Medieval people spent a lot of time thinking about saints. But what they thought about saints wasn’t always what we might expect. Women saints with promiscuous backstories were fan favourites in the Middle Ages, and one of the most popular was St. Mary of Egypt. This week, Danièle speaks with Sonia Velázquez about St. Mary of Egypt, why she caught the medieval imagination, and how her beauty, age, and holiness spoke to generations of artists and the faithful.
Medieval people spent a lot of time thinking about saints. But what they thought about saints wasn’t always what we might expect. Women saints with promiscuous backstories were fan favourites in the Middle Ages, and one of the most popular was St. Mary of Egypt. This week, Danièle speaks with Sonia Velázquez about St. Mary of Egypt, why she caught the medieval imagination, and how her beauty, age, and holiness spoke to generations of artists and the faithful.
Sonia Velázquez is an Associate Professor at the Indiana University – Bloomington – click here to view her university webpage. Her new book is Promiscuous Grace: Imagining Beauty and Holiness with Saint Mary of Egypt, published by The University of Chicago Press.
The creator and host of The Medieval Podcast is Danièle Cybulskie. Click here to visit her website or follow her on Twitter @5MinMedievalist
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Top Image: Saint Mary of Egypt, by Jusepe de Ribera (1591–1652)
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