Making amulets Christian : artefacts, scribes, and contexts / Theodore de Bruyn
- Author:
- De Bruyn, Theodore
- Published:
- Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2017.
- Copyright Date:
- ©2017
- Edition:
- First edition.
- Physical Description:
- xx, 286 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.
- Series:
- Oxford Early Christian Studies
- Contents:
- Machine generated contents note: I.1.Formulations -- I.2.Scribes -- I.3.Rituals -- I.4.Overview of the Book -- I.5.Terms -- I.6.A Final Note -- 1.Normative Christian Discourse -- 1.1.Early Christian Discourse -- 1.2.Later Christian Discourse -- 1.3.Standards for the Faithful and the Clergy -- 1.4.Conclusion -- 2.Materials, Format, and Writing -- 2.1.Materials -- 2.2.Format and Writing -- 2.3.Acoustic Elements -- 2.4.Visual Elements -- 2.5.Conclusion -- 3.Manuals of Procedures and Incantations -- 3.1.The Theban Archive -- 3.2.Fragmentary Greek Collections -- 3.3.Coptic Manuals -- 3.4.Conclusion -- 4.Scribal Features of Customary Amulets -- 4.1.Amulets against Snakes and Scorpions -- 4.2.Amulets against Fever and Illness -- 4.3.Binding Incantations and Prayers for Justice -- 4.4.Conclusion -- 5.Scribal Features of Scriptural Amulets -- 5.1.Titles and Opening Words -- 5.2.Amulets Consisting (Mainly) of Incipits -- 5.3.`Gospel' Amulets -- 5.4.Jesus' Correspondence with Abgar -- 5.5.The Lord's Prayer -- 5.6.LXX Psalm 90 -- 5.7.Other Psalms -- 5.8.Other New Testament Passages -- 5.9.Conclusion -- 6.Christian Ritual Contexts -- 6.1.Liturgical Acclamations -- 6.2.Daily Prayer -- 6.3.Exorcism -- 6.4.The Veneration of Saints -- 6.5.`Alternative' Doxological Traditions -- 6.6.Conclusion -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Ancient Sources -- Secondary Literature.
- Summary:
- Making Amulets Christian: Artefacts, Scribes, and Contexts examines Greek amulets with Christian elements from late antique Egypt in order to discern the processes whereby a customary practice-the writing of incantations on amulets-changed in an increasingly Christian context. It considers how the formulation of incantations and amulets changed as the Christian church became the prevailing religious institution in Egypt in the last centuries of the Roman empire. Theodore de Bruyn investigates what can we learn from incantations and amulets containing Christian elements about the cultural and social location of the people who wrote them. He shows how incantations and amulets were indebted to rituals or ritualizing behaviour of Christians. This study analyzes different types of amulets and the ways in which they incorporate Christian elements. By comparing the formulation and writing of individual amulets that are similar to one another, one can observe differences in the culture of the scribes of these materials. It argues for 'conditioned individuality' in the production of amulets. On the one hand, amulets manifest qualities that reflect the training and culture of the individual writer. On the other hand, amulets reveal that individual writers were shaped, whether consciously or inadvertently, by the resources they drew upon-by what is called 'tradition' in the field of religious studies.
- Subject(s):
- ISBN:
- 9780199687886
0199687889 - Bibliography Note:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 247-267) and indexes.
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