The Virgin Mary in Byzantium, c.400-1000: Hymns, Homilies and Hagiography
Cambridge University Press
Edition: New, 11/11/2021
EAN 9781108845694, ISBN10: 110884569X
Hardcover, 300 pages, 22.9 x 15.9 x 2.5 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English
The Virgin Mary assumed a position of central importance in Byzantium. This book examines her portrayal in liturgical texts during the first six centuries of Byzantine history. Focusing on three main literary genres that celebrated this holy figure, it highlights the ways in which writers adapted their messages for different audiences. Mary is portrayed variously as defender of the imperial city, Constantinople, virginal Mother of God, and ascetic disciple of Christ. Preachers, hymnographers, and hagiographers used rhetoric to enhance Mary's powerful status in Eastern Christian society, depicting her as virgin and mother, warrior and ascetic, human and semi-divine being. Their paradoxical statements were based on the fundamental mystery that Mary embodied: she was the mother of Christ, the Word of God, who provided him with the human nature that he assumed in his incarnation. Dr Cunningham's authoritative study makes a major contribution to the history of Christianity.
1. Praise of Mary in song
The early hymnography
2. From Theotokos to Intercessor
The early homiletic witness (ca. 400 – 600)
3. Panegyrics and supplication
Homilies from ca. 600 – 1000
4. Theology in verse
Middle Byzantine hymnography
5. Narratives about the Panagia
Miracle stories, hagiography and apocalypses.