A Coptic Magical Text for Virginity in Marriage: A Witness to "Celibate Marriage" from Christian Egypt
The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose (CA) owns a small but important collection of unpublished Coptic papyri and parchments. One notable papyrus preserves a unique text in which the practitioner invokes an unnamed female figure to help a woman protect her "purity," "virginity,&...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
[2021]
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| In: |
Harvard theological review
Year: 2021, Volume: 114, Issue: 1, Pages: 118-142 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Handwriting
/ Coptic language
/ Celibacy
/ Marriage
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| IxTheo Classification: | KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity KBL Near East and North Africa NCF Sexual ethics |
| Further subjects: | B
Celibacy
B Amulet B Magic B celibate marriage B Coptic |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose (CA) owns a small but important collection of unpublished Coptic papyri and parchments. One notable papyrus preserves a unique text in which the practitioner invokes an unnamed female figure to help a woman protect her "purity," "virginity," and "marriage." Although the specific context behind the text is not altogether clear and the appeal for virginity in marriage is curious and without parallel in other magical texts, one possibility is to see the text in light of the Christian practice of celibate marriage whereby a male and female entered into a non-sexual marriage. |
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| ISSN: | 1475-4517 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Harvard theological review
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0017816021000080 |