Down with the Patriarchy! Remembering the Medieval Mary Magdalene

Last updated on: August 16, 2022 at 3:37 pm by Beth Allison Barr

Down with the Patriarchy! Remembering the Medieval Mary Magdalene 2022-08-16T15:37:07-04:00 Beth Allison Barr

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

One of the fifteenth-century roof bosses in the cloisters of Norwich Cathedral. This one depicts the moment Mary Magdalene recognizes the resurrected Christ.

“Where does it say that?” he asked.

I handed him my iPad. We stood on the staircase, me traveling down to my office while he traveled up to his. I casually mentioned how the medieval sermon I was currently reading contradicted the resurrected Christ’s directive to Mary Magdalene in John 20:17: whereas the Latin Vulgate records Christ saying “noli me tangere” (do not touch me), the sermon recorded that Christ, “when he rose from death to life, he appeared to [Mary Magdalene] bodily first of all others and suffered her to touch him and kiss his feet.” My colleague, a Reformation scholar, literally stopped in his tracks. I still remember him staring at the image of the fifteenth-century text made so clear on my 21st century technology.

The sermon author was a late medieval priest named John Mirk. I have written about him several times on this blog, but—for a quick refresher—he was an Augustinian canon from Lilleshall Abbey in fourteenth-century Shropshire. He probably also served as vicar at the parish church of St. Alkmund’s in Shrewsbury, a town about 15 miles aways from Lilleshall Abbey. Around 1380 Mirk penned the sermon collection Festial. It soon became the most popular non-heretical vernacular sermon collection in late medieval England with more than 40 extant manuscript copies and multiple print copies.

Which means that Mirk’s version of Christ’s encounter with Mary Magdalene would have been familiar to medieval people, perhaps even more familiar than the actual scriptural account. This is what Juliette Vuille, in her 2013 article “’Towche me not’: uneasiness in the translation of the noli me tangere episode in the late medieval English period,” argues: that medieval authors did not recognize a Christ who refused to touch Mary Magdalene, so they rejected the Vulgate translation of the verse. As she writes, “such late medieval authors as John Mirk, Nicholas Love, and Margery Kempe reflect a deep uneasiness with the Johannine verse, an anxiety evidenced on the page by mistranslations or contradictions of the noli me tangere episode.” Instead of Christ directing Mary Magdalene “to touch him not”, these medieval authors emphasized the close relationship between Mary and Jesus as well as her great faith which outshone even that of the male apostles.

Take John Mirk’s account of Mary Magdalene. He describes her as a repentant sinner who became the most faithful follower of Jesus as well as preacher of the Gospel. As he writes, “But no word spoke she that men might hear, save in her heart she cried out to Christ for mercy, and made a vow to him that she would never trespass no more. Then had Christ compassion on her and cleansed her….and forgave all her guilt of sin.” Just as in the sinner’s prayer, Jesus saved Mary Magdalene from her sins, and her conversion came from a personal encounter with Christ. Her repentance was so sincere that her life was transformed. Mirk notes that when the “disciples fled away from (Jesus) for dread of death, she left him never.” Her faithfulness allowed her to be the first to see the risen Christ–thus making her “the apostle to the apostles”. She became a powerful preacher in France through who “all the land was turned to the Christian faith.” Mirk recorded that her authority was even blessed by the apostle Peter. Indeed, from Mirk’s perspective, Jesus telling Mary not to touch him just did not fit with how he understood the scriptural portrayal of Mary Magdalene. For Mirk, the Vulgate’s wooden translation of John 20:17 was not only an outlier but it was probably incorrect. (FYI some modern translations like the NIV and NRSV seem to agree more with John Mirk, allowing Mary Magdalene to “not hold on to” Christ instead of “do not touch” Christ.)

So why did medieval authors like John Mirk do this? Did they not believe the Bible? Were they just cherry picking the parts they liked? Or did they remember something about Mary Magdalene that we have forgotten?

Let’s return to Juliette Vuille. She begins her fascinating argument by reminding us that Jerome’s translation of the text from Greek to Latin was fraught with difficulties. Almost from the beginning, the “Latin Fathers” exhibited discomfort with how the Vulgate translated John 20:17. Whereas the Greek uses a present imperative to suggest “ongoing or continuous activity, best translated as ‘do not keep holding me’, implying that Mary Magdalene was already touching Christ when he issued this warning,” the Vulgate flattened this nuance into the direct imperative, “do not touch me.” Vuille writes that early church fathers worried how the Vulgate’s rendition could introduce a misogynist reading of the text. Listen to what she writes.

“The Latin Fathers had already noted the stark contrast between Christ’s command to the Magdalene not to touch him and his ordering Thomas, just ten verses later, to reach with his fingers inside his wound (John 20:27). They recognized in the discrepancy between these two passages the potential for a misogynistic interpretation and strove to negate this possibility by establishing the prohibition as spiritual and not physical. Since Ambrose, most Church Fathers argue that the noli me tangere constitutes only a temporary rebuttal, which arises because the Magdalene had failed to immediately recognize Christ’s changed divine state. They support the interpretation by referring to the counterexample of Matthew 28:9, a pericope showing how the Magdalene and another Mary meet the risen Christ and touch his feet.”

Isn’t that interesting? As early as the 4th century (the time of Ambrose) clergy worried about the misogynist impact of scripture translations on the role of Mary Magdalene. Moreover, by the later Middle Ages, some clergy were convinced that the significant role played by Mary Magdalene in the life of Christ was being suppressed by the Vulgate’s translation of John 20:17. Vuille concludes that “resistant readings” of the noli me tangere episode by later medieval clergy and women like Margery Kempe “should be seen as reiterating a well-accepted and orthodox interpretation of the episode in the late medieval religious context.” Medieval Christians preferred the Christ who allowed Mary Magdalene to touch him over the one who did not. (In another aside, and I’ll follow this in a later post, some medieval clergy in the central Middle Ages began using “noli me tangere” as a reason why women could not preach.)

Which brings me to Elizabeth (Libbie) Schrader. Recently Schrader, a PhD candidate in Early Christianity at Duke University, has argued that enough textual instability about Martha of Bethany exists in the story of the raising of Lazarus in early biblical manuscripts for us to question modern understandings of not only the Mary and Martha story but also the identity of Mary Magdalene. Instead of Martha proclaiming that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, in Luke 11:27, what if it was Mary of Bethany who said this? What if, as Schrader posits, Mary of Bethany is the same woman as Mary Magdalene? That would mean one of the most important figures in the life of Christ–who stood with him at the crucifixion and resurrection, traveled with him and monetarily supported his ministry, became the first to see his resurrected body and carry the good news to the apostles, and gave the only confession of faith recognizing Jesus as the Christ to parallel the confession of Peter’s–was actually one woman: Mary Magdalene. As Schrader explains, “Martha is added as a way of diminishing Mary Magdalene and confusing her presentation.”

I am not a biblical scholar. I cannot evaluate the textual instability that Libbie Schrader has presented. But I find her argument attractive because it is so medieval. It reminds me of the medieval Mary Magdalene—both her more robust significance in the early ministry of Jesus as well as concerns about translations minimizing her importance. While a medieval perspective cannot weigh in on the manuscript evidence presented by Schrader, it does raise historical questions about how Christians for more than 1000 years believed Mary Magdalene played a more significant leadership role than more modern Christians (like my evangelical tradition) have allowed. Could John Mirk’s rendition of John 20:17 be more biblically faithful than we first suspected?

Just something to think about.

Till next time, y’all. Stay tuned as we continue discussing the faith of the medieval Mary Magdalene—or, as Diana Butler Bass framed her, the strong faith of Mary the tower.

Catholic

Beth Allison Barr

medieval Christianity

Elizabeth Schrader

Mary Magdalene

Previous Post

August 15, 2022

These Are The Ways The World Ends

Next Post

August 17, 2022 Exhibiting Evangelicalism: An Interview with Devin Manzullo-Thomas

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abolitionism Abortion Abraham Joshua Heschel Abraham Kuyper Abraham Lincoln Academia Activism Adam Renberg Advent Adventist africa African American Religion Agnes Howard Albert Camus American History American Religious History American Revolution American West Anabaptists Ancient History Andrea Turpin Andrei Tarkovsky Anglicanism Annales Ansley Lillian Quiros anti-Catholicism Antisemitism Anxious Bench apologetics Apparitions Arash Azizi Archaeology archives art Artificial Intelligence Asia Asian Americans Augustine Authors Bad Bunny Baptism Baptists Barack Obama Battle of Hastings Benjamin Franklin Bernard-Henri Levy Beth Allison Barr Beth Moore Bethany Mannon Bible Bill Cunningham Billy Graham Black Music Bob Dylan Body Boenhoffer Books Breastfeeding Bruce Springsteen C.S. Lewis Calvinism Cancel Culture Capitalism Carmelites Catholicism Cedric Robinson Cesar Chavez Charismaticism charity Charles Dickens Charles Lindbergh Che Guevara Chicago Children Chinese Christianity Chris Gehrz Christ Christian death Christian Higher Education Christian life Christian Nation Christian Nationalism Christianity Today Christmas Church life Church Practice cinema Civil Religion Civil Rights Movement Civil War civility Classics Climate Change Cold War Colonial Mexico colonialism Comer Communism community complementarianism Conference on Faith and History Congregationalism Conspiracies Conspiracy Conversion Narratives Coronavirus Costa Rica Council of Nicaea Covid-19 Creation Critical Race Theory Crusades Culture culture wars Daniel K. Williams David Barton David Swartz Death Ways death with dignity DEI democracy Democratic Party Devotion Digital Age Diplomacy discipleship diversity Donald Trump Drama Dua Lipa Early Church early modern Early modern Catholicism Easter Eastern Christianity economic exploitation Education elections Elie Wiesel Elizabeth II Elizabeth Taylor emotions Empire Engineering England enslavement Entertainment Episcopal Church Erica Ramirez eschatology Eurocentrism Evangelicalism Evangelicals Exegesis Family Feminism Film Flannery O'Connor folk music Food Foreign Policy founding fathers Franciscans Franciscus Junius fundamentalism Funerals G.K. Chesterton Gender Genocide genre geography George W. Bush George Washington George Whitefield Global Christianity Global church Grief Guadalupe guest post Guest Post gun control gun violence Gustavo Gutierrez Hamid Dabashi Harold John Ockenga Harvest Hate Hawaiian Christianity Healing health care Heather Cox Richardson Hell Heresy Hermeneutics Higher Education Hinduism Hippocratic oath Historical Fiction Historical Methodology Historical Profession Historical Profession Historical Theology Historical Thinking historiography Holidays Holocaust horror movies Human rights Humanitarian Work humanities Hummingbirds Hungary hymns Imago Dei Immigration Injustice Interviews Iran Islam Islamophobia Israel Ivan's Childhood Jacob Randolph James Bratt Janine Giordano Drake Japanese history Japanese Literature Jean Paul Sartre Jesse Miranda Jesus Jesus Christ Jimmy Carter Joan Baez Joan Didion Joanne Freeman João B. Chaves Joao Chaves Joey Cochran John Calvin John Fea John Tillotson John Turner Johnny Cash Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Tran Joseph Smith Josh Howerton Journalism Jr. Judaism Jürgen Moltmann Just War Justice Justin Brierley Karl Barth Katelyn Beaty koi ponds Kris Kristofferson Kristin Kobes Du Mez Latin American Religious History Latino Americans Lectio Divina Leisure Lent Leonard Cohen liberal arts liberalism Liberation Theology Linda Ronstadt Lisa Clark Diller Literature Lou Reed Lynchings Lynneth Miller Renberg Mainline Protestantism Malcolm Foley Marilyn Monroe Maritime history Mark Noll Marriage Martin Luther Martin Luther King Martyrdom Marxism Mary Masih Alinejad mass shootings material culture medieval Christianity Medieval Ethiopia Melissa Borja memory Mennonites Mental Health Mental Illness Methodism Mexican Americans Mexicans Mike Madrid Miles Mullin Min Jin Lee Miscarriage Missionaries Mister Rogers Mitt Romney modernity Monasticism Mormonism Motherhood Mothers of the Church Moving Music Musicals Nadya Williams Nahua Christianity Native Americans Natsume Sōseki New Contributor New England New Year New York Nico Non-Violent Protest Orthodoxy pacifism Paleo Evangelicals Palestinians Parenting Patti Smith Paul Kingsnorth Pedro Calderón de la Barca Pentecostalism Philip Jenkins Phillis Wheatley physician-assisted suicide pilgrimage Pilgrims pluralism Plutocracy Poetry Politics Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV post-modernism prayer preaching Presbyterians prosperity gospel Protest Public history Publishing Puritans purity culture Quakers race Race Massacres Racial Capitalism racial reconciliation racialization Racism Raha Bahloulipour Re-Enchantment reading Reformation Refugees religion and the university religion and war Religious Freedom Religious Nones Religious Pluralism Religious Symbols religious violence Republican Party Revival Rita Coolidge Ritual Roger Williams Roman Catholic church Royalty Russell Moore same-sex marriage Sarah Irving-Stonebraker Scandinavia Science Science and Technology Scopes trial Scriptural Interpretation secularism Selena Quintanilla seminary Seventh-Day Adventists sexual morality Sexuality Sikhs Silence slaveholders theology Slavery Slavoj Zizek social justice Social Media Southern Baptist Convention Southern Religion Spain Spiritual Autobiography Spiritual but not religious Spiritual Discipline Sports Stanley Hauerwas Suffering Summer Camps Sunday Night Odds and Ends Supernatural Supreme Court Syriac Christianity Tal Howard Taylor Swift Teaching Technology Television Thanksgiving The Beatles The Mission theater TheoBros Theology Thomas Dixon Thomas Jefferson Thomas Kidd Thomas Merton Tim Gloege Tim Walz Tom Holland Tourism tradition Tragedy Translation Transnationalism Travel Trump Ukraine Uncategorized Unitarians United Methodist Church US History Vanessa Chan Velvet Underground Verónica A. Gutiérrez Veronica Gutierrez Vikings Violence Virgin Mary Virtue Virtue ethics Visions Voting War WCTU Wendell Berry Westminster Assembly White Evangelicalism Wildfires Winnie the Pooh Witches women Women in Ministry Women's and Gender Studies Work Worship writing Yasunari Kawabata Zena Hitz

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the Jewish ritual bath called?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Matzah Mikveh Mezuzah Shofar