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Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library

Producing books of original medieval and Byzantine texts with facing-page translations.

February 2, 2023 by Nicole Eddy

Life of the Virgin Mary: John Geometres

Constas, Maximos and Christos Simelidis
Volume | 77
Publication | May 2023
ISBN 9780674290808 | 496 pages

The first complete, modern translation of one of the most important Byzantine works of Marian doctrine and devotion.

John Geometres (ca. 935–ca. 1000) was one of the most highly esteemed poets and authors in Byzantium; yet his most important text, the Life of the Virgin Mary, remains largely unknown today. This literary and rhetorical masterpiece stands as a work of outstanding theological sophistication, animated by deeply felt devotion to the Mother of God. Geometres’s distinctive and idiosyncratic narrative offers a comprehensive biography, from Mary’s ancestry to her death and beyond, with special emphasis on her direction of Christ’s female disciples, her active participation in the passion and resurrection, and her leadership of the nascent Church. The Life has been rightly considered a critical missing piece in a larger puzzle connecting early Marian writings with later works.

Based on a completely new edition of the Byzantine Greek text, this is the first complete translation of the Life of the Virgin Mary into a modern language.

Table of Contents

Introduction

 

Life of the Virgin Mary

 

Abbreviations

Note on the Text

Notes to the Text

Notes to the Translation

Bibliography

Index

Filed Under: Byzantine Greek

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