Title: The
Magdalene in the Reformation
Author: Margaret Arnold
Publisher: The Belknap Press, 2018
(First)
Pages: 300
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 athome; 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.
Rating: 3 Star
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