church, so that virtue may increase.”84 According to Gregory the
Great, 85 “the Lord was a spiritual gardener [to Mary Magdalene], planting virtue in her heart 78 Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis Episcopus Expositions in Lucam, Lib. X, Migne. P.L. vol. 15, col. 1937- 1938. 79 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 81. 80 Acts, 7:55, 56. 81 John 20:17. 82 Petrus Cellensis, Sermo LXII: In Festo Sanctae Mariae Magdalenae III, Migne, P.L., vol. 202, col. 825, quoted by Garth, p. 82. 83 John, 20:15. 84 Sanctus Odo Abbas Cluniacensis II, Sermo II, Migne, P.L. vol. 133, col. 720, quoted by Garth, p. 87. 85 Sanctorius Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarum in Evangelia, Lib. II, Homil. XXV, Migne, P.L., vol. 76, col. 1192. This idea is also expressed in B. F. Albini seu Alcuini, Operum Pars II, Exegetica, Comment
27 through the seeds of his love”.86 Nothing on the subject of Mary Magdalene, however, seemed to delight medieval authors more than, as Garth puts it, to search “the Scriptures for quotations which might be twisted into even a remote relevance to the matter in hand”.87 She recalls Rabanus Maurus,88 according to whom Mary Magdalene had given Christ an alabaster vase, with which she is often represented, at the house of Simon because He had said “None shall appear before me empty.”89 Gregory the Great90 finds special significance in Mary
Magdalene’s persistance to find Jesus Christ on the morning of the Resurrection, which shows that “he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”91 Also, Garth says that the
Golden Legend92 gives reasons why the risen Jesus first revealed Himself to Mary Magdalene, which can be found in the following Scriptural quotations: “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much,”93 “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,”94 “Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you,”95 and “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”96 Especially the second quotation – He appeared before Mary Magdalene first to show that He had died for the sins of others – seemed to be relevant in the Christian society of the Middle Ages, since the reason of Christ’s Crucifixion is the most important aspect of the Christian religion. Thus, the fact that St Mary Magdalene, like most other saints, was seen as a symbol of various ideals contributed to her importance as well.
3.2.2 Diversity of Mary Magdalene
in Joan. Lib. VII, Cap. XLI, Migne, P.L., vol. 100, col. 990. 86 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 88. 87 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 88. 88 Rabanus Maurus, De Vita Beatae Mariae Magdalenae et Sororis Eius Sanctae Marthae, Migne, P.L., vol. 112, col. 1438. 89 Exodus, 23:15. 90 Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarum in Evangelia, Lib. II, Migne, P.L., vol. 76, col. 1189. 91 Matthew, 24:13, and 10:22, Mark 13.13, quoted by Garth, p. 89. 92 Jacobus de Voragine, Legenda Aurea, ed. Th. Graesse (Berlin, 1890), De Resurrectione Domini, pp. 239-240. 93 Luke, 7:47, quoted by Garth, p. 89. 94 Matthew, 9:13, quoted by Garth, p. 89. 95 Matthew, 21:31, quoted by Garth, p. 89. 96 Romans, 5:20, quoted by Garth, p. 89.
28 The question of Mary Magdalene’s popularity has been partly answered by now. The message that all sins can be forgiven by the Lord, as well as the ideals that St Mary
Magdalene’s legend brings forward through all kinds of symbolisations, make her important and an example which should be honoured and followed by all Christians. There is, however, an additional reason for Mary Magdalene’s importance and popularity. More than any other saint, it seems, Mary Magdalene was a person of diversity: her legend and its messages did not only appeal to all Christians as a whole, but also to different layers of medieval society.
Reames, who even speaks of “the cult of Mary Magdalene”,97 explains that during the later
Middle Ages, “Mary Magdalen was an exceptionally multi-faceted saint, who served many different functions for different segments of the population”.98 The clearest indication of this is the enormous amount of tributes to St Mary Magdalene which come from all kinds of medieval people. She obviously was an example for all sinners (and thus potentionally to everybody). The message about sin, repentance and redemption can also be narrowed down to apply to smaller groups of people, though. In the first place, it is particularly relevant to those who commited sexual sins, as Mary Magdalene was believed to have been a prostitute, but it can also be seen as being a message especially for female sinners. This must have been an important contributing factor to Mary Magdalene’s popularity among women, who mostly held minor positions in medieval society. The rare transition from sinner to saint made Mary
Magdalene popular among the people who dealt with repentance in one way or another.
According to Reames, “she was the patron saint of moral rebirth and regeneration and of institutions founded for that purpose, including convents for former prostitutes and hostels for pilgrims”.99 The things that Mary Magdalene did while sitting at the Lord’s feet at the house of Simon spoke out to two groups of people in particular. Because she sat there so quietly, not taking part in “the mundane chores of the household, she provided an appealing patron and
97 Reames, Women Saints, p. 52. 98 Reames, Women Saints, p. 52. 99 Reames, Women Saints, p. 53.
29 model to [those] who had chosen lives of contemplation rather than worldly activity”.100 Mary
Magdalene’s actions of that day appealed not only to members of religious orders, though, but also to others who busied themselves with “active charity, [thus becoming] a favorite patron of hospitals and confraternities that engaged in works of corporal mercy”.101 Lastly, her legend, or rather her cult, also influenced the upper classes of Western Europe, only for different reasons. In his analysis of William Caxton’s Golden Legende, David Mycoff discusses the effect that the events in Marseilles had on rich laymen. As a means of family insurance, it seemed sensible for them to invest in keeping Mary Magdalene’s cult alive, because
Mary Magdalene, the harlot saint who twice renounced a great patrimony and the
dynastic obligations of that inheritance [...] becomes a source of fecundity and
dynastic stability. She procures children for the princes, in one instance serving as
midwife and nurse. 102
The diversity of the people to whom St Mary Magdalene was more than an “ordinary” saint, is the third part of the answer to the question why Mary Magdalene, with her sinful past, has become the most important Biblical woman apart from Mary, the mother of Jesus.
3.2.3 Her relationship with her Lord
Apart from the three given reasons why Mary Magdalene might have been so appealing to the medieval mind there is a fourth. She was more than just a devout follower of the Lord, it seems. Mary Magdalene is known to have travelled with Christ and his disciples,103 and there are many accounts of her presence at the Crucifixion and Christ’s
100 Reames, Women Saints, p. 53. 101 Reames, Women Saints, p. 53. 102 William Caxton, A Critical Edition of the Legend of Mary Magdalena from Caxton’s Golden Legende of 1843. Ed. Mycoff. Salzburg Studies in English Literature, Elizabethan and Renaissance Studies 92:11. Salzburg: Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik, Universität Salzburg, 1985, p.178. Quoted by Reames, p. 53. 103 vs. 1-3
30 Resurrection. In all four of the Gospels it is even confirmed that Mary Magdalene witnessed this last event.104 Therefore, people must have been under the impression that she had befriended and possibly even enamoured Jesus, or at least that He thought her to be very important. Garth explains that
Their love for one another is continually stressed, and not always in such platonic
terms as we find in the Gospels. [It] reflects the mediaeval literary pattern of
courtly love […]. The expressions used by the Magdalene about Christ […] might well
have come out of a fifteenth-century love lyric.105
What might have stressed this belief is that the risen Lord first revealed Himself to Mary
Magdalene. While in general it is believed that this was because He was grateful for her devotion to Him, it can also be interpreted that Jesus chose to do so because He loved Mary
Magdalene dearly. It is probable that she achieved part of the status that she had in the Middle
Ages because it was possible to link her to Jesus in this way. Overall, it seems that it was a combination of factors – some exclusive, and some characteristic for most other saints as well
– that made Mary Magdalene a unique source of inspiration.
3.2.4 Representation
Because of St Mary Magdalene’s popularity during the Middle Ages it is only logical that, apart from being the subject of many literary pieces, she is also portrayed in many medieval works of art. The elaborations and exaggerations that were found in the saints’ legends were also richly reflected in this form of expression. Garth explains that these inventions “often followed a pattern, with the result that the personality, traits of character, and physical appearance of a subject were apt to become somewhat stereotyped”.106 Mary
Magdalene was always presented as the most beautiful woman in the world. Whenever the
104 Matthew 28:1-2, Mark 16:9, Luke 24:10, John 20:1 105 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 68. 106 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 60.
31 first part of her life was painted she was depicted as the most sinful woman there ever was, and when the latter part of her life was painted she usually was shown as the most saintly.107
Today, Mary Magdalene is usually portrayed as having red hair (Garth 1950:60), but this was not commonly done in the Middle Ages. Instead, “she is often represented as having long dishevelled hair of a pale golden colour, often her only drapery”,108 a portrayal that follows most literary descriptions of St Mary Magdalene.109 Furthermore, Mary Magdalene is often portrayed holding an alabastar vase. There are various explanations for this. To begin with the first, it was believed that the vase contained the ointment that Mary Magdalene used to wash
Christ’s feet or that it carried the balm and spices she had prepared to anoint His body. It is also associated with “the odor of good thought […],110 chastity […],111 and a contrite heart112”113 Paul says that “we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ.”114 Garth explains: “If therefore we do good works by which we sprinkle the church with the savour of good opinion, what do we pour out but ointment on the body of the Lord?”.115 In the Middle Ages, the symbol of the alabaster jar of ointment was closely linked to Mary Magdalene, as the ointment is interwoven in her life as a motif and depicts the changes in her character.116
During her life of sin, Mary Magdalene used perfume and ointments to decorate her body and to please men. When at the house of Simon the Leper she repents for her sins, she anointed
Christ’s feet with it. When she meets Christ after His Resurrection she carries ointment with her because she had intended to prepare His body for burial.117 While the alabaster vase is
107 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 60. 108 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 60. 109 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 60. 110 Beda Venerabilis, Anglo Saxonis Presbyter, In Lucam Evangelicum Expositio, Lib. III, Migne, P.L., vol. 92, col. 426. 111 Geoffrey Chaucer, “Parson’s Tale,” lines 945-950. 112 Thomas Robinson, The Life and Death of Mary Magdalene, a Legendary Poem in Two Parts, about A.D. 1620, edited by H. Oskar Sommer (Early English Text Society, Extra Series No. 78, London, 1899), p. 62, lines 1452-1454. 113 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 90. 114 II Corinthians, 2:15, quoted by Garth, p. 90. 115 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 90. 116 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 91. 117 Garth, Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature, p. 91.
32 generally included in portrayals of Mary Magdalene to verify the identity of the painted woman, there is great variety in the way in which it is represented in medieval art. In early paintings Mary Magdalene either carries it or it stands close to her. In latter portrayals it is also frequently carried by an attendant angel.118 There is no consistency in the depiction of the vase itself, either, as it is shown in many different ways.
Chapter 4: Introduction to the Text
4.1 The Manuscript
The ‘Life of Saint Mary Magdalene’ is taken from Ms. Egerton 2810. ff. 83b-87, which is located in the British Library in London. The manuscript is one of the many that together form the corpus of the SEL. The texts of the SEL are from the late thirtheenth and the fourteenth centuries.119 The texts in Ms. Egerton 2810 are mostly from the fourteenth century.
4.1.1 Manuscript context
Ms. Egerton 2810 contains 74 texts in all. There are fifteen temporale texts – about the feast days of the Christian church – but the manuscript consists mainly of legends of saints.
All of the texts are written in English verse and are told in a relatively simple manner. Most of the texts were written down by a single scribe, yet it is known that four other scribes have contributed to the manuscript as well.120
118 www.holycross.edu. 119 Görlach, Textual Tradition, p. 2. 120 http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/manuscripts
33 4.1.2 Provenance
The SEL has its origins in the Southwest of England. It is impossible to determine its place of origin more accuractely, and of many of the individual manuscripts it is unknown where they were written. The origins of Egerton 2810, however, are roughly known. A map of the localisation of the major SEL manuscripts in Görlach’s The Textual Tradition of the South
English Legendary indicates the manuscript has a Southwest origin: it was supposedly written near Bristol, which historically was part of Gloucestershire. Although it must be acknowledged that “studies of the SEL dialects do not seem to provide any reliable evidence of the original home”,121 the dialect of the scribes also shows Southwestern characteristics.
The grammar that was used in this area generally tended to follow Old English practice. An example of this that can be found in the text is the use of the feminine pronoun heo, which was also the common spelling during the Old English period. During that time the 1st person singular form was spelled as ic, which is also frequently used in this text. However, the common Southern Middle English spelling, ich, can be found as well.122 Thus, the dialect of the scribes points into the direction of South Gloucestershire, next to the border with
Somerset.
4.2 Handwriting
The Life of Saint Mary Magdalene is written in an anglicana hand, with some textura and secretary features.123 Anglicana was mainly used in the fourteenth century, as a book hand
(i.e. script for transcribing books). It can be easily distinguished from other medieval scripts because of one specific characteristic: its letters are joined together as they were rapidly written down. Anglicana is a cursive script that evolved because it took too much time to produce Textura. Textura is more squared than Anglicana, and its letters are individually
121 Görlach, Textual Tradition, p. 231. 122 For this explanation I have used Jacek Fisiak’s A Short Grammar of Middle English (1968). 123 Kathleen Coyne Kelly, “Medieval Book Hands” (2005). Par 6.
34 written down. Secretary is a script that became very popular to use as a book hand in the late fourteenth century. Like Anglicana, it is a cursive hand, but it was produced more quickly.
Some typical characteristics of Anglicana are given below.124
- There are two frequently used characters that have completely disappeared from English spelling. The first is called yogh, and is a complex character. Sometimes it represents a ‘y’ (IPA125: /j/), while at other times it represents various velar phonemes (consonants produced with the back of the tongue against the soft palate). The other one is the character for ‘th’ and is called thorn.
yogh:
thorn:
- The character for y is dotted, so that it would not be mistaken for a thorn.
y:
- There are three forms for r and two for s.
r:
- s:
- In Anglicana, there are no q, x, and z (Note that the scribe has frequently used the letter q in this legend, for example in line 77 (quene). In the margin of the same line, the letter x can be found as well (Rex). The use of q and z are examples of Textura influence on the hand).
4.3 The Text
124 For the explanation of these characteristics I have used Dr. Dianne Tillotson’s “Medieval Writing” (2005). Images used in this explanation are taken from her website, http://medievalwriting.50megs.com. 125 International Phonetic Alphabet
35 The Life of Saint Mary Magdalene is the only text in MS Egerton 2810 of which a part
has been lost. The last ten verses of the story are missing. Like most of the legends in this
manuscript the lines are all written in lines of seven feet, and in couplet rhyme (aabb).
There are only a few occasions in the text where the couplets do not completely rhyme:
ll.19-20, mund-kunde; ll.33-34, queynte-poynte; 17-118, aliue-wif. The scribe has a fairly
constant hand, as there are not many mistakes in the text. However, he is less consistent
when it comes to spelling. There are many occasions where the same words have been
written in different ways. In Middle English spelling there are occasions where one sound
is represented by different characters. The letters i and j both represent identical vowel
sounds,126 and the letters u and v can both represent a vowel and a consonant.127 Both i/j
and u/v have been used inconsistently by the scribes.
4.4 Editorial Practice
The text has been adapted in such a way that it is easier to read for a contemporary audience. Thus, an elementary modern punctuation and capitalisation have been added. The manuscript shows no uniformity in the spacing between words, yet in this edition word division has been standardized according to modern practice. The letters thorn (þ) and yogh
(3) have been maintained, because they can be identified easily and therefore it is unlikely that they will cause difficulties. The use of i/j and u/v has also been maintained, as it is doubtful whether they will impede the reader’s recognition of a word. Abbreviations in the manuscript have been silently expanded to their full forms. Words that have been omitted, as well as illegible words, have been supplied with the help of Charlotte D’Evelyn and Anna J.
Mill’s edition of The South English Legendary. Inconsistencies in the spellings of the same
126 Bella Millet, “Notes on Translating Middle English” (2004). 127 Bella Millet, “Notes on Translating Middle English” (2004).
36 words have been maintained. D’Evelyn and Mill’s work and Hans Kurath and Sherman M.
Kuhn’s Middle English Dictionary were used to provide a glossary.
Chapter 5: St. Marie Maudeleyne, ll. 1-250, edition from MS. Egerton 2810. ff. 83b-87
1 Seynte Marie Maudeleyne, · þat God for3af hire synne, forgave 2 Laser hire broþer and Martha · come of kunges kynne. were of royal descent 3 Maudeleyn 3eo was yclupid, · þis holi womman Marie, she, called 4 Vor 3e was of þe castel of Magdayle, beside Betanie, she, town, Magdala, Bethany 5 Beside þe bor3 of Ierusalem. · Hire modir het Eukarie; city, was named 6 Sirus was hire uadir yhote, · loþ is me to lye. was named, loathe 7 ¶ In þe castel of Magdail · þis childrin þre were ybore; these 8 As hore heritage alle þre · þe castel byhelde þeruore. their, castle 9 Þis Marie Maudeleyn · fair womman was wiþ alle, indeed 10 Þeruore in sune of lecherie · þe watlokere 3e gan falle. sin, more quickly 11 ¶ Iwrite it is þat 3e was · yweddid Jonh þe Ewangelist, written, married to 12 Ac at þe bygunninge of þe brudale · oure Lord com, Ihesu Crist, wedding ceremony, came 13 And clepede Seint John, and ladde hym forþ, · vor he was clene maide. called, led, chaste 14 Ac mide Marie Maudeleyn oure Louerd was yuel ypaid, but with, displeased 15 Vor hire He bynom hire spouse, · sori 3e was, and wroþ. took away, sad, extremely angry
37 16 3e was fayr and iolif eke. · Þeruore 3e swor hire oþ: joyous, oath 17 Wan hire spouse hire was bynom, · worse 3e wolde on take. 18 Of folye 3e wolde habbe eno3, · and nanne ma forsake. enough 19 ¶ 3e werþ woman of þe meste folie · þat may come in mund; became, world 20 3e ne forsok nogt þe meste wreche · þat so hei so 3e was of kunde. reject, high, nature 21 So moche fol 3e was of hire sulf, · þat wondir hit was wiþ alle, 22 Þat þe erþe mi3te hire bere and þat 3e nadde into helle yualle. earth, carry, didn’t fall into hell 23 Þe sune alone of lecherie · 3e nadde no3t ydo, never 24 Ac of alle þe seue heuid synnes · 3eo was fol also. apart from, Seven Deadly Sins, foolish 25 ¶ Hire synnyn were so wide couþ, · and þat so grete fame, widely known, notorious 26 Þat me clupyde hire þe sunvol ouer al, · and nanne oþer name. called, the sinner, everywhere 27 Sunful 3eo was wide yclupid, · þat men hadde ney for3ite nearly forgotten 28 Hire oþer name, wat 3eo het · as hit is of hire ywrite. 29 ¶ So ioyful 3eo was of hire folie · þat 3eo ne wilnede no part þo delightful, wished, part, then 30 Of hire heritage, no hire broþer Laser naþe mo, 31 Vor he was eke riche kni3t yno3. · Þeruore boþe ytoke granted 32 Hor soster Martha þe heritage, · and nolde þer to loke. 33 ¶ Martha was wel 3ep, wiþ alle, wis and swiþe queynte. shrewd, very, ingenious 34 Þervore 3eo hadde gode yno3. · And riche was in eche poynte goods 35 ¶ Þis Marie Maudeleyn, · þat þus sunful was. f. 84a 36 In Symoundis house þe leprous to oure Louerd com, by cas, Simon the Leper’s, by chance 37 And wossch is fet wiþ hire teres · and wipide 3am wiþ hire her lacrime washed, feet, tears, wiped, them,hair 38 Vor hire synnes 3eo bad, so · þat oure Louerd vor3af 3am þer, prayed, forgave 39 And caste out of hire seue deuelyn, · as hit ywrite is. seven devils 40 Þat were þe seue heuid synnen · þat He hire by nom ywis. 41 ¶ So repentant 3eo was of hire sunnys as oure Louerd 3af hire þe grace, when 42 Þat Hy were clanliche vor3iue · ar 3eo 3eode out of þe place. purely, before, went 43 Al hire herte · and hire loue 3eo dude to oure Louerdis lore; dedicated, learning 44 Neuere creature ich wene ne louede oure Lord more. never, suppose
38 45 ¶ Anon so oure Louerd was ywend · vp to heuene an hey, as soon as, gone, high 46 Þis Marie so sori was · þat 3e Hym namore ne sey, saw 47 Vor grete loue þat 3eo hadde to Hym, · þat 3eo ne þo3te man yse. intended, see 48 Neuere eft so sone so 3eo mi3te · wiþ manssupe one be, never again, could, honour, only 49 Þerevore hire broþer and hire soster, · as 3eo made atte laste, 50 Alle þre sold hore gold al · and to þe apostlis fet hit caste. 51 ¶ And sede hij wolde al þen wordle al clanliche forsake, they, world 52 And in wildernesse, ech in is syde, · to Ihesu hore herte take. each on his own 53 And naþeles þor3 þe apostlis red · wiþ hym longe hij were, none the less 54 And prechede vorþ wiþ hem oþer men to lere. · preached 55 ¶ After þat God to heuene wende, · in þe fourteþe 3ere, heaven, fortieth, year 56 And Seynte Steuene ymartrid was, · and men þat holy were. Steven 57 And Seynte Poul yturnde to Cristindom, · and prechede aboute vaste. Paul, converted, firmly 58 Þe Giwes wiþ þe Apostlis wroþe were, · þat in gret wraþþe out hem caste Jews, the Apostles, so that, angry 59 Of þe londe of Gude. · Þat hij ne moste amonge þem be, Judea, allowed 60 Þe Apostlis ech in is side, · to oþer londis gonne fle. countries, fled 61 Marie Magdeleyn and hire broþer · and hire suster also, 62 And of godis disciplis many ek, · in a ssip were ydo. also, done 63 And wende hom vorþ in þe se, · wiþoute mariner, went, sea 64 Hem ne ro3te weþir oure Lord · sende hem ver þe ner. they didn’t care, far or near 65 Þe water hem drof up and doun · aboute many a mile, 66 So þat hy come, as God hit wolde, · to þe londe of Marcile. Marseilles 67 ¶ Þer hy 3eode vp and doun, · and ne mi3te non in wynne, went, shelter, obtain 68 A vorlete hous wyþoute þe toun · hy founde, and leye þerinne. abandoned, outside 69 Þerinne hy wonede in meseise: · in hongur and oþer wo. lived, misery, woes 70 To wite manere of þe lond · among men hy wolde go, understand, customs 71 So þat hy yseie a day þat folk · to hore sacrefise gon. saw 72 Marye was hardiost; · a3en hom 3e wende anon. boldest, towards 73 ¶ Began to speke a3en hore lawe · so faire resoun and god against, reason, good 74 Þat non ne couþe 3ive hure answere, · ac as gyde ech man stod. could, giddy 75 Gret wondir þo3te ech man · of so vayr creature, f. 84b thought 76 So wisliche speke and so wel, · euerich man to hure. every, hear
39 77 ¶ So þat þe kinge of þe lond com, · and þe quene also, Rex 78 A day to hore Maumes þere hore · sacrefise to do, their, false Gods 79 3if hy hem wolde sende eny child. · Vor togadre hy were longe, together 80 And no child ne mi3te neuere · betwyne hem ne auonge. receive 81 Marie ysei hem þat hy hadde hore sacrefise ybro3t. saw 82 3eo prechede and sede hom to soþe: · þat hit ne halp hom ri3t no3t, truth, helped, not at all 83 And þat hore maumes power nadde no child hym to sende. not had 84 So þat hy bileuede hore sacrefise · and wende hom attenende. left, at last 85 And in grete care bileuede attom, · as hy er hadde longe, stayed, before 86 Vor hy no child ne non eir · betwyne hem ne mi3te auonge. 87 ¶ As þis quene slepe a ni3t, · marie to hire wende, 88 Seye, 3eo sede: hou take 3e on, · wiþ god þat God ow sende? how do you deal with the possessions 89 Wan 3e habbiþ so moche god, · þat 3e nute ware hit do, know not what to do with it 90 And we deyeþ for chele ney · and for vngir also. die, cold, almost, hunger 91 Bote þou make þine hosbonde þat 3e vs helpe þere, unless 92 Mi lord hym wole such drench 3iue, · þat he ne vor3it hit to 3ere. drink, two years 93 ¶ Þo þe quene awok of slepe, · 3e made wel dreri chere, when, sad face 94 Telle 3e wolde hire louird fore, · ac 3e ne dorste, for fere. but, dared 95 Þe oþer ni3t 3eo com also, · and þretind 3ut wel more, again, menaced, yet 96 Ne durfte þis leuedi hire louerd telle, · and lay and si3te sore. dared, lady, sighed, grievously 97 Þe þridde ni3t 3eo to hire com, · and to hire louird also, third 98 Bernynde, as al þat hous · a fure were ydo. burning, as if the house were on fire 99 ¶ Wat deste 3e sede, þou deuelis lyme · tyrant, þou foule wi3t? devil’s companion, foul, creature 100 By þe naddre þi wif þou list, · and list al longe ni3t! the adder your wife, lie 101 And lest vs suffri wo and chele! · And for hungir 3ut more! 102 And deye almest vor meseise! · Þou hit ssalt acorie sore! discomfort, sufferfor it 103 ¶ Þo þis kinge awok of slepe, and is leuedi also. 104 Þe leuedi esste war he hurde · þe noyse þat com hire to. asked, whether 105 Ich hit hurde, quaþ þe prince, · and þerof sore ich drede, said, fear
40 106 Al þis þre ni3t · hit com to me! · And also þe leuedi sede, three nights 107 Bettre hit is þat we to him loke · and sum god to hym to lede, look after them, goods, take 108 Þan com in hire Louerdis wraþþe, · for þat y nele no3t rede. anger, I don’t want to advise 109 ¶ A morwe þis prince and is wif · to þis holi men wende, in the morning 110 And largeliche mete and drinke · and cloþinge hom sende. generously, food 111 Marie Maudeleyn was boldist of echon, boldest of all 112 3e prechide is prince and is wif · of godis lawe anon. 113 ¶ Þo 3e hadde moche ytold · of þe ioie of heuene blis, when 114 Womman, quaþ þe prince, þo · mi3te waranti al þis? guarantee 115 ¶ Ich hit wole waranti, quaþ Marie, and moche more ywis, f. 85a 116 Þor3 Petiris lore oure maister · þat Pope of Rome is. through Peter’s in- struction, master 117 ¶ We wolliþ do þine lore, quaþ þe prince, · þe wile we buþ aliue, all the time, are 118 3if þou mi3t vs winne a child · betwyne me and my wif. gain 119 ¶ Nou non, quaþ þis Marie, · ne darte bote be stille, you just need to be quiet 120 Ichille þor3 Peteris lore · my maister do þine wille. I shall 121 Marie bad vor hem to oure Louerd, · ac vor þan no3t it nas, prayed, not for nothing 122 Vor oure Louird yhurde hore bone · þat þe quene wiþ child was. prayer 123 ¶ Anon so þe kinge þat soþe wuste · to Marie he wende, Regina knew that truth 124 And þonkede hire of þat oure Louird · þor3 hire bone hem sende. thanked, for what, through, prayer
125 Ne þonkiþ no3t me, quaþ Marie, noþinge of þis dede, 126 Ac þonkiþ Petir my maister, · vor ich do al by is rede. council 127 ¶ Certis sire, quaþ þe prence þo, · y ne worþ neuere vawe, certainly, glad 128 Ar ich habbe at Peter ybe · to lerin of oure lawe. before, been 129 To is wif he wende anon. · Dame ichulle, he sede, I shall 130 In alle manir to Petir wende, · vor he ssal me bet rede. way, better 131 ¶ Certis sire, quaþ þis wif, · þou ne ssalt no3t fram me wende, 132 Þat ynelle wile vot wiþ vot · sende wat God me sende. I will not, step by step 133 Dame, quaþ þis oþer, þou spekist folie! · Þi red is wel wilde, plan 134 Þou mi3tist adrenche þe in þe se · noste þou ert mid childe! drown, don’t you know 135 Þis gode wif vel to oure louerdis fet,· wepinde wel sore, fell, crying
41 136 Ichille, 3eo sede, wiþ þe wende, · þei y ne come a3en namore! even if 137 ¶ Þo þe prince yse3 þat is wif, · fram hym nolde bileue. saw, did not want to leave his side 138 To Marie hy wende boþe, · þat 3eo hem god red 3iue. advice 139 Hy toke hire to wardi al hore god, · vorte hy a3en come, guard, goods, until 140 Þat 3eo dude þer wiþ · wat 3e wolde, · and gode neme þer to nome. take good care of it 141 Marie sette a uaire croi3 · byhinde hore ssuldrin beye, placed, fair, cross shoulders, both 142 Þat þe deuil nadde no power · to greuy hem by þe weie. trouble, on their way 143 ¶ Vorþ hym wende þis gode prence, · and is wif also, 144 Anon so hy come to þe se. · In ssipe hy let hem do, ship 145 And þo hy come ver in þe se · gret tempest þer com, when, far, fierce storm 146 Þat hy dradde vor to adrenche. · Gret del ech to hym ynom. feared, drown, distress, took 147 ¶ Þis gode wif was so sore adrad, · þat for angwise and for fere, terribly frightened, extreme suffering 148 Child 3e hadde in þe se, · wel ar hir tyme were. Infans before 149 Vor defaute of womman help · þat none ney hire nere, lack, near 150 Mid gret angwise and drede · 3e deide ri3te þere. died 151 ¶ Alas þe gret deol and sore þat hire louerd made þeruore! grief 152 Louerd, he sede, nou ich habbe my wordlis blisse vorlore. lost 153 Wat ssolde 3eo, Louerd, here ded? · Ynot ware hire burie, I don’t know where to bury her 154 3uf 3e were atom to luþer wo3! · Me þinkeþ it were murie! bad luck, pleasant 155 ¶ Þat child, vor defaute of souke · lay, and wep wel sore. f. 85b mother’s milk, wept 156 Þat brak almest þe vadir herte, · alas noþinge more. 157 Louerd, he sede, wi wilnid ich · child habbe be my wif, why did I want 158 Wan ic habbe ylore wif and child, · alas of mi lif! lost 159 Þe mariners wolde þis womman · into þe se caste, cast into the sea 160 (Vor þe se nele bere no ded þinge) · leste hy adreinte at laste. will not carry anything dead, lest they would drown, in the end 161 ¶ Þo gan þe man pitousliche merci crie, and grede, cried out 162 Ne bringeþ me in namore wo, · for þe loue of God! he sede. 163 Ne ssaltou no3t, quaþ þe mariners, · on vs so crie and grone, groan 164 Þat 3eo ne ssal raþir go in þe se, · þan we a drenche echone! rather, each of us
42 165 A merci! quaþ þis godeman, · par auenture 3eo is yswowe! perhaps, swooned 166 Abidiþ vorte 3e yse þat soþe · me sechiþ such cas ynowe! abide, until, I see, cases, enough 167 ¶ Þe ssipmen nome to caste hire in, · and nolde no lenge abide, began 168 Þis gode man 3al and ysei · a grete roche beside. yelled 169 Habbiþ reuþe, he sede, of my wreche lif · and leggeþ hire 3ond aboue, pity, miserable, yonder 170 Þat vissches hire todrowe no3t, · ich bidde hire uor Godis loue! so that the fish won’t pull her apart, beg, for her 171 He cride on þis ssupmen 3erne, · and gret mede 3af ham also, reward, gave, them 172 Ar hy wolde þis dede caroyne vp þis roche do. body 173 ¶ Þo was þe roch aboue brod, · and wiþinne a gret slidde. broad, level space 174 Þis sely man nam is wif · and leide hire an al amidde, humble, to the very middle 175 Þe child wep vor defaute of souke, · and neuere nolde bileue. stay 176 He leide hit to þe modir breste, · and mid a mantel he gan het weue. cover 177 ¶ Mari Maudeleyn, he sede, · wi 3iue þou me such red? advice 178 Þou seidist mi wif ssolde habbe ssild and no3t þeruore be ded! 179 Þou bihete me boþe wif and child, · and neuer noþer nabbe nou, promised, neither 180 Vor wan þe modir liþ and roteþ, · of þe child is lite prou! lies, decays, profit 181 ¶ Þi God of wam þou me toldist, · ich biteche hire and þe! entrust 182 Boþe þe modir and þat child · that 3e habbe reu3e of me! pity 183 And merci of þe modir soule 3if hit mi3te so be, 184 Þer 3e þat child aliue wiste þat ich hit mi3te eft yse! knew, often 185 ¶ He custe ofte wif and child, · and biclupte and loude cride. embraced 186 Deolfulliche he wende vorþ, · þe ssipmen nolde abide. grievously 187 He wende toward Seint Peter, · as Marie hym sende 188 He com and mette hym in þe wei as he to hym wende. met him on the way 189 Seinte Peter sei þe croi3 in is ssuldir as hy stode. saw 190 He esste hym sone wat he were, · vor he þo3te of gode. asked 191 ¶ Þis godeman hym tolde al þat cas, · fram ginninge to þan ende: all that had happened 192 Hou Marie Maudeleyn him made to hym wende, 193 And hou he hopede habbe a child. · And hou hit was ybore, 194 And hou he hadde in oure Louerdis wey modir and child forlore. 195 ¶ 3eo godeman, quaþ Seint Petir, wel þou hast ido, f. 86a 196 Iherede be God þat þe 3af such wit, · and þat þe hidir sende also. praised, reason
43 197 Þei þou be in a litte sore, ne care þei of noþinge, (period of) grief 198 Vor my Lord haþ wel þe mi3te þerof sone þe bringe. power, out of it 199 ¶ So þat he confortide hym wel þat God was god and hende, comforted, kind 200 And þat he wolde in grete nede watlokest bote sende. soonest, help 201 He te3te hym þe lawe of Crestindom · and ladde hym aboute is yuere, taught, as his companion 202 To eche stude þat God was on · þe wile he was on erþe here. all places 203 ¶ To þe bourwe of Ierusalem, and to caluarie also, borough, Calvary 204 Þere as oure Louird Iesus Crist · to þe deþe was ydo. where, death 205 And þere · as he prechede ek, · and to heuene gan eke stie, ascended also 206 And þer as he hij bore was · of is modir Marie. 207 ¶ Two 3er he held hym · wiþ hym þere, · to teche hym ari3t þe lawe. years, rightly 208 Þe þridde 3er he nam is leue · and gan a3enward hym drawe. bade his farewell, turned back 209 Euere he bad vor is wiuis soule, · and vor is 3onge child also, 210 And þat he moste come to þulke stede þat hy were on ydo. place on which they were put 211 ¶ So he spak wiþ þe mariners · þat hy hym ladde þer ne3. would lead, near 212 He byheld upward toward þe roche. · A 3onge child he yse3, young 213 Sitte and pleye wiþ smale stones · vp þe roche an hey. playing 214 Wiþ grete ioye þis godeman · after þis child stey, climbed 215 ¶ Þo þat child ysei hym come. · He atorn vor fere, when, ran away 216 Vor he nadde neuere man · ysei: · he nuste wat men were! knew not 217 He sturte to þe modir breste · and byclupte hire wel vaste, moved quickly, embraced 218 And wiþ þe mantel helede hym, · þat is vadir vp hym caste. hid 219 ¶ Þis godeman sturte to anon, · and is 3onge sone he dro3 hurried, his, son, drew 220 Fram þe modir bresten as he sek, · wiþ ioye and blysse ynog. sucked 221 He custe hym, · and bar hym vp and doun · mid wel ioiful chere! 222 Þe modir he clupte and custe vaste, · al ded as þei he were! although she was dead 223 ¶ Marie, he sede, Maugdeleyn, ich bidde milce and ore mercy, grace 224 Vair miracle þou hast ydo, · nas neuere yseye more! 225 Þou hast my child moderles · þus 3are vorþ ybro3t, ready 226 In þis wilde stede ver in þe se · þat hit nis ypersid no3t! barren place, perished 227 ¶ Wan þou me hast in gret gladnesse · of hym one ydo, only
44 228 Glade me 3if hit is þi wille, · of þe modir also. 229 Þat þis child ne be no3t vorlore · þat þou hast yued so longe, nurtured 230 And þat mi wif vorþ wiþ hym, · gladnesse ich mote auonge! may be allowed to receive 231 ¶ Þo breþede his wif a lute, · and suþþe 3eo gan to loke. breathed, a little, after that 232 3eo sat vp and lokede aboute, · as 3e of slepe awoke! 233 ¶ Marie, 3eo sede, Maugdeleyn, · myn owe wif þou hast ybe, 234 And in moche trauail me ysauid, · as me may here yse! pains of childbirth, kept safe, one 235 Wide þou hast mid me ygo, · wel raþe þou come me to, f. 86b soon 236 Suþþe þou hast wel nesse iued me · and my child also! gently, fed 237 ¶ Leue spouse, quaþ þis man, · ssal ich þe aliue yse? 238 3e certis, quaþ þis gode wif, · wiþ þe ic habbe ybe, have been 239 Fram pelgrinage fram Seint Petir · ich com nou verst wiþ þe. just now 240 And Marie ek Maugdeleyn · þat 3ede nou here fram me. went 241 Vor þo ich was in trauail of child, · wel sone 3eo to me com, 242 And halpe þerof as a woman ssolde and forþ wiþ hire me nom. helped, along 243 And ladde me to Seint Petir, · vor boþe we were þere, led 244 And hurde is prechinge · and suede ou in ech stede þat 3e were. followed 245 ¶ 3eo rekened hire Louerd ech stude · þat Seint Petir and he enumerated (to) 246 Hadde yso3t and woche tyme, · in ech stede þat hy hadde ybe. visited, (at) which 247 And al þat hy hadde ytolde togadre · and in woche stede and wanne, spoken, together, when 248 3eo mi3te wel wan 3eo hurde it al, · and was wiþ hym þanne. 249 ¶ We habbiþ ybe, quaþ þis godeman, · to longe in folie. 250 Ihered be Iesus þat vs sende · þis godewoman Marie! praised
45 Explanatory Notes
2. kunges kynne Although little historical information is known about Mary Magdalene, some people believe she was of royal descent through the Jewish House of Benjamin.
4. castel In Middle English Legends of Women Saints, Sherry Reames explains that “Latin versions of this [Early South English Legendary Life of Mary Magdalen] legend use the noun castellum, in this context probably meaning ‘town’ or ‘village’” (80).
4. Magdayle Magdala was located near Tiberias, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Mary Magdalene is believed to be born in Magdala.
4. Betanie Bethany is mentioned in the Gospels as the home of Mary Magdalene and her brother and sister. It is located near Jerusalem.
6. “Sirus was hire uadir yhote” In general, Sirus is seen as Mary Magdalene’s father. However, some medieval sources speak of ‘Titus’.
46 8. castel Mary Magdalene’s castle was called Magdalon.
12-13 “Ac at þe bygunninge of... And clepede Seint John” These lines refer to the wedding of Cana in Galilee, where Jesus performs his first miracle, the turning of water into wine.
26. “Þat me clupyde hire þe sunvol ouer al, · and nanne oþer name” Mary Magdalene’s misdeeds were so notorious that all over the country people had forgotten her actual name. Instead, people simply knew her as ‘the sinner’.
35-36. “Þis Marie Maudeleyn, · þat þus... leprous to oure Louerd com” Simon the Leper’s house was in Bethany, according to Matthew 26:6. This seems strange, since in Leviticus 13:45-46 (OT) it is said that lepers were not allowed to come into a city.
57. “And Seynte Poul yturnde to Cristindom” Originally, Saint Paul was Jewish and called ‘Saul’. He was an enemy of the Christian church who prosecuted the followers of Jesus Christ. On his way to Damascus to hunt them down, he heard a voice that he interpreted to be the voice of Jesus, after which Saul converted to Christianity and adopted the name ‘Paul’. Paul followed the example of the Twelve Apostles and travelled around the world to preach God’s law. Because of this, he became known as ‘The Apostle’.
78. maumes Marseilles was a pagan city. Thus, the false Gods meant here are the pagan gods.
121. “ac vor þan no3t it nas”
The exact meaning of this phrase is not really clear. Its context indicates that it probably means ‘but it was not for nothing’ or something like it.
141. “Marie sette a uaire croi3 · by hinde hore ssuldrin beye”
47 Before pelgrims embarked on their journey to the Holy Land they were marked with a cross, because Christians believe that a cross protects from evil. In other accounts of the legend of Mary Magdalene it is Saint Peter who places a cross on the prince’s shoulder.
161. “Vor þe se nele bere no ded þinge, · leste hy adreinte at laste” There is an ancient superstition that says that the sea refuses to carry dead bodies. According to Reames, “the point seems to be that since the sea will cast ashore a dead body, a corpse must be cast out of a ship lest the ship itself be cast ashore as well” (70).
203. Caluarie Calvary is the Sacred Hill outside Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified. The place is mentioned in all four of the Gospels: Matthew 27:33, Mark 15:22, Luke 23:33, and John 19:17 (KJV). In the Gospels Calvary is called Golgotha (‘skull’), with the exception of Luke’s Gospel. Here it is called “the place of Skull”.
48 Textual Notes
2. broþer: A word has been erased in the MS. D’Evelyn and Mill’s edition of The SouthEnglish Legendary has suster. The scribe most likely wrote down soster here, but then realised that the manuscript he was copying had a mistake in it, for Lazarus was Mary Magdalene’s brother. He probably intended to correct the mistake, but after erasing the original word he forgot to replace it with broþer.
38. vor3af: MS vor3am
59. ne: Not in the MS, but the context demands the insertion of a negative.
64. hem: The first letter has been erased in the MS.
74. 3ive hure: MS 3ure
90. ney: The scribe has mistakingly added another symbol after the y, which looks like a combination of a y and a .
99. wi3t: The scribe has partly erased this word.
103. kinge: Not in the MS, but there is no subject in the sentence.
148. Infans: MS, but probably mistake for Infant.
164. raþir [go] in: There is a blot of ink in the MS between raþir and in. Both words are only partly visible. The word go has been inserted because there is no verb of motion in the sentence.
169. lif: MS lf
49 171. 3af: MS 3am
176. het: MS hen
178. no3t: The letter 3 is only partly visible in the MS.
188. mette: MS mecte
211. mariners: The letter s is only partly visible in the MS.
Bibliography
Manuscript “St Marie Maudeleyne.” London, British Library. MS Egerton 2810, ff. 83b-87.
Secondary Sources Biema, David van. Mary Magdalene Saint or Sinner?A new wave of literature is cleaning up her reputation. How a woman of substance was ‘harlotized’. In Time (11 Augustus 2003), Vol. 162. no. 6, pp. 52-59. < http://www.danbrown.com/media/morenews/time.html>. D’Evelyn, Charlotte and Anna J Mill. The South English Legendary. Vol. I. London: Oxford University Press, 1959. Fisiak, Jacek. A Short Grammar of Middle English. London, Oxford University Press, 1968. Garth, Helen Meredith. Saint Mary Magdalene in Mediaeval Literature. Johns Hopkins University studies in historical and political science ; ser. 67, nr. 3. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1950. Görlach, Manfred. Studies in Middle English Saints’ Legends. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag C. Winter, 1998. Görlach, Manfred. The Textual Tradition of the South English Legendary. Leeds Texts and Monographs n.s. 6. Leeds: University of Leeds, School of English, 1974. Kelly, Kathleen Coyne. “Medieval Book Hands.” 12 March 2005.
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