The Virgin Mary: A Very Short Introduction

Description

This book describes the evolution of Marian thought from early Christianity to the present day. Covering the various Christian denominations, as well as the Islamic Mary, it considers medieval and renaissance doctrine and representations of Mary, as well as her involvement in debates over the Virginal body, race, anti-Semitism, and globalism.

• Describes the evolution of Marian thought from early Christianity to the present day
• Takes an interdisciplinary approach that includes art history, archaeology, and gender studies as well as doctrinal history
• Considers Mary in Eastern and Western Christianity as well as Islam
• Discusses Mary in contemporary popular culture
• Part of the Very Short Introductions series - over ten million copies sold worldwide

About the Author(s)

Mary Joan Winn Leith, Professor, Department of Religious Studies and Theology, Stonehill College

Professor Mary Joan Leith works at the Department of Religious Studies and Theology at Stonehill College and has published articles, columns, and blogs on the Virgin Mary. She takes an interdisciplinary approach that includes art history, archaeology, and gender studies as well as doctrinal history.

Table of Contents

1:Meeting Mary: The Surprising Virgin
2:Mary in the New Testament, History, and Earliest Christianity
3:Mary After the Gospels
4:Mary the Goddess?
5:Eastern Mary - Byzantium and Islam
6:Empress of Heaven and Hell: Mary in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
7:Modern Mary - Reformation to the Present
Glossary
References
Further Reading
Index

Reviews

"The series focuses on providing a broad and detailed scholarly yet accessible background to the Virgin Mary. This the author accomplishes, engagingly and comprehensively." - Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook, Ave: Magazine of the Society of Mary

"The book, like other volumes in The Very Short Introduction series, is interdisciplinary and focuses on providing a broad,and detailed scholarly, yet accessible background to the Virgin Mary. This the author accomplishes, engagingly and comprehensively. While Leith's approach here is not devotional, her respect for her subject and devotees is apparent. The book is both detailed and informative and provides technical background helpful to teaching and preaching on Mary." - Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook, AVE, the Magazine of the Society of Mary

"Winn Leith provides an engaging and wide-ranging survey. [...] A particular strength of the books is that Winn Leith is able to depict devotion to Mary not only as a historical curiosity, but as a living tradition." - Edward Dowler, Church Times