The Making of the Magdalen: Preaching and Popular Devotion in the Later Middle Ages.

by Katherine Ludwig Jansen

Best known during the Middle Ages as the prostitute who became a faithful follower of Christ, Mary Magdalen was the most beloved female saint after the Virgin Mary. Why the Magdalen became so popular, what meanings she conveyed, and how her story evolved over the centuries are the focus of this compelling exploration of late medieval religious culture. Analyzing previously unpublished sermons, Katherine Jansen uses the lens of medieval preaching to examine the mendicant friars' transformation of Mary Magdalen, a shadowy gospel figure, into an emblem of action and contemplation, a symbol of vanity and lust, a model of perfect penance, and the embodiment of hope and salvation. She draws on diverse historical sources to reveal the laity's devotion to Mary Magdalen, which departed significantly from the friars' image of the saint, signaling a major development in popular religious practice and personal piety. Finally, the author comprehensively addresses the question of the House of Anjou's alliance with the Magdalen, and illuminates the relationship between politics and sanctity in southern France and Italy.

Jansen shows how perceptions of the Magdalen merged with errors and misunderstandings to shape the social, spiritual, and political agendas of the later Middle Ages. She brings to life the rich complexity of medieval culture, which condemned female sexuality and women's preaching and yet popularized the veneration of Mary Magdalen as a former prostitute chosen by Christ to be the "apostle of the apostles," the first to witness and preach the Good News of the Resurrection.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Medieval

408 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2000

Reviews

[Cali · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Why do you love her more than all of us?”

#1 mary magdalen stan on GOD

[Stellar Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please read this book instead of The Da Vinci Code.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably the best text I have found covering most points of the Cult of Mary Magdalen and how she was utilized by the church.

[Denise Kettering · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent in-depth look on the way that the character of Mary Magdalen develops in the Middle Ages in clerical circles, by preachers, and and also within popular piety. The writing is well-organized and full of compelling examples that illustrate the various ways that Mary Magdalen came to be portrayed by Christians in the late Middle ages. She shows how the figure of Mary Magdalen became a foil for the active Christian life, the contemplative life, for those who were in sin and those who had lost their virginity, but hoped to regain it. There is a complicated picture of the many ways and permutations that Mary is taken through as different individuals and groups attempted to make sense of her as a character and used her to illustrate different aspects of the Christian life. Highly recommend to anyone interested in the figure of Mary Magdalen or in medieval history.

[Kate Crump]

THANK YOU KATHERINE JANSEN! This book is AMAZING! 10/5 stars if I could. I would encourage anyone to read this book, especially those who have had a relationship with or interest in Mary Mags at any point. I will be reading this book again- it reintroduced me to Mary Mags and really helped me understand her so much better.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read in that it details how the Church used the legend of Mary Magdalen and subsequently helped create the "cult" of the Magdalen. It helps explain how women perceived Mary Magdalen and how the Church turned her into a symbol of redemption. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in Mary Magdalene.