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The Magdalene in the Reformation
Prostitute, apostle, evangelist―the conversion of Mary Magdalene from sinner to saint is one of the Christian tradition’s most compelling stories, and one of the most controversial. The identity of the woman―or, more likely, women―represented by this iconic figure has been the subject of dispute since the Church’s earliest days. Much less appreciated is the critical role the Magdalene played in remaking modern Christianity.
In a vivid recreation of the Catholic and Protestant cultures that emerged in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, The Magdalene in the Reformation reveals that the Magdalene inspired a devoted following among those eager to find new ways to relate to God and the Church. In popular piety, liturgy, and preaching, as well as in education and the arts, the Magdalene tradition provided both Catholics and Protestants with the flexibility to address the growing need for reform. Margaret Arnold shows that as the medieval separation between clergy and laity weakened, the Magdalene represented a new kind of discipleship for men and women and offered alternative paths for practicing a Christian life.
Where many have seen two separate religious groups with conflicting preoccupations, Arnold sees Christians who were often engaged in a common dialogue about vocation, framed by the life of Mary Magdalene. Arnold disproves the idea that Protestants removed saints from their theology and teaching under reform. Rather, devotion to Mary Magdalene laid the foundation within Protestantism for the public ministry of women.
In a vivid recreation of the Catholic and Protestant cultures that emerged in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, The Magdalene in the Reformation reveals that the Magdalene inspired a devoted following among those eager to find new ways to relate to God and the Church. In popular piety, liturgy, and preaching, as well as in education and the arts, the Magdalene tradition provided both Catholics and Protestants with the flexibility to address the growing need for reform. Margaret Arnold shows that as the medieval separation between clergy and laity weakened, the Magdalene represented a new kind of discipleship for men and women and offered alternative paths for practicing a Christian life.
Where many have seen two separate religious groups with conflicting preoccupations, Arnold sees Christians who were often engaged in a common dialogue about vocation, framed by the life of Mary Magdalene. Arnold disproves the idea that Protestants removed saints from their theology and teaching under reform. Rather, devotion to Mary Magdalene laid the foundation within Protestantism for the public ministry of women.
- GenresReligionNonfiction
312 pages, Hardcover
Published October 8, 2018
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October 29, 2019
Mary Magdalene’s legacy is a contested one between the clergy, laity and the common public. She has been accorded the status of a saint by the church. Her cult continues to motivate nuns of the Catholic Church and fires up the imagination of the lay followers as evidenced by the immensely successful thriller The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown whose central theme revolves around a chase for the Holy Grail with strong links to the Magdalene. The New Testament states that the resurrected Christ made his first appearance to her and instructed to carry the good news to his own apostles. In this sense, she is called Apostola Apostolarum (Apostle of the Apostles). After the resurrection, she was believed to have crossed the sea over to France and carried out evangelisation there. In the time of the Reformation in which the Western Church was split into two, the Lutherans opposed the moral degradation in the church and the apotheosis of the saints. However, the members of each of the faith traditions that emerged from the age of reform considered Mary Magdalene an ideal for women and for people of faith in general. This book describes the impact of Mary Magdalene in the turbulent times of Reformation and how her legacy contributed to the development of women's emancipation. Margaret Arnold is associate rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Medford, Massachusetts. She received her PhD in religious and theological studies from Boston University.
Arnold follows development of the life and message of the Magdalene in some detail. She appears in all four gospels. She was a Galilean follower of Jesus whom he had healed of seven demons and who thereafter supported his ministry. She was present at the Crucifixion and was the first witness of his rising from the dead. In addition to the above, her role was made coincident with Mary of Bethany who anointed Christ with costly unguent and the sexual sinner who repented before Christ. The Magdalene cult had developed a rich legend over the course of 1500 years of the Christian tradition even though clearly descriptive material about her is lacking in the New Testament. Mediaeval theologians’ focus was on her conversion from sexual sin to a piety of extreme penitence and devotion to the sacraments.
Recognition of Mary Magdalene’s later life provided and impetus to Christian tradition of Europe. Papal recognition of Vezelay Abbey in Burgundy as the site of her relics dates from 1050 CE. By 1279, the shrine of Mary Magdalene at Saint-Baume was elevated to this status and Vezelay declined. In this sense, the saint commanded a larger devotion from believers than warranted by her clout in the biblical narratives. She was made the patroness of convents and homes for reformed prostitutes, beginning in the twelfth century. The Magdalene was supposed to have converted the pagans in France, but there was a touch of paganism that came to be associated with her legend. Moreover, the saint was a relatively accessible figure for common women in contrast to Virgin Mary who enjoyed a quasi-divine status in Catholic theology with such lofty ideas such as Immaculate Conception and Assumption associated with her.
This book is not a primary reference on Reformation. It just assumes that it took place and does not pose to elucidate the major points of contention between it and Catholicism. The differences are then explained in the perspective of factors related to the Magdalene. The principal aim of Reformation theologians was the re-interpretation of biblical texts to express the evangelical gospel – the message of salvation by faith alone. This attack on the importance of clergy in the papal system opened up a chasm between the two beliefs that could never be reconciled. Luther advanced a theology of the priesthood of all believers. Choice of Mary Magdalene as the first preacher of the resurrection served Luther’s aim of promoting active evangelism by the laity. Luther’s frequent comparison of the Magdalene to Peter in his sermons reassured his followers that they are equal recipients of grace. It also served the purpose of undermining the traditional primacy of Peter among the saints and provided a subtle attack on papal authority.
Arnold fails to utilise the chance of tracing out the birth of women empowerment in the civilized world. She has identified some rudiments of the early movements, but leaves it in a half-baked way without drawing definite conclusions or inferences. A fillip to women's education was provided by the stress given by Reformation leaders on the use of local languages for liturgical purposes in place of the monopoly of Latin. The sixteenth century marked an increase in women's access to the Bible, newly available in vernacular translation and in comparatively affordable print editions that made their way into homes and schools. Even though the physical constraints had eased somewhat, the mental restrictions imposed by the traditionally male-dominated society that quoted a few verses of the New Testament to buttress their argument, remained in place. Saint Paul declared in his epistle to the Corinthians that “women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak. If they want to enquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church (1 Cor 14:34-35). Women had been forbidden to read the scriptures aloud in male hearing, an offense for which some had been arrested. Early scholars of the Reformation didn't relent much. Luther concluded that women may speak only where there is no man in authority over them, that is, unmarried women in their own homes!
True reformation trumps over what is said and done till that point in its fight for an idea whose time had arrived. The book presents the thread of women empowerment passing through many movements and schools of thought. Apart from Luther and Calvin, later scholars laid a foundation in Protestantism for the public ministry of women, based on Mary Magdalene’s preaching of the good news of Christ’s resurrection to the apostles themselves. The next generation saw lessening anxiety in society on women's preaching and greater appreciation for the role of women in defending reform, as it came under increasing attack. This provided a spur to early modern Catholic women, both lay and religious, to take up the subject of the Magdalene, writing about her life and expressing their devotion in prayer, music and visual art. The book contains some interesting portrayals of the saint produced in this period. However, aristocratic women’s loyalty was not clear cut. They were less politically fraught than those of their male counterparts, except in the case of monarchs like Mary I or Elizabeth I. Evangelical societies involving women teaching and preaching helped make new vocations for women acceptable to their society. Arnold lists out the dramatic productions and musical compositions of this genre. Women sometimes actually performed as the saint herself, speaking their own words with her authority.
This book is a product of extensive and fine research of literary material produced in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The author skilfully explores the text of medieval compositions, especially by female authors and its reception and influence in their immediate Catholic and Protestant contexts. The text is slightly thick for the taste of ordinary readers. The conclusion included at the end of the text neatly summarises all arguments and points made in the main narrative body. The book’s cover, showing a portrait of Mary Magdalene made by the Italian Renaissance painter Piere di Cosmo circa 1501 CE captivates the attention of readers for the elegant beauty envisioned in the sleek figure of the saint.
The book is highly recommended.
Arnold follows development of the life and message of the Magdalene in some detail. She appears in all four gospels. She was a Galilean follower of Jesus whom he had healed of seven demons and who thereafter supported his ministry. She was present at the Crucifixion and was the first witness of his rising from the dead. In addition to the above, her role was made coincident with Mary of Bethany who anointed Christ with costly unguent and the sexual sinner who repented before Christ. The Magdalene cult had developed a rich legend over the course of 1500 years of the Christian tradition even though clearly descriptive material about her is lacking in the New Testament. Mediaeval theologians’ focus was on her conversion from sexual sin to a piety of extreme penitence and devotion to the sacraments.
Recognition of Mary Magdalene’s later life provided and impetus to Christian tradition of Europe. Papal recognition of Vezelay Abbey in Burgundy as the site of her relics dates from 1050 CE. By 1279, the shrine of Mary Magdalene at Saint-Baume was elevated to this status and Vezelay declined. In this sense, the saint commanded a larger devotion from believers than warranted by her clout in the biblical narratives. She was made the patroness of convents and homes for reformed prostitutes, beginning in the twelfth century. The Magdalene was supposed to have converted the pagans in France, but there was a touch of paganism that came to be associated with her legend. Moreover, the saint was a relatively accessible figure for common women in contrast to Virgin Mary who enjoyed a quasi-divine status in Catholic theology with such lofty ideas such as Immaculate Conception and Assumption associated with her.
This book is not a primary reference on Reformation. It just assumes that it took place and does not pose to elucidate the major points of contention between it and Catholicism. The differences are then explained in the perspective of factors related to the Magdalene. The principal aim of Reformation theologians was the re-interpretation of biblical texts to express the evangelical gospel – the message of salvation by faith alone. This attack on the importance of clergy in the papal system opened up a chasm between the two beliefs that could never be reconciled. Luther advanced a theology of the priesthood of all believers. Choice of Mary Magdalene as the first preacher of the resurrection served Luther’s aim of promoting active evangelism by the laity. Luther’s frequent comparison of the Magdalene to Peter in his sermons reassured his followers that they are equal recipients of grace. It also served the purpose of undermining the traditional primacy of Peter among the saints and provided a subtle attack on papal authority.
Arnold fails to utilise the chance of tracing out the birth of women empowerment in the civilized world. She has identified some rudiments of the early movements, but leaves it in a half-baked way without drawing definite conclusions or inferences. A fillip to women's education was provided by the stress given by Reformation leaders on the use of local languages for liturgical purposes in place of the monopoly of Latin. The sixteenth century marked an increase in women's access to the Bible, newly available in vernacular translation and in comparatively affordable print editions that made their way into homes and schools. Even though the physical constraints had eased somewhat, the mental restrictions imposed by the traditionally male-dominated society that quoted a few verses of the New Testament to buttress their argument, remained in place. Saint Paul declared in his epistle to the Corinthians that “women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak. If they want to enquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church (1 Cor 14:34-35). Women had been forbidden to read the scriptures aloud in male hearing, an offense for which some had been arrested. Early scholars of the Reformation didn't relent much. Luther concluded that women may speak only where there is no man in authority over them, that is, unmarried women in their own homes!
True reformation trumps over what is said and done till that point in its fight for an idea whose time had arrived. The book presents the thread of women empowerment passing through many movements and schools of thought. Apart from Luther and Calvin, later scholars laid a foundation in Protestantism for the public ministry of women, based on Mary Magdalene’s preaching of the good news of Christ’s resurrection to the apostles themselves. The next generation saw lessening anxiety in society on women's preaching and greater appreciation for the role of women in defending reform, as it came under increasing attack. This provided a spur to early modern Catholic women, both lay and religious, to take up the subject of the Magdalene, writing about her life and expressing their devotion in prayer, music and visual art. The book contains some interesting portrayals of the saint produced in this period. However, aristocratic women’s loyalty was not clear cut. They were less politically fraught than those of their male counterparts, except in the case of monarchs like Mary I or Elizabeth I. Evangelical societies involving women teaching and preaching helped make new vocations for women acceptable to their society. Arnold lists out the dramatic productions and musical compositions of this genre. Women sometimes actually performed as the saint herself, speaking their own words with her authority.
This book is a product of extensive and fine research of literary material produced in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The author skilfully explores the text of medieval compositions, especially by female authors and its reception and influence in their immediate Catholic and Protestant contexts. The text is slightly thick for the taste of ordinary readers. The conclusion included at the end of the text neatly summarises all arguments and points made in the main narrative body. The book’s cover, showing a portrait of Mary Magdalene made by the Italian Renaissance painter Piere di Cosmo circa 1501 CE captivates the attention of readers for the elegant beauty envisioned in the sleek figure of the saint.
The book is highly recommended.
October 28, 2020
First of all, this was an academic book, and I am definitely NOT an academic, so am not sure if how useful my rating is.
After reading this, my first reaction is that I have been cheated all my life! I had very little understanding of Magdalene, and I had no idea that she was used as inspiration and an example of women's role in preaching and teaching in Christianity for hundreds of years, albeit with lots of backlash against that interpretation as well. It is because of her that many orders and other groups of women were able to go out into the world when it otherwise would have been difficult for them to be allowed to do so.
I also found it interesting that, off and on, she had a role in the Protestant church, despite them minimizing the importance of saints and Mary.
I had always known that Mary Magdalene was not the same women as the prostitute who encountered Jesus, but I did not know the history of how conflating those two and Mary of Bethany had come about, and I learned a lot from the discussion of the periods and circumstances during which people did put all three of those women together as one.
The book was dense, and after a while I felt as though I was reading the same basic thesis over and over again. As a casual reader of this book, I probably would have been better served by a long form article on the topic, but it is obvious that the author put a lot of work and research into the book, and I think it would be a good book for university classroom use.
After reading this, my first reaction is that I have been cheated all my life! I had very little understanding of Magdalene, and I had no idea that she was used as inspiration and an example of women's role in preaching and teaching in Christianity for hundreds of years, albeit with lots of backlash against that interpretation as well. It is because of her that many orders and other groups of women were able to go out into the world when it otherwise would have been difficult for them to be allowed to do so.
I also found it interesting that, off and on, she had a role in the Protestant church, despite them minimizing the importance of saints and Mary.
I had always known that Mary Magdalene was not the same women as the prostitute who encountered Jesus, but I did not know the history of how conflating those two and Mary of Bethany had come about, and I learned a lot from the discussion of the periods and circumstances during which people did put all three of those women together as one.
The book was dense, and after a while I felt as though I was reading the same basic thesis over and over again. As a casual reader of this book, I probably would have been better served by a long form article on the topic, but it is obvious that the author put a lot of work and research into the book, and I think it would be a good book for university classroom use.
January 14, 2023
This is one of the better treatments of the chimeric character that is the Mary Magdalene of popular Christianity - - an amalgam of three apparently separate women in the Bible. Margaret Arnold approaches this from an academic, historical, and seemingly secular perspective, which grants her some impartiality when it comes to the subjects that divide different sects of Christian religions.
For those of Reform schools of thought, you’ll notice that Arnold is decidedly making an argument about women as disciples and preachers in both early and modern churches. I didn’t find this to be so pervasive as to negate the rest of her analysis and argumentation, and in fact think the points she makes are worth consideration in this regard.
For those of Reform schools of thought, you’ll notice that Arnold is decidedly making an argument about women as disciples and preachers in both early and modern churches. I didn’t find this to be so pervasive as to negate the rest of her analysis and argumentation, and in fact think the points she makes are worth consideration in this regard.
December 10, 2018
This is fascinating work discussing Magdalene. The overview of the Reformation and the importance of Martin Luther to our interpretation of Magdalene is clearly laid out. Very fascinating!
Check out my interview with the author:
https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=568865...
Check out my interview with the author:
https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=568865...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews