The Gendered Body in Verse: Jacob of Serugh and Romanos Melodos on the Woman with a Flow of Blood
This article examines the reception history of the story of the woman with a flow of blood as recounted in Mark 5:25-34, Matthew 9:20-22, and Luke 8:43-48 within the writings of two late antique poets: Jacob of Serugh (ca. 451-521 CE) and Romanos Melodos (b. ca. 485 CE). In their poetic compositions...
| Main Author: | |
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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: |
De Gruyter
2022
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| In: |
Journal of the bible and its reception
Year: 2022, Volume: 9, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-26 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Mark
/ Woman
/ Gender
/ Jacobus, Sarugensis 451-521
/ Romanus, Melodos 485-562
/ Byzantine studies
/ Syriac language
/ Late Antiquity
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| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity KAD Church history 500-900; early Middle Ages |
| Further subjects: | B
Hymnography
B Syriac Studies B women and gender B Byzantine Studies B Late Antiquity B Embodiment |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article examines the reception history of the story of the woman with a flow of blood as recounted in Mark 5:25-34, Matthew 9:20-22, and Luke 8:43-48 within the writings of two late antique poets: Jacob of Serugh (ca. 451-521 CE) and Romanos Melodos (b. ca. 485 CE). In their poetic compositions, Jacob and Romanos retell and interpret biblical stories employing narrative expansions and the attribution of imagined speech. The Syriac poet, Jacob of Serugh, wrote in the form of narrative poems, or mēmrē , while Romanos perfected the form of the Greek kontakion. Like prose homilies, these poems reached Christians from across the social spectrum, providing spiritual instruction and delighting audiences. Previous reception histories of this biblical narrative have largely overlooked late antique and early Byzantine poetry performed within the liturgical space. In addition to filling this lacuna in scholarship, this article also highlights how these understudied poems contribute to our understanding of early Christian discourses of (im)purity. Romanos emphasizes the symbolic value of the gendered body, blending the imagery of stain, impurity, and sin. In contrast, Jacob’s lexical choices and poetic style underscore the woman’s physical and emotional strife. Through speech and the description of the woman’s bodily state, both poets provide dramatic depictions of the woman’s encounter with Jesus that enrich our understanding of how late antique Christians interpreted this biblical story. |
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| ISSN: | 2329-4434 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of the bible and its reception
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/jbr-2022-0002 |