This follower of Christ, 'out of whom he had cast seven devils', who stood
by his cross, went to anoint his feet at the tomb and to whom the risen
Christ appeared on Easter Sunday morning, has often, but not universally in
the West, been identified both with Mary the sister of Martha of Bethany and
with the woman who was a sinner, who anointed Christ's feet in the house of
Simon. This identification was accepted in the traditional cult of Mary
Magdalene and by the artists who depicted her.
Legend in both east and west added apocryphal details to the simple data of
the Gospels.
In the East she was said to have gone to Ephesus with the Blessed Virgin and
John the Apostle, of whom a later tradition made her the rejected fiancee
when Christ called him. There she died and was buried; there the English
Willibald saw her supposed tomb in the 8th century.
In the West Vezelay claimed her relics from the 11th century, and a legend
arose that she, her brother Lazarus and her sister Martha had all
evangelised Provence, where Mary lived as a hermit in the Maritime Alps
before dying at Saint Maximin. In spite of immense popular support for this
legend, practically all-modern scholars reject it.
Her popularity in England is reflected in the 187 ancient dedications of
churches to her and her universal appearance in medieval calendars.
Both Oxford and Cambridge have a College dedicated to her. Mary Magdalene is
patron both of repentant sinners and the contemplative life; this, together
with her close association with Christ, explains her immense popularity
through the ages.
Her feast day is the 22nd July.
Written and contributed by Phillip Lloyd.
