本論文檢視三個從十四世紀中期到十五世紀晚期與東安格利亞地區(East Anglia)息息相關的文本，分別為來自諾里奇的朱利安(Julian of Norwich)的《神聖之愛的啟示》(The Revelations of Divine Love)、瑪喬芮•坎普(Margery Kempe)的《瑪喬芮•坎普之書》(The Book of Margery Kempe)、迪格比《抹大拿的瑪利亞》劇(the Digby Mary Magdalene)，探索文本中抹大拿的瑪利亞(Mary Magdalene)之形象的再現與轉變。
    本文將抹大拿的瑪利亞之形象視為文化符號(cultural symbols)，爬梳整理她的形象轉變:從新約聖經、早期基督教會的講道注解、聖人傳(hagiography)、聖人傳奇(saints’ legends)、虔敬書寫(devotional writings)，一路到中世紀末期的聖人劇(saints’ play)，佐以早期基督教教士對於抹大拿的瑪利亞形象之爭辯和中世紀社會對於女聖人與女性追求靈性生活的想像。
    本論文分成四個章節。第一章檢視抹大拿的瑪利亞其形象轉變與發展。第二章討論諾里奇的朱利安的《神聖之愛的啟示》中三位女聖人與朱利安的正向神學(positive theology)和朱利安居住地諾里奇與黑死病的關係。第三章檢視瑪喬芮•坎普如何於《瑪喬芮•坎普之書》透用模仿基督與女聖人，甚至與女聖人競爭，以自我形塑其女聖人形象。第四章探究迪格比劇作家如何將抹大拿的瑪利亞在聖經裡的形象與故事跟基督升天後的瑪大拿瑪利亞的傳奇故事結合，以及他如何運用浪漫文學、聖經歷史情節、道德劇的元素來形塑抹大拿的瑪利亞的一生。
    藉由爬梳抹大拿的瑪利亞之形象流變，觀察來自東英格利亞地區三個文本，其作者如何因書寫目地和讀者(觀眾)不同，呈現不同的抹大拿的瑪利亞的形象。西元十四世紀到十五世紀末的東安格利亞地區和本文對於女聖人有特別的關注，本文也試圖藉由探索三個文本中抹大拿的瑪利亞形象轉變，指出除了現今中世紀文學必提到的文學巨擘喬叟(Geoffrey Chaucer)，即其後追隨者霍克利夫(Thomas Hoccleve)、黎蓋特(John Lydgate)，東英格利亞地區有其地域性文學的關注。而這東英格利亞地域性的文學趨勢，也參與當時社會議題、宗教爭議與文化建構。

The thesis examines the representation of Mary Magdalene in saint’s legends, devotional writings, and plays in the area of East Anglia from mid fourteenth century to the early sixteenth century. Three major texts will be discussed in the thesis including Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love, Margery Kempe’s Book of Margery Kempe, and the Digby Mary Magdalene.
The thesis attempts to re-capsulate a moment in time in which via Mary Magdalene as cultural symbol, religious women could be empowered with a voice, writers and playwrights could explore the boundary of gender roles for women and the ecclesiastics and laity could respond to socio-political issues concerning practices of lay piety at the time. Most important of all, through the representations of Mary Magdalene embedded in the associated community of female saints in East Anglia, we are enabled to observe how St. Mary Magdalene is interrelated with images of other saints worshipped in East Anglia. It is also through the veneration of Mary Magdalene and the community of female saints in East Anglia, we get a glimpse of how saints as the intercessors between heaven and earth are conceived as religious and cultural symbols and how these symbols in the surveyed texts are perceived, appropriated and interpreted by writers, playwrights, readers, and audiences so as to respond to socio-political religious issues in East Anglian communities
The thesis is divided into four chapters. Chapter One provides a concise survey of the development of the images of Mary Magdalene from the earliest biblical accounts to a wide dissemination of the legends and literary texts in Europe and in England. Chapter Two explores the representation of the three female saints, Mary Magdalene, Virgin Mary and St. Cecilia, in relation to Julian of Norwich’s positive theology and social milieu of East Anglia during Julian’s lifetime. Chapter Three examines the making of St. Margery Kempe in the Book of Margery Kempe in relation to various kinds of imitatio and the images of female saints. Chapter Four investigates the ways the playwright weaves the biblical image of Mary Magdalene, her life in post-ascension legend and the elements from morality plays to represent a version of Mary Magdalene, who is not only a lady, a hero but also the apostle to the apostles.
    Lastly, with the survey of the representation of Mary Magdalene and the community of female saints, the thesis argues that parallel with the Chaucerian tradition that emulates the ancient Greco-Romano tradition, there exists a marked trend of literary and religious movement in East Anglian communities, which is attentive to the worship of female saints and from the representations of female saints, they find a ground that enables their voices to participate in discourses on religiosity, society and politics in late medieval England.

Table of Contents
Introduction...............1
Chapter One: Veneration of Mary Magdalene, the Cult of Saints,and Late Medieval East Anglia...............19
Searching for the Faces of Mary Magdalene
Veneration of Saints and Production of Hagiography in Christian History
Mary Magdalenes in Biblical History and Legends
Devotion to the Saints in Medieval England
Medieval East Anglia: Locality, Communities and the Cult of Saints
The Representation of Mary Magdalene in Medieval England and East Anglia
The Quest for a Literary Convention via the Images of Mary Magdalene and Female Saints in East Anglia
Chapter Two: Female Saints, Positive Theology, and East Anglian Communities in Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love...............49
Julian of Norwich and Two Versions of the Revelations
Julian of Norwich and the Late Medieval East Anglia
The Three Female Saints and Julian’s Positive Theology
(a) Mary Magdalene
(b) Virgin Mary
(c) St. Cecilia
Chapter Three: The Making of St. Margery and the Community of Female Saints in the Book of Margery.....80
Autohagiography and Margery’s Self-Constructed Sainthood
Margery’s World and the People She Meets
Devotion to Christ’s Humanity
Interweaving the Real with the Visionary
Becoming a Member of the Holy Family
The Handmaid to the Handmaiden of the Lord: Imitation of Mary
Saints as Models, Witnesses and Imaginary Competitors
Competition with Christ’s Lovers
(a) Mary Magdalene
(b) St. Bridget of Sweden
St. Margaret and King’s Lynn
The Miracles of St. Margery
Conclusion: St. Margery as a Mirror
Chapter Four: The Legendary Images of Mary Magdalene in Digby Mary Magdalene...............128
The Digby Mary Magdalene, the Textual Community and East Anglian Society
Staging the Digby Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene’s Legendary Roles: A Missionary and Preacher
Conclusion...............159
Works Cited...............162
 
 

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